Chapter 57: The Transaction

Orochimaru did not mind Tsunade's hot temper in the slightest. He looked up and smiled, "I had already heard about this genius before, but I didn't expect him to possess such talent in this area as well."

Tsunade said indifferently, "What? Are you thinking of taking him as a disciple?"

"Too late. He is already Senior Sakumo's student."

Orochimaru smiled and said nothing more.

Naturally, he was not so ill-informed as to miss this piece of news.

The White Fang of Konoha was so famous that even without a grand, publicized ceremony, the news would still spread throughout the village.

Not to mention how outstandingly Genichi Shimo had performed during the Chunin examinations.

It was just that Genichi Shimo was not boastful by nature. When he was not out on missions, he was either training on his own or staying at the Konoha Hospital, maintaining an extremely low profile.

Despite her poor attitude, Tsunade still answered many of Orochimaru's questions.

Orochimaru said as if casually, "If we had taken this step back then, perhaps not so many people would have had to die."

Tsunade's expression shifted slightly, though she immediately regained her composure.

Naturally, she knew that Orochimaru was referring to the project involving Hashirama's cells.

At that time, a large number of Konoha shinobi had volunteered to participate, but every single one of them who underwent cell transplantation had suffered a tragic death.

The losses were too great, prompting Sarutobi Hiruzen to permanently seal the project away and classify it as top secret.

Back then, there was no such thing as compatibility testing; they simply threw bodies at it using a human wave tactic.

Even now, with Orochimaru cooperating with Danzo, there was still no real compatibility testing process to speak of; it was merely a significant advancement compared to the past.

They had chosen young children and paired them with more advanced anti-rejection technology.

Even so, the experiments still ended in failure time after time.

"Do you want to restart that project?"

"Or do you want me to get involved?"

Tsunade sneered.

Close-relative compatibility yielded the highest success rate, though even that was not absolute.

However, Tsunade had no such intention.

Seeing Tsunade's attitude, Orochimaru knew there was no point, so he pressed the matter no further.

Just as he was about to leave, however, Genichi Shimo appeared at the doorway.

Both Tsunade and Orochimaru sensed his presence and turned their heads in unison.

"Lord Tsunade!"

Genichi Shimo was very polite; he bowed and then looked at Orochimaru. "This must be Senior Orochimaru, right?"

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes held a smile. "Heh, I don't believe we've met before!"

Genichi Shimo smiled. "If I didn't even know you, I'm afraid I wouldn't be worthy of being a Konoha shinobi."

With that, he turned back to Tsunade. "Lord Tsunade, I'll come back a bit later."

Tsunade waved a hand. "No need, this guy is leaving right now."

Orochimaru looked at Genichi Shimo. "Genichi-kun, how about we have a chat?"

Genichi Shimo did not agree immediately, instead looking toward Tsunade.

Tsunade turned her head away. "Do as you please."

***

And so, Genichi Shimo left the Konoha Hospital together with Orochimaru.

They stood upon a rooftop.

The wind whipped the hair of both individuals into the air.

Ever since mastering Jiraiya's Needle Jizo technique, Genichi Shimo had not cut his hair, and by now it had grown considerably longer, brushing against his shoulders.

As for Orochimaru, he famously possessed a mane of cascading, flowing hair.

The moniker of "Snake Princess" truly was not unearned.

"Genichi-kun, I used the cells of an Ice Release kekkei genkai user. You don't mind, do you?"

Orochimaru asked with a smile.

Genichi Shimo hurriedly replied, "Senior is joking. Of course I don't mind."

In truth, it wasn't his place to mind anyway.

Naturally, this was merely a conversational opening.

Therefore, Genichi Shimo went straight to the point and asked, "I wonder if Senior has made any breakthroughs?"

Orochimaru looked at Genichi Shimo, a slight trace of novelty flashing in his eyes.

So direct?

However, he liked it.

Orochimaru smiled. "Indeed, I have made some progress. I must thank you for your compatibility testing technique."

