GSiN: Ch. 204

Although this unexpected situation made Orochimaru quite uncomfortable, the other party's manners were impeccable, leaving him with nothing to criticize. After all, a so-called exhibition inherently carried the nature of an auction.

"This way please."

Seeing the two reach an understanding, the merchant felt a weight lift from his heart and personally pulled out a chair for Orochimaru.

After the three of them were seated again, he lightly clapped his hands twice. Several attractive maidservants opened the door carrying a set of wine utensils. They poured a glass of red wine for each of the three before discreetly withdrawing.

Orochimaru had no interest in such aristocratic indulgences and went straight to the point. "Since you were able to come here, you must have some understanding of this device as well, I presume."

Jigen's expression remained calm. He lifted his glass, took a light sip, and said, "A cell fusion apparatus. It can induce highly vital cells to fuse, forming special hybrid cells. It has significant value for creating descendant cell lines with new traits. But to put it plainly, it's essentially used for researching human cloning. Am I wrong?"

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow as he looked at Jigen. "It seems your understanding of this device's potential is no less than mine. However, knowing what it does is one thing. Truly understanding how to make use of its value is another."

Jigen gently set down his wineglass, folded his hands on his knees, and remained composed. "Oh? Are you implying that even if I were to buy this device, it would merely be wasted on me?"

"Who knows."

No longer paying Jigen any attention, Orochimaru felt his words had been warning enough. If the other party still refused to back down, then it would simply come down to ability.

Thanks to two rounds of business handled by his top salesperson, he now had ample liquid funds. Dealing with an unknown nobody should be easy.

---

After a round of bidding that was not particularly intense, Orochimaru realized he had been overly confident. This guy, who had appeared out of nowhere, possessed astonishing financial resources, pushing the price directly to a baffling level.

He frowned slightly and discreetly examined Jigen once more. The other wore a simple yet refined white robe. Judging by his attire alone, it was truly difficult to tell which country he came from.

Jigen calmly accepted the storage scroll containing the cell fusion apparatus from the merchant.

Orochimaru slowly stood up. "It seems you came well prepared this time. However..."

He deliberately drew out the last word as he paced around the table. "Money is not the sole measure of everything."

A faint killing intent began to spread from him.

Jigen, however, remained unperturbed. He lightly adjusted his sleeve, raised his gaze to Orochimaru, and spoke evenly. "Are you planning to resort to other methods now that fair bidding has failed?"

There was not the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew tense.

The merchant glanced back and forth between the two. He felt that he might have gone a bit too far.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, let's talk this out calmly. Once I return, I'll urge the craftsmen under me to work overtime day and night. The next unit will be restocked very soon."

Orochimaru turned a deaf ear to him, his gaze still fixed on Jigen. Suddenly, his tone shifted. "Who exactly is backing you?"

He still possessed the intelligence network he once had in Root and was familiar with organizations large and small throughout the shinobi world. Yet Jigen had appeared far too abruptly, as if he had surfaced specifically to oppose him.

Jigen chuckled softly and did not answer directly, merely saying, "Why insist on who might stand behind me? Is it not possible that I am the leader of my own organization?"

With that, he turned his head toward the merchant. "Since the transaction has already been completed, may I borrow this room for a short while?"

"Of course. Use it for as long as you like. I won't disturb either of you."

Already suffocating under the room's tension, the merchant eagerly followed Jigen's lead, clearly preparing to make a swift exit. As he spoke, he edged toward the door in small sideways steps, not forgetting to turn back with a face full of forced smiles toward Orochimaru.

"I guarantee the next machine will be delivered to you before March next year. I hope you'll continue to support our shop."

Once he finished speaking, he hurried out of the room on his short legs as if fleeing for his life. With a creak, the door closed, and the air inside tightened once more.

Orochimaru crossed his arms over his chest. "It seems I'm one of your targets as well."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, the chakra within him churning restlessly.

Jigen, however, remained utterly composed, sitting in place and gently swirling his glass of wine as the dark crimson liquid spun inside. "I had no intention of becoming your enemy. However, this device is crucial to my plans, so I had no choice but to compete for it. That said, I have an even better proposal."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "What proposal?"

Jigen slowly rose to his feet, turned to face Orochimaru, and made an inviting gesture. "So long as you join my team, this machine will naturally be at your disposal. Moreover, I can also provide you with the thing you desire most."

"The thing I desire most? That's quite a claim."

Before Orochimaru's words had fully fallen, he violently flicked his right arm. Several snakes shot out from his sleeve, surging toward Jigen.

Yet Jigen's expression did not change in the slightest. A glint flashed in his eyes. In the next instant, from Orochimaru's perspective, Jigen's figure vanished.

"You may be an outstanding researcher..."

The voice came from behind. Orochimaru's whole body stiffened. He immediately turned and retreated to create distance, but there was no one in sight.

"Yet you still cannot escape a ninja's habitual way of doing things."

The voice echoed once more in the room.

