"Uchiha Madara?"
The name, almost forgotten by Uzumaki Mito, suddenly reappeared, startling her.
Recalling for a moment, she remembered her husband had mentioned it. During his battle with Uchiha Madara at the Valley of the End, the Nine-Tails seemed to have indeed been summoned by Madara through a summoning jutsu.
"Was it at that time? No wonder!"
"Orochimaru, did you deduce this from the records in the library scrolls? You're truly meticulous!"
Orochimaru nodded as if it were natural, his resolve to collect more secrets and knowledge even firmer.
When everyone knows you are a knowledgeable and diligent person, no matter how astonishing a fact you reveal in the future, people will only feel genuine admiration rather than immediately suspecting its authenticity.
In other words, if a person establishes themselves firmly enough, within reasonable bounds, any surprising action they take will not seem too out of the ordinary.
This situation is akin to the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku. With his millennia-old experience guiding the Six Paths Sage in senjutsu and providing prophecies, even if he has now become an old toad so aged he cannot open his eyes and spends most of his time sleeping on his throne, every word and action he utters is treated as a profound prophecy by Shima, Fukasaku, and all the toads of Mount Myōboku.
The current Orochimaru is merely reaping a small reward from the persona he previously cultivated: one who loves to investigate unknown truths. In the future, situations where a casual explanation gains trust will only become more frequent and smoother.
After slightly clearing her doubts, Uzumaki Mito's gaze towards the Nine-Tails showed a hint of difficulty.
"Nine-Tails..."
After a long hesitation, Uzumaki Mito called out.
The Nine-Tails waited for a while, but seeing no action from Uzumaki Mito, it curiously opened its eyes at her call.
"Hmm?"
"Mito, why haven't you acted yet?"
"That bastard Madara's possession, I don't want it in my soul for another moment!"
Uzumaki Mito gently shook her head and sighed,
"I can't!"
The Nine-Tails looked up, somewhat exasperated.
"How can you not? Where is that Shinigami from earlier?"
"I can sense that fellow could have forcefully separated that piece of my soul."
"Summon it again, don't worry about me enduring the pain of soul tearing, just do it!"
Uzumaki Mito opened her mouth hesitantly, but ultimately shook her head.
"No!"
"To split a soul, that Shinigami from earlier isn't capable of it. It was already at its limit just to absorb the chaotic energy within your soul."
"Unless the true Reaper Death Seal is used, I have no way to remove that brand for you."
The Nine-Tails snorted dismissively and stated as if it were obvious,
"What is it you're worried about?"
"Then just use the true Reaper Death Seal! Mito, don't tell me you don't know how!"
Uzumaki Mito gave a bitter smile and fell silent.
She knew how, of course!
But now really wasn't the time.
Kushina hadn't completely mastered the sealing jutsu capable of suppressing the Tailed Beasts, and that child Nawaki was only twelve years old and hadn't even graduated from the ninja academy yet. Tsunade, though an adult, was too impetuous to be considered a proper adult.
And then there was that little girl Orochimaru had just returned, whose name she didn't even know...
She still wanted to spend more time with these children before her lifespan reached its end.
If she used the Reaper Death Seal now, all of that would become an illusion.
Through their conversation, Orochimaru quickly grasped the reason for Uzumaki Mito's silence.
Reaper Death Seal! He was very familiar with it!
After a moment of thought, Orochimaru gently patted Uzumaki Mito's back and said in a low voice,
"Grandmother, let me talk to the Nine-Tails!"
Uzumaki Mito gave Orochimaru a regretful look, as their transaction with the Nine-Tails might not be able to proceed because of her.
"Orochimaru, Grandmother..."
Orochimaru gently shook his head and comforted her,
"It's okay!"
Turning to look up at the Nine-Tails, Orochimaru offered an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, Nine-Tails!"
"Grandmother can indeed use the Reaper Death Seal to remove the summoning contract from your soul, but not now!"
"I know you have the ability to perceive minds, and you should be able to sense that Grandmother Mito and I are not deceiving you."
"So, if you are still willing to believe my previous promise, let's continue this transaction together!"
The Nine-Tails was silent for a moment, and the giant fox head finally nodded twice.
He could tell that Orochimaru was not lying to him. Moreover, even if the threat of Uchiha Madara controlling him again wasn't resolved today, he had already gained significant benefits.
"Continuing the transaction isn't impossible!"
"But I have one condition!"
The Nine-Tails turned its gaze to Uzumaki Mito and said with a somewhat distant look,
"Mito, before you transfer me out..."
"Can you, like today, let me out occasionally for some fresh air?"
"Hmm... Just like this is fine!"
Before Uzumaki Mito could respond, Orochimaru immediately interrupted,
"I'm afraid that's not possible!"