Genichi Shimo shook his head. "Although I proposed the concept of compatibility testing, the actual technique was developed by Lord Tsunade and the others."

This was the truth.

With his previous foundation in medical knowledge alone, he could not have developed it; it was only achieved with Tsunade's assistance.

"Has Senior already completed the transplantation of the Ice Release cells?"

Genichi Shimo asked a question to which he already knew the answer.

Even if the compatibility test succeeded, Orochimaru would not simply transplant the cells of an Ice Release user directly.

Orochimaru's ambitions were far greater.

Or rather, Orochimaru's methods were never so crude and simple.

Looking across the entirety of Orochimaru's life, he had never been one to straightforwardly graft someone else's cells into himself.

"No, that is not the optimal choice."

Orochimaru said casually, "Compared to directly transplanting cells, I prefer to study the hidden mysteries contained within them."

After a brief moment of contemplation upon hearing this, Genichi Shimo nodded. "Senior is right. To know that something is so, without knowing why it is so, is merely a superficial sham."

Orochimaru nodded approvingly.

In reality, however, Genichi Shimo privately believed that there was no harm in first knowing that something was so, and figuring out the reason why later.

He lacked Orochimaru's profound foundation. If given the chance, he would naturally transplant the cells first to acquire the kekkei genkai, and only delve into the deeper principles afterward.

"Genichi-kun, would you be interested in joining my research?"

Orochimaru extended an invitation.

He genuinely appreciated Genichi Shimo, viewing him as a talent who could be pulled into his own fold.

As for his status as Hatake Sakumo's disciple? So what?

It did not affect things in the slightest, especially since he was not looking to take Genichi Shimo as a disciple.

Crucially, Genichi Shimo possessed ambition.

Although he appeared harmless to humans and animals on the surface, Orochimaru was able to detect the massive, concealed ambition hidden beneath that facade.

"For Senior to think so highly of me is my honor."

"However, I currently lack the energy to fully commit to research."

Genichi Shimo wore an apologetic expression, but immediately changed the subject, causing Orochimaru's expression of slight surprise to shift. "I did have some rather unique gains from this recent mission. Perhaps Senior might find them interesting."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Interesting?"

"What kind of special things?"

Genichi Shimo stated, "Cells from a Magnet Release kekkei genkai shinobi!"

Orochimaru's smile deepened upon hearing this. "Cloud shinobi?"

Few people in the ninja world possessed Magnet Release.

The possibility of it coming from the Village Hidden in the Sand was very low, which left the Village Hidden in the Cloud.

Genichi Shimo nodded. "Yes, a Magnet Release shinobi from Kumogakure."

Orochimaru inclined his head. "I am indeed interested. What do you want in return?"

Genichi Shimo did not answer directly, instead asking, "Senior, I wish to increase my chakra reserves. Are there any good methods to achieve this?"

Orochimaru burst into laughter. "You are very smart!"

Genichi Shimo quickly offered a foolish, good-natured smile. "Just a bit of cleverness."

In truth, he already had a specific target in mind—such as the Eight-Tails' horn—but he could not voice it.

That was not information he should logically possess.

Moreover, the cells of a Magnet Release shinobi were insufficient as leverage to trade for that.

Thus, he could only resort to playing a clever game.

Yet Orochimaru saw right through the fact that Genichi Shimo was aiming high, though he felt no sense of offense.

He liked ambitious people.

After pondering for a moment, Orochimaru smiled benignly and said, "As for increasing chakra reserves, I do know of one method."

"Human modification."

"The key to chakra volume lies within the physical body. By modifying the human body to a certain extent, one can make it stronger while simultaneously gaining several other benefits."

"Coincidentally, I have some expertise in human modification."

Genichi Shimo immediately bowed. "Thank you, Senior. I am willing to trade the cells of the Magnet Release kekkei genkai shinobi for a set of data on human modification."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru could not help but let out a low chuckle. His long tongue snaked out to lick his lips. "Very well."

"Interested in visiting my experimental base?"

Genichi Shimo hurriedly replied, "It would be my absolute honor!"