Orochimaru's disappointment was clearly discernible in his tone, even carrying a hint of imperceptible mockery.
In his imagined scenario, how wonderful it would be if Minato had been the one to arrive.
If that dazzling 'Sun' had sacrificed the lives of his villagers to pursue a heinous traitor like him—
This immense reversal of light and dark, even if unknown to others, would be the sweetest aftertaste in Orochimaru's heart, enough for him to savor for a long time.
He wanted to see the other party display a hypocritical expression—
Alas, it was merely an assumption.
Orochimaru felt a sudden surge of inexplicable annoyance, his cold gaze scrutinizing the mysterious person before him.
Anyone who could find him here, at this time, was definitely not an ordinary person, but a member of Konoha's core decision-making body. Orochimaru's lips curled into a cold sneer; even Minato couldn't avoid having such parasites among the higher-ups.
"Who are you?" Orochimaru's voice was filled with scrutiny.
"Just a Ninja who enjoys collecting strange things," Takuno's tone remained casual, as if chatting with an old friend. "Others playfully call me the Collector, and I quite like that name."
"The Collector?" Orochimaru repeated in a low voice, quickly searching through all the famous strong Ninja names in the Ninja World, but found nothing.
"Never heard of him."
The other party's Chakra was like an undercurrent beneath a calm sea, though not as overwhelming as Minato's, it clearly conveyed a strong signal to Orochimaru.
This person possessed fangs capable of posing a huge threat to him!
Such a person could never be unknown in the Ninja World!
"It's not too late to hear of me now," Takuno's voice was calm, without any hint of displeasure.
The moment his words fell, the air suddenly tightened!
Takuno's figure remained still, but an invisible pressure suddenly erupted around him!
Pure and massive Chakra instantly solidified in the air, forming several sharp, purple spears of Chakra that tore through the air, piercing precisely into the ground in front of his feet with a sharp whooshing sound!
Pfft!
A dull piercing sound rang out!
Takuno flicked his wrist, and the Chakra spears abruptly pulled out from the soil and shattered rocks. On their cold tips, several gray-black poisonous snakes were impaled, still instinctively twisting and struggling, but firmly pinned!
Their impaled bodies writhed, dripping with slime and foul blood.
"Lord Orochimaru," Takuno's voice carried a cold warning, muffled by his mask, "greeting me with these on our first meeting is hardly a way to treat a guest."
His gaze was as sharp as a blade, as if piercing through the mask and striking Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils slightly contracted, then returned to their usual lazy and dangerous expression.
His sneak attack being so cleanly exposed and countered was indeed beyond his expectation, but only to that extent.
The swiftness of the opponent's perception and reaction explained how he managed to track him down.
"Hehe—it was merely a small test to confirm the strength of my distinguished guest," Orochimaru chuckled deeply, easily dismissing his intentions.
Takuno also chuckled knowingly, the invisible Chakra fluctuations subsided, and the solidified spears dissipated into thin air.
"You've measured my strength," Takuno's tone shifted, getting straight to the point without any beating around the bush. "So, Orochimaru, how about we discuss a transaction?"
He paused, his gaze, like a hawk's, locked onto Orochimaru's eyes.
"All the research data you possess regarding the Cursed Seal—"
"Hand it over to me."
The air seemed to solidify.
The moment Takuno's words fell, Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils sharply constricted, like a venomous snake eyeing its prey.
A strong astonishment and an even deeper suspicion instantly swept through Orochimaru's heart.
This secret research was still in its infancy, never having revealed a single clue to the world. How could the other party so accurately utter its name?
Had those secretly placed test subjects revealed a weakness at some unknown stage?
Impossible! His process of screening targets and applying the Cursed Seal was extremely secretive, with no possibility of external contact.
A figure quickly flashed through his mind: Mitarashi Anko.
Had the Heaven Cursed Seal on her neck been discovered, leading her to betray him?
Or was there a deeper leak that he hadn't even noticed yet?
Several possibilities collided and intertwined in an instant, causing this usually calm scientist to experience a rare moment of mental stagnation.
He licked his dry lips, his usual sinister smile gone, replaced by a sharp, probing edge.
"Interesting, truly interesting." Orochimaru's voice carried a hint of deliberately suppressed urgency. "Then, could you tell me, through what channel did you learn of the 'Cursed Seal's' existence?"
His gaze, almost tangible, locked onto Takuno, trying to dig out the truth from the other's subtle expressions.
What he suspected most at this moment was that Mitarashi Anko had become the breakthrough.
However, Takuno mockingly refused.
"Hmm? Sorry, about that—" He deliberately drew out the end of his sentence, "I have no comment."
Orochimaru's eyes dangerously narrowed, a cold glint emanating from the narrow slits.
A faint, almost imperceptible killing intent quietly diffused around him.
"Tsk—" He let out a subtle yet menacing click of his tongue. "It seems you've come to this transaction without an ounce of sincerity."
