Jigen arrived quickly.
Without making Orochimaru wait long, he stepped out of a suddenly distorted purplish-black portal.
But Orochimaru noticed that the aura of the other party was different from last time. The Chakra reaction was much stronger, indicating that he had not been unprepared during that short period.
Perhaps, like him, the other party had decided to fight.
However, Orochimaru's expression did not change, and a smile played on his lips, "What an enviable ability. Does the Ootsuki clan travel through space using a similar ability?"
"Stop the nonsense, quickly take out what you showed me just now…"
Jigen got straight to the point, saying, "I will judge from this whether you have the capital to trade with me further."
Seeing only a projection might lead to errors, and given the critical nature of the matter, he was also worried that Orochimaru might be playing some trick to deceive his senses.
"You really get straight to the point. I thought long-lived beings like the Ootsuki would be hesitant and slow... This is truly unexpected."
Orochimaru licked his lips, his expression somewhat playful, "But who are you putting on that condescending act for? I'm not your subordinate."
"..."
Jigen's expression darkened. While it was true that Orochimaru's current strength could even defeat nearly half of the Ootsuki clansmen, so what? Even Ootsuki Kaguya, in the past, was still below him in status. Orochimaru, a native who evolved later, what was he?
However, the thing seen in the projection was indeed important, and he had to check and confirm it.
Jigen suppressed his offended anger and said coldly, "What exactly do you want?"
"Since it's a trade, you should show sincerity. This is a human custom."
Orochimaru glanced at Jigen, "But it seems you don't plan to do that. Instead, you're relying on the prestige of the Ootsuki clan to get something for nothing."
"..." Jigen took a deep breath and repeated, "What exactly do you want?"
"The teleportation technique just now would be a very suitable sincerity."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "How about giving me the knowledge of how to use spatial techniques?"
"Give it to me..."
Jigen's brows furrowed slightly on his cold face. It was less a matter of unwillingness and more one of confusion and difficulty.
The Ootsuki clan was born from the corpse of 'God'. While they might not have bodies and their spirits might not be complete, as long as their natural energy and Chakra were abundant, they could continuously evolve to perfect themselves.
Abilities like spatial teleportation were awakened automatically during this process.
Jigen had observed the ninja world for so long and naturally knew that what humans called knowledge was summarized, reusable experience and inheritance.
But since there was no learning process, there was naturally no such thing as knowledge. Everything about the Ootsuki came purely from instinct.
Seeing Jigen's silence, Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong? Any difficulty?"
"Although your life level is similar to ours, you do not have the Ootsuki bloodline. You have no way to learn my abilities."
Jigen frankly stated his thoughts. After all, the other party was a top-tier existence among the natives, and it was impossible to hide such a matter.
"Bloodline limitation, tsk... I hear this excuse again."
Orochimaru sneered, his eyes narrowing slightly, and his tone was clearly questioning, "The mighty Ootsuki can't even do this? Are you really the overlords of the cosmos?"
Jigen frowned deeply at this, a trace of anger flashing in his eyes, "Inferior beings need to pass knowledge by word of mouth and record it in writing... We Ootsuki naturally gain knowledge and skills as we grow."
"So, noble Ootsuki... do you have anything to trade with me?" A hint of mockery flickered in Orochimaru's eyes.
"..."
Stung by Orochimaru's words, Jigen coldly sneered, "There is a way, but I fear you won't dare to use it."
"Tell me first," Orochimaru said indifferently.
"I know you've acquired the abilities of Kaguya's descendants through cell transplantation... but that's the most inferior method."
Jigen glanced at Orochimaru with an extremely contemptuous attitude, "Relax your mind and do not resist. As long as you endure my mental erosion, you will immediately gain these abilities."
"Well, do you dare?"
"..." Orochimaru frowned slightly, but after a moment of hesitation, he smiled, "This method is worth a try."
His original body would be subjected to the erosion of another spiritual entity. This was clearly not a good idea, especially since the other party was a race skilled in spiritual matters.
