Before Orochimaru could respond to Shin Uchiha's words, Guren, standing beside him, could no longer hold back. She stepped forward, pointed the red crystal sword in her hand at Shin, and said sternly:
"Shin Uchiha, even if you are the Uchiha Clan's leader, I will never allow you to disrespect Lord Orochimaru..."
Just as Guren was about to say more, Shin Uchiha casually glanced at her, freezing her entire body in place. Even the expression on her face froze.
After immobilizing Guren with a single glance, a smile suddenly appeared on Shin Uchiha's face, and he looked at Orochimaru with interest:
"Orochimaru, you always manage to collect such a motley assortment of subordinates. This little one must have the Crystal Release kekkei genkai, right? That's quite rare."
Orochimaru was not at all surprised by what had happened to Guren, and his expression remained unchanged. Upon hearing Shin Uchiha's words, he gave a sinister chuckle:
"You should know, Shin, that I enjoy researching such things. Naturally, I've collected a few."
At that point, Orochimaru seemed to remember something and continued:
"Come to think of it, you seem to have a few subordinates with rare kekkei genkai yourself, Shin. If you're interested in Guren's Crystal Release, I'll give her to you as a greeting gift."
Hearing Orochimaru's offer, Shin Uchiha shook his head and declined:
"Never mind. I'm not interested in Crystal Release."
Shin Uchiha knew a little about Crystal Release.
For Shin Uchiha as he was now, this kekkei genkai was simply too impractical. Aside from looking pretty, it was utterly useless.
Besides, Shin Uchiha was not a human-experimentation fanatic like Orochimaru, who wanted to study every kekkei genkai he encountered. Naturally, he refused Orochimaru's greeting gift.
Seeing Shin Uchiha refuse without hesitation, a trace of regret appeared on Orochimaru's face.