"Stay away from me. I don't like cold snakes."
"If you rub against me one more time, don't blame me for activating Susano'o and giving you another thorough massage!"
Shimoku arched an eyebrow, took a deep breath, and sighed faintly before warning him.
"Don't be so cold! We're partners after all. And now we're both rogue ninjas from Konoha..."
"That's different. Your heart still belongs to Konoha, right?"
Orochimaru stiffened momentarily.
Then he quickly smiled.
"How could that be? I'm already plotting revenge against Konoha!"
"That place deserves destruction!"
Shimoku shot Orochimaru a sidelong glance and snorted inwardly:
"Pfft! Your ridiculous 'Konoha Destruction Plan'—you didn't even kill a single important person after all that fighting!"
"On the contrary, in the end: You helped Konoha eliminate the Fourth Kazekage; let those rookie genin train and grow stronger; and even allowed Konoha to extort a huge compensation from [Sunagakure]."
"Exactly like a 'smug, self-important, arrogant, moody honor student trying to prove himself to a strict teacher.' If you hadn't overstepped your bounds and lost both hands to Sarutobi at the end, who knows how it would've turned out!"
Of course, Shimoku didn't voice these thoughts.
After all, he and Orochimaru were indeed cooperating now.
Later, when establishing their own village, he would really need Orochimaru's help as well as support from the [Land of Rice Fields].
Therefore, it wasn't the right time to break ties yet.
Plus, he had paid a considerable price to establish this partnership—it couldn't go to waste.
"Let's get serious!"
"Within three days, I want the ruler of the [Land of Rice Fields] to officially announce to all nations, formally accepting the Uchiha Clan on behalf of the country."
Shimoku voiced his demand.
Because once formally accepted by a nation, it would undoubtedly add another protective layer over the Uchiha Clan.
At that point, other ninja villages—including Konoha—would have to consider international alliances before openly launching large-scale attacks. At most, they might only send covert Anbu squads for secret operations.
Exactly for this reason,
the Oto Village, founded by Orochimaru and recognized by the [Land of Rice Fields], could exist so openly.
Otherwise, Konoha would've sent an army to wipe out the [Oto Village] long ago.
Although perhaps the reason was also because Orochimaru had maintained an interest-based cooperation with Danzo all along.
Still, it sufficiently proved how significant this official national recognition truly was.
"Oh? This won't be easy at all!"
Orochimaru raised his eyebrows, beginning to negotiate.
"Don't joke around. Isn't the ruler of the [Land of Rice Fields] already under your control? Otherwise, do you think your ragged little [Oto Village] would ever be recognized?"
"Shimoku-kun sure has his sources!"
"Fine, I'll arrange it immediately."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as he gave his reply.
This kid was truly difficult to deal with!
He felt like he was the one taking orders.
If it weren't for coveting his strength and the promised benefits, why would he work this hard?
"Also, how's my preparation of Hashirama's cells coming along?"
You're really not holding back, are you?
"Are you really going to go through with this transplant? If your body rejects it, you'll die!"
Orochimaru stared at Shimoku.
It was hard to believe that a ten-year-old boy would recklessly offer his own body for such a dangerous experimental cell transplant.
This kid was truly insane!
"I'm confident I won't die."
"That bastard Danzo could endure your artificial arm transplant. Do you think I'd be weaker than an old man?"
"Besides, if I really die, wouldn't that suit your interests perfectly?"
"And besides, your technique for Hashirama's cell transplants has definitely improved since before, right?"
Ever since the day he entered this world—
Shimoku had been eyeing the so-called 'universal solution' known as 'Hashirama's cells.'
Now that he had defected from Konoha and arrived at Otogakure in the Land of Rice Fields,
free from Konoha's surveillance and restrictions,
it made sense to move forward with getting the Hashirama cell transplant from Orochimaru.
After all, not utilizing the greatest scientist in the ninja world would be an enormous waste!
