"Hashirama?"
"Who is Hashirama?"
Senju Hashirama looked utterly bewildered.
Tsunade gritted her teeth, her fists clenching with a loud crack.
"My brother! Your own grandson!"
Uzumaki Mito clutched her forehead, her expression one of utter despair.
Hashirama's eyes widened. He grabbed Orochimaru's arm excitedly.
"The Senju clan has male descendants?"
"I was just thinking that if we relied on little Tsunade, the Senju clan would be finished. So, I thought, you and Tsunade should have a few more children, and pick one to inherit my Senju clan name!"
"I never expected it, truly never expected it!"
"Tobirama never even told me. How detestable!"
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's hope for the Sage of Six Paths' intellect completely vanished.
"Hmm..."
"We can talk about having children later. Let's discuss Wood Style first..."
Hashirama scratched his head with a foolish grin.
"Haha, yes, yes! I got so excited I forgot the main point. Let's begin then!"
"Oh, right!"
Hashirama suddenly slapped his forehead, as if just remembering something.
"Don't send Grandpa back just yet. Go and call that kid Hashirama here so I can see him."
"My own grandson, if I don't see him with my own eyes, I feel like something is missing."
Orochimaru, finding this persistent fellow unbearable, pulled out a soul-binding talisman from his robe and slapped it onto Hashirama's forehead.
Silence fell upon the world.
Mito cast a disgusted glance at Hashirama and waved at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, hurry up!"
"Take whatever you need from him and send him back to the Pure Land quickly."
"Grandma's head is already pounding just hearing his voice..."
Orochimaru grinned and nodded cheerfully.
"Starting now!"
He took out a sealing scroll inscribed with the character for corpse, unsealed it, and poured a contorted corpse out of it.
It was wrapped all over in bandages, with a stitched wound on its neck.
It was none other than Hiru, who had died at Orochimaru's hands.
He made a cut on his finger with the sharp edge of his Sky Blade, squeezed out a drop of crimson blood, and touched it to the corpse's forehead.
"Ninpou – Death Soul Technique!"
After forming the hand seals, Hiru, who had been lying stiffly on the ground, suddenly rose as if possessed by a reanimation jutsu, controlled by Orochimaru's Death Soul Technique.
"Sage Art – Dark Style – Absorption Holes!"
Sage energy surged around Orochimaru. He placed his hand on Hiru's corpse shoulder, controlling its hands to slowly form the hand seals for Dark Style and press them onto the soul-bound Hashirama.
"Shoosh!"
The nearly endless chakra of Edo Tensei poured madly into the body through the rhombus-shaped holes on Hiru's palms. The corpse, which Orochimaru had modified into something akin to a sealing scroll, accepted the chakra without resistance.
Seeing the jutsu successfully activated, Orochimaru no longer paid attention to the two "tools" providing and receiving chakra. The Yin-Yang Release within his body immediately circulated, flowing through his hand on Hiru's shoulder and into the sealed space within the corpse.
"Earth Release chakra, no..."
"Water Release chakra, no..."
Orochimaru sifted through the chakra absorbed from Hashirama. He immediately scattered any chakra of undesirable attributes with Yin-Yang Release, transforming it into pure, non-elemental energy, which he unceremoniously absorbed into his own body.
"Wood Style chakra, hmm..."
"Only the nature of Wood Style, but not its origin? I'll keep it for now..."
"Keep searching!"
A mass of emerald green energy, a composite of Water and Earth chakra, caught Orochimaru's attention. After careful examination, he found it to be merely ordinary Wood Style chakra.
While such a foundationless energy could be used, it was like water without roots, disappearing after use. It was far from Orochimaru's goal for this grand undertaking.
"Keep searching!"
"The unique aura of the First Hokage that was different from ordinary shinobi hasn't disappeared. If I'm not mistaken, Asura's chakra hasn't completely dissipated from his body."
"Even if I only absorb a little, I'm confident I can awaken Wood Style for Nawaki based on the nature of his power."
Orochimaru had a clear objective. While decomposing and storing unnecessary energy, he diligently searched for Asura's chakra.
For the sake of his own disciple, Orochimaru, the teacher, was working tirelessly.
