A straightforward and blunt threat, but quite effective.
Kimimaro's face immediately turned cold, his emotions clearly flustered.
This meant he'd been hit where it hurt, and was now throwing a helpless tantrum.
Orochimaru, of course, noticed this and a slight smile appeared on his face. "So there are indeed people among your clan who know this kind of information."
While the Land of Iron wasn't far from the Village Hidden in the Rain, he certainly wasn't going to make a trip there now. If something could be resolved here, it should be resolved here.
Upon hearing this, Kimimaro's face grew even colder, his brow furrowed deeply. "Are you testing me?"
He wouldn't be in a good mood after realizing he'd been tricked, especially by such a subtle method.
"Not exactly. If you stubbornly refused to speak, the threat I just made would have become reality."
The smile on Orochimaru's face widened, his lips curling slightly.
"I'm so much stronger than you, in both power and methods. Why would you think you could hide anything from me? Even if you die, I can still pull your soul back from the Pure Land to question you..."
Though his words were a threat, his tone remained as gentle as before, without much fluctuation, simply stating the reality of the situation.
"In this situation, rather than trying to hide it, it's better to deceive and fabricate information that's hard to verify... at least to buy some time."
Orochimaru chuckled meaningfully as he spoke, his gaze landing on Kimimaro, "What do you say, want to try? You don't seem like someone who's good at lying... but, unexpected deception from such a person can be very powerful."
Kimimaro remained silent, merely staring straight ahead with a cold expression.
"...This attitude, does it mean you think you're incapable of lying, or that buying time is fundamentally unnecessary?"
Orochimaru stroked his chin, his golden eyes seeming to pierce into one's heart. "I think it's the latter... Indeed, with your strength, and the strength of your clan, playing such a petty trick would only provoke my anger and be utterly useless..."
He then glanced Kimimaro up and down, chuckling. "I see, your relationship with that Six Paths level expert isn't so close that he would come to save you."
"Or perhaps, your silence now is largely out of concern that if information leaks, that person will seek revenge..."
"Interesting..."
Orochimaru listed it out on his fingers, stating to himself,
"For some reason, you came into contact with a Six Paths level expert. He did something to you, whether good or bad. You don't think you have a good relationship with him, and even when facing a life threat, you're still worried that if you leak information, it might bring about retaliation from that person onto your clan..."
"That's strange, truly strange. If it's for the sake of your clan, speaking out now would be the best choice, as in reality, my malice would come before that person's..."
Orochimaru glanced at Kimimaro. "Either way, your clan faces destruction, yet you choose to endure... It seems the Land of Iron doesn't hold much information, and the core details are with you... You're gambling that after I get scraps of information from the Land of Iron, I won't take my anger out on the Kaguya clan, and that expert won't attack because of it either."…
"It really is difficult for you, to think of such a method."
A Six Paths level expert, no matter which one, was an undeniable behemoth to the Kaguya clan, capable of annihilation with a mere gesture. So, if he wanted to know the truth, not speaking would lead to their destruction, and if Kimimaro spoke out, and it was revealed to have come from him, it would also lead to the Kaguya clan's ruin.
The only chance of survival was to rely on the mercy of both parties.
What was mercy?
Mercy would be Orochimaru going to the Land of Iron, interrogating the Kaguya clan, and them being extremely cooperative, saying as much as they could.
Mercy would be the mysterious expert, knowing Orochimaru was looking for him and that the Kaguya clan knew little, with Kimimaro committing suicide while Orochimaru was distracted heading to the Land of Iron, leaving no clues that would help Orochimaru find him.
He wouldn't need to make a move himself and risk revealing more traces.
Of course, this mercy would be cruel to Kimimaro himself, as he would have to successfully commit suicide while Orochimaru's attention was diverted to the Land of Iron.
"..." Kimimaro's eyes flickered, his face looking quite grim.
He hadn't said anything yet.
