Chapter 311. Cooperation
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"You came!"
"Alright! Let's skip the small talk." Uchiha Yuto looked straight at Orochimaru and got right to the point. "I'm ready to invest in your research institute."
With those words—
Orochimaru was slightly stunned. Though he had suspected Yuto might've contacted him for some matter, he hadn't expected... it would be for an investment.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he scanned Yuto up and down. With a smile that hinted at deeper meaning, he said, "Looks like Yuto-kun isn't just out to make money like everyone thinks."
What did his research institute study?
It was all about forbidden things~!
Who would've thought—a mere businessman wanted to partner with him?
"Do you want it or not?" Yuto rolled his eyes. Though he was quite curious about Hashirama cells, fusing them meant he'd have to tattoo Hashirama onto his body... which felt way too weird.
As for why Sasuke later integrated Hashirama cells without sprouting a Hashirama tattoo—he wasn't sure. Maybe it got neutralized by too many other elements~!
Either way, that stuff was dangerous.
For most Uchiha, it was only useful for curing myopia. And Yuto, who relied on upgrades, was already super strong—even though his eyes were still just three tomoe.
With such powerful pupil ability still stuck at three tomoe, Yuto himself was baffled.
Maybe he really was missing something?
"One billion! I'll give you one billion up front! As long as you develop what I need, there'll be plenty of follow-up funding!"
"A billion~" Orochimaru licked his lips, smiling gleefully. "Back in the day, I had to flee the village over that one billion!"
Now, he didn't seem to care at all whether that made him seem low-class.
After all, making money... isn't shameful!
Just look at how he cooperated with Iwagakure to invade Kumogakure this time... wasn't it all for money?!
Now it looked like he wouldn't even get the final payment from Iwagakure.
With a sigh, he eyed the wealthy Yuto in front of him, stretched out his tongue, and said playfully, "I didn't expect it, but Yuto-kun's become more handsome over the years! I'm almost tempted myself!"
"..."
Bah! You just want my money!
Yuto's crimson Sharingan gleamed as he smiled. "You can try!"
"Alright! Happy cooperation!" Orochimaru curiously examined Yuto's eyes. "Your three tomoe Sharingan... seems a bit unusual! It's really interesting~"
Truly.
Just the aura from his eyes…
Already felt way stronger than any typical three tomoe.
"So then... what exactly does Yuto-kun want me to research?"
"Happy cooperation!" Yuto nodded with satisfaction. Having sealed the deal, he smiled kindly and said, "I want you to crack the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Mark."
Before he finished—
Orochimaru froze again, his eyes narrowing with intrigue. "Looks like Yuto-kun's ambitions are greater than I thought."
Was he trying to win over the Hyuga branch family, or plunge the clan into chaos?
Who would've thought—
This so-called richest man of the ninja world harbored such dangerous ambitions!
However—
"It's not simple to crack the Caged Bird Mark."
"Not my problem! The money's already sent. Also... here's the complete seal formula." Yuto handed Orochimaru the seal scroll Hanabi had given him, not caring about the whole 'ambition' comment.
Is wanting a few more wings really that ambitious?
"I just want the final result! And don't run away! If you do..." He paused, then gave a smile as he looked at Orochimaru. "I'll put a 10 billion bounty on your head~!"
"..." Orochimaru's lips twitched, but he soon returned to his usual grinning self, licking his lips as he eyed Yuto. "You're really quite... tempting~"
This guy...
He almost wanted to kidnap him for ransom.
"Looks like I'd better put in some effort!"
"You really should! By the way, what's your phone number?"
"Sorry~, my base doesn't have any signal. Phones won't get through."
"I'll have someone set up a network connection there once I'm back!"
"That's my base, you know~ Yuto-kun, don't you think that's a bit much?"
"I'll give you another 500 million! Just cover the nearby area—I won't go near your base!"
