"You want the Curse Mark data?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly, amused rather than surprised. "As far as I know, Feiyu, you've already mastered Sage Mode. You don't need a degraded substitute like that."
He tilted his head, voice turning inquisitive. "Or… are you planning to attempt the Reincarnation Technique as well? But with your talent and age, you won't find a vessel with better potential than your own body."
"Sorry," Feiyu said flatly, rolling his eyes. "I figure I'll live a few hundred more years at least. I don't need a vessel."
Orochimaru and Uchiha Feiyu were never a true master-and-disciple pair.
They were plastic partners—mutual exploitation with a thin coat of etiquette.
But after spending enough time around each other, there was a certain… recognition between them.
Though if you had to describe it accurately, "partners in crime," "birds of a feather," or "the same stench" was probably more appropriate.
Two extremists of pure self-interest, living in an era where everyone preached the Will of Fire and world peace—they huddled together for warmth, all while quietly probing each other's bottom line.
On that front, Feiyu held a crushing advantage.
He knew almost everything Orochimaru was capable of. Even Orochimaru's later developments mostly existed because Feiyu's presence had altered the timeline.
Still, Orochimaru had managed to dig out a few truths of his own.
At minimum, he'd realized Feiyu's rapid growth was tied to battlefield slaughter. And he'd also confirmed that Feiyu—like him—was deeply versed in soul-related ninjutsu.
That was why, a long time ago, Orochimaru had already crossed Feiyu off his list of potential vessels.
In fact, he'd even discussed the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique and the Lich Reincarnation Ritual with Feiyu. In a sense, these two were among the only people in the world who truly understood each other.
Feiyu casually produced a pill.
A normal ninja might not see anything special about it, but Orochimaru—arguably the foremost soul researcher in the shinobi world—recognized its nature almost the instant it appeared.
A chūnin's soul strength was roughly double that of a genin. And soul-origin refined through the Soul Refinement Art left only about one-tenth behind.
In other words, this single pill was equivalent to the soul energy of one genin.
This Soul Pill had been refined by Feiyu from the souls of five chūnin he'd controlled.
Orochimaru's gaze locked onto it—hooked like a blade.
The moment the pill appeared, Feiyu could practically feel Orochimaru's soul becoming greedier, hungrier, as if it were staring at the most irresistible prey.
"…Fine, fine." Orochimaru raised both hands as if surrendering. "I won't ask what you're planning."
Then his tone sharpened.
"But Curse Marks aren't some casual trinket. That's a supreme secret art I developed with my own hands—something capable of changing the entire shinobi world…"
Feiyu's smile didn't move. "So?"
Orochimaru licked his lips slightly, eyes still glued to the pill.
His Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique, after being merged with the lich-style ritual, had greatly reduced the flaws of soul loss and soul-body incompatibility…
…but it also raised the requirements for soul strength to a brutal level.
That was why he still hadn't performed his first reincarnation. The improved technique demanded too much.
And that was where this pill changed everything.
A pill was just the "shell." Its true essence was an incomparably pure mass of soul energy.
Swallow it—and your soul would grow stronger.
The stronger Orochimaru's soul became, the easier it would be to perform the upgraded reincarnation technique. The success rate would climb with it.
Feiyu watched his teacher's expression shift and felt the answer settle in his chest.
Orochimaru was going to agree.
Not because he trusted Feiyu—he didn't.
But because the temptation was too strong.
And Feiyu already knew what Orochimaru was thinking next.
He'll try to dissect the pill and reproduce it himself.
Feiyu didn't mind.
He didn't believe Orochimaru had the ability to independently refine Soul Pills. After Orochimaru exhausted every method and hit true despair, he would inevitably come crawling back to trade again.
And by then—
No matter how unwilling Orochimaru was, he'd still end up as Feiyu's tool.
Feiyu chuckled softly and said something that made Orochimaru frown in confusion.
"Of course it's for the future… so when I harvest, I'll have more leeks that grow nice and strong."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. A chill crawled up his spine.