But the other party had only listed a few possibilities, and then, based on his reactions, had systematically ruled them out, deducing a large amount of crucial information and even grasping his thoughts.
This was utterly astonishing. Ordinarily, wouldn't a ninja of this level use genjutsu, or more brutal torture methods, to extract information?
"You are excellent and decisive, to have thought of such a method to buy your clan a slim chance of survival in such a short amount of time..."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly. "Then you should also consider that once this method is guessed by me, it will be completely ineffective."
"In comparison, admitting everything to gain my protection has a higher probability of survival."
In front of him, Kimimaro would have no chance of succeeding in suicide. In fact, he could even deliberately leak information to lure that Six Paths level expert to destroy the Kaguya clan.
"Why do you want to find that guy?"
Kimimaro couldn't understand, but he was even more baffled by the other party's obsession with that mysterious person. Normally, there wouldn't be any good outcome from their meeting, at least a major battle would ensue.
"I can answer that question for you, but before that, why don't you tell me what happened?"
Orochimaru smiled, not being overbearing even after gaining such a significant advantage in the recent exchange.
"..." At this point, continuing to maintain a hard stance would only force the other party to use more forceful methods. This time, Kimimaro hesitated no longer and confessed everything that had happened to him.
"Mizunagi... Haku, vessel, innate affinity with natural energy... So that's what it is."
A look of understanding flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.
Although humans in the ninja world, in general, couldn't compare to the Otsutsuki clan, some exceptionally gifted individuals happened to be compatible with them.
The Sage of Six Paths brothers only received a small portion of Kaguya's chakra, but with the amplification of natural energy, they could fight and wear down such powerful beings, as evidenced by Madara.
However, compared to when Otsutsuki Kaguya had complete control over the ninja world and could openly search for those with superior talent, Isshiki's situation was much more dire.
It took a considerable amount of time to recover from his severe injuries, and screening each individual was also quite energy-consuming. It was only at this period that a suitable vessel was found.
"To make Isshiki take notice, I wonder what kind of qualities that Mizunagi Haku possesses."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly. "However, although the 'Karma' is powerful, it has side effects similar to Edo Tensei."
Generally speaking, after reincarnation, a long period is required for the spirit to merge with the body, during which full strength cannot be exerted.
During this period of weakness, as long as Otsutsuki Isshiki's mind was intact, he would surely guard himself extremely closely and leave no trace behind.
In other words, after Otsutsuki Isshiki's reincarnation plan, unless he returned to his peak, there would be no possibility of finding him…
"This in itself isn't too bad, is it?"
The Genie Lamp poked his head from behind and chuckled. "With your current rate of improvement, the future Isshiki might not pose much of a threat."
A thousand years ago, Otsutsuki Kaguya could defeat Isshiki even before consuming the Chakra fruit. Even if there was an element of surprise, it at least proved the gap between them wasn't too great.
And Orochimaru had evolved step by step, making his progress very solid, so there was no need to worry about his combat power.
"To just let him be... this kind of option is only viable if it takes years or decades for him to recover his full strength."
Orochimaru shook his head. "What if it takes months? Weeks? Letting your guard down now is giving him an opportunity."
He knew himself best. Although he had reached the Six Paths level now and could easily defeat a powerful opponent like Nagato, he still had limited mastery of Six Paths level power and was still exploring it. Currently, his strongest ability remained Senjutsu.
But there was no guarantee that the other party wouldn't possess some hidden technique that could injure him, or cause irreparable damage.
Orochimaru wouldn't be careless and would eliminate any potential threat.
"But how will you find him?"
The Genie Lamp tilted his head, confused. "After all this time, any traces would have long since vanished."
Orochimaru knew this, of course, but he shook his head at this moment, a smile appearing on his face. "I don't need to find him."
His gaze fell on Kimimaro. "There are some things that require your cooperation."
Kimimaro said solemnly, "You still haven't answered my question. What is your purpose in looking for that guy?"
