"Senior Orochimaru, I learned a lot about ancient history from the Sage Slug. For example, before the Ninshu was founded and the Sage of Six Paths spread Chakra throughout the Ninja World, there were all kinds of powerful creatures in this world. They also had different ways of using Natural Energy. For example, the sages of the Three Great Sage Regions now existed in the Ninja World from that period."
"They can use Natural Energy, and humans can also use Natural Energy in their own ways."
Orochimaru's breathing became slightly rapid.
"Could this be the method of utilizing Natural Energy by humans in ancient times, before Chakra was even born, that you found, Meikyō- kun? Yes, look at all the techniques that come with it. They are more suitable for fighting those strange-looking monsters and demons than for fighting humans! Meikyō -kun, you have really given me a big surprise!"
Orochimaru became increasingly fond of the scroll in his hand.
He felt that the Breathing Technique described here were highly compatible with his own.
However, Orochimaru forced himself to calm down.
"Meikyō -kun, I desperately need this Breathing Technique, so what price do you expect me to pay for giving it to you?"
Orochimaru remembered that, in addition to his two research projects, he also needed to agree to a request from Uchiha Meikyō that would not threaten his life.
Now, Uchiha Meikyō has presented something that Orochimaru cannot refuse, making him eager to know what Uchiha Meikyō's purpose is.
"Oh dear, it would be too much for Senior Orochimaru to think of me as such a profit-driven person. I was merely pointing out another path to immortality for you, Senior Orochimaru, who is also pursuing the path to eternal life, a path that can lead to great power. Because only you in this world can do everything I want to do."
"Then, I'll just take this opportunity to increase my leverage for what I'll ask Senior Orochimaru to do in the future, so that things can develop in the direction I want."
Orochimaru suddenly laughed.
As long as Uchiha Meikyō has his own needs, everything can be resolved.
And...
"Meikyō -kun, I think I probably already know what you want."
Orochimaru used his long tongue to roll up the scroll of Serpent Breathing and then swallowed it.
"Now you possess almost the strongest strength in the Ninja World, and you have more than one path to immortality. So when you have power and Eternity life in your hands, I suppose your only pursuit, besides greater power, is power, right, Meikyō -kun?"
Seeing Meikyō accept Orochimaru Serpent Breathing technique, Meikyō knew that he had already agreed.
"I like talking to smart people, and Senior Orochimaru is indeed the smartest of the smart. He has figured out the truth almost completely with just such a small amount of information."
A faint smile appeared on Meikyō's face.
"Hehe, Meikyō- jun, I'm also curious to know whether your strong gust of wind can actually move the windmill of this world."
"Very well, Senior Orochimaru, let's get back to the main topic."
Meikyō placed his hands on the table and spoke to Orochimaru.
"If I'm not mistaken, Meikyō- kun wants to combine Breathing Technique with Sage Mode to see if he can achieve a lifespan exceeding a thousand years, just like the immortals of the Three Great Sage Regions, right? If the research on demons doesn't make much progress, this is indeed a good approach. At that time, we will also have more than a thousand years to study demon blood or find other methods."
Meikyō couldn't help but applaud Orochimaru.
"I really admire Senior Orochimaru more and more. Just as you said, this is my plan. The lifespan limit of snakes is no more than forty years, the average lifespan of Toad is only ten years, Katsuyu are even shorter, only three years. But the immortals of the Three Great Sage Regions have broken through the limits of lifespan and obtained lifespans of more than a thousand years."
"But according to the Sage Slug, even geniuses like the Sage of Six Paths or the First Hokage, who learned Senjutsu, still couldn't achieve Eternity life. Furthermore, considering that humans undergo varying degrees of mutation when entering Sage Mode, even a perfect Sage Mode would have issues like eye shadow, it's easy to draw a conclusion."
"That is, Toad can cultivate in the way of Toad and gain a lifespan of a thousand years, Katsuyu can cultivate in the way of Katsuyu and also gain a lifespan of a thousand years. But if a human uses the methods of Toad or Katsuyu to cultivate, even if he can gain great power, he will not be able to break through the limits of his own species."
