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Xunjing looked at Orochimaru with a smile. "Guess what he went off to do?"
Orochimaru licked his lips. "Most likely to ask the First Hokage about your secrets, right? Unfortunately for him, he has no idea how airtight your contract is."
There was a hint of relief in his voice as he continued. "Honestly, I'm especially glad you valued me enough back then to use the Life-Nourishing Art to reel me in. My fondness for you shot up at the time."
"Otherwise, with my personality, I probably would've had a hard time meeting the contract's conditions, wouldn't I?"
His words spoke volumes about how much Xunjing valued him.
Of course, Orochimaru also knew that the main reason he had taken the bait was his deep obsession with immortality.
Xunjing had seized on that very weakness.
Naturally, the results had been immediate.
By comparison, the Second Hokage was much more difficult.
What was he obsessed with? Nothing more than seeing Konoha flourish and the Uchiha decline.
If it were only the first wish, Orochimaru believed Xunjing's contributions to Konoha would sooner or later win the Second Hokage over completely.
The problem was that Xunjing happened to be an Uchiha.
That made things tricky.
Unless the Second Hokage one day came around and completely abandoned his prejudice against the Uchiha, or learned to regard Xunjing and the Uchiha Clan as entirely separate entities.
Neither of those things could be accomplished in a short time.
It all depended on when the Second Hokage could change his own way of thinking.
Orochimaru rather hoped the Second Hokage would enter into a contract soon.
Then their research together would certainly go more smoothly and be more efficient.
Leaving everything else aside, the Meditation Method alone not only increased mental power and soul power, but