Manda accepted a string of blatantly unfair conditions with tears in his eyes. In the end, he cast a sorrowful glance at Orochimaru before vanishing in a bang, returning to Ryūchi Cave.
"Ran-kun, don't scare Manda like that," Orochimaru said lazily, a faint smile playing at his lips. "That fellow is all bark. If he really had to demand sacrifices every single time, no one would be able to summon him at all. Still… the Sharingan really is convenient~"
Orochimaru walked over with Mitarashi Anko in tow.
Uchiha Ran felt thoroughly refreshed after giving Manda a good scolding—and a generous dose of psychological manipulation. Still, he couldn't help asking curiously,
"Orochimaru-sensei, is Manda always like that? He feels like a kid pretending to be vicious—putting on airs and acting terrifying~"
Orochimaru froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
That was rare. Orochimaru didn't often laugh so freely.
"Ran-kun… Anko… do you know this?" Orochimaru said suddenly, his voice dropping. "In this world, only strength—and staying alive—are eternal truths. Once you're dead, you can do nothing. So the two of you… don't die."
There was an unmistakable note of melancholy in his tone.
Orochimaru's life itself was a microcosm of the shinobi world. Even someone as powerful as him could not escape being pushed forward by the relentless winds of the era.
He was lonely, obsessive, misunderstood—yet utterly indifferent to that misunderstanding.
From the way he treated Anko, it was clear he wasn't some cold, heartless serpent. He wasn't someone like Danzō, who smiled while hiding a blade. Perhaps beneath Orochimaru's icy exterior lay a trace of warmth—one only those he acknowledged could ever feel.
When Orochimaru was young, it was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who guided and inspired him, teaching him both the cruelty and the beauty of the ninja world.
And the companionship of Jiraiya and Tsunade let him experience genuine warmth and care.
But just like the ninja world itself, brutal farewells came all too often.
The deaths of Tsunade's brother Nawaki and his old friend Dan Katō forced Orochimaru to confront the fragility and impermanence of life. From that moment on, he set his sights on immortality—hoping to witness the world's changes forever.
Orochimaru was never a cold-blooded monster. Deep within him lived an unwavering pursuit of ideals, along with bonds and emotions he could never quite let go of.
Perhaps that was why, in the original timeline, he managed to survive until the very end.
Uchiha Ran had never believed Orochimaru to be heartless—especially not after Orochimaru taught Anko the most basic snake techniques and then brought Ran along to the laboratory.
There, they convened an extremely serious meeting.
The topic?
How to squeeze Lord Danzō's secret coffers completely dry.
"Are you really sure that man still has another stash of funds?" Orochimaru asked, genuinely puzzled. "I've already taken a massive amount of research funding and equipment from him. How could he possibly still be that rich?"
"Lord Danzō is always so straightforward when it comes to paying," Ran replied calmly. "If he were short on money, he'd already be making excuses. From the way I see it, he's still loaded~"
Orochimaru nodded in full agreement and took out his recent research notes on the Sharingan.
"Ran-kun, let's use these results to ask Danzō for more funding. Mm~ and maybe some of the First Hokage's cells as well."
"Orochimaru-sensei, can't we switch topics?" Ran said helplessly. "Researching this kind of thing just makes Danzō covet the Uchiha even more, doesn't it?"
He was genuinely speechless. Out of all the bloodline limits in the world, Orochimaru kept fixating on the Sharingan and Wood Release whenever he went to Danzō for money.
"Then how about this," Ran proposed. "Is there a technique that can fuse multiple bloodline limits together? If we sell that as the core concept, Lord Danzō will definitely open his wallet."
Orochimaru's eyes flickered.
"Ran-kun… someone has tried that before," he said slowly. "But the risk is enormous. The shinobi who researched it was hunted down by Hiruzen-sensei himself."
He began recounting an old story.
Back then, alongside Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, there was another shinobi—Hiruko. He was also a genius, but due to talent gaps and deep-seated inferiority, he gradually drifted away from the trio.
Later, Hiruko developed a fusion ninjutsu known as the Chimera Technique, a forbidden art that required large numbers of living test subjects. When the Third Hokage discovered it, he sent the Sannin to hunt Hiruko down.
For reasons unknown, Hiruko escaped—but his research materials fell into Orochimaru's hands.
"This technique isn't perfect," Orochimaru said, rummaging through storage until he pulled out a dust-covered scroll. "Ideally, it can only grant up to five bloodline limits. More importantly, its power depends entirely on the quality of the sacrificed bloodline users. Improving it later is extremely difficult."
He handed the scroll to Ran.
"Ran-kun, clean this up and organize the basic principles. I think we can split parts of this research and use it to demand more funding from Lord Danzō. You know how much he loves anything that can enhance himself."
He paused, voice hoarse and thoughtful.
"The Chimera Technique's side effects are far too severe. It can't perfectly fuse different bloodline limits—eventually, the user becomes something neither human nor demon. Still… the body-modification aspect is worth exploring."
Even as he spoke, Orochimaru's mind had already drifted elsewhere, the quintessential scientist—thinking faster than words could keep up.
"No problem," Ran said with a grin. "We're just after Lord Danzō's money anyway. Leave this to me, Orochimaru-sensei~"
He picked up the scroll and turned to leave, only for Orochimaru to call out.
"Ran-kun, wait a moment."
Ran stopped. "Yes, Sensei?"
"Make sure you get him to pay more," Orochimaru said seriously. "Equipment wear and tear can be written into the budget too."
Ran laughed. "Got it~"
And off he went.
"…Hope we can squeeze out a bit more," Orochimaru sighed. "Research really does burn money. Even our 'angel investor' Danzō must be under a lot of pressure."
Things went astonishingly smoothly.
The moment Ran presented the Chimera Technique, Danzō practically treated it like a priceless treasure.
So when Ran casually said, "Lord Danzō, scientific progress has been remarkable—but we still need more funding,"
Danzō didn't hesitate at all. He immediately approved another massive allocation, ordering Root members to deliver it straight to Orochimaru's lab.
As for Ran—he never even got the chance to say the follow-up line:
"Lord Danzō, you wouldn't want the research to fail halfway due to lack of funds, would you?"
Orochimaru got his research money.
Shimura Danzō glimpsed a glorious future of bloodline fusion.
And Uchiha Ran—who quietly pocketed a cut—enjoyed an excellent mood for the rest of the day.
A perfect win-win collaboration~
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