Orochimaru nodded knowingly.
"It seems that Lord Meikyō wants to join forces with me to develop Senjutsu suitable for human cultivation? It's a very creative idea, and it looks quite feasible."
"Good."
Meikyō snapped his fingers and, under Orochimaru's sullen gaze, produced another scroll of Serpent Breathing.
"I'm sorry, Senior Orochimaru, the scroll of Serpent Breathing that you just gave me only contained the first half of the content. After all, although I know there's a high probability that you'll agree to continue cooperating with me, I don't want it to go down the drain like this."
Orochimaru rolled his Byakugan at Meikyō, took the new scroll of Serpent Breathing, and said:
"You have so many hidden thoughts in your mind that you're not like Tsunade's disciple at all; you're more like Teacher Hiruzen."
Meikyō showed no embarrassment whatsoever, and continued:
"Breathing Technique can absorb Natural Energy from the air and transform it into the five elements of wind, thunder, water, fire, and earth, just like Chakra, for human use. The Natural Energy obtained through breathing is the most suitable Natural Energy for humans. However, Breathing Technique are still relatively primitive in their use of Natural Energy, far less advanced than the Senjutsu of the Three Great Sage Regions."
"I hope that Senior Orochimaru can also study the Senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave. Then we can try to obtain the Senjutsu data of Mount Myōboku from Minato and Jiraiya- senpai. We can compare the three and discard the differences, because these are inevitably due to the differences between the Senjutsu themselves."
"Through this method, we can obtain the most core part of Senjutsu, then try to find out the underlying principles, combine them with Breathing Technique, and then create a cultivation method that is truly suitable for humans!"
Orochimaru replied:
"That sounds like a feasible idea. It wouldn't be difficult to obtain a portion of the Senjutsu Mount Myōboku Minato and Jiraiya, but Ryūchi Cave..."
Orochimaru's face showed a hint of contemplation.
"Even with the Serpent Breathing, I still need to plan this carefully. But Meikyō can rest assured that you can leave this to me. Also, there is something I would like to ask Meikyō to take a look at. It is my latest research result."
Following Orochimaru's footsteps, Meikyō accompanied him to the deepest part of this temporary laboratory.
"What is this thing? It looks... disgusting."
Through the transparent glass tank, Meikyō saw a lump of flesh, taller than a person, soaking in some unknown solution.
The lump of flesh rose and fell in the solution, constantly wriggling its red and white flesh, on which some fine branches grew, only to wither away quickly.
But whenever a branch dies, a new branch will grow.
"Hehe, this is a product that I created by fusing the blood of a demon with the First Hokage's Cells."
Orochimaru's eyes revealed the fanaticism unique to mad scientists.
"The cells of the First Hokage, like the cells of the demon, possess an extremely domineering aggressiveness. No matter what kind of creature they are injected into, the final result is inevitable. If the First Hokage's Cells are transplanted and injected, the person will become woody and die. If they are injected with the blood of the demon, the person will eventually become a demon."
"So, I combined these two things with super self-healing and regeneration abilities and finally cultivated this thing. The two types of cells have achieved a balance to some extent. The lignification phenomenon still exists, but it is suppressed by the demonization phenomenon. Although it still fears sunlight, it can reduce the damage of sunlight to itself when it is in a lignified state after being demonized. The fusion of the two has resulted in a strange evolution!"
Meikyō remained silent for a moment before speaking:
"Senior Orochimaru, this thing... shouldn't cause any accidents, right? Like, reviving a demon with the power of the First Hokage who isn't afraid of sunlight or something..."
"Meikyō, you are worrying too much."
Orochimaru shook his head.
"We can experiment, but while being radical when necessary, we must also take restrictive measures. For example, I will strictly limit the energy it can absorb from the outside world. As long as we do this, it will never grow to the point where it can break free from its constraints!"
