After examining Orochimaru, Richard spoke deliberately: "There are too many onlookers here. Perhaps we should find somewhere more private to talk?"
Though Orochimaru undoubtedly ranked among the most powerful Kage-level shinobi, Richard harbored no concerns about any threat the Sannin might pose.
Orochimaru's survival abilities were formidable, and his ninjutsu repertoire vast, but he possessed one notable weakness—his raw offensive power lacked the devastating impact of other Kage-level fighters.
Of course, this relative deficiency only became apparent when comparing him to peers of similar caliber. Against shinobi significantly weaker than himself, Orochimaru remained every bit the harbinger of death.
"Very well," Orochimaru replied, studying Richard with evident curiosity before smiling.
As he spoke, his elongated, serpentine tongue flicked out to moisten his lips unconsciously.
Though Orochimaru possessed undeniable charisma as a villain, the habit of licking his lips with that unnaturally long tongue remained distinctly unsettling.
Upon hearing Orochimaru's agreement, Richard calmly returned Masamune to his system space and approached the Sannin with measured confidence.
As Richard drew near, Orochimaru's expression shifted to one of genuine surprise.
Until Richard stood directly before him, Orochimaru hadn't detected the stranger's most unusual characteristic—his complete lack of chakra.
A civilian?
No! Impossible!
No civilian could possess such strength!
Multiple theories flashed through Orochimaru's mind simultaneously.
Though baffled by Richard's chakra-less state, one certainty emerged—Orochimaru's interest in this mysterious visitor had increased exponentially.
"Follow me," he instructed after scrutinizing Richard for several moments with his serpentine, golden vertical pupils.
Richard offered a silent nod in response.
More than ten minutes later, Richard found himself within Orochimaru's underground complex—specifically, a reception area designed for entertaining guests.
Due to Orochimaru's unconventional aesthetic sensibilities, the entire chamber emanated the same unsettling, gloomy atmosphere as its master. Any ordinary visitor would likely wonder if they'd stepped into a haunted room.
"What would you like to drink?" Orochimaru inquired languidly after leading Richard into this seldom-used reception area.
"Nothing, thank you," Richard declined.
Though Orochimaru posed no real threat to his powers, Richard had no intention of consuming anything offered by the Sannin.
Superficially, Orochimaru's interests seemed limited to ninjutsu, the Sharingan, immortality, and similar pursuits. In reality, however, he epitomized a "scientist" driven by insatiable curiosity and pragmatic experimentation.
Within the Naruto universe, individuals placed their faith in diverse principles—some believed in bloodline inheritance, others in effort and training, while many championed friendship and emotional bonds.
Orochimaru, however, believed in science.
Judging by his actions alone, Orochimaru certainly qualified as an unambiguous villain—Richard wouldn't contest this assessment.
Yet beyond his villainy, Richard recognized additional dimensions to his character.
While others found themselves constrained by emotions and social conventions, Orochimaru pursued his experiments with singular focus and unrestrained enthusiasm. Compared to his peers, he seemed purer in his motivations and freer in spirit.
Though this purity and freedom often created significant problems for others—establishing him as Naruto's primary antagonist during its early arcs—one couldn't deny his authentically unfettered nature.
Moreover, his deviation from conventional morality remained somewhat understandable.
Orphaned at a young age, Orochimaru grew up without familial connections. Though eventually assigned to the Third Hokage's team after graduating from the Academy, becoming friends with Jiraiya and Tsunade in the process, he remained largely isolated within Konoha.
Had the Second Great Ninja War never erupted, Orochimaru might have developed into a "good person" under the Third Hokage's guidance. Unfortunately, war did break out.
Through their exceptional abilities, he, Jiraiya, and Tsunade achieved renown throughout the shinobi world as the "Three Legendary Sannin," becoming heroes and symbols of pride for Konoha.
During this conflict, however, Orochimaru witnessed death on an unprecedented scale.
The deaths of Tsunade's younger brother Nawaki and her lover Dan Katō, coupled with memories of his own parents' wartime demise and countless battlefield casualties, forced Orochimaru to confront life's fragility.
Consequently, after the Second Great Ninja War concluded, Orochimaru began researching immortality.
