Chapter 159

Leo revealed information about the Sharingan and the Rinnegan, partly to exchange for Orochimaru's ninjutsu, and partly to pique Orochimaru's interest in the Rinnegan.

In the future, he knew he would have to obtain Nagato's pair of Rinnegan. To deal with the Akatsuki, who were all Kage-level shinobi, and the Six Paths of Pain, he couldn't rely on his own strength alone. By sparking Orochimaru's interest, he could potentially bring Orochimaru onto his side in the future.

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's lips twitched. Just as the other party was discussing something he was most interested in, the conversation abruptly ended, leaving him feeling as if a fishbone were stuck in his throat—deeply uncomfortable.

"Alright, I believe we will have many collaborations in the future. Now, tell me, which of my ninjutsu have caught your eye?"

Orochimaru knew he couldn't let Leo keep leading him around, so he suppressed his curiosity and shifted the topic.

Regarding the secrets of Uchiha Madara and his connection to the Akatsuki, Orochimaru figured he could find a way to investigate further if necessary.

"The Soft Physique Modification Technique and that special substitution jutsu of yours."

Leo didn't waste any words and directly stated his answer.

The Soft Physique Modification was for bringing items across worlds, and Orochimaru's substitution jutsu was indeed quite impressive. It didn't require hand signs; as long as one suffered a fatal injury, they could instantly shed their skin and escape, even being immune to Amaterasu. It was genuinely a remarkable technique.

Although the process looked a bit grotesque and disgusting, with the user emerging from their own mouth, when facing fatal injuries, such concerns became irrelevant.

He was always a pragmatist; as long as it was useful, it was good enough.

"Those two jutsu, huh? I thought you were after my Living Corpse Reincarnation, seeking my immortality technique!"

Orochimaru showed a surprised expression.

He hadn't expected that, after sharing such crucial information, Leo would only ask for two ninjutsu that weren't particularly powerful, foregoing Orochimaru's prized immortality technique.

"Ahem, I do want your Living Corpse Reincarnation, but I understand that you wouldn't agree to that, so I didn't even bother asking."

Leo coughed twice as he explained.

To be honest, he wasn't very interested in the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique. Switching bodies every three years—such a poor-quality immortality technique—was beneath him.

Upon hearing Leo's response, Orochimaru found it reasonable. Even if Leo had asked, there was no way he would have taught him the Living Corpse Reincarnation.

Yet, for some reason, something felt off to him, leaving a vague sense of discomfort.

"Here are the two jutsu you requested. Feel free to come back for more trades in the future!"

Orochimaru opened his mouth and spat out two scrolls, placing them on the table.

Leo pulled out a wand and cast a cleaning spell on the scrolls, removing the sticky residue. After confirming they were intact, he stored them in his small cloth bag.

Seeing Leo use a wooden stick to cast a jutsu without hand signs, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed again:

"It seems my junior has also developed quite a few strange jutsu. Perhaps we could exchange techniques sometime."

He was genuinely envious of the other's body, those strange jutsu, and the valuable intelligence he possessed, but he knew he lacked the confidence to capture him.

He understood that Leo was extremely cautious. If he couldn't take him down instantly, and Leo had time to use his space-time ninjutsu, the opportunity would be lost forever.

So, he opted for a more amicable, long-term collaboration.

"No problem. Since the deal is done, I'll be off!"

Leo stood up, waved to Orochimaru, and left the hotel. He found a deserted alley and used Apparition to vanish.

"Orochimaru-sama, was the information he provided true?"

After Leo left, Kabuto Yakushi, looking shocked, entered the room.

To prevent eavesdropping or to assist Orochimaru if needed, Kabuto had been in the adjacent room, overhearing the startling information Leo shared.

Orochimaru nodded:

"At least most of it should be true. I'm just not sure about the relationship between Pain and Uchiha Madara."

"And the plan to take Sasuke?"

Kabuto inquired.

Orochimaru extended his tongue:

"The darkness in his heart isn't deep enough yet. Last time, I failed to plant the curse mark. I'll wait a bit longer. My body is reaching its limit. After my next reincarnation, I'll consider bringing him in."

"You should continue your surveillance in Konoha. Report any intel to me immediately!"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!"

...

After returning to the capital from the Land of Rice Fields, Leo didn't immediately head back to Konoha to study the five nature transformations with the Third Hokage. Instead, he focused all his energy on mastering the Soft Physique Modification Technique.

He only had five days left, so he had to learn this jutsu before returning.

The Soft Physique Modification was a ninjutsu created by Orochimaru that made the user's body as flexible as a snake, allowing them to entangle their opponent during close combat.

At its peak, like Orochimaru, one could stretch their neck dozens of meters and bite an enemy like a monster.

The technique also allowed the user to store objects in their body for easy retrieval.

For now, Leo didn't need to reach such extremes; being able to store items in his body would suffice.

Thus, five days quickly passed.

In the final minute of the countdown, his hands formed seals rapidly, and he used the Soft Physique Modification Technique to swallow a palm-sized box from the table.

As the countdown ended, the scene shifted, and he found himself back at the Sokovia base.

"It works!"

Feeling the small box still inside him, Leo's face lit up with joy.

The box had been made in the Naruto world, and if this method were ineffective, he wouldn't have been able to sense its presence now.

He opened his mouth, retrieved the box, and opened it to inspect the contents, sighing as he did so:

"It seems I can only carry non-living things. Living beings get left behind or erased during world travel."

The box had contained not only explosive tags and ration pills but also a small rabbit. Now, while the other items remained, the rabbit had disappeared, either left behind in the Naruto world or erased during the dimensional travel.

Either way, it meant he couldn't bring living beings through the small world portals, even if he hid them inside his body.

But this was still a great advantage. Being able to carry non-living items meant he could bring high-powered modern weapons into other worlds.

Guns, rockets, missiles, bombs, or even—a nuclear bomb!