Book of Seals! S-Rank Forbidden Techniques for the Taking

The White Snake Sage turned to look at Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, the little one you brought this time is far more interesting than you were back then."

Orochimaru lowered his head slightly, concealing the curiosity in his eyes. "You flatter him, Sage."

The White Snake Sage raised a hand, her withered fingers lightly slicing through the air.

A jet-black scroll embedded with dark golden patterns appeared out of thin air and slowly drifted down before Qian Ye.

"This is Ryuchi Cave's Core Summoning Contract."

The White Snake Sage's voice echoed through the empty hall.

"Sign it."

"From today onward, aside from me, every snake in Dragon's Lair will be at your beck and call, so long as you have enough chakra."

The expressions of the three Great Snake Princesses all changed at those words.

"Sage!" Ichikishimahime panicked. "The core contract? Even Orochimaru back then never—"

"Shut up."

The White Snake Sage gave her a cold glance.

Ichikishimahime immediately fell silent, not daring to utter another word.

Qian Ye looked at the black scroll before him, his heart bursting with joy.

He had won the gamble!

Conqueror's Haki was the qualification of a king, something only one in a million possessed in Pirate World. He had thought he would never even come close to this power in his lifetime.

Yet after that old woman crushed him on a higher level, she had instead forced this potential out of him.

Without hesitation, Qian Ye bit open the thumb that had just healed and wrote his name in bold strokes at the very center of the scroll.

After writing his name, Qian Ye casually pressed down a bloody handprint.

Buzz!

The black scroll lit up with a dark red glow, then turned into a streak of light and shot directly into Qian Ye's palm.

Qian Ye spread open his hand. An incredibly tiny black snake-shaped curse mark had appeared on his palm.

It worked.

With this thing, he might not be able to swagger through Naruto World, but at least whenever danger arose, he could summon some giant snake to take the hit for him.

Orochimaru looked at the curse mark in Qian Ye's palm, his Adam's apple bobbing.

The core contract.

Dragon's Lair's foundation had been obtained by this kid so casually.

"Alright, the contract's signed, so get out." The White Snake Sage picked up her pipe again and issued an order to leave. "Stop getting in my way. I need to sleep."

Orochimaru knowingly walked over to Qian Ye and placed one hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Sage."

Bang!

A cloud of white smoke burst forth.

The two of them vanished from the temple.

Only after they had left did Tagitsuhime dare to speak.

"Sage, what exactly was that power the brat unleashed just now?"

The White Snake Sage exhaled a long plume of smoke, her gaze fixed on the glowing pearls in the ceiling that had been cracked by the shockwave.

"I don't know."

"But within that power, I caught the scent of something that doesn't belong to this world."

The White Snake Sage closed her eyes, an extraordinarily eerie smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"The Ninja World is about to stir."

Hidden Leaf's front lines, No. 3 Outpost.

Top floor of the command tower.

Bang!

The white smoke dissipated, and Qian Ye and Orochimaru reappeared before the desk.

Qian Ye collapsed into a chair, not even wanting to move.

This trip to Dragon's Lair had been more exhausting than fighting Pakura.

Orochimaru walked behind the desk and sat down, his gaze remaining fixed on Qian Ye as he examined him from top to bottom several times.

It made Qian Ye's skin crawl.

"Sensei, don't look at me like that." Qian Ye covered his chest with both hands in a defensive pose. "I'm not interested in men, and I'm even less interested in snakes."

Orochimaru choked on those words and rapped the desk irritably.

"Enough nonsense."

Orochimaru leaned forward, his tone becoming extremely grave.

"What was that power you unleashed in the temple just now?"

Qian Ye had long known Orochimaru would ask about it.

A power like Conqueror's Haki, one that completely broke away from the chakra system, could never be concealed from Orochimaru, the Ninja World's greatest scientific madman.

Qian Ye's thoughts spun, and he immediately shifted the blame elsewhere.

"I don't know either." Qian Ye put on a bewildered expression. "The White Snake Sage's pressure was too overwhelming. I felt like I was about to die. There was only one thought in my head: I absolutely couldn't kneel."

"Then my head buzzed, like something exploded inside it, and that power came out right after."

Qian Ye spread his hands.

"Sensei, what kind of ninjutsu was that? Something you can use without hand signs?"

Orochimaru stared into Qian Ye's eyes, trying to find signs of deception.

But Qian Ye's expression was far too natural.

Besides, cases of potential erupting at the brink of death were not unheard of in the Ninja World.

"It wasn't ninjutsu." Orochimaru withdrew his gaze and leaned back in his chair. "It was more like an extremely rare spiritual secret technique. Or rather, a manifestation of your own soul power."

Orochimaru licked his lips, a trace of fanaticism flashing through his eyes.

"Qian Ye, your body has even more research value than I imagined."

Qian Ye's scalp went numb.

Damn it, this old schemer was thinking about dissecting him again.

"Sensei, can we talk about something serious?" Qian Ye hurriedly changed the subject and played his trump card. "I got Dragon's Lair's contract. The S-rank ninjutsu from the Book of Seals that you promised me—when are you going to make good on it?"

Orochimaru smiled.

"I, Orochimaru, always keep my word."

Qian Ye remained sprawled in his chair as he watched Orochimaru open a drawer, take out a thin scroll, and toss it onto the desk.

The scroll was untied and simply spread open carelessly.

Qian Ye leaned over and gave it a glance, his breathing immediately quickening.

Rows upon rows of ninjutsu names were densely written across it.

Leaf Style Swordsmanship: Secret Technique.

Four Symbols Seal.

Eight Gates.

Impure World Reincarnation.

Flying Thunder God Technique.

This was no scroll. It was practically a mountain of gold!

Qian Ye felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest. His fingers brushed the edge of the scroll, his palms covered in sweat.

A copied catalog of the Book of Seals!

As the frontline's supreme commander and the Third Hokage's favored disciple, it was perfectly normal for Orochimaru to possess something like this.

"Choose." Orochimaru leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped beneath his chin. "As promised, so long as it's listed here, I can get you the original scroll for any S-rank ninjutsu."

Qian Ye swallowed, his gaze locked onto one name among them.

"Flying Thunder God Technique!" Qian Ye pointed at the name without the slightest hesitation. "Sensei, I want this one!"

This was a divine technique for staying alive!

Minato Namikaze had slaughtered his way through Iwagakure on the battlefield with this technique, earning the fearsome name of the Yellow Flash.

If he could not win, he could run. He could run faster than anyone, and nobody could catch him.

It was the ultimate cheat tailor-made for someone as afraid of dying as him!

Orochimaru looked at the name Qian Ye was pointing to without so much as twitching an eyebrow.

"Fine." Orochimaru's tone was flat.

Qian Ye was ecstatic and had just been about to flatter him when Orochimaru's next words poured a bucket of cold water over him.

"I can have the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll delivered to you tomorrow."

"But I need to remind you of something."