Kei heard Orochimaru's words and curled his lips into a faint smile.
Using Oyashiro as an experimental subject and only beginning the experiment after he entered the base—wasn't this experiment obviously conducted for him to see?
As a pawn secretly cultivated by Iwa, he was a key witness to Iwa's secret alliance with Kiri to stir up chaos in Kumo. To the higher-ups, his value was extremely high. Yet within just a few days, this guy was captured for human experimentation.
Orochimaru was subtly demonstrating to him his hidden influence over Konoha!
Judging from his act of digging out Oyashiro's eyes, it was clear he didn't have an extreme aversion to human experimentation.
Then, he discovered something abnormal in Root but didn't rush to act. Instead, he took out a relatively decent research result and, through this act… Was he testing the possibility of cooperation?
Kei sighed inwardly. As expected, only smart people could survive until the final act! He took out a palm-sized sealing scroll from his chest and unfolded it.
Skipping over the first four sealing techniques, he formed a one-handed seal and retrieved the Ketsuryūgan stored in the fifth seal. With a casual toss, he threw the glass bottle containing the eyes to the side—right into Orochimaru's hands.
"What an enviable collection of treasures."
Orochimaru caught the small bottle holding the Ketsuryūgan. His tongue slid across the corner of his mouth, and his eyes held no attempt to conceal his curiosity and greed.
Five sealing techniques—at the very least, five items were stored inside. Following the usual logic of organizing items, the first four objects were highly likely to be similar to the Ketsuryūgan but even more precious.
"They're just a few pairs of tomoe Sharingan. I'll show you something even more surprising later."
Kei chuckled, rolling up the scroll again.
"Well, that is truly something to look forward to… Hehehe~"
Orochimaru let out a sinister chuckle. With a wave of his hand, several thick pythons slithered out from his sleeve. In an instant, they dragged Oyashiro—who was trapped in the blood-colored cage—to the edge of the prison, tightly binding him to the bars.
Orochimaru uncorked the small bottle in his hand. Taking out two Ketsuryūgan, he forcibly inserted them into Oyashiro's eye sockets.
A green glow of medical ninjutsu radiated from his palm.
Within mere seconds, the initial connection of the visual nerves was complete.
The power of the Ketsuryūgan returned.
Oyashiro, who had been on the brink of death, suddenly erupted with a massive surge of blood-red chakra. A bloody, sinister, and foul aura burst forth violently. Mysterious forces surged and roamed across his skin, constantly shifting. Under the suppression of the Ketsuryūgan, they gradually began to fuse with his body.
[Career: Ninja / Researcher]
[Traits: Extreme Researcher (Red),Pursuer of Wind (Purple), One of the Sannin (Purple), Forbidden Jutsu Master (Purple), Child of the White Snake (Purple), Gifted Genius (Purple), Keen Insight (Blue), Mentor (Blue), Cautious (Blue), Obsessive (White), Cold-blooded (White)]
While Oyashiro was merging with the power inside him, Kei carefully examined Orochimaru's traits one by one.
Extreme Researcher—A trait that greatly enhances research ability, hands-on skills, and analytical thinking. With this, there were likely very few things in the shinobi world that Orochimaru couldn't decipher.
Pursuer of Wind—Significantly strengthens personal willpower and combat ability. Does he revere the boundless power of nature, desiring to become a force that drives the world forward?
One of the Sannin—Nothing particularly noteworthy.
Forbidden Jutsu Master—A given when it comes to Orochimaru.
Child of the White Snake—A fusion of fate and biological modification. Enhanced affinity with snakes, regeneration abilities, and a tenacious life force rivaling that of cockroaches—this was probably the prototype for his future Eight-Headed Serpent Technique.
Gifted Genius—Innately possessing seven chakra natures, capable of learning anything quickly and mastering all disciplines. A true genius trait.
Keen Insight—Able to see through human nature and perceive truths. Mentor—Enhances teaching abilities, guides thought processes, and strengthens brainwashing?
No wonder so many people followed him so blindly. He was an expert at exploiting human weaknesses!
Cautious—A trait for those who always prepare multiple escape routes and backup plans?
Combined with the tenacity from 'Child of the White Snake,' no wonder he's so damn hard to kill… Kei glanced thoughtfully at Orochimaru.
Judging from his traits alone, at this stage, this guy had likely already far surpassed his fellow Sannin, Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Thinking about it, that made sense.
If it weren't for the repeated use of the Living Corpse Reincarnation, which inflicted irreparable damage to his soul, Orochimaru wouldn't have developed a weakness to genjutsu at all. His battle record in the original story wouldn't have been so easily overturned by a few Uchiha with their red eyes.
"A very fine creation. What do you think?" Orochimaru looked at Oyashiro, who was trapped in the blood-colored cage. Half of his body had melted into a pool of blood, his eyes filled with hatred and fear. A wicked smile curled on Orochimaru's lips.
Ketsuryūgan, Hōzuki clan's bloodline, and… Explosion Release? Quite an interesting fusion concept. Kei glanced at Oyashiro's trait panel.
His gaze lingered on the bubbling blood puddle that his body had turned into.
He casually praised the idea.
Using the Chimera Technique to forcibly merge multiple bloodline limits—the fusion was successful, yet not entirely so. It remained at the level of a bloodline limit and failed to cross the threshold into bloodline selection.
As for reaching the realm of bloodline encompassing… it was still an insurmountable distance away.
In the original story, the reason Hiruko was so obsessed with fusing five bloodline limits at once was probably because he understood that only by accumulating a sufficient quantity could he trigger the final transformation.
"I wonder, do you have any interest in testing this specimen's abilities?" Orochimaru turned to Kei, his golden snake-like eyes glowing with a chilling light.
"To see if I have the strength to be your collaborator?" Kei crossed his arms, chuckling lightly at Orochimaru's words. His index finger tapped against his arm as he cast a glance at Oyashiro.
A surge of immense spiritual energy mixed with his powerful chakra, refining into the purest spiritual energy.
In just an instant, it shattered Oyashiro's mental defenses! The hatred on his face froze. After a brief moment of dullness, he suddenly started giggling foolishly, counting on his fingers, "One, two, three, four, five…"
"To turn Danzō into a compliant puppet, your abilities are truly awe-inspiring."
Orochimaru clapped softly, his smile becoming more genuine and unrestrained.
The Ketsuryūgan were once renowned alongside the Uchiha clan's Sharingan as a powerful bloodline limit.
With the enhancements brought by bloodline fusion, Oyashiro's ocular and spiritual power had likely long surpassed that of most Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan. Yet Kei… was hiding far deeper than he had expected!
But that was a good thing.
A giant python does not associate with ants. The stronger a collaborator, the more delighted he was!
Besides, having remained hidden for so long, only to finally start revealing his power—Konoha, that stagnant pool of water, was about to face a tidal wave.
"I heard that you have been in pursuit of immortality?"
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Kei instantly understood—The Sannin had only noticed the changes in Root. He hadn't yet realized that Danzō had already been turned into a mindless fool who could only babble nonsense.
Since he had no interest in playing word games, he got straight to the point. If they could come to an agreement, he wouldn't mind directly pointing Orochimaru toward the right path. They could share information and research results, helping each other extend their lifespans happily.
But if they couldn't reach an agreement… Then he'd just have to put in a little extra effort to make Orochimaru choose to cooperate with him.