Kabuto Yakushi was frantic. He struggled against the unseen force that had completely immobilized him. His body was encased in an invisible, psychological cement, allowing him only to breathe and observe the scene in horror.
"Yes, a client," Shen Mo confirmed, calmly inspecting Orochimaru's wounded, feminine face.
The contrast between the rogue Sannin's severe injuries and the serene atmosphere created by Shen Mo was deeply unsettling. Orochimaru felt like a specimen under a microscope—powerless and exposed.
"You feel despair?" Shen Mo's lips curved into a predatory smile. "You do not wish to lose to Tsunade, nor do you wish to die here with countless Ninjutsu left unstudied."
"What is your intention?" Orochimaru managed to rasp, his snake-like eyes burning with a desperate, frantic desire to survive.
Shen Mo delivered the single sentence that completely shattered Orochimaru's remaining composure:
"Tsunade's power originated from me."
From him? That impossible strength, that terrifying divine power that had negated his lifetime of forbidden research?
Orochimaru's breathing hitched violently. His sudden failure, his humiliation, was entirely due to the power Tsunade had abruptly acquired. A power that had effortlessly surpassed his own decades of effort.
"Excellent, I recognize that look," Shen Mo said with satisfaction. "The deep resentment toward fate, the insatiable lust for power, the relentless desire for knowledge, the unparalleled talent—I perceive it all. So, do you wish to become stronger? Do you wish to fully comprehend the true meaning of existence? Or more critically..."
Shen Mo gazed deeply into Orochimaru's eyes.
He uttered the final, absolute trigger word:
"Do you wish to achieve eternal life?"
The words struck Orochimaru with the force of a hammer blow to his soul.
Immortality. It was his ultimate, all-consuming desire. The human body held infinite power, infinite knowledge, and infinite Jutsu—but a single lifetime was tragically short. To acquire that knowledge required infinite lifespan!
"Allow me to formally introduce myself," Shen Mo declared, throwing his arms open in a grand gesture. "I am a Merchant from Another World. For millennia, I have traversed countless realities, selling new destinies to those who seek to defy their fate. If you are dissatisfied with your current life, purchase a Jar. Inside, you will find boundless treasures, infinite power, and, yes, the path to immortality."
As Shen Mo finished his pitch, a spectacular array of ornate, sealed Jars materialized around him, shining with otherworldly energy.
Simultaneously, the foundational rules governing the Omniscient and Omnipotent Merchant Guild and the mechanics of the Jars were instantly impressed upon Orochimaru's mind.
The immediate transmission saved immense time and ensured the complex nature of the system was understood.
"The Omniscient and Omnipotent Merchant Guild..."
Orochimaru processed the flood of information. His eyes widened, and then a soft, breathy chuckle escaped him, which quickly escalated into manic, wild laughter.
"Magnificent! Hahaha, this is truly magnificent! Cough cough... an infinite number of worlds, and therefore... cough cough... infinite knowledge, infinite power!"
He laughed so hard he coughed blood, his eyes shining with a crazed fervor. He looked like a dying man who had found the cure, a hungry beast presented with endless food, or a devout zealot encountering the true, living God.
For Orochimaru, Shen Mo's sudden appearance represented the culmination of every desire he had ever held.
"Per your nature, I have already prepared the perfect series for you," Shen Mo said, his smile knowing.
"What is it?" Orochimaru asked, his voice now ragged with anticipation.
"The Necromancer Series," Shen Mo stated directly, his smile turning subtly demonic. "A broad categorization for beings who seek to unravel the nature of life and who manipulate the souls of the dead. It is a class generally abhorred and hunted across countless worlds, yet it relentlessly pursues power and eternal life, thriving on ambition."
A strange, appreciative grin stretched across Orochimaru's face.
"This... this will suffice," he said, turning his head slightly to rest in a more comfortable position, already claiming the title.
There was no hesitation, no deep analysis of the risks. The name alone felt like a perfect fit. Material forms perish, but the soul is untouchable. He deeply desired to delve into the secrets the Jars held regarding souls.
"Given your current, severely compromised condition, attempting to open a Jar would be ill-advised," Shen Mo observed, glancing at Orochimaru's severed arms.
Shen Mo raised his hand and tapped the air.
"Aaaah!" Orochimaru cried out, a sound of unbearable, agonizing itching replacing the pain where his arm had been severed.
The flesh on the stump swelled rapidly, almost bubbling, until—
Pffft.Pffft.
With two soft, miraculous sounds, the severed hands regrew completely! They were pale and thin, like the limbs of a newborn.
"Another power from another world..."
Orochimaru raised his new hands, inspecting them with the humming gaze of a man captivated by a thing of ultimate beauty.
He looked up at Shen Mo, his serpentine tongue flicking out to moisten his lips, and asked a question that genuinely surprised the dimension-traveling merchant.
"What is required to become an individual such as yourself?"
Shen Mo was momentarily thrown off balance.
"To be a merchant of the Omniscient and Omnipotent Merchant Guild," Orochimaru elaborated, his eyes alight with a mystical, intoxicating vision. "How glorious that would be! To traverse infinite worlds, to study every secret, to witness infinite phenomena. Tsunade, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and I—everyone in this pitiful world would be our desperate playthings, forced to beg for power only from us!"
Upon realizing the true nature of Shen Mo's existence, a new, far greater ambition had instantly taken root in Orochimaru's heart.
His deepest pleasures were always dual: research and the cultivation of power, and, crucially, the observation of others—watching lesser beings bloom in their limited existence, living out paths he could not.
Shen Mo represented a world infinitely larger than his own—a world of infinite research and infinite playthings.