Snake Uncle: Xuan, Let's Study Immortality Together!

Ever since that border mission, Tsunade's attitude toward Uchiha Xuan had undergone a visible change.

During training in the past, she always loved charging to the front, finding all sorts of excuses to compete with Xuan. But now, she always seemed somewhat awkward whenever she avoided his gaze.

Whenever their eyes accidentally met, or whenever Xuan's guidance in taijutsu led to the occasional physical contact, the future number-one female drunkard of the ninja world would recoil as if shocked. A flush would swiftly creep across her fair neck, and even her usual speaking voice dropped several decibels.

This rare display of bashfulness made Hiruzen Sarutobi click his tongue in amazement, but it made Orochimaru frown.

He had no time to appreciate such boring "adolescent stirrings."

Compared to Tsunade's girlish worries, Orochimaru could only think of one thing right now—Uchiha Xuan's body!

The terrifying speed and power Xuan had unleashed in an instant during the mission, enough to kill more than a dozen elite Chunin in seconds; and later, when he had purged Tsunade's poison, that vast life force that made one's heart tremble even from the slightest leak.

All of it had stirred an unprecedented tsunami in Orochimaru's heart.

The feeling was like a traveler who had been thirsty in the desert for three days and nights suddenly spotting a clear oasis!

He knew that Xuan was hiding an earth-shattering secret.

That secret might be the final answer to the truth of life that he had been desperately seeking.

Finally, on a dark and windy night.

After Uchiha Xuan finished his solitary training and was about to return to his room to rest, a chilling wind blew in from the end of the corridor.

"Hiss—"

Accompanied by a faint hissing sound, a black venomous snake slithered out of the shadows and coiled into a circle on the floor. Then, with a puff of smoke, Orochimaru's pale, effeminate figure appeared before Xuan.

"Coming here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, putting on this spooky act—what, Snake Uncle? Trying to scare me to death?"

Xuan leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded, looking at Orochimaru with a teasing tone.

He had sensed Orochimaru's approach long ago. With the Golden Flame Divine Eyes and a Sage Body, no one in this village could escape his perception.

Orochimaru ignored Xuan's teasing.

His golden vertical pupils stared fixedly at Xuan. His gaze was as fervent as though he were looking at a peerless work of art, yet also like he was staring at an irresistibly delicious feast.

"Xuan."

Orochimaru spoke in a hoarse voice, and it carried an uncontrollable tremor and fervor.

"Ever since the last mission, I have been thinking."

As he spoke, he silently glided before Xuan like a real snake. The distance between them was so close that they could even feel each other's breath.

"What... exactly are you?"

Orochimaru extended his long tongue and licked his cracked lips.

"An ordinary person—no, even those so-called Bloodline Limit clans could not possibly possess the amount of chakra and recovery ability you have. Not to mention that domineering life force of yours, capable of instantly devouring even toxins."

His gaze grew increasingly feverish, even somewhat sickeningly so.

"Xuan, I'll be honest."

Orochimaru took a deep breath, as if he had made some momentous decision.

"I have no interest whatsoever in the boring missions in this village, nor in the so-called Will of Fire."

"The only thing I seek is—truth!"

He spread his arms as if he wanted to embrace the entire world.

"Human lives are too short, so short that they are nowhere near enough for us to understand every ninjutsu and every secret in this world! A disease, a mistake in battle, even a careless accident can easily take everything from us!"

"That is too fragile! Too tragic!"

Orochimaru suddenly looked at Xuan, madness gleaming in his eyes.

"So, I will break this curse! I will grasp the truth of all things! And the first thing needed to achieve all of that is—immortality!"

Immortality.

The word left Orochimaru's mouth carrying an obsession that sent chills down one's spine.

Xuan quietly watched his performance without interrupting.

"I have tried many methods and studied many creatures."

Orochimaru's voice lowered, carrying a trace of frustration. "But they were all too weak to bear my hopes for immortality. Until... I met you."

One of his hands suddenly reached toward Xuan's chest, seemingly wanting to feel that powerfully beating heart.

But Xuan merely shifted slightly aside and avoided the invasive gesture.

"Xuan."

Orochimaru was not angered. He simply withdrew his hand and spoke in a tone that was almost pleading, yet seductive.

"Your body is perfect! It is the Creator's most outstanding masterpiece! Within it must lie the key to the gates of immortality!"

"Join me!"

He extended a hand toward Xuan.

"Let us explore the mysteries of this body together! Let us tear away this world's disguise together! As long as we join hands, as long as you are willing to share a part of your body with me..."

Orochimaru's breathing grew heavy. "We can become the true gods of this world!"

The night wind swept through the empty corridor, bringing a chill with it.

Orochimaru stared intently at Xuan, waiting for his answer.

He had absolute confidence that no one could refuse the temptation of "immortality" and "godhood."

Especially not a genius like himself, one whose strength and intellect far surpassed those of his peers.

Yet, to his surprise.

Faced with this virtually insane "confession," Uchiha Xuan not only showed no interest or shock, he instead... smiled.

It was a smile full of amusement, even carrying a trace of mockery.

"Immortality?"

Rather than take Orochimaru's outstretched hand, Xuan pulled a kunai from his pocket and casually spun it around his fingertips.

"That truly is a very interesting subject."

Orochimaru's eyes lit up. "Then, you agree?"

"No, you are mistaken, Orochimaru."

Xuan stopped spinning the kunai, and his gaze became deep and cold.

"What I mean is, your idea is quite good, but your vision... is far too narrow."

He walked to the edge of the corridor and looked out at Konoha Village shrouded in the night. The densely packed houses were like delicate little matchboxes, trapping the people inside them tightly.

"Do you think that in a place filled with eyes everywhere and rules everywhere, where showing even the slightest difference makes the higher-ups regard you as an outcast, perhaps even imprison or eliminate you..."

Xuan turned and looked at Orochimaru.

"In this prison called 'Konoha,' what results can your mad research possibly achieve?"

Orochimaru froze.

Though he was a scientific madman, he was not stupid. He knew perfectly well that if Hiruzen Sarutobi or Senju Tobirama discovered the human experiments he was secretly conducting, he would undoubtedly be executed in secret.

He had always been carefully hiding himself.

"What are you trying to say?" Orochimaru's voice darkened.

"What I am saying is."

A dangerously alluring curve appeared at the corner of Uchiha Xuan's mouth.

"Studying immortality in this rotten cage is like trying to scoop up the moon from the bottom of a well. You can only ever see that pitiful little reflection, never touch the true moon."

He stepped closer to Orochimaru, his voice low, as though it carried some kind of magic.

"Orochimaru."

"Do you want to see... the world outside the cage?"

Those words were like lightning striking directly into Orochimaru's mind!

The world... outside the cage?!

At that moment, Orochimaru's golden serpent eyes, once filled with nothing but fervor, suddenly blazed with an unprecedented, dazzling light!