He didn't fully understand what Feiyu meant… but instinct screamed that it wasn't anything good.
In Orochimaru's eyes, everyone else in this world would eventually rot and die.
Only this "cheap disciple" of his… might truly have a shot at walking the same immortal path.
Orochimaru inhaled, steadying himself.
"Then what do you want the Curse Mark for?" he asked slowly. "Don't tell me you're actually planning to develop Sunagakure properly. I don't believe my disciple suddenly grew a sense of responsibility."
Feiyu lifted an eyebrow. "Money? I don't have any."
Then he held up the pill between two fingers.
"But I do have one pill. You want it or not?"
"…Fine." Orochimaru's greed finally won. "Curse Mark data for the pill."
Feiyu didn't move. "Add more."
Orochimaru stared, then hissed through his teeth. "You still want to raise the price?"
Feiyu's tone stayed calm. "You decide."
A long silence.
In the end, Orochimaru clenched his jaw, then snatched the pill the moment Feiyu flicked it over.
Feiyu, in return, received the Curse Mark research materials without the slightest hesitation.
Once the exchange was complete, Orochimaru waved him off impatiently.
"If you don't have anything else, stop coming here. I still have experiments to run."
Feiyu smiled. "Then I really do have something else."
Orochimaru paused.
Feiyu continued, unhurried. "The pill and the Curse Mark were just a bonus. The real reason I came is twofold."
"First—I want a portion of Konoha's intelligence."
Feiyu's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm sure you still have plenty of informants and leftover assets inside Konoha."
Orochimaru blinked, then looked at him sharply. "You're asking me for Konoha intelligence and agents? What—are you planning to make a move on Konoha?"
Even as he spoke, Orochimaru's mind raced.
With Feiyu's current strength, plus a Sand Village that had recovered somewhat… it really wasn't impossible for him to crush Konoha in one sweep.
"Of course not." Feiyu shook his head.
"Flattening Konoha right now doesn't match my interests. And besides, I don't have any real hatred for them."
The ones Feiyu truly held a grudge against were Shimura Danzō and Root, the ones tied to his parents' deaths.
The Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen—might have known something, making him tangentially involved at best.
As for the Uchiha clan… they'd dragged Feiyu into the ninja system, sure. But they'd still taught him basic ninjutsu, and later paid out plenty of secret techniques to win him over once he started rising.
He didn't hate them.
When he'd targeted the Uchiha once, it hadn't been revenge.
It had been greed.
Orochimaru clicked his tongue. "Tch. Fine. You clearly have your own plan."
Then his gaze sharpened again, businesslike. "But equivalent exchange. If I give you Konoha's intelligence, what do I get?"
Feiyu's smile widened.
He reached into his storage and produced a Primordial Chaos Treasure Box.
"Sensei," he said lightly, "you've always been curious why I can get so much stronger in wartime, haven't you?"
"This is the answer."
Orochimaru's eyes fixed on the box instantly.
Feiyu continued, tone casual—as if he weren't describing something that could overturn the entire shinobi world.
"The Primordial Chaos Treasure Box can convert living ninja into blood vitality pills."
"It massively enhances physical strength, body potential, and raw vitality. And when your body improves, your chakra capacity rises with it."
"As long as you eat enough… even a pig can be raised into a Kage-level ninja."
Orochimaru's expression turned lively—genuine interest showing through.
Blood vitality pills weren't meaningless to any shinobi.
Even if Orochimaru wasn't obsessed with taijutsu, and even if his chakra reserves were already sufficient… he couldn't refuse the temptation of a stronger body and higher chakra reserves.
Not to mention—once his Living Corpse Reincarnation was perfected, these pills could be used to cultivate vessels, creating far better containers.
Orochimaru licked his lips again, voice low. "So straightforward… You're confident enough now that you don't need to hide your secret anymore?"
Then his eyes narrowed. "How many blood vitality pills can you provide me?"
Feiyu shook his head.
"Not pills."
He pushed the box forward.
"I'm giving you the Primordial Chaos Treasure Box itself."
