Chapter 290: Orochimaru's Transaction (Part 2)
The frivolous voice seemed to be mocking Orochimaru's precious research results. Orochimaru spun around, and a twisted figure, half black and half white, slowly walked out from the corner.
"When did you get in here?!"
Although Orochimaru remained outwardly calm, he was shocked internally. Not only did he fail to detect the intruder, but even the barrier protecting Root didn't react?
The monster smirked. "Wood Release... the power mastered by the First Hokage... But this test subject of yours can barely reproduce a tenth of it. Your transplantation technique doesn't seem to be very good."
Orochimaru asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"
"Me? I'm not important. What's important is what I can give you."
Orochimaru laughed out of anger, sneering, "Do you think sneaking past the barrier gives you the right to talk to me like that? Or do you think acting mysterious is enough to scare me?"
"I'm not acting mysterious. But for me, Wood Release is indeed the simplest thing."
Black Zetsu extended a hand in front of Orochimaru. A cluster of sharp wooden spikes erupted from his palm, with tiny vines winding around them, before retracting a moment later.
Orochimaru's pupils constricted.
Wood Release! This guy who popped out of nowhere also possessed the ability of Wood Release!
He had thought that apart from his own test subject, no one else in the ninja world would master the power of Wood Release again.
Black Zetsu smiled sinisterly. "Can we talk now?"
Orochimaru calmed down and smiled. "So, what is your purpose?"
"Orochimaru, I've been watching you for a long time. You are a person with great potential, and I want to make a deal with you."
Orochimaru didn't ask what he wanted to trade, but directly asked:
"What are you offering?"
"Things you are most interested in. For example... knowledge? Or perhaps... secrets?"
Orochimaru's face became calm. It seemed this monster had been observing him for a while and knew his preferences.
Black Zetsu continued, "Aren't you curious about the power of Wood Release? I can tell you how to better transplant Hashirama Cells. Or the secrets of the Sharingan? Do you want to know where the endpoint of the Sharingan lies? Or... do you want to know if the Sage of Six Paths truly existed..."
His voice sounded like a seductive demon, and the chips in his hand were poisons Orochimaru couldn't resist.
Every secret Black Zetsu mentioned piqued Orochimaru's curiosity immensely, and an expression of temptation uncontrollably appeared on his face.
"Interesting... Then, Mr. Monster, I happen to have a question."
"Ask away!"
"Why is Yotsuki Dana so powerful? Where did his Bloodline Limit come from?"
Black Zetsu: "..."
Bro, you aren't playing by the rules! Ask me something I know!
Sharingan, Byakugan, Rinnegan, Wood Release, Yin-Yang Release, Indra, Asura, even the Sage of Six Paths—I know it all. I've roamed the ninja world for a thousand years; there isn't a secret I, Black Zetsu, don't know.
Except for that damn Yotsuki Dana!
How the hell should I know why he's so strong? Even Madara got hammered by him! He took a Chibaku Tensei to the face and was fine!
I want to know too!
Black Zetsu's brief silence made the atmosphere in the laboratory awkward.
Orochimaru sneered. "It seems you aren't as knowledgeable as you claim..."
Black Zetsu braced himself. He couldn't let the image of a knowledgeable master he just built collapse, or the deal wouldn't happen today.
"Yotsuki Dana is just a jumping clown. His bloodline isn't qualified to touch the true core secrets of the ninja world. Naturally, I have no interest in such a fleeting character."
Orochimaru snorted, not pointing it out, but he had already lowered Black Zetsu's mystery level by several notches in his mind.
To salvage the situation, Black Zetsu said, "Orochimaru, you haven't touched the path that truly leads to the pinnacle of the ninja world yet. That is what you should care about."
"For example?"
"For example, the secrets of the Sharingan. Don't you want to know?"
Orochimaru was moved, but he didn't care too much. Although the Sharingan was famous, in Orochimaru's current eyes, it was just okay.
Apart from the legends left by Madara Uchiha in ancient times, the Uchiha clan hadn't produced any super-spec powerhouses since. In his memory, the strongest was just an Elite Jonin, like the current popular figure Fugaku Uchiha.
In terms of strength, they weren't even fit to carry Yotsuki Dana's shoes. At most, they had some boost in Genjutsu and suppressing Tailed Beasts. Yet Black Zetsu called such eyes the path to the pinnacle of the ninja world...
However, speaking of eyes, he did have another thing he wanted.
"You wanted to make a deal, right? Fine. I'm not interested in the Sharingan. I want something else."
"What?"
"Byakugan. Transplantable Byakugan... specifically, eyes from the Main Family (Soke). If you can do it, bring them to me. Then I will trade with you."
The Byakugan offered numerous aids to scientific research; this was the ability Orochimaru wanted most right now. Also, it was a way to test this monster. Main Family Byakugan were far more precious than Sharingan.
Black Zetsu frowned.
Although difficult, it wasn't impossible. Konoha didn't have devices specifically designed to detect Mayfly like the Cloud did, and Konoha's people weren't alert to his existence yet.
If he acted personally and quickly, ambushing a Hyuga Main Family member from underground wasn't entirely impossible.
Although the Byakugan claimed to be impossible to ambush, Black Zetsu could attack from deep underground.
Maintaining his mysterious image, Black Zetsu said, "I didn't expect you to be interested in the Byakugan. Very well, that is also one of the paths with a chance to reach the pinnacle. I will bring you the Byakugan. But you must also start preparing what I want."
Orochimaru asked, "What do you want?"
Black Zetsu said in a low voice, "First step... I need you to learn a ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals. Its name is... Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation)..."
Orochimaru lowered his head, recalling. He now had the authority to browse the Scroll of Seals at will. He had to admit it was a treasure trove, recording many powerful jutsu, which made him admire the Second Hokage greatly.
But many jutsu didn't suit him or didn't interest him for the time being.
Edo Tensei was one of them. He had seen the jutsu but considered it imperfect, with many flaws.
More importantly, his current interest lay in biological research, pursuing true immortality, not the state of a mud puppet. So he had only glanced at it without delving deeper.
Thinking about it, although he wasn't sure what this monster wanted Edo Tensei for, Orochimaru had long since abandoned taboos. He didn't care about leaking Konoha's secrets. If this monster could bring him a pair of Main Family Byakugan, he didn't mind making a trade.
"Acceptable. Then I will await your good news..."
Seeing his goal achieved, Black Zetsu slowly melted into the wall. Only then did Orochimaru realize how this person had appeared here.
"Melting into the earth? And bypassing barriers... Next time, I should try developing a jutsu to detect this monster..."
Orochimaru felt a burning desire for the potential future Byakugan. X-ray vision was a huge help to research, and he was inherently interested in the Byakugan.
As for whether the transplant would be discovered, Orochimaru wasn't worried at all. Possessing the Vanishing Facial Copy Technique, as long as he didn't expose himself actively, no one would notice the change in his eyes.
"Main Family Byakugan is indeed rare. I can research it then. Oh right... since cloning technology has made breakthroughs recently, I can clone some later, dissect the Byakugan thoroughly, and understand it completely..."