A person's character and the concept of their 'self-existence' should be the sum of their memories. If one loses their original memories, their personality is bound to change somewhat.
But for Orochimaru, this didn't seem to hold true.
Although all the 'memories' in his brain told him he should obediently stay here, marry Charlotte Linlin, and have a child, Orochimaru didn't find that reasonable.
That instinct felt as if it were carved into his body, into his genes.
He shouldn't stay here to have children!
The conflict between the memories in his brain and his body's instincts led Orochimaru to logically conduct his first study on his own body, subsequently discovering his inability to reproduce.
In fact, ever since 'waking up' with his memories wiped, Orochimaru had been very interested in the various attributes of his current body.
Although, judging by his appearance, he might actually be closer to a 'human' in this demon-filled place like Whole Cake Island, Orochimaru's instincts still told him that real humans weren't like this.
Human body temperature shouldn't be this low, human skin shouldn't grow snake scales, and the inside of a human mouth definitely shouldn't develop something like venom glands.
Yes, venom glands.
Even without using the fangs that grew in his mouth to pierce anything, Orochimaru could still forcibly extract some venom from the glands.
Through experiments on captured Marine soldiers and pirates, he discovered this venom could forcibly 'implant' his will into their bodies.
It was a very mysterious feeling, as if Orochimaru himself could somewhat manipulate the others' behavior through the venom.
In fact, it wasn't an illusion.
Through comparative testing, Orochimaru found that those implanted with the venom would develop varying degrees of resistance based on their own strength.
In other words, the stronger the individual, the more they could resist Orochimaru's mental control via the venom.
Conversely, if someone was weak enough, they would lose their sanity or die directly during the 'adaptation phase'.
After successfully adapting to the venom, the injection site on the recipient would leave a regular comma-shaped mark, and their physical abilities would be greatly enhanced.
The downside was that their temper would become irritable and prone to anger, or they would more easily develop murderous intent.
Even when overcome with murderous intent, they could somewhat defy the commands issued by Orochimaru.
The venom didn't seem to be just a natural product of his body, and it carried some power that didn't exist in this world.
A power only present within Orochimaru himself.
He didn't know this power was called [Chakra].
And this ability was also the prerequisite for Orochimaru's upcoming transaction with Doflamingo and the others.
"So, have you decided?"
Orochimaru took out several test tubes with needles and placed them in front of him.
He didn't hide the venom's effects, even openly telling Doflamingo and the others that this poison could be resisted through sheer strength.
After hearing Orochimaru's explanation of the venom's function, Doflamingo understood the other party's plan.
Clearly, the other party couldn't trust his empty promises.
After being released, someone as unknown as Orochimaru simply didn't have enough confidence that Doflamingo would keep his word.
Or perhaps, he never intended to rely solely on a verbal agreement to bind him.
Gentlemen have their ways of interacting, and so do villains and ambitious schemers.
Compared to figures like King Riku, whom he had manipulated easily, Doflamingo didn't mind cooperating with the person before him.
Didn't those in the underworld rely on mutual constraints and schemes when doing business? Did anyone really think these shady characters would imitate the so-called Emperors or other great pirates by playing the 'benevolence and righteousness' card?
-Of course, that's one thing. If given the chance, Doflamingo wouldn't mind 'repaying' the favor in his own way.
Maybe becoming a toy porter at the underground docks wouldn't be a bad option?
"Fufufufufu... Interesting. You're really interesting."
"Your name is Orochimaru, right? Are you interested in joining the Donquixote Family?"
Doflamingo's mouth split into a wide grin, seeming very satisfied with the person before him.
"Of course, I'll consider it."
Orochimaru also responded with a kind smile.
"So? Time is running out."
At this point, Orochimaru suddenly seemed to remember something and actually kindly shared some information he had obtained with Doflamingo.
"Speaking of which, not long ago, someone calling himself Jack came with a group trying to take you away."
Hearing this, Doflamingo's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't respond.
Obviously, since he was still in the cell, the other party's attempt must have failed.
This wasn't surprising to Doflamingo anyway.
Among Kaido's three All-Stars, the one he looked down on the most was the single-minded Drought Jack.
This kind of guy… if not for Kaido's sake, he wouldn't even bother giving him a second glance.
Such a person should just stick to charging into battle. The fact that Kaido sent him to negotiate with Big Mom... he wondered if Kaido was out of his mind.
While silently criticizing Kaido for being unreliable as well, Doflamingo also showed a kind smile to Orochimaru.
"Come on, if time is short, there's no need to waste it on testing each other."
Hearing this, Diamante's expression changed slightly. He wanted to say something to dissuade Doflamingo, feeling there was no need for such an unequal cooperation with this guy.
Kaido wouldn't give up on them.
And Baby-5 hadn't caught up with the pace… in fact, she didn't need to. She just needed to follow the Young Master's lead.
Doflamingo knew very well that Big Mom wasn't someone with a good temper either. With Jack's provocation, who knows what that old woman might do next?
How many times had those Emperors flipped the table, leaving everyone with nothing? They'd done it plenty.
Since they had reached an agreement, Orochimaru didn't dawdle. He directly used the keys obtained from the jailer to open the cell door and walked in without the slightest fear.
"Don't worry. For a strong person like you, the adaptation period won't take long."
As he spoke, Orochimaru already brought the syringe close to Doflamingo's neck.
Doflamingo showed no intention of resisting, seemingly allowing Orochimaru to proceed.
Seeing this, the cold, gloomy smile on Orochimaru's face deepened, but he quietly retracted the short knife in his other hand into his sleeve.
Clearly, if Doflamingo had any treacherous thoughts earlier, Orochimaru would have unhesitatingly chosen to kill everyone.
As for a way off the island, he would have had to rely on those few people he had controlled.
Ultimately, Orochimaru wouldn't allow any dangerous factors at a critical moment.