However, Orochimaru didn't care much. With the Genie Lamp, no one could take over his body. What if he was eroded? He would erode back with his spirit.
This change was not irreversible.
"You are indeed bold."
Jigen was slightly taken aback by Orochimaru's quick agreement and did not refuse. This was also a good opportunity for him to investigate Orochimaru's body.
His immense Chakra suddenly erupted violently, and striped black markings appeared on his skin. A single horn twisted on his forehead, instantly making his once handsome face look ferocious.
"Is this your combat state?" Golden light flowed in Orochimaru's eyes, and he chuckled, "It's not enough. It looks like you're only on par with Nagato."
"It's enough to erode you."
Jigen did not approach Orochimaru immediately but said coldly, "Relax your mind and do not resist... Can you do that?"
"Please..." Orochimaru raised a hand in a gesture, and his Chakra receded, making him look like an ordinary person in the ninja world.
A gust of wind blew, and Orochimaru stood still, allowing Jigen to grasp his hand.
The latter constantly watched Orochimaru's movements, maximizing the Byakugan in his eyes. If there was the slightest change, he would withdraw immediately.
"Are you nervous?" Orochimaru kept his hand raised, a smile on his lips, "Don't worry. Although your current strength is average, with the existence of the Ootsuki clan, I wouldn't dare to eliminate you."
"You don't have the ability to do that either..."
Jigen replied coldly, but a strange light flickered deep in his eyes as he considered whether to strike.
The two were closer than ever. If he could gain the initiative, it would be quite effective... His supreme dojutsu, the other party might not be able to withstand it.
But this thought was dismissed as soon as it surfaced.
They were so close that he could clearly feel the playfulness in Orochimaru's eyes. Was this arrogance or confidence? At least now, he leaned more towards the latter.
If the other party were truly so careless, he would never have had the chance to get this close.
'It's enough to investigate his background this time.'
Having made up his mind, Jigen conjured a faint blue light in his palm, which solidified into a rhombus pattern in mid-air and suddenly pressed towards Orochimaru's hand.
Members of the Ootsuki clan could all be digitized and create their own "Key" as backup data for resurrection in case of accidents.
The "Key" would gradually thaw and replace the recipient's body with the Ootsuki's own body information, in other words, erosion.
During this process, the recipient "vessel" would naturally gain the Ootsuki's abilities, although this was the least important effect.
Creating a "Key" consumed a large amount of Chakra. This time, he naturally would not create a complete one, but even a incomplete one would be enough as a probing tool.
After implanting this "Key" into Orochimaru's palm, Jigen stared intently at Orochimaru, not missing any change.
However, to his surprise, the other party was barely affected. His body only stiffened for a moment before returning to normal.
'Was it directly rejected, or did he... digest it?'
The latter thought startled Jigen, who immediately negated it, "That's impossible. How could my spiritual power be swallowed by a native so quickly?"
"Keys" could indeed be damaged and dissolved, but it always required a long time of attrition or the satisfaction of certain specific and strict conditions.
Jigen was certain that Orochimaru would not have met any of those.
In fact, that was exactly the case. Orochimaru had not swallowed Jigen's "Key." Instead, he had somehow fused with this damaged body information and fallen into a deep sleep, just as he had when he entered the Outer Path Gozu.
The controller of this body had now changed.
"It failed. A shame."
The Genie Lamp, mimicking Orochimaru's expression, stuck out its tongue and licked its lips, "However, if we try a few more times, there might be a chance of success. How about... a couple more times?"
Anyway, Orochimaru, who was already asleep, could not fall asleep again.
"Try a few more times? What do you think a 'Key' is?"
Jigen snorted coldly at Orochimaru's insatiable greed, "Each one I create consumes a vast amount of Chakra."
So the markings from just now were "Keys."
The Genie Lamp nodded slightly and then said, "If I provide the Chakra, can you make some more?"
