"Like I said, it's a secret."
Teizawa shrugged, his tone so casual he might as well have been commenting on the weather.
"All you need to know is this… since I'm bringing it up, I have a way to restore your hands."
Orochimaru said nothing.
But he could hear his own breathing growing heavier and heavier.
Like an old bellows.
In the silent chamber, the sound was painfully clear.
Those hands had tormented him for far too long.
Long enough to drive him nearly insane.
He could not weave hand signs. He could not use ninjutsu.
He possessed vast knowledge and boundless ambition, yet he was like a venomous snake with its fangs pulled out.
All he could do was hide in the dark, damp underground.
All he had left to preserve the last scraps of his dignity were experiments and data.
He had already prepared Sasuke's body as his vessel.
That young, gifted Uchiha boy was the perfect vessel he had dreamed of for so long.
But he knew very well…
If the problem with his hands was not solved, then even if he obtained Sasuke's body, he still would not be able to use those hands.
A shinobi who could not weave signs.
How was that any different from trash?
And now, this young man had come to him with a deal.
Orochimaru was tempted.
Even if it was a lie, he was willing to try.
He had nothing left to lose.
"I can give you the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu."
His voice was hoarse and low, like sandpaper scraping against stone.
Teizawa snapped his fingers.
"Smart."
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "And I can give you the method to restore your hands. But I have one condition…"
"When you perform the ritual, I want to watch from the side."
For Orochimaru to restore his hands, he needed to undo the Shinigami's seal.
When that happened, the souls of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage would be released.
Teizawa had no interest in the Hokage of past generations.
What interested him was the other half of the Nine-Tails inside the Fourth Hokage.
Of course, none of that could be told to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru frowned slightly.
"Ritual?"
His snake-like pupils narrowed, a trace of wariness flashing deep in his eyes.
"Yes."
Teizawa offered no further explanation. He simply nodded.
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment.
He was calculating. Weighing the risks.
Trying to guess this young man's true intentions.
In the end, he nodded.
"Fine."
Teizawa leaned back in his chair, his hands folded over his knees.
His gaze swept once over Orochimaru's pale face.
"One more thing…"
His voice was soft, yet every word was as clear as if it had been carved into stone.
"I heard you have a subordinate named Karin. Give her to me."
Orochimaru's snake pupils contracted sharply.
Those golden eyes locked onto Teizawa.
Like a snake whose tail had been stepped on.
His body tensed, and his fingers clenched against the glass beneath him.
"How do you know about Karin?"
His voice dropped very low, like venom being squeezed from deep in his throat.
Teizawa only smiled faintly.
"Secret."
Orochimaru fell silent.
Countless thoughts churned through his mind…
Who leaked it?
When?
How much had they revealed?
Among his subordinates, his confidants, those who had followed him for years—who was the most suspicious?
His expression shifted between light and shadow.
Like a candle flickering in the wind.
For the first time, he began to suspect there might be a traitor at his side.
"Karin can't save your hands."
Teizawa's voice remained unhurried, as though he were stating a simple fact.
"Keeping her by your side only makes her a medical container."
A storm surged through Orochimaru's heart.
This Kazekage not only knew Karin existed.
He even knew about Karin's abilities…
That girl had a unique constitution, with powerful sensory and healing abilities.
She was a precious experimental subject he had picked up from the Land of Grass.
No one knew that except him and Karin herself.
Yet this Kazekage, an outsider, spoke of it so casually.
As if it were common knowledge.
Orochimaru's wariness toward the Kazekage before him grew heavier and heavier.
This man was too strange.
Too dangerous.
He knew far too much.
So much that it sent a chill down one's spine.
And in his current state, Orochimaru had no confidence he could take him down.
Rather than take the risk, it was better to agree for now.
Once his hands were restored…
He could settle the score slowly.
"Fine."
Orochimaru nodded, his voice returning to that hoarse, magnetic rasp. "Karin is yours."
Teizawa stood and brushed off dust that was not there.
"Deal."
He pulled a scroll from his robes.
Then casually tossed it to Orochimaru.
The scroll traced an arc through the air.
It landed in Orochimaru's gaunt hand with a soft tap.
Orochimaru took the scroll.
With anticipation in his expression, he opened it…
His golden snake pupils swept rapidly across the page…
The writing on it was dense.
He recognized every single word.
But the more he read, the deeper his brow furrowed.
There was no ninjutsu formula. No chakra circulation method. None of the things he had expected.
There was only one location, marked with perfect clarity…
East of the Land of Fire.
A specific set of coordinates he had never heard of before.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Teizawa.
A cold gleam flashed through those snake pupils.
"What does this mean?"
His voice was hoarse and low, anger pressing beneath it.
"You said you'd give me the method. What am I supposed to do with an address?"
Teizawa leaned back in his chair, his hands folded over his knees, his posture relaxed.
"This…"
His voice was light, yet every word was as clear as if carved into stone.
"Is the key to freeing the souls of your hands. As for the exact ritual and method, once you find this place, just follow what's there."
Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly.
The souls of his hands…
Those four words were like a key.
They opened a long-sealed door inside his heart.
He had known for a long time that the problem lay with his soul.
The Reaper Death Seal had not sealed his hands themselves.
It had sealed the souls of his hands.
Body change after body change. Reincarnation after reincarnation.
His soul had long since been left riddled with damage.
Like an old garment eaten through by insects, full of holes.
Otherwise, back then, he would never have been beaten by that Uchiha brat…
He remembered those scarlet Sharingan.
He remembered that battle that still filled him with lingering dread.
His fingers trembled faintly.
"I hope you're not lying to me."
His voice was rough, as if his throat were full of sand.
Every word seemed forced up from deep within him.
Teizawa shook his head, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"I'm afraid of being deceived, just like you. I have a great household and a large enterprise. I can't exactly hide from your revenge. But you…"
He paused. "You're as hard to find as a worm in the mud. If you lie to me, tracking you down would take some effort. So…"
His gaze sharpened, like two blades drawn from their sheaths.
"For now, I'm choosing to believe you don't dare deceive me. That you don't dare give me a fake Impure World Reincarnation jutsu."
He leaned forward slightly.
Orochimaru's pale face reflected in those deep eyes.
"Believe me…"
His voice was very soft, as soft as night wind brushing past the ear.
Yet every word carried a coldness that made the spine crawl.
"You have no secrets in front of me."
(End of Chapter)
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