For Orochimaru, who was devoted to pushing experiments to their absolute limit, having no way to proceed was undoubtedly the most despairing and suffocating feeling.
Already utterly obsessed with the Sharingan, he had wanted to do everything in his power to personally cultivate a pair of Rinnegan, proving his talent and fulfilling his old obsession, shattering the word "delusion" with his achievements.
Now, it was all nothing but wishful thinking. The Mangekyō was the limit of these eyes, and that was under the assumption that he fully believed Boruto could accomplish it.
As Orochimaru's eyes instantly lost their light, the blow he had suffered was undoubtedly devastating.
"Father, are you all right?" Mitsuki asked with concern.
Orochimaru raised a hand to indicate that he was fine. Though he had lost his former ambition, his pursuit of the truth would continue as long as his brain had not completely stopped functioning.
Boruto really could not stand watching anymore. Covering his face, he asked, "Say, your genetic research is top-notch. Is there any way to bind the bloodlines of two people and make them close relatives?"
"That would be effortless for me. If we began cultivating one now, I would only need the other person's blood to produce a new embryo. In other words, genetic cloning technology."
Orochimaru spoke confidently, then suddenly realized Boruto was implying something else.
Seeing hope rekindle in Orochimaru's eyes, Boruto stopped holding back and voiced his idea. "In today's Shinobi World, aside from Sasuke Uchiha, who has already developed the Sharingan to its limit, isn't there someone else who has only just begun?"
Orochimaru immediately showed a contemplative expression. Then Mitsuki's voice sounded beside him. "Sarada Uchiha, our classmate. I remember she is Sasuke Uchiha's daughter."
With pure Uchiha blood and as the daughter of Sasuke, the second strongest in the Shinobi World, there was no reason she could not develop her Sharingan to the Mangekyō level.
Boruto smiled. "If you want, I can go get a drop of Sarada's blood right now."
Upon hearing that, Orochimaru's emotions finally settled completely. Knowing his experiment still had a chance of succeeding, he was no longer in such a hurry. After all, only a good mindset could ensure every experiment was completed properly.
"Boruto-kun, thank you for giving me the chance to achieve my lifelong goal. From this point onward, I will certainly do my utmost to assist your plans," Orochimaru said sincerely.
"Yeah, then let's first talk about establishing the organization. Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, I already exposed my identity as the leader of the Moon Organization," Boruto said.
"So what kind of organization do you want? An intelligence organization, or a dangerous organization like the Akatsuki?"
Boruto said, "Both. Neither can be missing."
"That is not an easy standard to meet. Ten years ago, perhaps we could have expanded the organization by recruiting rogue ninja. But this is now an era of peaceful development. It will be difficult to find subordinates that exceptional."
Orochimaru explained the current reality to Boruto.
"Well, it does not matter if the organization has fewer members. According to my plan, they only need to help me capture Tailed Beasts and cause some trouble for the current Shinobi World."
"Our objective is?"
"Assist me in becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, produce a Chakra Fruit, and gain an immortal body. These might only be the minimum requirements for resisting the Ōtsutsuki." Boruto's face was solemn.
"That truly is no small ambition."
Orochimaru praised him. There was no fear in his eyes; instead, he began looking forward to seeing just how high Boruto would rise once he shed his immaturity and fully spread his wings.
"Then the top priority is recruiting members and capturing Tailed Beasts?"
"No. First, we decide on the uniforms."
Orochimaru: ...?!
"Think about it. The Akatsuki members had an obvious style. Just seeing their signature clothing made people tremble. We need that kind of presence too!!"
Orochimaru: The topic was serious a second ago. How did it suddenly go off track?
"Can you do it?"
"Depends on the style you want. I have certain connections with underground auction houses, so I can have clothing specially made," Orochimaru said helplessly.
Boruto had originally wanted something like this: a blue dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right in front, vermilion bird above and black tortoise below, with nine dragons pulling a coffin on the back—or perhaps a Tang Monk Plus tattoo!
After thinking about it, it felt a little too much like some punk from the real world, so he shook his head and discarded the idea.
"How about a moon waxing from crescent to full on the back, decorated with flowing golden patterns? The front can be embellished with spells, preferably the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. It would scare ninja to death just looking at it."
Boruto imagined it aloud.
Orochimaru carefully noted down Boruto's requirements while asking about some details. "For example, the color of the cloaks, and the details of the patterns."
"As usual, use traditional black robes. The patterns should be a surging dark gold, preferably one that glows after Chakra is infused into it."
Orochimaru: ...
"What about masks? Mitsuki reported that you wore one on the day you acted," Orochimaru asked attentively.
Boruto had originally wanted some kind of dragon or phoenix head, but that did not quite fit the style of Naruto. So maybe a dog head? Or that dog-head emoji from emojiall. The QQ dog-head emoji.
After a series of internal debates, Boruto said, "A fox-shaped mask will do. Preferably with a cruel smile on it."
"The black robes will be the standard decoration, but should we make separate plans for the other members' masks?" Orochimaru was meticulous.
Boruto found it troublesome and said, "Just copy a few of the Uzumaki Clan's Dead Demon Consuming Seal masks."
Orochimaru: ...
"Oh, right. Where exactly is Ryūchi Cave, that Senjutsu land? I will pay it a visit someday."
Hearing that, Orochimaru advised him, "Have you not already mastered the Senjutsu of Mount Myōboku? Being too greedy will instead affect the flow of Chakra within your body and produce impurities."
"Well, I want to try and see what level of power the three kinds of sage power will become when they finally merge."
Orochimaru sighed. As expected of Boruto, his way of thinking was unconventional. But could something as dangerous as fusing three kinds of sage power really work?
"Also, I discovered that I can obtain other Kekkei Genkai by consuming blood and steal other people's Kekkei Genkai. So if we recruit members in the future, make sure to add a mission to collect people's blood."
Orochimaru nodded, indicating that he understood.
And so, this meeting with the snake came to a satisfactory end.
Time returned to the present. More than ten days had passed since the Nue incident, and according to the original story, events had probably reached the point where Sarada went looking for her father.
As an aside, the mission to obtain a drop of Sarada's blood had already been completed on the second day after Boruto returned home.
As usual, Boruto used a Shadow Clone to attend school in his place, while his real body arrived at a coastline thousands of miles from the Land of Fire, where barren islands scattered across the sea lay upon the ocean's surface.
Boruto had only one purpose in coming here: to test what level his Wood Release could reach!
The first thing he tried was: Sage Art: Wood Release: Flower Tree World Advent!
With Boruto's current strength, the forest he created could completely cover a small island in trees.
He then tested the Wood Human Technique, Top Transformed Buddha, and the key technique of this trip, the Bright Divine Gate!
After that entire sequence, he successfully sank the island. From then on, there was one less island in the ocean.
On the way back, Boruto flew through the air, considering his next move. He still remembered what Toneri had told him: there was another Tenseigan somewhere in the Shinobi World!
Perhaps because he did not possess both pairs of eyes, despite having obtained the Tenseigan some time ago, he had yet to sense the existence of another Tenseigan in the Shinobi World.
There were also White Zetsu test subjects and Sarada's clones. They likewise could not solve the core problem of White Zetsu being unable to withstand the Mangekyō. So, should he get Orochimaru some of Toneri's genes? Toneri had pure Ōtsutsuki blood!
Before you continue