Transaction
Orochimaru-style Ninjutsu was developed by Orochimaru himself, modeled after the snakes of Ryūchi Cave.
Normally, he only passed such techniques on to disciples, but if it was Shirō, he could make an exception. After all, Shirō was also a contractor of Ryūchi Cave. With his strange Projection Magic that could even replicate Exploding Tags, this Ninjutsu could become even more dangerous in Shirō's hands.
Originally, Orochimaru had planned to draw Shirō in with this technique. Regardless of Shirō's mysterious origins or strange power, his talent alone was worth investing in. Winning him over would strengthen Orochimaru's own bid for the position of Hokage.
That had been the plan. But now, things have shifted. Orochimaru no longer needed to give Shirō his personal style of Ninjutsu.
Still, Shirō had never shown hostility toward Konoha. On the contrary, the Hawk Project, with him as its centerpiece, had become invaluable to the village. For that reason, Orochimaru decided to entrust Shirō with the Rashōmon Summoning Technique.
If he was truly to become Hokage one day, he would need allies like this boy. At such a young age, Shirō already possessed remarkable strength. Coupled with Sakumo's support, his place in the future upper echelons of Konoha was practically guaranteed.
With his decision made, Orochimaru produced a scroll, waiting idly for Shirō's "payment" while reading through it.
---
On Shirō's side, things were far less straightforward. He had already asked the System to organize the fragments of Magic knowledge he could afford to trade away, but it still needed to be transcribed into usable form.
Even with Shadow Clone assistance, the work consumed an entire afternoon.
Shirō stared at the mountain of scrolls in front of him and sighed with sympathy for Gray Snake. How many times would the poor summon have to swallow all this? Unfortunately, Gray Snake was the only intermediary willing to shuttle between him and Orochimaru, so he had no choice but to use it.
"Summoning Technique."
With a puff of smoke, the familiar serpent appeared.
"Gray Snake, these are the 'little bits' of scrolls I promised," Shirō said, gesturing at the pile.
The snake blinked at the stack, then stared silently at him.
"…Alright, I admit it, it's a bit much."
Still, Gray Snake stared.
"Fine, fine, it's a lot. I'll treat you to bird eggs after this."
The snake hissed, clearly unimpressed.
"What? Ninja Beast bird eggs? Do you know how expensive those are?"
Another long hiss.
"…Okay, okay, I promise. Ninja Beast bird eggs. Now get moving, Snake Lord."
With that reluctant bribe, Gray Snake finally got to work. After more than ten trips back and forth, the exhausted summon returned with two scrolls and a letter before dispersing in smoke.
"Hm? Two scrolls? What's the second one?"
Shirō ignored the scrolls for the moment and opened the letter first.
It was written in polished, diplomatic phrasing: the Rashōmon Summoning Technique was granted to him, and Orochimaru hoped for continued cooperation. Hidden between the lines was a subtle reminder about the Hokage succession.
Shirō didn't sense any true warmth from the letter—his impression of Orochimaru was too deeply ingrained—but there was a flicker of hope.
Hope that Orochimaru might not defect.
If he still sought the Hokage's seat, then his descent into darkness hadn't reached its point of no return. As long as Danzō's schemes were curtailed and Orochimaru refrained from experimenting on villagers, there was a chance.
Because in the original timeline, the Third Hokage's final disillusionment with his student wasn't caused by Orochimaru's human experiments alone—the Second Hokage had done the same. It was because Orochimaru had used Konoha's own citizens as his test subjects. That was the line he could not forgive.
Yet, despite discovering the truth, Hiruzen had spared Orochimaru out of lingering affection as his teacher. Jiraiya's subsequent lifelong search stemmed from that mercy.
So if Shirō could nudge the timeline just enough to keep Orochimaru's ambitions tied to Konoha, maybe the defection could be prevented altogether.
---
He turned back to the scrolls.
The first contained the Rashōmon Summoning Technique. Unlike the Ryūchi Cave contract scroll, this one wasn't hereditary. It was a one-time contract, usable only by him.
Shirō examined it closely, hoping he could replicate the structure, but even with Kushina's lessons in sealing, the deeper formulas were beyond him. Projection yielded no results either.
With no other choice, he signed it directly.
Still, he was satisfied. Rashōmon's defensive power was formidable, and with practice, it would add much-needed flexibility to his combat style. More importantly, it sparked a new idea:
What if he combined a Magic Workshop with a Summoning Technique like Rashōmon? The potential synergy was explosive.
Excited, he jotted the thought into his training schedule—though realistically, it would have to wait until after he perfected the Spiralling Qi Blade.
Too many ideas, too little time. For now, practicality had to come first.
---
The second scroll, however, froze him in place.
Edo Tensei.
Shirō skimmed just a page before snapping it shut and shoving it to the very bottom of his training plan. The sheer difficulty was absurd. His long-term goal of fusing Spirit Evocation with Heroic Spirit summoning made this technique valuable, but right now, it was a mountain far too steep to climb.
Still, it wasn't worthless. At least he had obtained reliable information from Orochimaru, even if he didn't intend to specialize in such a forbidden jutsu. His focus remained elsewhere.
The Spiralling Qi Blade project alone would refine his chakra control, deepen his understanding of the difference between his modified chakra and the natural flow of shinobi chakra, and ultimately serve as a foundation for his cultivation.
With these adjustments in mind, Shirō reorganized his training plan.
Eight Extremities Fist was already viable in battle and would only need periodic reinforcement.
Magic research had to be prioritized, particularly resolving attribute limitations—his current C++ attribute ceiling was already beginning to feel constricting.
The Spiralling Qi Blade could be temporarily delayed until attribute matters were settled.
Step by step, his path forward grew clearer.
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