Orochimaru recognized the person in front of him, rose from his seat, and a pleasant smile appeared on his lips: "You are indeed a rare, rare visitor..."
Tōshirō scrutinized the current Orochimaru. His pale face was sickly and feminine, with purple eyeshadow around his eyes and golden vertical pupils that were sharp and dangerous.
"So many years have passed, and your appearance hasn't changed much."
Orochimaru said with interest: "You, on the other hand, have changed quite a lot."
"Orochimaru, come and help me." Tōshirō reached out and said directly: "I need you."
Orochimaru was startled, and laughed: "It's not just your appearance, but... your personality seems to have changed quite a bit too."
Tōshirō stared into Orochimaru's eyes: "The only thing that doesn't change in this world is change itself."
"Don't you know my current identity?" Orochimaru crossed his arms: "If you get too close to me, you'll be asking for trouble."
Tōshirō said faintly: "It doesn't matter, I'll handle it."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, not immediately accepting. He was waiting for Tōshirō to reveal his true bargaining chip.
After a moment, Tōshirō met his expectation. The three tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, connecting to form a snowflake-like pattern, and he extended the invitation again: "Come and help me, and I will let you see a sight you have never seen before."
Orochimaru's eyes stared at Tōshirō's Mangekyō Sharingan, and he licked his lips: "It seems you have obtained a formidable power."
After a pause, he said with interest: "But I wonder which 'sight' you're referring to?"
Tōshirō slowly began to speak, his voice low: "...The truth of the world."
Hearing this, even the knowledgeable Orochimaru couldn't help but show a look of surprise and curiosity.
"Hn, hn, hn..." Orochimaru felt a strong sense of interest, lowered his head, and his shoulders shook as a sickly laugh escaped from his throat.
Tōshirō watched quietly, not saying a word.
Orochimaru stopped laughing, raised his head, and his golden vertical pupils looked at Tōshirō's calm face: "Interesting, truly interesting. It seems Tōshirō-kun is the one who truly understands me."
"So, what's your answer?"
"Is that even a question?" Orochimaru's grinning mouth almost split to his ears: "Please, you must take me with you. Let me see that sight."
The two reached an agreement. Standing by, Kabuto Yakushi pushed up his glasses, and the plain lenses refracted a white light.
He would wait and see what kind of unique color the collaboration of these two people would inject into this world.
Tōshirō rummaged through his loose clothes, took out a scroll, and handed it over.
A hint of curiosity appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.
"This is a little interest." Tōshirō explained calmly: "I think you'll be interested."
The interest in Orochimaru's eyes grew even stronger. He took the scroll with some anticipation, opened it, and was greatly surprised after a quick look.
Tōshirō replied: "This is the Dragon Blood Reincarnation Jutsu. I hope you will help me research this jutsu. You are very talented in this area."
"Don't tell me you want to..."
"That's right." Tōshirō confirmed Orochimaru's guess.
"Just as I thought..." Orochimaru laughed: "If you're so eager to see that person, I can help you first..."
A faint ripple rose in Tōshirō's heart, but his expression remained calm: "If you're talking about something like the Impure World Reincarnation, I don't think I need it."
A look of surprise appeared in Orochimaru's eyes: "You already knew about this beforehand?"
The resurrected Tōshirō, in Orochimaru's eyes, exuded an extraordinary aura of having mastered everything in the world with every gesture.
Tōshirō didn't answer this question, and instead asked: "You've joined an organization called the Akatsuki, haven't you?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru was even more surprised.
The Akatsuki organization was currently very secretive. Not many people knew about it, and even fewer knew he was a part of it.
Suddenly, it was as if he thought of something: "Are you also after those eyes?"
"I'm interested, but now is not the time."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "Not the time" meant he was interested. In other words, Tōshirō was after something else in the organization.
"I'm interested in something else right now."
Tōshirō confirmed Orochimaru's guess.
"What is it?"
Tōshirō glanced at the listening Kabuto Yakushi.
Kabuto Yakushi was startled and understood. The following content was clearly classified, and he, an outsider, shouldn't be here.
Just as he was about to tactfully leave, Tōshirō didn't avoid his presence and said directly: "Zetsu."
This made Kabuto Yakushi even more unable to see through Tōshirō.
Orochimaru was startled, recalling the information about this "Zetsu." Come to think of it, this person was also very mysterious within the organization.
"What's so special about this guy?" Orochimaru laughed: "Your interest in him even surpasses those eyes."
"This guy is the key."
Tōshirō smiled, speaking in a riddler's tone, focusing on mystery to create an air of profoundness.
"A key?"
Orochimaru became interested. He wasn't in a hurry to ask for the answer, as the exploration itself was part of the puzzle: "What do you want me to do?"
"You help me get this guy to come out, and I'll handle the rest." Tōshirō planned to capture a Zetsu directly for research.
"That's asking a lot." Orochimaru showed a slightly troubled expression.
"I know you can do it."
"Alright, but in that case, I might need Tōshirō-kun's help."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Help me catch my partner. I'm very interested in a certain research on him."
Tōshirō slightly narrowed his eyes.
Following this, the two had a conversation about how to implement the plan.
After they were done, Tōshirō stopped Orochimaru, who was about to leave. Besides asking for help in capturing a White Zetsu, he had another matter that was no less important.
"Orochimaru, take me to Ryūchi Cave."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow: "My, that's surprising."
Tōshirō calmly said: "I plan to obtain Sage Jutsu there to further enhance my strength."
Orochimaru looked at him.
In the past, Tōshirō also knew Sage Jutsu, but it was a degraded version. It was not unexpected that Tōshirō would set his sights on this true Sage Jutsu now.
"Learning Sage Jutsu comes with great risks." Orochimaru warned him, "A little carelessness can be life-threatening."
"The greater the risk, the more generous the reward, isn't it?"
Upon receiving Tōshirō's confident reply, Orochimaru gave a self-deprecating laugh, "It seems I was being unnecessarily helpful."
Without further ado, Orochimaru walked toward Tōshirō, saying: "Let's go. Let me take you to Ryūchi Cave and let me see the strength I haven't seen in a long time."
"You won't be disappointed."
Tōshirō followed with a smile.
Ryūchi Cave is a hidden realm located between reality and fantasy. For an ordinary person, it is extremely difficult to even find the entrance, let alone enter.
Only those who hold the most sincere hearts have a chance to enter and explore.
With Orochimaru's guidance, it wasn't too difficult for Tōshirō to reach the "door" of Ryūchi Cave. The hard part was how to enter.
What's interesting is that the country surrounding this entrance is the Land of Loulan.
The Dragon Veins are buried under the Land of Loulan. Both Ryūchi Cave and the Dragon Veins have the character "dragon." Now that he thought about it, the existence of the Dragon Veins under Loulan might hide some kind of connection.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the fog ahead became denser, obscuring the tall rock pillars that were everywhere, leaving only blurred, tall dark shadows. The already desolate landscape became even more eerie and terrifying.
Tōshirō stopped, looked at the footprints that appeared below him, and after a moment's thought said: "It looks like we've returned to where we started."
Orochimaru just smiled without speaking, watching with interest.
He was very familiar with everything here, but he just wouldn't tell Tōshirō.
The trial of Ryūchi Cave had already begun without them realizing it. With Tōshirō's strength, Orochimaru had no doubt he would pass. What he was curious about was how Tōshirō would solve it.
It was with this mindset that he didn't give any hints along the way.
(End of Chapter)
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