From Orochimaru's state before falling asleep, it seemed much more comfortable than his last encounter with the Outer Path Gozu, so there shouldn't be much danger.
Moreover, "Keys," as a unique method of the Ootsuki clan, were of great research value.
He knew that if Orochimaru were here, he would likely have the same thought.
Faced with such a shameless request from Orochimaru, Jigen simply said coldly, "I have already shown my sincerity according to human custom... Now, where is your sincerity?"
Seeing that the other party did not reply, the Genie Lamp shook its head with a hint of regret and then took something out of the scroll, "Your promised sincerity is right here."
Jigen looked at Orochimaru's palm, where there was a sand-like sphere about the size of a fist. He could clearly feel the astonishing amount of natural energy contained within.
"Where did you get this thing?" Jigen stared intently at Orochimaru, his eyes filled with longing.
Such a pure natural energy ore could not possibly exist alone; it should have been accompanied by a giant terrestrial vein.
But this was inexplicable. The large terrestrial veins in the ninja world had already been drained by the Divine Tree. What remained of the ninja world was merely a tiny piece of land, and the few terrestrial vein nodes were just leftovers.
"Do you think I would easily tell you this kind of information?"
The Genie Lamp held the sand-like sphere, spun it in front of Jigen, and then put it back into the scroll, chuckling, "Rather, what are you willing to pay to get this information?"
Compressing the natural energy of the little White Snake and condensing it into a fungal spore corpse to create this sphere... the effect seemed quite good, and there was no need for further discussion.
"What do you want?"
Jigen, as expected of someone who had seen much, quickly calmed down, his sharp gaze fixed on Orochimaru.
"I originally wanted to ask for some useful knowledge, but it seems you can't provide it..."
The Genie Lamp shook its head as if in distress and then looked at Jigen, "Now I should ask, what can you give me?"
"..."
After a moment of silence, Jigen spoke, "The 'Key' I made for you just now was incomplete due to Chakra quantity issues. If you provide Chakra, I can make a perfect one."
As long as the main body was alive and the Chakra amount was sufficient, any amount of backup data information could be created.
But the large terrestrial vein that Orochimaru had discovered, Jigen did not want to miss.
"I knew it. You held something back."
The Genie Lamp smiled, "This deal is made."
Saying that, it took out the sand-like sphere it had just put into the scroll and then took out three more, casually tossing them to Jigen.
"Whether it's enough or not, consider these as payment for making the 'Key.' Contact me after you're done making it."
Jigen held four spheres in his hand, his eyes flashing for a moment, and nodded slightly, "Very well."
He himself could not absorb natural energy, but these would be good nourishment for that young Ten-Tails and more than enough for creating data backup "Keys."
"In that case, we'll stop here for today."
The Genie Lamp waved its hand and said with a smile, "Before I fulfill my promise to you, it's best to prepare. There's something there that's not easy to deal with."
"I know this better than you. No need to say extra things."
Jigen snorted coldly and retreated into the purplish-black portal, disappearing.
The Genie Lamp remained in place, waiting for Orochimaru to awaken. It could sense that this would not take too long.
...
In the forest of the Land of Fire.
A White Zetsu clone poked its head out of a tree trunk and smiled at the gaunt figure beside it, "Obito, we're almost there. But before that, Konoha people will also arrive."
"Although I helped you lure away Jiraiya and two Anbu teams, you'll have to deal with those Uchihas."
"..." Danzo gave the White Zetsu a cold glance, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Killing a few fellow villagers as a sign of loyalty... it's completely unnecessary."
He knew himself. Now that he was openly defecting, the Root ninjas who remained could no longer be controlled, and some secrets would inevitably be exposed.
Of those secrets, any one of them was enough. The lives of a few fellow villagers meant nothing.
Uchiha Madara trying to make a fuss about this was utterly foolish.
The White Zetsu clone chuckled upon hearing Danzo's complaint, neither refuting nor agreeing, and directly submerged back into the tree trunk.