The next day, Seigen used his spatial ability to travel alone to the neighboring Hidden Sound Village to meet Orochimaru.
“Oh?”
“I never expected the Uchiha Clan to abandon Konoha…
and even establish a new hidden village.”
Orochimaru held an intelligence report in his hand, reading it with great interest.
The report stated that a young man named Uchiha Seigen possessed eyes comparable to those of Uchiha Madara.
“So…
Konoha couldn’t even stop them.”
“The village truly has rotted away.”
Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and slowly licked his lips.
It wasn’t hard for him to guess that the Uchiha Clan’s rebellion had been orchestrated by his former teacher and Danzo.
Danzo had truly tried to gain an advantage and lost everything.
In the end…
He had even gotten himself killed.
The thought irritated Orochimaru.
With Danzo dead, his research into Hashirama’s cells would inevitably come to a standstill.
“Heh…
the Sharingan.”
“How interesting.”
Still…
This Uchiha Seigen had given him quite an unexpected surprise.
Perhaps it was finally time to seriously study the Sharingan.
“Oh?
Orochimaru.”
“You certainly receive information quickly.”
“…Who’s there?!”
Orochimaru spun around instantly.
Standing behind him was a young man who had somehow appeared without making the slightest sound, smiling cheerfully.
This was his laboratory.
Even if the Hidden Sound Village was a small village, it wasn’t somewhere just anyone could enter.
The young man before him had black hair, black eyes, and wore traditional Uchiha attire.
There was no doubt…
He was an Uchiha.
So this Uchiha…
After a brief moment of surprise, Orochimaru quickly regained his usual composure.
“Heh…”
“Should I address you as the Flame Shadow…”
“…or Seigen-kun?”
His greedy eyes swept across Seigen’s body over and over.
He was incredibly curious about this young man.
He was also genuinely surprised.
He had never imagined Seigen would come looking for him on his own.
Orochimaru knew perfectly well what reputation he had outside.
Mad scientist.
The evil traitor of Konoha.
Bloodline thief.
The psychopath of the ninja world.
He had long since grown accustomed to such titles.
Well…
Most of them had been spread by the Third Hokage.
It seems Seigen-kun is quite confident in his own strength.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“You can call me whatever you like.”
Seigen shrugged.
Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled over a chair, sat down, and behaved as though he owned the place.
“Oh?”
“So these are your experimental subjects?”
He glanced around the laboratory.
Strange creatures filled the room.
Some even had the First Hokage’s face growing from their chests.
“Heh.”
“What brings you here today, Seigen-kun?”
Orochimaru’s smile turned noticeably colder.
Seigen’s complete disregard for him had irritated him.
“Hmm…”
“You know…”
“The stage beyond the three-tomoe Sharingan is called the Mangekyo Sharingan.”
“Want to research it?”
The blunt proposal completely caught Orochimaru off guard.
Of course he wanted to study Seigen’s eyes.
But even he had expected such a subject to require careful negotiation.
Instead…
Seigen had laid everything on the table from the very beginning.
Orochimaru excitedly licked his lips.
“And what…”
“…do you hope to gain?”
“A joint research partnership.”
“We’ll study both the Mangekyo Sharingan and Hashirama’s cells.”
“Any results we obtain…”
“…will be shared.”
“And your research materials…”
“Where exactly do you intend to get those, Seigen-kun?”
Orochimaru smiled knowingly.
He wanted to see how Seigen would answer.
To research the Sharingan…
A large number of Uchiha corpses would normally be indispensable.
He didn’t believe the young man before him would be willing to commit something so inhuman.
“Simple.”
“Cloning technology.”
“I’ll provide you with cells from every member of the Uchiha Clan.”
“You can cultivate cloned bodies and use them to research the secrets behind awakening the Sharingan.”
After pausing briefly, Seigen continued.
“What we want…”
“…is the method for awakening the Sharingan.”
“As for the Sharingan produced through your experiments…”
“You can do whatever you want with them.”
“As long as they never leave your laboratory.”
It was actually an appealing proposal.
When Orochimaru had previously researched Hashirama’s cells alongside Danzo, the latter had only been able to provide a very limited amount of tissue.
Cloning had already been one of their primary research methods.
This arrangement was something Orochimaru could accept.
The Uchiha Clan would obtain the secret to awakening the Sharingan…
And he would gain unlimited access to Sharingan for research.
A genuine win-win.
“Oh, right.”
“I’ll throw in one more piece of information as a gesture of good faith.”
“If someone outside the Uchiha wants to fully utilize transplanted Sharingan…”
“They must also transplant Hashirama’s cells.”
“Otherwise…”
“They’ll end up like Kakashi.”
“How fascinating…”
So Danzo hadn’t been researching Hashirama’s cells solely for Wood Release after all.
Now it seemed obvious…
His true goal had also been to perfectly wield the Sharingan.
“…It’s an intriguing proposal.”
Although Orochimaru said so calmly…
His mind was already racing through countless experimental procedures.
“So…”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“…Yes.”
“However…”
Seeing the fighting spirit rising in Orochimaru’s eyes, Seigen immediately understood.
Orochimaru wanted to test him.
If Seigen wasn’t strong enough…
There would be no cooperation to discuss.
He wouldn’t even be leaving today.
He’d be strapped onto an operating table and turned into Orochimaru’s newest lab rat.
After all…
Orochimaru coveted Seigen’s extraordinary body far too much to simply let him walk away.
“Orochimaru.”
“I know you’re eager…”
“…but hold on a second.”
Orochimaru: “?”
“Orochimaru.”
“Let’s take this outside.”
“You wouldn’t want your laboratory destroyed, would you?”