"A beautiful creation, a perfect test subject!"
Orochimaru's eyes burned with fanatic excitement. His years of research let him instantly see the value of this thing, for him, it was priceless.
"Meow~ Interested?" the black cat asked, setting White Zetsu down.
He wasn't afraid of Orochimaru trying to snatch it or go back on his word. At this point, Orochimaru was no longer his match. If he really tried anything, he would be the one to suffer for it.
Times had changed.
The timid, submissive cat from back then had long since disappeared.
"Takeshi-kun, don't be rash. I want this thing. Please, name your price and transfer it to me."
Orochimaru truly did not want to risk it.
First, he wasn't Takeshi's match. Second, if Takeshi got annoyed and decided to sell him the test subject in pieces instead of whole, the loss would be enormous. A complete White Zetsu was worth far more.
"Meow! Let's set this deal aside for now. I want to make another trade. I plan to use your snakes to track down the location of Ryuchi Cave. Once I find it, I'll tell you the exact coordinates."
"Track Ryuchi Cave?"
Orochimaru froze for a moment, then sank into thought.
Ryuchi Cave.
He had known of it long ago but had never been able to find it. When he asked that bastard Manda, the snake refused to say anything, his words instead dripping with contempt. From that alone, Orochimaru understood that relying on Manda or the other snakes was impossible.
He was worried, though. If Takeshi found Ryuchi Cave and then gave him the location, would that end up hindering whatever he planned to do there in the future?
He hesitated for only two seconds before deciding.
He would do it.
"Fine."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
Fortune favors the bold, but starves the timid. Without Takeshi, who knew how many years it would take to find Ryuchi Cave? As for consequences, if they never found it, then there were no consequences to worry about. If they did find it, why be afraid of consequences?
"Meow, now back to this one. It has the ability to sink underground and escape, so be careful handling it. In return, I want you to share your research results with me. Also, I'd like you to extract its memories if possible. If you can't, don't force it."
Takeshi suspected there were hidden tricks from Black Zetsu on White Zetsu, especially concerning memory. Digging into that might trigger some special contingency.
But in these matters, Orochimaru was far more experienced than he was.
In pure strength, Orochimaru was no longer Takeshi's opponent. But when it came to research and intellect, even if Takeshi trained for another ten years, he still wouldn't reach Orochimaru's level.
The man was a born scientist.
Licking his lips, Orochimaru said excitedly, "Takeshi-kun, didn't you say you weren't interested in immortality?"
"Meow~ I'm indeed not interested in immortality. And your so-called immortality can't be true immortality anyway. But all ninjutsu are connected at their core. Learning about your research might spark some inspiration for me."
Takeshi wasn't lying about that.
He wanted Orochimaru's research, but this was just his way of getting a discount in advance. Whether he actually learned or used it later was another matter. No matter what, it was best to get the coupon first.
"I see. Then the deal is struck. By the way, Takeshi-kun, if you come across more of these test subjects, please preserve them carefully and send them to me."
Orochimaru bowed deeply.
This kind of living being had immense research value. For an excellent test subject, the more, the better.
"No problem, meow. But I suggest you report this to Lady Tsunade first. When it comes to living beings, she can help you quite a bit. As for Ryuchi Cave, I'll come find you later."
Takeshi finished speaking, flicked his paw, and in the blink of an eye, the cat's shadow vanished.
He was gone.
Orochimaru stared at White Zetsu, then checked his own body, then probed with sensory techniques...
Nothing.
The Flying Thunder God seal seemed deeply hidden, impossible to detect through normal means. Maybe he would have to master some aspect of the technique himself to perceive it. He absolutely had to study this another day.
Orochimaru did not like the idea of carrying someone else's teleportation coordinates on his body at all times. That meant his life would be in another's hands.
...
Jumping back and forth with the Flying Thunder God ate up a lot of chakra.
Even with Takeshi's Sage Body and its astonishing reserves, throwing in a Shadow Clone and another round trip left him near empty. Fortunately, the Sage Body's recovery was also powerful.
Once he arrived, he could feel his stamina rapidly regenerating.
"Takeshi-sama, you're back. That thing...?"
"Meow! Taken care of."
The black cat answered, then darted into the hot spring beside him and instantly,
Warmth flooded his whole body.
Comfort.
He lounged lazily in the hot spring and looked up just in time to see Nagato fall from the top of the tower. Nagato screamed, using his ability midair to slow himself. The closer he came to the ground, the slower his descent. Right before impact, he finally stopped.
It was basically bungee jumping.
For the one doing it, the experience was hardly pleasant. But as a spectator, Takeshi found it quite enjoyable.
Soaking in a hot spring while watching someone bungee jump, this counted as one of the rare entertainment activities in the Land of Snow.
Nagato was training hard.
Konan had tried several times to catch him, but Nagato refused every time. He wanted to rely on his own power to perfectly master Almighty Push and Almighty Pull. And the intense sense of crisis from plummeting from high above did indeed stimulate his latent potential.
He didn't always manage to stop himself.
Sometimes he slammed into the ground, his mouth full of snow and frozen dirt, and maybe got a bit injured. But Kanna was here. Even putting medical ninjutsu aside, her Uzumaki life force alone could bring Nagato back to his feet in no time.
After Takeshi soaked for a while, he started climbing the tower with them.
In an instant, he used the Flying Thunder God to appear next to Nagato, immediately matching his current progress.
Nagato clung to the tower wall, lifted his head toward the black cat, and said, his lips trembling, "You... this is not fair."
"Meow?"
"You're cheating!"
Nagato was furious.
He'd spent forever struggling to finally break his own record, and this black cat silently used the Flying Thunder God to jump straight up, openly cheating. The worst part was that Takeshi didn't look even slightly guilty about it. He was utterly, righteously shameless.
The black cat looked down at him curiously. "I don't need this kind of training. At this level, it's useless to me, meow."
As he spoke, his tail stretched out rapidly and, a moment later,
*Whoosh!* A sharp sound sliced through the air as the black cat shot out of Nagato's field of vision.
"Damn it!"
Nagato panicked and scrambled to climb faster, but he was already at his limit. His strength gave out, his hand slipped, and he fell.
This time, he didn't have the chakra left to use Almighty Push.
On the ground, Konan immediately activated the Dance of the Shikigami, gathering paper into a soft cloud beneath him, catching him and lowering him gently down. Looking at the unconscious Nagato, she sighed softly.
'Such a twisted taste...'
But letting Nagato rest was a good thing. Climbing nonstop like this was not sustainable. She shaped a tent from paper so he could rest inside.
As for Takeshi, he was still "climbing."
No matter what, he had to put a Flying Thunder God seal on the very top. Otherwise, doing this every day would be exhausting.
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