"Since Senior Orochimaru has said so, there shouldn't be any problem. However, I still suggest sealing this thing away when it's not in the experimental phase, to add an extra layer of security."
"I will, Meikyō- kun."
The negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure proceeded smoothly under the direction of Mitokado Homura —even though, in the eyes of Meikyō and Orochimaru, the outcome of the negotiations was far from commensurate with the results they had achieved.
This was because the Third Hokage demanded that Mitokado Homura resolve the negotiations with Kumogakure as soon as possible in order to free up Konoha's forces, and ideally, also request Kumogakure to launch an attack on Iwagakure together.
The Third Raikage died in a battle with Iwagakure, even though the incident was caused by Kumogakure breaking their agreement with Iwagakure and launching a sneak attack.
But with the death of the Shadow, Kumogakure will definitely make Iwagakure pay the price.
Even though their overall strength has declined significantly compared to before, there is still Konoha to bear most of the pressure on Iwagakure!
However, although the Kumogakure took a tough stance, Orochimaru or Uchiha Meikyō were often present during the negotiations.
The role of these two during the negotiations was to maintain a strong stance, threatening to send another trip to Kumogakure if the other party continued to cause trouble. This ensured that Konoha, while not gaining much, at least didn't suffer any major losses.
According to the agreement reached between the two parties, apart from paying Konoha a small amount of war reparations and opening up some of the previously restricted goods for trade, Kumogakure did not suffer any major losses.
The division of spheres of influence between the two sides has been restored to the state before the start of the Shinobi World War. As a buffer zone between the two major powers, the southern Land of Hot Water belongs to the sphere of influence of Konoha, while the more northern Land of Frost is assigned to the sphere of influence of Kumogakure. When not on a mission, ninjas from both sides are not allowed to cross the border at will.
"Then, Senior Orochimaru, we shall part ways here. Don't forget our promise."
At the camp gate, Meikyō extended his hand and shook hands with Orochimaru, speaking softly.
"Don't worry, Meikyō- kun, I'm a man who keeps his promises the most."
Orochimaru chuckled and set off with his subordinates.
He was going to take a group of people to the Mist Village Front to fight against the Kirigakure invasion together with Jiraiya.
With the abilities of the two Sannin, Konoha's eastern territory, while not entirely secure, is certainly as stable as a mountain.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Meikyō led another group of Konoha's elite troops westward to reinforce the Stone Village battlefield.
With Dan Katō, Tsunade, Minato Namikaze, and Uchiha Meikyō, Konoha has gathered almost half of its top fighting force here, all in order to quickly eliminate the troublesome Iwagakure!
When Meikyō set off, Uchiha Fugaku, also driven by a desire for revenge, led a group of elite Uchiha to the Stone Village battlefield.
It's worth mentioning that he also brought his young son, Uchiha Itachi, with him this time.
"Meikyō, and Fugaku- kun, you've finally arrived!"
In the Command Room, Dan Katō looked at Uchiha Fugaku and his beloved disciple who had arrived, and couldn't help but smile.
The main reason was the arrival of his apprentice.
"I still hear about what you and Orochimaru have been doing over there, even here in the Land of Grass. Now, the reputation of your Meikyō the Body Flicker is probably even greater than that of us Sannin. But you brat, you really are just as audacious as Orochimaru."
Tsunade patted Meikyō on the shoulder, looking on with a sigh.
The little kid from eleven years ago has now grown into one of the strongest Ninja World, and his appearance has become just like his teacher, Dan Katō, tall and handsome.
Based on the intelligence he had received before, his disciple was capable of single-handedly fighting against the A and B Combination of the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, so his strength must already be above that of his teacher.
"Ahaha, Teacher Tsunade, you flatter me. It's just a little bit of empty fame, nothing to mention."
Meikyō was overjoyed to see her two teachers whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
"This is no empty reputation, Meikyō- jun. Your performance outside has greatly enhanced the family's prestige. However, as the clan leader, I may not be able to surpass you this time."
Uchiha Fugaku chimed in from the side.