"I'll answer that question later. It's for your own good too."
Orochimaru looked at Kimimaro, a curve of his lips. "If it's too late, your friend might disappear from this world completely."
With that, he briefly explained the effect of 'Karma,' saying, "This is more thorough than direct killing; it devours everything, including the soul."…
Kimimaro's expression immediately became extremely grim. He abruptly raised his head and said with deep seriousness, "How do you want me to help you?"
"This matter is very simple..."
Orochimaru smiled.
...
About thirty miles outside the Village Hidden in the Rain, on a swampy marsh.
Orochimaru looked at Nagato beside him and smiled. "This is my opponent. You don't need to make a move. I only asked you to come because the location is currently within the Village Hidden in the Rain, and I wanted to inform you."
He said that, but he knew the other party wouldn't be able to resist.
Compared to himself, how could Nagato remain a mere bystander when a stranger, an Otsutsuki, suddenly appeared in the ninja world?
As expected, Nagato merely said coldly, "I will decide what I need to do for myself."
Having his life entangled with various lies in the past, he wouldn't completely believe Orochimaru's original explanation.
Now, the character in the story, an Otsutsuki, was about to appear before him. Whether he truly posed a threat to the ninja world was something he had to verify himself.
"As you wish."
Orochimaru replied with a smile, then turned his attention to Kimimaro, his expression becoming more serious. "Are you ready? It might be a little painful shortly."
Kimimaro merely lay on a stone bed and nodded slightly.
Pain was commonplace for the Kaguya clan, especially for ninjas who had awakened the Shikotsumaku.
The pain that went deep into the bone was not a metaphor but a factual description.
"Very good."
Orochimaru nodded slightly, his fingers transforming into four sharp spikes, piercing flesh to directly touch the seal existing on the bone.
"Don't dissipate your chakra randomly; there are risks involved..."
...
In a hidden underground palace somewhere in the ninja world.
A tall man wearing a white haori sat on a stone throne, leaning his hand on his chin, listening to the report from the person below.
"...The experiment subject the Master brought back this time is of excellent quality. Experiments using its clones were all successful at a high level..."
The middle-aged man wearing glasses said slowly, "Perhaps this time you can directly attempt reincarnation."
"...It's not time yet. More preparations are needed."
Jigen said, looking at his capable subordinate, and added, "But it won't take much time. After I successfully reincarnate, your daughter will also return to the living world from the Pure Land, fully resurrected."
"If you can't wait, you can go and prepare her belongings now..."
Before the word 'body' was even finished, Jigen suddenly felt a powerful pulling force, and he vanished from the stone throne.
"Jigen, what is this..."
The middle-aged man's brow furrowed, and his eyes revealed deep shock. If he hadn't seen incorrectly just now, Jigen had been forcibly taken away by some means.
"This is outrageous. Who could possibly do such a thing?"
...
On the marsh, under the watchful eyes of the three individuals, a black-haired man in white samurai attire suddenly appeared out of thin air, his feet hovering above the muddy water.
Despite suddenly experiencing such a drastic event, his expression remained unperturbed. His black eyes moved slightly, landing on Kimimaro lying on the stone bed, and he spoke with a hint of coldness, "So it's because of you."
Summoning Technique requires a blood pact for ordinary ninjas to summon their summoned beasts, but this technique is fundamentally based on chakra. Hence, variations like 'Edo Tensei' exist.
And now, Orochimaru was simply utilizing the chakra the other party had left within Kimimaro to flexibly apply this 'technique.'
"As expected of the only remaining Otsutsuki in the ninja world. You've actually cost me quite a bit of chakra."
Orochimaru said with a smile. "It really wasn't easy to invite you here."
"You know me?"
Jigen's gaze fell on Orochimaru, his expression becoming more serious, yet filled with deep confusion.
"You are not a descendant of Kaguya, yet you are very similar to her... How can a mere planet native possess the bloodline of an Otsutsuki?"