Foundation

When Aoba gave that answer, Orochimaru's eyes lit up. He had not expected that the secret of the Rinnegan had been right before his eyes.

"I imagine there must be some special condition involved, right? After all, no pair of Rinnegan has appeared among the Uchiha in all these years. Wait a moment—Sharingan, Uchiha. Are you saying that the hidden leader of the Akatsuki is an Uchiha?"

"No, I don't know. I can only say that, in theory, that is the case."

"Interesting. I am beginning to feel that this Shinobi World is far more interesting than I imagined. Aoba-kun, I have your intelligence to thank for that. Tell me, what do you want in exchange for this information?"

Aoba pondered briefly before speaking.

"I need a sample of the First Hokage's cells. And a set of equipment. Equipment for human experiments."

The First Hokage's cells were practically a bug-level cheat in the world of Naruto. The only problem was that very few people could withstand such a cheat.

Konoha had experimented for so many years, yet only Yamato had succeeded. Danzo needed ten Sharingan just to suppress a single arm. All of this showed that the First Hokage's cells were an extremely dangerous thing.

Orochimaru had once been obsessed with the First Hokage's cells as well. But after discovering that he simply could not withstand them, he had ultimately turned to the Sharingan. Now that Aoba had brought them up, Orochimaru could not help but think of many things.

"Could it be that Aoba-kun has found a safe method of transplanting the First Hokage's cells?"

"If that were the case, I would not need to trade with Orochimaru-sama. Konoha is conducting the same experiments right now."

"Then do you know what transplanting the First Hokage's cells entails?"

"Of course I do. But Orochimaru-sama, have you forgotten something?"

"What?"

"I am only a civilian ninja. I have no Hokage as a teacher, no inherited clan secret techniques, no Kekkei Genkai. In this world, no matter how hard I work, my upper limit is limited.

For all these years, not a single day has passed without me training diligently and extracting chakra. Yet my total chakra reserves are not even one-tenth of Orochimaru-sama's. That is the sorrow of us civilian ninjas.

By a fortunate coincidence, I obtained this intelligence. And now, what I need to do is turn that intelligence into my own strength."

"I see. Aoba-kun is someone who pursues power as well. I am increasingly convinced that you should come to my side. Aoba-kun, my place is where you can best display your talents."

"I am very grateful for Orochimaru-sama's esteem. I will seriously consider that option."

"That is good. I have high hopes for you, Aoba."

"Then let this transaction end here, Orochimaru-sama. You cannot stay here for too long either. There may be ANBU surveillance around my house."

"Hehe, the Third is still the same as ever. Then that will be all. I will have what you need delivered later."

After Orochimaru finished speaking, his entire body transformed directly into a mass of sludge. That white snake also turned into white smoke and vanished.

Aoba let out a slight sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Every transaction with Orochimaru was a mental confrontation. He knew that if he exposed even the slightest flaw, Orochimaru would devour him completely.

With every transaction, he revealed a great deal of genuine and useful intelligence. But it was never complete. This was both to prevent Orochimaru from reneging on the deal and to preserve the value of his intelligence.

Orochimaru also knew very well that Aoba had not revealed everything. But each time, he gained something tangible, barely enough to keep himself from making a move.

But such peaceful transactions would not last long. Aoba needed too many things, while Orochimaru's appetite would only grow larger and larger. One day, Orochimaru would completely turn hostile and try to obtain all the information in Aoba's mind in one go.

Before that day came, Aoba needed to ensure that he grew strong enough to speak with Orochimaru as an equal, or even suppress him.

To that end, he had formulated a series of plans for himself.

The cultivation of Senjutsu ranked first. His affinity for Natural Energy had already reached an extremely high level. After absorbing a certain amount of Natural Energy, he could barely feel any stiffness.

At this rate, he felt that in another two months, he would be able to make an initial attempt at completing his own Sage Mode.

Once he completed his Sage Mode training, his strength would immediately rise to an entirely new level. By then, he would be at least at the level between an Elite Jonin and Kage Level.

The reason he could not reach Kage Level was, first, that Aoba's total chakra reserves were too low. Sage Mode did not directly use Natural Energy. At least in its early stages, it used a mixture of Natural Energy, chakra, and spiritual energy.

The addition of Natural Energy was equivalent to increasing a portion of one's chakra while also boosting the power of ninjutsu. But if one's total chakra reserves were too low, that increase was ultimately limited.

It was a classic barrel theory. Chakra was the shortest plank in Aoba's barrel. As long as this problem remained unresolved, his upper limit would always be limited.

The solution Aoba had thought of was to transplant Hashirama's cells. However, the exact procedure would require time and a great many experiments.

Second, Aoba had another weakness: as a ninja of civilian origin, his reserves in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu were far too lacking.

He had transmigrated during his time at the Ninja Academy. But as everyone knew, Konoha's Ninja Academy taught only the Three Basic Techniques. Although he had studied desperately and achieved outstanding grades in every theory class, it had still been of little use.

Other than the Three Basic Techniques, he had only inherited a D-rank ninjutsu called Wind Release: Wind Sickle from his deceased parents.

That was right. Other than the Three Basic Techniques, that was the only ninjutsu he knew. Based on that Wind Release ninjutsu, he had developed the Nintaijutsu known as Vacuum Flash.

Afterward, he had fought Kumogakure head-on at the border for three years. He had gradually developed other complementary Nintaijutsu as well, along with Railgun as his finishing move.

But that was all. He knew some medical ninjutsu, which he had learned while serving as Orochimaru's experimental assistant. Including the Mystical Palm Technique, those were all the combat methods he had mastered.

Look at Kakashi in the original work—he knew over a thousand kinds of ninjutsu. Jiraiya and Itachi Uchiha possessed all manner of strange ninjutsu and divine weapons, appearing one after another. Those were a ninja's foundation, and also the limit of a ninja's potential.

Aoba had none of that. Therefore, his first goal was to increase his total chakra reserves.

His second goal was to accumulate and build up his own foundation.