"A deal?"
Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils narrowed even tighter: "What deal can an Uchiha brat like you make with me?"
"Unless you are willing to offer your body as my vessel?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, looking at Yao with some greed.
Even in his current situation, Orochimaru still coveted Yao's body.
"I am currently very satisfied with my body and have no intention of changing it!"
Yao shook his head: "I have a way to cure your arms!"
"You can cure my hands? Uchiha brat, do you know what the source of this injury is?"
Orochimaru sneered, his tone carrying cold mockery.
Yao was not surprised by his reaction, his tone remaining steady:
"Your hands had their souls sealed by the Third using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
"Conventional medical ninjutsu cannot touch the soul level at all. To get them back, there is only one way."
"Oh?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.
"Perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal again, cut open the Shinigami's stomach, and all the sealed souls can be released!"
Yao said: "At that time, your hands will naturally recover as before."
"Dead Demon Consuming Seal... cut open the Shinigami's stomach..."
Orochimaru's pupils shrank, repeating these words in a low voice.
He instantly deduced the possibility of this method in his mind.
Logically...
It seemed truly feasible!
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal seals the target's soul within the caster's body, to be devoured by the Shinigami along with the caster's soul.
If the operation could be reversed...
But there was another problem here!
Orochimaru hissed: "The cost of performing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal is sacrificing the caster's soul!"
"Are you trying to induce me to perform this jutsu and let my soul dissipate?"
"Induce you? Orochimaru, you overestimate yourself too much. If I wanted to kill you, would I need to induce you?"
Yao sneered: "The Dead Demon Consuming Seal does not necessarily require sacrificing the soul!"
"As long as you wear the Shinigami mask secretly passed down by the Uzumaki clan, you can convert the sacrifice from soul to flesh."
"Abandoning a carefully cultivated body shouldn't be anything to you, Orochimaru... right?"
"After all, you're used to changing bodies, aren't you?"
Orochimaru fell silent, the tip of his tongue licking his cracked lips.
This intelligence exceeded the scope of his research on the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
His understanding of this jutsu was currently shallow, limited to knowing its existence and general principles.
Therefore, Orochimaru couldn't judge the authenticity of Yao's words.
But he had to admit that Yao's proposal, whether in logic or understanding of him, hit the nail on the head.
Abandoning the body?
This was indeed the price he was most "good at" paying.
"How do you prove your words?" Orochimaru hissed.
"Orochimaru, you really are... a cautious and suspicious guy!"
Yao shook his head, reached into his chest pocket, pulled out an old scroll, and tossed it over casually.
Yakushi Kabuto caught it hurriedly.
"This was dug out from the Root base, about the Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu. See for yourself!"
Yao said lightly.
Kabuto looked at Orochimaru inquiringly. Seeing the latter nod slightly, he immediately carefully unrolled the scroll and browsed it quickly.
The more he read, the stronger the surprise on Kabuto's face became.
The scroll indeed recorded the existence of the "Shinigami mask."
And mentioned its characteristic of possibly changing the form of sacrifice, sufficient to prove that Yao was not completely speaking nonsense.
"Lord Orochimaru..."
Kabuto lowered his voice and quickly relayed the key information to Orochimaru.
After listening, the light of inquiry and greed in Orochimaru's eyes intensified.
"Interesting... I will personally verify the records on it."
"Then..."
"Tell me, Uchiha Yao, you went to great lengths to find me and throw out such intelligence and methods. What do you... want from me?"
Only with give and take can it be called a trade!
Orochimaru didn't believe Uchiha Yao would be kind enough to help him.
Meeting Orochimaru's gaze, Yao stated his conditions:
"Two things!"
"First, the summoning contract scroll of Ryūchi Cave."
"Second, the complete formula of the improved Impure World Reincarnation technique, as well as all your research notes."
The Root base also had the Impure World Reincarnation technique, but it was still the crude formula developed by the Second Hokage.
Yao didn't need that; he wanted Orochimaru's improved version!
"Ryūchi Cave's summoning scroll?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes: "Uchiha brat, you want to obtain snake summoning beasts from Ryūchi Cave?"
"With the strength you displayed when suppressing Shukaku... do you still need to borrow the power of summoning beasts?"
"Summoning beasts?"
Yao shook his head: "No! What I want is the Senjutsu (Sage Jutsu) of Ryūchi Cave."
Sage Mode!
That was Yao's goal.
The boost Sage Mode provided to strength was unparalleled.
If his current Wood Release were boosted by Sage Mode, what level would his combat power reach?
He dared not say it would rival the First Hokage at his peak, but it would definitely be infinitely close, solidly at the Super Kage level.
Furthermore.
Senjutsu chakra was one of the few powers capable of causing effective damage to entities at the Ten-Tails level or even the Six Paths level.
For this point alone, Sage Mode... he must learn it!
Orochimaru's pupils shrank suddenly, staring tightly at Yao.
After a long while, a low, hoarse laugh came from his throat:
"Hehe... Uchiha brat, your ambition... is indeed much bigger than I imagined!"
He licked his lips, his tone complex: "But Senjutsu... is not something that can be mastered easily!"
"The violence of natural energy is far beyond your imagination."
"Moreover!"
"Ryūchi Cave itself is not something ordinary people can find, and the trials there are extremely dangerous."
"However, since you want to go yourself, I won't stop you!"
"I can give you the summoning contract scroll of Ryūchi Cave."
"As for whether you can get what you want... that depends on you!"
Orochimaru agreed very crisply.
Because giving the summoning contract did not mean he could definitely learn Senjutsu, let alone that Ryūchi Cave would accept him.
This was more of an opportunity!
For Orochimaru, there was no substantial loss, and he was even happy to see it happen.
"The Impure World Reincarnation technique..."
Orochimaru hesitated this time.
This forbidden jutsu wasn't something that absolutely couldn't be taught. What Orochimaru hesitated about was another aspect: resource competition.
The number of famous and powerful ninja in the history of the ninja world, those with special bloodlines or abilities, was limited.
The materials and sacrifices for the Impure World Reincarnation were also not endless.
Every additional person who mastered the Impure World Reincarnation technique meant one more potential "competitor" in the future to vie for these limited "resources of the strong."
Every time someone successfully reincarnated a powerful ninja, he, Orochimaru, would have one fewer usable "pawn."
This was simply cultivating a competitor for himself. How could he agree to something that harmed himself while benefiting others?