Facing the approaching invisible pressure, Takuno remained unmoved, instead raising his eyes meaningfully towards Konoha, reminding him.
"I advise you not to be impulsive. This place isn't too far from Konoha, you know. If the Yellow Flash is alarmed, it won't benefit either of us, will it?"
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's lips slowly curved into an even more sinister and playful arc, letting out a low chuckle that sounded particularly chilling in the quiet forest.
"Hehehe, so you also fear Minato's power? Interesting. Are you afraid that your 'own' identity will be exposed in front of him?"
He heavily emphasized the word "own," a blatant provocation.
The confrontation between the two, in an invisible clash of blades, was filled with deeper distrust and calculation.
Takuno looked at Orochimaru and, without denying the other's suspicion, said, "I just don't want this transaction to fall through. I know you have means of escape, but do you think I would appear here without any preparations?"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Orochimaru's golden snake eyes suddenly constricted, cold vertical lines cutting through the depths of his pupils, but he didn't immediately retort.
After a moment of silence, his tongue lightly licked his thin lips, his tone low and hoarse.
"Since it's a transaction, then, what kind of bargaining chip can you offer?"
He made a judgment: whatever the other party could provide, if it was truly crucial to his research, a transaction was not impossible.
Takuno's lips curved into a subtle arc, as if he had been waiting for the other party to compromise.
"It should have been like this from the start. I guess the original source of your Cursed Seal test subjects was the Land of Waterfall, right?" This light question, however, struck like a thunderbolt.
Orochimaru's body stiffened slightly, his distinctive vertical pupils contracting sharply once before returning to normal.
He slowly nodded, his heart churning. The other party knew even such secret information like the back of his hand? He had begun researching the Cursed Seal before Minato became Hokage. How could this person be hidden so deeply within Konoha?
"Then—" Takuno pressed on, ignoring the surprise in the other's eyes, "those 'consumables' from the Land of Waterfall, they must have mentioned a frequently berserk boy, right? The one who could go out of control at any moment."
Orochimaru's eyes became completely sharp, like a venomous snake locking onto its prey: "Oh? Are you referring to that brat who suddenly vanished?"
He had, of course, heard of this special existence. When the news arrived, he had even regretted not having captured this natural Cursed Seal hotbed earlier.
"He's in your hands?!"
Orochimaru's voice finally held a hint of urgency.
Takuno nodded without surprise: "Of course. So, my bargaining chip is his cells."
"Impossible!" Orochimaru flatly denied, firm and resolute. "You want my research data? You must hand him over to me completely!"
He had never personally witnessed Jugo's "transformation" and would not exchange his precious research data, into which he had poured countless efforts, for cell tissue of unknown effect.
A look of anticipation flashed in Takuno's eyes, clearly having seen through Orochimaru's doubts long ago.
He didn't argue, simply and calmly pulled out a small glass bottle from his Huai and tossed it towards Orochimaru.
Cautious as he was, Orochimaru himself remained motionless, but a mud-like Shadow Clone instantly formed and steadily caught the bottle.
Golden snake eyes, through the clone's perspective, stared fixedly at the contents of the bottle: a small amount of cellular tissue fragments.
What shocked Orochimaru even more was the continuous, vast yet extremely unstable special energy emanating from the cells!
Although the fluctuations were intense, compared to the sparse energy extracted from the ordinary villagers he had captured, it was like the difference between clouds and mud!
If he could master cells of this level—
In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through Orochimaru's mind.
The stability of the Cursed Seal, the intensity of its effects, and even—mass production!
"Qualitative change!"
This thought made his heart burn with fervor!
However, this burning desire was immediately suppressed by an even stronger vigilance; the other party giving up a sample so easily must imply something fishy! Just as his thoughts raced, an anomaly suddenly occurred!
"Puff!" A faint cracking sound was heard.
Under the gaze of both, the small glass bottle inexplicably shattered on its own, and the cells within instantly dissipated with the liquid, as if completely erased by some built-in destructive Ninjutsu!
"Heh—" Orochimaru let out an enigmatic low chuckle, licking his dry lips, his eyes a mix of greed and apprehension. "So, there was a plan already in place, a clever trap."
Takuno's expression remained unchanged, "You've inspected the sample. Now, can we proceed with the transaction?"
"Hehehehe—" Orochimaru chuckled deeply, his laughter sounding particularly eerie in the silent laboratory. "The item is indeed rare. But to exchange a mere display like this for the essence of my lifelong research, is that not overestimating yourself a bit too much?"
He spread his hands, his tone full of blatant greed, "The quantity is far from enough!"
Takuno shook his head indifferently: "Then it seems this transaction has fallen through. I merely wanted to save some time, but it looks like I'll have to research it myself after all."
As he spoke, a pair of Chakra wings appeared behind Takuno, and he seemed ready to leave directly, without a trace of reluctance.