Chapter 144: Something That Cannot Be Shared

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Something That Cannot Be Shared

This path was destined to be incomparably difficult.

But for the sake of reaching that distant, almost unattainable summit, Hyuga Kagami had no regrets.

No matter how many hardships and obstacles stood in his way, he would cut through them all and walk this path to its very end!

After carefully considering his wording, he asked, "Lord Orochimaru, can you help me get my hands on the Chimera Technique?"

Orochimaru’s dismissive attitude toward the Chimera Technique was actually good news for Kagami.

The less Orochimaru cared about it, the lower the price Kagami would have to pay to obtain it.

Orochimaru seemed to already have something in mind. Smiling, he said, "I can help you obtain the technique. But what can you do for me in return?"

Kagami’s brows furrowed slightly.

A bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

Orochimaru said meaningfully, "I heard that the Uchiha clan’s genius, Uchiha Shisui, has also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. And if I’m not mistaken, he’s a member of your ANBU squad?"

"You want to take Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Kagami was somewhat surprised.

He had assumed that the person Orochimaru wanted his help dealing with would be Uchiha Shinichi.

He never expected that Orochimaru had actually set his sights on the other wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Orochimaru didn’t deny it.

He merely curled the corner of his lips into a sinister smile.

In an instant, an absurd image flashed through Kagami’s mind—

Orochimaru confronting Shisui, only to have his will rewritten by Kotoamatsukami the moment they met, turning him into Konoha’s loyal hound who devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving the village.

Kagami hurriedly drove that ridiculous image out of his head and said helplessly, "Lord Orochimaru, I advise you to give up on that idea."

Orochimaru didn’t get angry. Instead, he casually asked, "Why?"

"I know Uchiha Shisui’s strength better than anyone. Even if the two of us joined forces, we still wouldn’t be his match." After a brief pause, Kagami gave a wry smile. "I’m only advising you to give up because I have no desire to accompany you to your death."

To make his argument more convincing, Kagami briefly recounted Shisui’s performance during Kumogakure’s surprise attack on Konoha.

Of course, he conveniently dumped all of his own achievements onto Shisui as well.

After all, Shisui had already taken credit for all of them in front of the Third Hokage.

Even if Orochimaru still had other spies inside the village, whatever information they managed to uncover wouldn’t differ much from what Kagami had just told him.

After listening to Kagami’s explanation, Orochimaru showed no surprise.

Clearly, he had already conducted a detailed investigation into Shisui. He had heard more or less about some of Shisui’s accomplishments; he simply didn’t know them in as much detail as Kagami had just described.

Seeing Orochimaru remain silent, Kagami continued, "Once those Uchiha awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, they’re no longer so easy to deal with. So before you make a move, you’d better thoroughly investigate the abilities of their Mangekyō Sharingan first. Otherwise..."

Kagami deliberately stopped halfway through his sentence.

When speaking with an intelligent person, there was no need to spell everything out.

Orochimaru, however, wasn’t discouraged in the slightest.

Instead, like a snake that had just discovered its prey, a heart-pounding fervor appeared in his eyes. His long, slender tongue slid across his lips as he gave a sinister chuckle.

"Kagami, are you looking down on me?"

Kagami could only shake his head with a wry smile.

Clearly, Orochimaru hadn’t taken Kagami’s warning to heart.

Or rather, given his obsession with ocular kekkei genkai, there was probably nothing anyone could say that would make him give up.

Whether it was Shisui or Shinichi, one of the two had inevitably become his target.

But the amusing thing was that the targets Orochimaru had set his sights on happened to be the Uchiha who countered him the hardest.

Whether it was Shisui or Shinichi, both were first-rate masters of genjutsu. Add in the overwhelming ocular power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, and for Orochimaru, facing either of them would be little different from facing Itachi.

In fact, compared to the relatively restrained Itachi, Shisui—who possessed Kotoamatsukami—and Shinichi—who would unleash Susanoo at the drop of a hat—were clearly even more dangerous.

Kagami understood the principle of knowing when to stop, so he didn’t waste any more words trying to persuade Orochimaru.

As far as he was concerned, Orochimaru wouldn’t change his mind until he suffered a little firsthand.

Before long, Kagami followed Orochimaru to another secret base.

After searching through the archives for a while, Orochimaru pulled out a scroll and casually tossed it to Kagami.

Kagami unfurled the scroll and examined it carefully.

He quickly discovered that it contained precisely what he needed most—research materials concerning cell cultivation and cell cloning.

Kagami hurriedly put the scroll away and thanked Orochimaru with genuine sincerity.

"Thank you very much."

Orochimaru didn’t pay it much mind. In his hoarse voice, he said, "If you intend to conduct experiments on living subjects, the necessary equipment is indispensable. I won’t be preparing any of that for you."

"How could I possibly trouble you with something as trivial as equipment?" Kagami smiled, then asked, "Then what about the Chimera Technique?"

Orochimaru stared at Kagami and gave him a sinister smile.

"Come find me again once you’ve discovered the ability of Uchiha Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan."

Kagami pondered for a moment before nodding.

At present, he couldn’t be certain whether Hiruko had already developed the Chimera Technique to its limit.

After all, in the original timeline, Hiruko’s attempt to complete the final stage of fusion wouldn’t take place until roughly fifteen years from now.

Fifteen years was an incredibly long time.

Who knew just how far Hiruko could perfect the Chimera Technique over such a long period?

So even if Kagami managed to obtain the current version of the Chimera Technique right now, it would probably be exactly as Orochimaru had described—

an unusable, half-finished product.

Therefore, Kagami wasn’t particularly anxious to obtain the Chimera Technique just yet.

His main purposes in seeking out Orochimaru this time were to acquire information related to human cloning and to confirm whether Hiruko was still alive.

And he had already accomplished both objectives.

However, just before leaving, another thought suddenly occurred to Kagami.

He turned to Orochimaru and said, "Those children from earlier... none of them seemed ordinary."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and glanced at Kagami.

Among those children, aside from Haku, every single one was his prized possession—valuable experimental subjects that he would never share with anyone else.

Kagami smiled.

"Among them, I found that child named Haku rather interesting. I’d like to take him back to the village with me. I hope you’ll allow it."

Orochimaru froze for a moment, seemingly surprised that the one Kagami had chosen was actually Haku.

Among Yamato, Jūgo, Kimimaro, and Haku, the least remarkable of the four was undoubtedly Haku.

Because of that, Orochimaru had originally assumed that Kagami would have his eye on one of the other three—Yamato, Jūgo, or Kimimaro.

He never expected Kagami to choose Haku instead.

Orochimaru knew that Kagami would never act without a reason, so he secretly pondered,

"Could there be something special about Haku that I haven’t discovered?"

Seeing that Orochimaru was unwilling to agree, Kagami took a step back.

"If you’re reluctant to part with him, then lending him to me for a few months will do!"