Hearing Sasuke's answer,
Instantly, Kyo and Orochimaru's faces simultaneously showed similar smiles!
Success.
Although it took a bit of effort, it wasn't wasted.
The next moment,
Kyo nodded, looked at Orochimaru, and smiled:
"Then next,"
"I'll leave the explanation to you."
"Understood."
Orochimaru nodded slightly, a glint of smiling light in his eyes.
He couldn't wait to see how Sasuke's Sage Body experiment would turn out...
And at this moment,
Sasuke beside him suddenly thought of something, looked up at Kyo, his gaze extremely grim, and spoke deeply:
"I want to ask,"
"Who is stronger, you... or Uchiha Itachi?"
"?" "?"
Hearing Sasuke's sudden question,
In an instant,
Kyo and Orochimaru were both slightly stunned.
The next moment,
Their expressions suddenly became somewhat strange.
And because of this, the entire cave fell into silence.
A silence that was somewhat awkward.
Seeing this,
Sasuke's brow furrowed, and he spoke with confusion in his heart:
"Wh-what's wrong..."
However,
As the words fell, the next moment,
Before Kyo here could react, Orochimaru beside him suddenly burst out laughing.
Then, under Sasuke's bewildered gaze, Orochimaru looked over, curled his lips, revealed a sinister smile, licked his lips, and said with a laugh:
"You probably don't know yet... Sasuke,"
"Even your extremely aloof older brother, in front of Kyo-kun, will obediently bow his head and call him 'senpai'..."
"...!?"
Hearing this, Sasuke's pupils instantly constricted, frozen.
Huh...?
Even Uchiha Itachi, upon seeing Kyo... has to call him "senpai"...???
Sasuke immediately turned his gaze to Kyo,
In fact,
Although his exact age was unclear, he looked to be barely over twenty years old...
Completely within the same age group as Itachi...
Under these circumstances, he still needed to address him as "senpai"?
Sasuke was naturally completely bewildered.
After all, it's unbelievable.
And at this moment, Orochimaru's gaze flickered slightly, and he said with a light laugh:
"Sasuke, it seems necessary to educate you a bit."
"Uchiha Itachi can indeed be considered a rare genius in today's Shinobi World, with strength so great that even I would give him a wide berth."
"But, if compared to this Kyo-san,"
"The gap is probably about..."
"'An ant versus a crow'."
"!?"
As Orochimaru's series of words fell,
Sasuke, who was already dumbfounded, had his pupils constrict once more, his expression changing slightly as he looked at Orochimaru in disbelief!
W-wait.
The gap is equivalent to an ant versus a crow???
This... this is fucking ridiculous, right!!???
You have to understand,
Uchiha Itachi was one of the strongest existences of the Uchiha Clan who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, undoubtedly a Kage-level figure.
Even though Sasuke hated him, he still had to respect his strength.
And now,
Orochimaru actually said…
In front of Kyo, Itachi is like an ant?????
In an instant,
Sasuke's train of thought completely interrupted, his mind going completely blank.
He could no longer imagine just how terrifying the true strength of someone who could treat a Kage-level Shinobi like an ant actually was...
Realizing this,
Sasuke's gaze returned to Kyo, grim beyond compare.
And at this moment,
Kyo helplessly shook his head with a smile and said casually:
"You're exaggerating, Orochimaru."
"And stop dawdling, let's directly start our next enhancement plan."
Orochimaru finally nodded, then with gleaming eyes and a hoarse voice, smiled:
"Please follow me, you two."
As he spoke,
He turned around,
Walking towards the left fork deeper inside the cave.
And Kyo and Sasuke naturally followed behind him, silent.
Kyo's pace was very leisurely, his expression relaxed.
While Sasuke beside him had a grim gaze, clearly preoccupied with heavy thoughts.
A moment later.
After passing through the labyrinthine cave,
They suddenly arrived in a sealed room, filled with all sorts of strange instruments and operating tables.
Seeing this, Sasuke frowned and said firmly:
"Huh?"
"An operating room...?"
As the words fell,
Orochimaru ahead suddenly stopped, turned around, smiled, and curled his lips, saying:
"That's right, an operating room."
"I wonder, Sasuke-kun... have you ever heard the reason why I was kicked out of Konoha back then?"
Hearing this, Sasuke showed a strange expression and said:
"I heard you were conducting terrifying human experiments?"
Sasuke said tentatively.
In fact,
In the village, he rarely heard people mention this Missing-nin Sannin, so he didn't know much inside information.
And as the words fell, Orochimaru immediately showed a satisfied smile and said sinisterly:
"That's right."
"But... only half right."
"Back then, the human experiments I conducted were not ordinary experiments...
"Rather, it was an experimental plan about replicating the abilities of the great God of Shinobi, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama!"
"!?"
As the words fell, Sasuke's heart tightened.
Replicate the First Hokage?!
However,
Before he could think carefully, suddenly,
Kyo, who had been silent for a while beside him, slightly raised his eyes, frowned, and said:
"You giving a speech here, Orochimaru?"
"Get to the point."
"...?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru was first stunned, then immediately reacted and quickly coughed awkwardly, saying:
"Cough... okay."
Orochimaru stopped the nonsense, looked at Sasuke, and said firmly with gravity:
"In fact, Sasuke,"
"The enhancement we have decided to give you this time is... to transplant the First Hokage's cells into your body!"
"By doing so,"
"You will simultaneously possess the two bloodlines of the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan!"
"And very likely, in the near future, directly awaken the ultimate Dojutsu that surpasses the Sharingan—"
"The [Rinnegan], known as the Sage's Eyes!"
"--!!??"
Sasuke's expression changed drastically, his breath catching on the spot!
After listening to Orochimaru's words,
He almost instantly froze!
One noun after another violently collided with his knowledge, catching him off guard!
Transplant the First Hokage's cells???
Rinnegan?!
The ultimate Dojutsu known as the Sage's Eyes!?!
What is all this???
And at this moment,
Before he could think carefully, Orochimaru continued to show a smile and said:
"And moreover,"
"After obtaining the transplanted cells,"
"You will also gain the ability to control 'Wood Release', equivalent to the First Hokage's."
"I'm sure you've probably heard of the legend of how Hashirama-sama shook the Shinobi World with Wood Release back in the day..."
"!"
As another round of words fell,
Sasuke immediately felt a chill run down his spine.
The First Hokage's Wood Release?!
Of course he knew!
Not just know, it was almost universally acknowledged as the strongest Ninjutsu in the entire Shinobi World!
To the point where it was so ridiculously strong that some people, after tripping over a tree branch while walking, would even panic —
And now,
After transplanting his cells,
He could obtain power comparable to the God of Shinobi...?
Sasuke took a light breath, his gaze subsequently darkening.
Finally, with his grim expression, even his eyes suddenly became sharp.
He knew,
This was very likely... his greatest chance for a transformation in strength!
It was also possible,
That it was his biggest trump card to defeat Itachi!
Rinnegan + Wood Release!
Sasuke suddenly raised his left hand, slowly clenched his fist, and then, in his usual indifferent tone, said firmly:
"I understand, Orochimaru."
"Bring it on."
"Start directly."
"...?"