A flash of blood-red light gleamed in the Masked Man's lone eye, exuding a menacing aura.
However, Sōmi remained completely unfazed. He even formed a one-handed seal, and purple patterns began to glow across his body, lifting him into the air.
"What's this?"
"If I don't give it to you, are you planning to take it by force?"
Sōmi taunted with a mocking tone.
"Your terms lack sincerity!"
The light in the Masked Man's eye flickered uncertainly, but in the end, his tone softened. Within his plans, the most important objective at the moment was to retrieve his Sharingan.
Once that was accomplished, he would let Sōmi and the rest of Sunagakure know what true despair felt like!
"Do I really need to spell out whose terms lack sincerity here?"
"Don't overestimate your own cleverness, and don't assume others are too foolish to see through you."
"While the Sharingan may not hold much value in my hands, judging by the single Sharingan you've exposed, you must be searching for another one to pair with it, aren't you?"
"The Uchiha Clan members can evolve their Three Tomoe Sharingan into a Mangekyō. That's what you're after, isn't it?"
Sōmi spoke with a tone of disdainful confidence, as if his "guess" was a certainty.
The Masked Man's blood-red pupil contracted slightly. Sōmi's deduction was disturbingly close to the truth...
Fortunately, the Masked Man was confident that no one else could possibly know about his connection to Kakashi.
"..."
The Masked Man fell silent, his demeanor suggesting Sōmi had hit the mark.
"So, the Three Tomoe Sharingan in my possession are all potential Mangekyō to you. Is it unreasonable for me to demand the Sharingan in your eye in exchange?"
"I'm even willing to take a loss—two Sharingan for your one. How about that?"
"If you can bring me a pair of Rinnegan, I might even consider trading all my Sharingan for them..."
Sōmi spread his hands, putting on an air of "sincere business and fair trade."
"Hahaha!"
The Masked Man let out a bitter laugh, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do you think evolving a Three Tomoe Sharingan into a Mangekyō is something that can be done so easily?"
But Sōmi, unfazed, responded indifferently, "That's your problem."
"If you think my price is too high, you're welcome to dig around in Konohagakure yourself."
"..."
The Masked Man fell silent once again. If his strength allowed it, he would have captured Sōmi and subjected him to every form of torture in the ninja world to vent his frustration.
"Name another condition. My eye and the Rinnegan are not options for this deal."
The Masked Man finally relented, his tone filled with resignation.
"Then forget it!"
"Your Akatsuki organization doesn't have anything that interests me."
"You're unwilling to part with the Rinnegan, and you don't even have any advanced sealing techniques..."
Sōmi continued speaking nonchalantly.
Suddenly, the Masked Man's thoughts shifted, and he interrupted, "Wait!"
"Who said I don't have advanced sealing techniques?"
"The secret sealing techniques I possess are ones even the Uzumaki Clan couldn't master!"
Sōmi's eyes lit up, feigning surprise as he asked, "Oh?"
"What kind of techniques? Are they related to spatial sealing?"
"Hah!"
The Masked Man sneered, as if finally gaining the upper hand. "If I had more advanced spatial sealing techniques, do you think you could have trapped me last time?"
"They're related to Tailed Beasts and 'human puppet' physical clones!"
At the mention of "human puppets," Sasori, who had been standing vigilantly nearby, suddenly showed a spark of interest.
What followed was a session of haggling between Sōmi and the Masked Man.
The Masked Man took the opportunity to make a small request: he wanted to personally select the Sharingan, just as a customer might choose goods from a merchant's stall.
However, when Sōmi returned with the sealing scroll containing the Sharingan and displayed them, the Masked Man was dumbfounded.
Sōmi had long used sealing techniques to perfectly isolate each Sharingan within their respective containers.
This completely thwarted the Masked Man's plan to use his sensory abilities to locate and reclaim his own Sharingan.
Left with no choice, he randomly selected a dozen Sharingan and could only pray for good luck.
The exchange was conducted from a considerable distance, with Sasori controlling a puppet to handle the swap.
Even if the Masked Man wanted to launch a sneak attack and go back on his word, he wouldn't have had the opportunity.
Sōmi, on the other hand, accepted the arrangement without hesitation. After all, the Sharingan belonging to Shisui and Kakashi were stored in a small sealing scroll that he always carried on his person.
Once the transaction was complete, the Masked Man disappeared into a spatial vortex, vanishing without a trace.
Sōmi, however, stared at the two scrolls in his hand, deep in thought.
The scrolls contained none other than the Nine Consuming Dragons Seal and the Shape-Shifting Technique!
The Masked Man likely believed he had struck a great bargain, as the Nine Consuming Dragons Seal held little value for Sōmi, who was already a Perfect Jinchūriki.
Moreover, the seal required the Gedo Statue as a vessel to store Tailed Beast Chakra.
As for the Shape-Shifting Technique, it wasn't even a sealing technique but rather a cruel substitution Forbidden Technique.
Yet, a mysterious smile crept onto Sōmi's lips.
Those who traded sealing techniques with Sōmi often assumed he was merely a researcher with a fascination for rare and advanced seals. In their simplistic understanding, sealing even a single Tailed Beast within a ninja's body was already the limit.
However, with the Uzumaki Clan's Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and the newly acquired Nine Consuming Dragons Seal, a bold idea began to take root in Sōmi's mind.
"Let's head back, Sasori!"
Sōmi patted Sasori, who was engrossed in studying the Shape-Shifting Technique. The concept of "human puppets" seemed to have sparked new inspiration in him.
"Oh, by the way, Sasori!"
"Do you prefer your left eye or your right eye?"
As the two walked side by side toward the backyard, Sōmi suddenly asked.
"Uh?"
Caught off guard, Sasori froze for a moment. After some serious thought, he finally replied, "I guess it's my left eye!"
Wind Country, Asuka District, inside a secluded mountain peak near Asuka Castle.
Under dim yellow light, inside a sinister laboratory, Orochimaru, dressed in a white kimono, wore a chilling smile as he gazed at an uninvited guest.
Under the flickering light, Orochimaru's pale complexion almost appeared to carry a certain feminine softness, adding an eerie quality to the scene.
"Orochimaru..."
"Don't you want to uncover the truth of this world?"
"The secrets of the Rinnegan, the deeds of the Sage of Six Paths, the reality of this world..."
"I can tell you all of it!"
"But you must do something for me..."
From the ceiling, a pitcher plant-like form emerged, as though the layers of soil and rock were nothing but air.
As the pitcher plant split open, the black half of the figure spoke in a deep, ominous tone.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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