Moreover, neither he nor his clan were in a particularly safe situation either.
Konoha, other Hidden Villages, Akatsuki—all posed potential threats.
They might all want to "take a bite"—trying to get a piece of the prize that was his clan and test his strength.
If his Mangekyō became useless due to overuse, it would become a serious problem.
Although the System Store offered the option to exchange for an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, the cost of 10,000 Gold Coins was simply too high!
Even the now-wealthy Shimoku couldn't afford such an expense.
So, settling for second best, he had no choice but to let Orochimaru implant him with Hashirama's cells.
Though this method would likely cause some minor side effects,
Shimoku was confident he could suppress them.
After all, others like Yamato, Danzo, and Obito had succeeded—there was no reason he should fail.
Even if he did fail,
he still had the system to protect his life.
But if he succeeded, he would be able to use the Mangekyō Sharingan's powers freely, just like Big Bro Tu, with no longer any need to worry about going blind.
At that point, his overall strength would skyrocket!
...
"Hahaha! What a greedy fellow!"
"But I like it."
"Oh, and don't forget our deal. If you die, those eyes of yours will belong to me!"
Orochimaru laughed loudly.
Truthfully, he enjoyed working with these kinds of reckless lunatics.
Plus, he was genuinely eager to see what kind of explosive power would emerge when combining Hashirama's cells with this brat.
"No problem."
Shimoku replied calmly.
After all, when a person dies, it's like a lamp being snuffed out—once gone, nothing else matters anymore.
Especially considering, if he couldn't even protect his own life, how could he talk about dominating the ninja world?
"Can you be ready within five days?"
"Of course!"
Orochimaru confirmed. He was even more eager about this transplantation experiment than Shimoku himself.
He certainly wouldn't keep the boy waiting a second longer than needed.
...
Soon enough, the two continued discussing numerous details regarding the 'Hashirama's cell transplantation' for quite some time.
Finally settling on all the arrangements.
At the same time, Shimoku also noticed the "Sky" ring on Orochimaru's finger.
Suddenly he remembered.
Originally, Orochimaru should have attempted to steal Itachi's body as a new vessel after Itachi joined Akatsuki. When that failed, and because his goals differed from those of Akatsuki, he eventually left the organization.
That means Orochimaru should still be within Akatsuki at this point.
Now that's good news!
This situation could actually work to our advantage!
After all, there were still many valuable things inside Akatsuki:
The Rinnegan, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, various talents, and even 60 billion explosive tags...
All of them are definitely worth scheming for.
Indeed, it's better here with Lady Snake.
There's actually a kind of homely warmth here.
You can do whatever you feel like, completely free with no limits.
No longer needing to endure constant ostracism and surveillance like in Konoha...
Of course, all these ideas required careful planning.
Currently, there was another matter needing priority attention.
...
"Orochimaru, you've always had cooperation with Danzo, right?"
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's pupils contracted, and he became unusually more serious.
After all, since defecting from Konoha,
his communications and collaboration with Danzo had always been done in secret.
This shouldn't have been exposed!
How did this brat Shimoku find out?
Just how deep was his information network within Konoha?
Of course, there was no way for him to know... Shimoku might not have had an actual intelligence network, but the memories from his past life were beyond anything any hidden village's spies could match — nearly encompassing all the secrets of the entire Ninja World...
"I didn't expect that Shimoku already knows about this!"
"There's no need to worry. Cooperation exists only for mutual benefit. Given Danzo's position within Konoha, I might even end up cooperating with him someday..."
Shimoku wasn't particularly concerned about the cooperation between Orochimaru and Danzo—it was nothing more than mutual exploitation.
Besides, if necessary, either one wouldn't hesitate to stab the other in the back.
Nothing to worry about.
"Alright, let's get serious."
"Recently, Danzo probably assigned you a new mission or proposed some sort of deal, right?"
Shimoku fixed his gaze on Orochimaru and asked quietly.
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