Before this turning point, his ambition had merely been to master every ninjutsu in existence. After witnessing life's impermanence, he developed an additional obsession.
From that moment forward, Orochimaru's gradual transformation into a villain began.
Though his studies of the Impure World Reincarnation technique and various immortality methods commenced after the Second Great Ninja War, Orochimaru maintained a sterling reputation in Konoha until his eventual defection.
During this period, he accepted Anko Mitarashi as his student, enjoyed hero status within the village, and commanded widespread respect. For years, many considered him the obvious choice for future Hokage.
This expectation wasn't limited to village residents—Orochimaru himself anticipated the appointment.
However, when the time came to select the next Hokage, Orochimaru lost to Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage.
Upon discovering the Third Hokage had not supported his candidacy, Orochimaru fully committed to his villainous trajectory.
Though Minato had already achieved shinobi world fame during the Third Great Ninja War, in terms of raw strength and contributions, he actually fell short of Orochimaru at that time.
Minato had participated exclusively in the Third Great Ninja War, while Orochimaru had fought in two major conflicts.
Setting aside lesser assignments, consider only the highest-ranking S-class missions: before becoming the Fourth Hokage, Minato had completed 39 S-rank missions, compared to Orochimaru's 108.
Similar disparities existed regarding A-rank, B-rank, and C-rank mission totals, with Orochimaru consistently outperforming Minato.
From Academy graduation to Fourth Hokage appointment, Minato completed 847 missions total.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, had completed 1,468 missions.
More tellingly, among Orochimaru's 1,468 completed missions, only 16 were D-rank.
Minato had completed 122 D-rank missions.
According to Konoha's mission classification standards, D-rank assignments involved no direct combat or life-threatening situations—tasks like locating lost pets, babysitting, and similar mundane activities.
Orochimaru graduated from the Academy at age six, while Minato graduated at ten.
This meant Orochimaru completed merely 16 non-life-threatening D-rank missions after graduation before consistently risking his life on the battlefield.
Following his own graduation, Minato enjoyed a relatively stable period during which he completed 122 D-rank missions before accepting C-rank assignments that carried injury potential.
Orochimaru's complete embrace of villainy after the Hokage recommendation meeting stemmed from another significant factor.
If the Third Hokage's lack of support had obvious explanations, Minato's identity provided the underlying rationale.
Minato was Jiraiya's student.
Orochimaru would have resented losing to Jiraiya himself—losing to Jiraiya's student proved even more galling.
After all, Jiraiya had never bested Orochimaru since childhood.
Though rarely displaying his emotions openly, Orochimaru maintained tremendous pride.
He acknowledged Minato's exceptional talent but never anticipated losing the Hokage position to him.
After this defeat, Orochimaru concluded that the Third Hokage backed Minato to establish a puppet leader through whom he could continue controlling Konoha.
During this period, Orochimaru also associated with Danzō "Darkness of the Shinobi" Shimura.
Consequently, without any further uncertainty, Orochimaru's final opportunity to "return to the path of righteousness" vanished.
From Richard's perspective, the Third Hokage bore significant responsibility for Orochimaru's transformation from Konoha hero to rogue ninja.
Regarding ninjutsu instruction, the Third Hokage excelled as a teacher—he had, after all, trained three shinobi who achieved legendary status throughout the ninja world.
However, beyond ninjutsu, the Third Hokage proved woefully inadequate as a mentor.
Had the Third Hokage recognized Orochimaru's true value and provided appropriate support, Orochimaru might never have resorted to clandestine human experimentation.
With Konoha's resources, suitable experimental conditions could have been arranged for Orochimaru without requiring him to abduct subjects for illicit human testing.
Though human experimentation might sound reprehensible, it wasn't absolutely indefensible.
Setting aside the Naruto world entirely, even Earth's modern medical and pharmaceutical advancements remained inseparable from various forms of human testing.
Konoha possessed sufficient resources to provide Orochimaru with ethically acceptable human research parameters that wouldn't violate basic principles of justice.
Unfortunately, the Third Hokage failed to appreciate Orochimaru's genuine potential.
Fundamentally, the Third Hokage remained an antiquated relic of the past.
