Chapter 55: The Next Transaction with Orochimaru

Kabuto's body crashed through the door and flew out into the courtyard.

A tree branch pierced through his body, pinning him in mid-air and preventing him from landing.

"..." The scene fell into silence for a moment. Orochimaru's smile disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.

"Wood Release."

Yumi's Wood Release was on a different level compared to Yamato's. Orochimaru, being a master of his caliber, could easily sense it. The woman standing at the door was now channeling chakra that even made him tremble with fear.

"Remarkable. You actually succeeded, Aoba-kun." At this point, Orochimaru realized that the Hashirama cells Aoba had requested were used on this woman.

No, not just this woman. Orochimaru suddenly realized the extent of his newfound strength.

Thinking this, Orochimaru's eyes grew fervent. But then he realized a more immediate problem: he might be in danger tonight.

If it were Yamato's Wood Release, Orochimaru could deal with it easily. After all, the strength of Wood Release lies not in the technique itself, but in the first Hokage's power. Only with the overwhelming force like Hashirama's could Wood Release truly display its might. Otherwise, it's just an ordinary technique.

And now, Orochimaru was facing such a threat. He had many means of escape, but if the opponent used a full-scale Wood Release like the "Shinju: Tree World Descends," all his escape methods would be futile.

"Aoba-kun, it seems you've been waiting for this day for a long time," Orochimaru said, assuming this was a trap prepared specifically for him.

Tonight, he had been confident of victory. He had obtained a lot of information about Aoba in advance and knew his attitude toward Yumi and Karin. Thus, he had sent Kabuto ahead to exploit Aoba's vulnerabilities.

It was not surprising that Orochimaru would do such a thing. He was known for having no limits in his actions and would go to any lengths to achieve his goals.

"Believe it or not, Orochimaru-sama, these aren't intended for you." Aoba signaled Yumi to throw Kabuto over, and then he directly stepped on him.

The Wood Release not only inflicted damage but also absorbed the opponent's chakra. As a top medical ninja, Kabuto should have been able to save himself, but having his chakra drained left him unconscious.

However, Aoba didn't immediately kill him.

Primarily because he knew Kabuto was a crucial assistant to Orochimaru. He still needed Orochimaru, the top scientist in the ninja world, to continue improving techniques like Impure World Reincarnation, Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu, and Corpse-Burning Reincarnation.

His energy was limited, and his research focused on making himself stronger. Therefore, these auxiliary studies needed to be completed by Orochimaru. In short, the ninja world needed Orochimaru, and Kabuto, as his assistant, seemed destined to play a role.

Orochimaru's expression changed several times upon hearing this. He then put down his hands.

Aoba guessed that Orochimaru's preparation was likely the Impure World Reincarnation.

Against Aoba and Yumi with her powerful Wood Release, this was probably the only technique Orochimaru had to counter it. However, he wasn't looking to engage in a full-scale battle with Orochimaru here.

"If Aoba-kun considers this a misunderstanding, can we continue our transaction now?" Orochimaru, unashamed, was ready to proceed with the trade despite his defeat.

Aoba, not angered, looked back at Yumi and Karin. Seeing they were unharmed, he agreed to Orochimaru's request.

"Well then, we've made our decision. We can proceed with the transaction. Orochimaru-sama, what will you offer in exchange for the life of your valuable assistant?"

This was clearly not what Orochimaru had anticipated. He pondered for a moment and then threw another Kusanagi Sword from his hand.

Aoba caught the sword and then kicked Kabuto in front of Orochimaru.

Orochimaru handed Kabuto a soldier pill. As a medical ninja, with chakra, Kabuto could heal himself. If he couldn't, it would mean his own inadequacy.

In fact, Aoba was surprised that Orochimaru wanted Kabuto back. He had thought Orochimaru would let Kabuto fend for himself.

"I'm glad to see that Aoba-kun still keeps his promises. Now, I need some information. Aoba-kun, how did you succeed in transplanting the Hashirama cells?"

Aoba believed Orochimaru had prepared for two scenarios today. The first was to subdue him and obtain all his secrets. The second was to capture Karin and Yumi to force his hand.

Now, it was clear that Orochimaru had changed his plans. Seeing Yumi's powerful Wood Release, he adjusted the trade to seek the method of transplanting Hashirama cells.

"I do have some methods to improve the success rate of the transplant. But the most crucial factor is something that Orochimaru-sama lacks. Even so, do you still want to proceed with the transaction?"

"Of course." Orochimaru continued the trade without hesitation. The mere fact that he claimed to have a method to improve the success rate made it impossible for Orochimaru to abandon this deal.

Orochimaru knew that during the experiments with Hashirama cells, there was no such thing as a success rate. It was purely a matter of trial and error with lives. They had never found the key to success. In other words, even the Root experiments still had no established success rate. It wasn't a matter of how high the success rate was but the fact that there was none at all.

They succeeded with Yamato, but they didn't know why. All research on Hashirama cells was a black box, with no discernible patterns.

They didn't know why it succeeded or failed.

But now, Aoba claimed he could improve the success rate.

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Currently on Chapter 96 - Silent Interception