"If the Eight Trigrams Seal frequently shows signs of loosening..."
The Nine-Tails roared in anger, turning to Orochimaru and shouting,
"Orochimaru, are you trying to..."
Orochimaru remained silent and pointed to his eyes. Seeing this, the Nine-Tails' enraged roar abruptly stopped.
"Damn it!"
Uzumaki Mito watched, completely bewildered, not understanding what riddle they were playing. She felt that her usually clear mind suddenly couldn't keep up with others' thoughts today.
And among these "others," there was even a Tailed Beast...
The Nine-Tails sulked for a while, baring its teeth and extending a fist-shaped paw towards Orochimaru, saying in a menacing tone,
"Come on, kid!"
"Although you couldn't help me break the summoning contract for now, and your future potential is still unknown."
"But today wasn't a complete loss. I'm willing to keep my word and provide you with enough power to suppress the Void."
"Remember your promise to me!"
Orochimaru readily nodded and bumped his right fist with the Nine-Tails.
"Pleasant cooperation!"
...
Outside.
Orochimaru frowned slightly, enduring the pain of the Tailed Beast chakra being injected into his body. After a long time, he opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.
He extended his palm, and with a thought, a ball of Yin-Yang Release chakra, a mixture of pure white and black, appeared in his palm.
"The primordial Yin-Yang Release chakra source..."
"With this gift alone, Kurama, I forgive you for treating me like an ant and throwing me to the ground earlier!"
Orochimaru truly hadn't expected the Nine-Tails to be so generous. He silently retracted this hard-won Yin-Yang Release chakra, a smile widening on his lips.
Although, as the Nine-Tails said, this ball of Yin-Yang Release chakra from its origin couldn't autonomously absorb external energy and grow stronger like it did within its body.
But he seemed to have forgotten, Orochimaru was a ninja!
Actively refining chakra to strengthen himself was a ninja's instinct!
With this source of power as a catalyst, would Orochimaru still worry about being unable to strengthen it in the future?
Once his body adapted to this Yin-Yang Release power, Orochimaru was confident that one day he would be able to spread the power of Yin-Yang Release throughout his entire body.
With Orochimaru, whose base power was Yin-Yang Release, the ninja world would then, hehe...
The Nine-Tails' half-body image reappeared in the arena. Since it had agreed to Orochimaru's terms, the Nine-Tails' actions became much more decisive.
Opening its large mouth, a fierce suction force emanated, and the scattered dark chakra floating in the air quickly converged in front of the Nine-Tails.
In a short while, the formless serpent body reappeared within the Four Symbols barrier.
"Wait, I don't intend to oppose you..."
The Zero-Tails Void, just having reappeared, saw the Nine-Tails with an unfriendly expression and hurriedly tried to speak in plea.
However, the Nine-Tails wouldn't give a monster that dared to insult a Tailed Beast with its name any chance!
It grabbed the Void's long body, bit off its head, and swallowed it.
The skillful action was enough to show that this wasn't the first time the Nine-Tails had done such a thing.
It made sense. Having followed the Six Paths Sage for so many years, the Nine-Tails must have seen and done it all! Otherwise, how could the negative emotions emanating from dying humans have polluted the Nine-Tails' soul into such a brutal and evil form?
The giant fox mouth smacked its lips. The Nine-Tails, with a look of disgust, threw the serpent's body, which was starting to leak dark chakra, towards Orochimaru. Without a word, its body transformed into a streak of light and re-entered Uzumaki Mito's abdomen.
"Grandmother Mito, I'll trouble you!"
Orochimaru placed his hand on the Zero-Tails' body and called out to Uzumaki Mito.
Uzumaki Mito reinforced the Eight Trigrams Seal on her abdomen, walked to Orochimaru's side, and nodded with emotion.
"Alright!"
"You child, you've truly opened my eyes today!"
Several chains extended from Uzumaki Mito's sleeves, gently gathering the leaking dark chakra before her. Along with the body left by the Zero-Tails Void, it rustled and disappeared into Orochimaru's abdomen.
Orochimaru gritted his teeth, enduring the invasion of the cold, dark chakra into his body, and quickly mobilized the ball of Yin-Yang Release chakra previously given to him by the Nine-Tails to his abdomen.
With a thought, the chakra instantly transformed into a thin film emanating a chaotic glow, and together with the chains of the Adamantine Sealing Chains, it enclosed all the dark chakra within.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Orochimaru nodded at Uzumaki Mito.
"Grandmother, you can seal it now!"
Uzumaki Mito did not hesitate. Her hands moved swiftly, crossing and pressing onto Orochimaru's abdomen with a crackling sound.
A layer of golden light flashed, and a complete Eight Trigrams Seal appeared on Orochimaru's abdomen beneath his clothes.