In the central region of the Land of Rivers, in a remote stretch of farmland.
Crows circled endlessly on the tree branches, their cries unpleasant to the ear.
The wind carried a faint scent of blood.
Deep underground, inside one of Orochimaru's bases, an overpowering stench of blood filled the entire laboratory. Under the guidance of several of Orochimaru's subordinates, Shiraishi stepped into this uniquely disturbing experimental zone.
The smell of blood was far too strong…
After returning from the River Country opening ceremony, Shiraishi had followed the clues left by Ebizō and located this base. Now, under the escort of Orochimaru's staff, he was being led through the entire human experimentation facility.
Fresh blood flowed from primitive dissections.
Countless screams and wails echoed endlessly.
Orochimaru's test subjects were mostly rogue ninjas captured by Konoha and secretly transferred here for experimentation.
However, Orochimaru's demand was enormous, so even now the laboratory was suffering from a shortage of test subjects.
Shiraishi disliked this intensely. At the very least, the heavy stench of blood made him uncomfortable. He felt Orochimaru's research methods were far too extreme and distorted.
Besides live human experiments, Orochimaru had also collected large numbers of rare living organisms for research and modification. Countless mutated animal species could be seen throughout the base.
It was said that Orochimaru had deployed many bases like this throughout the Land of Rivers, and not only there, many neighboring small nations also hosted his secret facilities.
The fact that he could operate so many bases showed that, although Orochimaru had defected from Konoha, he still maintained close ties with certain high-ranking figures in the Land of Fire. Many of these experiments were clearly being conducted on their behalf.
"Shiraishi-kun, what do you think of this place?"
Orochimaru's cold voice echoed again, just like it had at Kikyo Mountain.
This time, however, Shiraishi was much calmer.
"It's good to see you again, Lord Orochimaru."
"The environment here is quite good. Many of the research findings have opened my eyes."
Orochimaru smiled with great satisfaction as he looked at the young man before him.
"Hehehe… I didn't expect Ebizō to really dare send you here. You seem to be in great need of data on sage techniques and Yin–Yang chakra transformations, don't you?"
Normally, Ebizō would never have wanted Shiraishi to come anywhere near Orochimaru. But because of Shiraishi's insistence and the importance of those materials, he had been forced to establish contact.
Orochimaru's casual probing made Shiraishi feel awkward. He directly took out the documents he was carrying.
"These are the materials entrusted to me by the Kazekage and the Elders to deliver to you."
Sunagakure's sealing techniques were famous throughout the ninja world. This time, Rasa and the Elders were using part of that sealing knowledge to exchange for Orochimaru's ninjutsu research—a fair and mutually beneficial deal.
Orochimaru didn't even glance at the documents. Instead, he handed Shiraishi a prepared scroll.
"Then what I'm curious about is—what will you give me in exchange?"
"What does Lord Orochimaru wish to obtain?"
Although Shiraishi desperately needed Yin–Yang chakra data and sage technique information, he refused to let Orochimaru control the negotiation.
"I'm very interested in your kind of existence."
Orochimaru's gaze made Shiraishi feel a chilling sense of danger.
"Throughout history, there has never been a researcher like you. Every technique you develop belongs to a completely different field—Black Mist, genjutsu, taijutsu…"
His hoarse voice sent a strange tension through Shiraishi's body, and Orochimaru immediately noticed the slight acceleration of his heartbeat.
The ninja world had produced many brilliant researchers—Tobirama, the Second Kazekage, Orochimaru himself—but all of them accumulated experience over many years before producing breakthroughs.
Shiraishi, however, had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, creating so many unprecedented secret techniques in just two years.
Most people accepted it because Tobirama had set a precedent—but Orochimaru saw something wrong.
"So I suspect that you possess some kind of unique immortality technique."
"An immortality technique?"
Shiraishi was momentarily caught off guard, but quickly understood what Orochimaru meant.
At Orochimaru's level, researching immortality was natural. The suspicion was that Shiraishi might be using some kind of soul-transfer or body-hopping technique.
Any excuse would be full of holes. Shiraishi remained silent, and the atmosphere grew icy.
"I can give you natural energy data right now, for free," Orochimaru suddenly said.
"For free?"
"I have developed a unique curse mark power. So far, only you and one of my subordinates have received it—but she could not properly manifest sage power."
Shiraishi became extremely wary.
A curse mark was clearly Orochimaru's method of converting natural energy into a specialized chakra system.
No matter how it was altered,the chakra always carried the will of its creator. If he accepted the curse mark, Orochimaru's chakra would be inside him.
But… it was not without a solution.
Shiraishi fell into intense thought.
Orochimaru waited calmly.
After a long moment, the young man finally nodded.
Natural energy and sage techniques were simply too valuable. To break through the limits of his circular pupils, he had to gamble.
With Shiraishi's consent, Orochimaru let out a manic laugh. His neck suddenly extended like a serpent's, and he bit into Shiraishi's neck.
Pain surged violently.
Strange chakra flooded into Shiraishi's body—but Orochimaru quickly noticed something odd.
His chakra could not fully integrate, remaining confined around the neck area.
Interesting…
The curse mark was successfully implanted, but Shiraishi's body had activated its own defenses.
A special sealing formation appeared faintly around the mark, bearing the Moonwheel insignia.
Orochimaru's eyes burned with excitement.
The mental world?
The curse mark's natural energy could not be sealed away—but Shiraishi took another approach, channeling it into his own mental world.
There, the Moonwheel Bat restrained Orochimaru's chakra.
Black Mist Shiraishi was indeed extraordinary.
The curse mark had been planted—but it could not fully control him.
At the same time, as Shiraishi absorbed the natural energy, the circular pupils in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
In the glasses system, the circular pupil proficiency finally broke past its previous limit and began rising rapidly.
As his ocular power increased, Shiraishi found that his control over his own chakra became far more precise than before.
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