He snapped his head around, only to see that Jigen had somehow returned to his seat, holding his red wine and gently swirling it, as if nothing had happened at all.

His expression darkened. He understood clearly that unless it was space-time ninjutsu, there was no way he could have failed to notice anything. This man before him truly did seem to be something special.

"It seems peaceful days really do make people lax. If my guess is correct, you must have been watching me from the shadows for quite a long time now."

The strength the other party had revealed forced him to reassess the seemingly ordinary man before him.

Jigen still held his wine glass.

"I have merely been searching for a suitable research partner for many years. And with your talents, isn't it only natural that I would choose you? This would be beneficial to both of us. Someone as intelligent as you surely wouldn't refuse, would you?"

Hearing this, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. He could sense that Jigen was probably not lying, but the faint note of threat hidden in his words was unmistakable. His right hand quietly slipped behind his back, fingers slightly curled, ready to form hand seals at any moment.

"Rather than spouting meaningless pleasantries, why don't you explain properly, what exactly would I gain by joining your organization?"

Jigen's expression remained calm. He set down his wine glass and rose from his seat. "Immortality. How does that sound?"

As he spoke, he slowly approached Orochimaru, closing the distance until one could almost feel the killing intent emanating from the other's body.

"That auction just now was merely to let you see my financial resources. In truth, money is the least significant thing to me. The strong prey on the weak, power is the loudest voice. And that happens to be what I have in abundance."

The moment his words fell, a surging aura suddenly erupted from his body. A tremendous wave of chakra spread outward, and under the impact of that power, the entire room let out a painful creaking groan.

Cracks on the walls spread rapidly like spiderwebs, as if the structure would collapse at any second.

Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply. To cause such destruction to the surrounding structure merely by releasing chakra, this kind of terrifying strength, he had only ever witnessed on one person before: Ryouma.

But this realization also reminded him of something else. Thinking of the fact that Ryouma was nearby at this very moment, the tension in his nerves instantly eased. With someone backing him up, he had nothing to panic about. In fact, he was now even thinking about extracting some information from this man who had come out of nowhere.

"Joining your organization wouldn't be a problem. I never really felt any sense of belonging to Konoha anyway."

"That's because you failed in the competition for the position of Fourth Hokage, isn't it?" Jigen fixed Orochimaru with a sharp gaze and bluntly stated the truth. "As long as you help me complete my plan, Konoha is nothing. When that time comes, I can give you the entire Land of Fire."

"That does sound tempting," Orochimaru replied, raising an eyebrow slightly. "But unfortunately, I'm no longer interested in becoming Hokage. Compared to that, I'm far more curious about what your true objective is."

The barrage of questions stirred a hint of impatience in Jigen, but considering Orochimaru's one-of-a-kind research ability, he merely frowned slightly and answered, "As for that, once you join the organization, you'll naturally find out."

Orochimaru had no intention of letting the matter drop and continued to probe. "But what if I told you I've already found a path to immortality? Then what exactly would you use to entice me to join?"

Hearing this, Jigen could not help but pause for a moment. After a brief consideration, he decided that the situation warranted revealing a bit more information. "Even among forms of immortality, there are differences. On my side, even something like resurrection after death can be accomplished."

The corner of Orochimaru's mouth curled upward, revealing a meaningful smile. "Oh? Then perhaps you could demonstrate it for me. As a researcher, the only thing I truly believe in is tangible proof."

At this, Jigen let out a soft sigh. "It seems you intend to refuse me. Originally, I didn't want to resort to violence, but you..."

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!!"

Before Jigen could finish speaking, Orochimaru struck first. With a flick of his right hand, it blurred into indistinct afterimages. From the wide sleeves, several snakes lunged forth.

Black markings spread along Jigen's neck. His chakra surged again, nearly solidifying as it shattered both the onrushing venomous snakes and the wooden floor beneath his feet.

Orochimaru had never expected this move to kill his opponent. He spat out the Kusanagi Sword from his mouth, the blade extending several times its length in an instant as it thrust straight toward Jigen's face. But just as the sword shot forward, a chill ran down his spine. The Jigen who had been standing three meters away suddenly appeared behind him, a hand-chop already primed to strike his back.

In a moment, he twisted his waist beyond the limits of the human body. Thanks to his Soft Physique Modification, he narrowly avoided the fatal blow. However, a vortex suddenly erupted from Jigen's fingertips, forcibly dragging the evading figure midair back into the line of attack.

Crack!

Accompanied by the crisp sound of breaking ribs, Orochimaru was smashed through a thick wall, landing in the corridor outside.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Spitting blood as he rose from the rubble, the torn clothing revealed skin beneath that glimmered with pale, scale-like light.

Taking advantage of the moment while his opponent did not pursue, he hurriedly formed hand seals. His joints emitted sticky sounds like a snake shedding its skin, and his broken bones instantly reset.

He had anticipated that Jigen would be extremely strong. But who could have imagined that after just a single exchange, he would already be taken down?