Orochimaru's pupils tightened. He sucked in a breath so sharp it almost sounded like pain.
"Cough—cough—" He actually choked a little, then stared at Feiyu as if he'd grown a second head. "Disciple… if you want something, say it plainly."
"You hand me something like this, and I don't even dare accept it."
"Konoha intelligence isn't worth a Primordial Chaos Treasure Box!"
Feiyu looked at him blankly, almost annoyed.
Did I really leave that deep of a psychological shadow on him?
Orochimaru usually called him Feiyu—now he was straight-up calling him disciple like he was begging for mercy.
Feiyu sighed and explained.
"Relax. I have four of these boxes. I'm only leaving one here."
"And the box can only be used by my clone. If any other ninja tries to use it, they'll be drained dry."
"If you don't believe me, you can research it."
Then Feiyu added calmly, "Just don't try it on yourself. I don't feel like watching you get sucked into snake jerky."
Orochimaru froze, then gave a low, strange laugh. "So you're leaving a clone here?"
"But how long can a clone last?"
"My clones can persist long-term with special sealing arrays," Feiyu said. "No need to constantly replenish them."
With the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art, as long as natural energy could be concentrated to sufficient density, a clone could sustain itself by absorbing natural energy and converting it into usable power.
Feiyu had already done this in the Grass Village—artificially creating a "holy land" with high-density natural energy to keep the clone running indefinitely.
Truthfully, the experimental scraps Orochimaru produced over the years—failed human test subjects—had often been handed over to Feiyu for disposal anyway.
That was also why Feiyu had been willing to pour funding into Orochimaru long before results ever appeared.
With the Primordial Chaos Treasure Box, it was simply… more efficient.
Orochimaru stared at the box, a trace of greed flashing through his eyes.
Then he asked quietly, "Those Soul Pills… are they connected to this box too?"
"Related, sure." Feiyu nodded. "The box can store souls. But refining them into pills still requires my unique Soul Refinement Art to extract and condense the energy."
That was the truth.
The box could function like an automatic furnace, but it didn't process soul energy well. What it inherited from the Box of Ultimate Bliss was mainly the ability to store souls.
The method that truly refined soul energy into pills was still Feiyu's Soul Refinement Art.
Orochimaru listened, then nodded slowly. Greed lingered, but he didn't push further.
He understood Feiyu's nature.
Minor techniques and ordinary treasures, maybe. But something like Soul Refinement Art?
Feiyu would never hand it over.
Forcefully taking it was impossible—Feiyu's depth had become terrifying.
Trading for it was equally hopeless—Orochimaru didn't have anything truly equivalent.
"Fine," Orochimaru said at last. "Leave your clone here."
"I'll provide you Konoha intelligence and agents in time."
Then he narrowed his eyes. "You said that was the first reason. So there's a second?"
Feiyu nodded. "Yes."
"The second thing… is that I want to ask you for a person."
"A person?" Orochimaru blinked.
He didn't remember having anyone under him worth Feiyu's attention.
…Then his expression shifted.
Living people weren't valuable enough to make Feiyu "ask."
But the dead?
A dead man with the right weight could absolutely be worth it.
Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly. "You mean…"
"The Second Hokage's Edo Tensei body?"
Feiyu smiled. "Looks like I don't even need to say it."
After modifying Edo Tensei, Feiyu could now directly seize control of summoned souls through Spirit Binding Command, rather than relying on an Edo Tensei body.
Spirit Binding Command could only possess one soul at a time, and its combat performance depended not just on the soul's strength but also on the host body's baseline…
…but it had one advantage Edo Tensei simply couldn't match—
Absolute control.
Edo Tensei summons of top-tier figures were notoriously hard to control.
But once Spirit Binding Command was activated?
Even the First Hokage or Uchiha Madara would be completely manipulated.
After finishing the modification, Feiyu's first thought had been to summon the Second Hokage.
But no matter what he did, he couldn't locate Tobirama's soul.
That was when Feiyu understood—
His "cheap teacher" had gotten there first.
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