Seeing the puzzled expressions on Ye Ning and Tsunade's faces, Orochimaru finally spoke after indulging his mischievous little joke.
"His name is Yukiya."
At the sound of that name, a flash of realization seemed to pass through Ye Ning's mind, and everything suddenly clicked.
If he remembered correctly, wasn't the Two-Tails Jinchuriki from Kumogakure called Yugito Nii?
Then this Yukiya...
Was he Yugito's father?
Could it be...
Ye Ning's expression gradually grew excited.
Orochimaru stopped keeping them in suspense and gently explained the mystery.
"He's the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Kumogakure has been secretly hiding."
"What?"
Tsunade was stunned. Her gaze returned to the half-dead man lying on the ground, and she could hardly believe it.
This guy was the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?
Orochimaru had gone to Kumogakure alone, then captured the Two-Tails Jinchuriki alive and brought him back?
Since when had Orochimaru gotten so powerful?
At the unconcealed doubt in Tsunade's expression, Orochimaru spread his hands.
"Thanks to Ye Ning's suggestion, I mastered Senjutsu, which greatly increased my strength."
Senjutsu?
Sage Mode?
Orochimaru had learned it too?
And it was Ye Ning's suggestion?
When had Ye Ning given Orochimaru that advice?
Tsunade looked at Ye Ning in confusion, then turned back to look at Orochimaru.
Ye Ning, however, wasn't surprised at all.
In the original story, Orochimaru hadn't learned Senjutsu because, at the time, he had devoted himself entirely to his experiments on immortality. After using Living Corpse Reincarnation, his body was no longer suited to training in Senjutsu. Besides, by then Orochimaru had already developed a weakened version of Senjutsu—the Cursed Seal.
That was why Orochimaru, a man renowned as a genius, hadn't trained in Senjutsu.
But with Ye Ning's guidance, this Orochimaru still pursued immortality relentlessly, while also developing a keen interest in the true nature of the Shinobi World.