After hearing Richard's refusal, Orochimaru settled onto the sofa opposite him and remarked: "You are quite exceptional."
"As are you," Richard countered.
"Let's dispense with pleasantries. What do you want from me?" Orochimaru continued.
"My purpose in seeking you out is straightforward. I want all information about chakra in your possession," Richard stated plainly. "You've undoubtedly noticed I possess no chakra whatsoever. I'm fascinated by chakra and wish to understand its fundamental nature."
Before arriving at Otogakure, Richard had mentally prepared for Orochimaru to discover his chakra-less condition. Though uncertain how Orochimaru might interpret this anomaly, Richard remained unconcerned.
As long as he revealed nothing further, Orochimaru would never deduce his extraplanar origin. Barring unforeseen complications, once Orochimaru observed his chakra-less state, he would likely categorize Richard alongside special cases like Jūgo.
Jūgo possessed an innate ability to absorb natural energy—essentially, the power to transform into a sage. When surrounding natural energy intensified, Jūgo involuntarily entered sage transformation, becoming berserk due to his inability to control this process.
The Cursed Seal developed by Orochimaru represented an adaptation and refinement of Jūgo's sage transformation.
"I do possess information about chakra," Orochimaru replied, "but why should I share it with you?"
"The answer is simple—because if you refuse, I will kill you," Richard stated matter-of-factly. "I know exactly who you are and which techniques you've mastered. This isn't arrogance speaking: even your ultimate technique—the Eight Branches Technique—cannot challenge me."
Due to interdimensional restrictions, Richard couldn't access abilities he'd plundered previously. Even so, Orochimaru posed no genuine threat.
Even limited to template powers alone, Orochimaru remained outmatched.
Though Richard's tone and expression remained calm, the moment he mentioned "Eight Branches Technique," Orochimaru emanated palpable killing intent.
As Richard had indicated, the Eight-Headed Serpent technique represented Orochimaru's ultimate trump card—one whose existence remained unknown to anyone but himself.
"Who are you?" Orochimaru demanded icily, his expression hardening as he prepared to strike at any moment.
"My identity matters less than whether you wish to continue living," Richard replied. "Also, a friendly warning—don't fixate your killing intent on me. Otherwise, I may abandon my current civility."
"I'll confess something: I genuinely admire you. If avoidable, I'd prefer not to kill you."
From a personal standpoint, Richard truly respected Orochimaru. This admiration, however, wouldn't prevent him from eliminating the Sannin if necessary.
If Orochimaru insisted on provoking a lethal confrontation, Richard would oblige him.
"Many have sought my death, yet I remain very much alive," Orochimaru remarked. "Though your chakra-less state puzzles me, I'll be forthright—you cannot defeat me. Only a handful of individuals in this world possess that capacity, and you certainly aren't among them."
"Is that so?" Richard challenged. "Since you're unconvinced, let's find an appropriate battlefield. Judging by your expression, you seem quite intrigued by my physiology. If you manage to defeat me, I'll allow you complete freedom to study my body however you wish."
"A battle?" Orochimaru's tongue flicked out again. "Since you're so eager to die, I'll accommodate your wish. Given your unique physical properties, I promise to treat your remains with scientific care and uncover all your biological secrets."
"Save your promises for after you've defeated me," Richard responded, regarding Orochimaru with calm confidence.
Half an hour later, Richard and Orochimaru stood facing each other on a grassland north of Otogakure.
"Before we begin, one final advisory: employ your full capabilities immediately," Richard cautioned. "Otherwise, you'll regret your restraint."
Orochimaru offered no verbal response. Instead, he cast Richard a dismissive glance and began forming one-handed seals.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Within seconds, Orochimaru completed the necessary seals and expelled a massive gust of wind from his mouth.
Upon witnessing Orochimaru initiate the Wind Style technique, Richard shook his head in disappointment.
I warned you explicitly, yet you refused to listen.
Mentally lamenting Orochimaru's misjudgment, Richard activated his heat vision.
Though Richard deployed his heat vision after Orochimaru had already formed the Great Breakthrough technique, the searing beams emitted from his eyes reached Orochimaru before the wind attack could strike its intended target.