"Fine~" Orochimaru gave in. Then, as Yuto turned to leave, he called out, "So, anything else you need help with, Yuto-kun?"
"One more thing..." Yuto seemed to remember something and handed Orochimaru a Sharingan given to him by the Elder. "Help me study this."
"???" Orochimaru blinked, surprised as he stared at it. "A Sharingan?"
Then looked at Yuto again in confusion.
What was an Uchiha doing asking him to study an Uchiha bloodline?
That's a major taboo in the ninja world~
However—
"It's just... forget it! I'll explain the details later. It's complicated right now."
It's probably not that easy for a VR network to succeed.
Yuto waved his hand and turned to leave. "Kumogakure is still hunting Oto ninjas. I'm heading back first. Watch yourself—I don't want to have to bust you out of prison!"
That'd cost a fortune!
As soon as he finished speaking—
Several figures flickered away.
And Orochimaru...
He glanced at the Sharingan in his hand, then looked in the direction Yuto had left. He grinned slyly and licked his lips. "What an interesting guy!"
He put the Sharingan away, shaking his head with a sigh.
This operation had already failed, but fortunately, he still pocketed 1.5 billion—enough to sustain him for quite a while.
After all—
That's no small amount.
With a leap, he darted off in several quick blurs toward the lower area.
The Land of Lightning was no longer safe.
However—
'Whoosh Whoosh~'
Suddenly—
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly as he froze in place, staring at several figures who had appeared wearing Konoha Anbu masks. He gave a light smile, seemingly unfazed, as if he didn't care. "Oh~ Anbu sure move quickly."
At those words—
One of the masked ninjas replied calmly, "We set out the moment the live broadcast started."
"I see? How troublesome." Orochimaru feigned a headache and rubbed his temple. "So… are you here to bring me back to the village?"
"No." Surprisingly, the masked ninja shook his head and continued looking at Orochimaru. "Danzo-sama simply wishes to collaborate with you."
"Danzo-sama? You're Root ninja?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.
Though Root had been deliberately weakened later on due to that 1 billion bounty, and the village had shifted its focus to protecting Danzo, he was still well aware of Root's reputation.
He narrowed his eyes and licked his lips. "That guy… Don't tell me he wants me to help with some research again?"
What a terrible feeling~
He hadn't forgotten what he helped him research back then!
Or maybe—
"Could it be he regrets it now and wants to study that thing with me after all?"
He didn't say what "that thing" was, but the Root ninja before him would surely understand.
"That's not it. But it seems Orochimaru-sama already has an idea." The Root ninja nodded. "Danzo-sama simply hopes you'll lend a hand."
"Sorry. I'm too busy for weird messy projects. Just accepted a major job."
"Danzo-sama will pay this time!" It was as if they already expected him to refuse. "At least a business worth tens of billions!"
"Oh~ Looks like our Danzo-sama really struck gold this time. At least worth tens of billions?" Orochimaru blinked, then narrowed his eyes slightly. "So, what does he want me to research?"
For money... it's not shameful.
Considering the state of Otogakure now…
Even Orochimaru had no choice.
"The specifics will be discussed directly with Danzo-sama. It's a major business deal. We're not qualified." The Root ninja shook his head. "Your phone number…"
"...Don't have one."
Is that the standard opener in the ninja world now—asking for phone numbers?
As for the phone he used earlier to contact Iwagakure—it had already been destroyed. Who knew if it might be used to trace him?
"Alright then." The Root ninja nodded and pulled a phone from his robes. "It has an unregistered SIM. Danzo-sama will contact you directly."
And with that—
"Then… we'll be taking our leave, Orochimaru-sama."
As soon as the words dropped—
The group flickered and vanished in front of Orochimaru.
He looked in the direction they'd gone, then at the phone in his hand, falling briefly silent before chuckling to himself. "I didn't think I'd be this popular~"
Everyone wanted to do business with him.
If he had known—
He wouldn't have bothered cooperating with Iwagakure in the first place!
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