Could Nawaki's strength reach a new level before the Chunin Exams began? Could Nawaki make a name for himself in the ninja world in the future? It all depended on this.
As for whether plundering Indra's chakra would incur the displeasure of the Sage of Six Paths...
Heh, the Sage had personally promised that Orochimaru could do as he pleased with the ninja world. Taking a bit of his son's chakra shouldn't be too much to ask, right?
Did the Sage of Six Paths really say that?
Who cares! From Orochimaru's perspective, it was as good as said!
"This power..."
After searching for a while, a cluster of emerald green chakra, encased in a peculiar Yang Release energy, suddenly entered Orochimaru's senses.
His expression brightened. Orochimaru immediately used Yin-Yang Release to disperse a large mass of ordinary Wood Style chakra blocking his path and grasped the cluster.
"Hidden within this Wood Style chakra. If my Yin-Yang Release hadn't reached mastery, I might not have discovered you!"
Orochimaru chuckled, and holding the Wood Style cluster, which clearly contained Asura's Yang Release power, he was about to withdraw his consciousness.
"Attempting to plunder my power's origin, what audacity!"
A majestic roar interrupted Orochimaru's actions.
A figure clad in a high-collared white robe, with three black comma-shaped markings embroidered on each side of the collar, appeared before Orochimaru.
The man wore a pure white headband, and his face, beneath it, radiated an imposing aura, bearing a slight resemblance to Hashirama.
"As expected of a descendant of the Otsutsuki. Even after a thousand years, the chakra flowing through the descendant's bloodline shows no signs of fading."
"However..."
Orochimaru leisurely and temporarily stored the cluster of Asura's origin chakra within his body, looking indifferently at Asura, who was staring intently at his hand.
"A being who fought with his brother for a thousand years over the position of the founder of ninjutsu, causing countless tragedies in the ninja world, what right do you have to let your chakra remain on an elder who almost brought peace to the ninja world?"
"Even in death, you cannot escape the influence of your power, only choosing to leave your previous host and bring disaster to the ninja world with Indra when your brother's chakra reincarnates..."
"A parasite on your descendants dares to call me audacious? Heh heh..."
"Descendants of the Otsutsuki, truly noble!"
The descendants of Asura were mostly not eloquent, and Asura himself, as the progenitor, was no exception.
After Orochimaru's sarcastic remarks, Asura's stern expression froze.
Upon reflection, he realized that for the past thousand years, he had only focused on preventing the impact of his brother's reincarnation on the ninja world, neglecting to consider the lives of ordinary humans caught in the conflict between the brothers.
The inherently kind Asura fell silent upon realizing this.
"I..."
"I only wanted to use my power to stop my elder brother."
"You may not know his personality..."
"Is that so?"
Orochimaru sneered, interrupting Asura's explanation without any courtesy.
He respected the Sage of Six Paths, respected the one who, for the greater good of the ninja world, sealed his own mother, renounced his power, and divided the Ten-Tails' chakra.
He even left behind nine powerful Tailed Beasts before his death to protect the safety of ninjutsu.
Orochimaru knew he couldn't achieve such great love. But that didn't stop him from having genuine respect for the Sage of Six Paths.
But on what basis did the brothers Asura and Indra operate?
Because their father was the Sage of Six Paths?
Heh! My apologies, the concept of "loving the house and its occupants" did not exist in Orochimaru's dictionary!
"Do you think I haven't seen Indra's reincarnations?"
"To put it bluntly, no matter how brutal Indra's reincarnation methods are, without you, the ninja world would likely have been unified by him long ago!"
"Even if the unification was achieved through force and slaughter, as long as the ninja world was unified, all sacrifices would have been meaningful!"
"You think you are merciful, but have you considered?"
"Because of your thousand years of 'mercy,' how many more years of war has the ninja world endured? How many more people have died?"
"You always claim to prevent Indra from causing destruction to the ninja world, but what is the ultimate result..."
"Heh heh!"
"The number of humans who died under your chakra is likely not much less than those under Indra, is it?"
Asura's body trembled violently, and he staggered back two steps.
"Sigh!"
A long sigh echoed. The Sage of Six Paths, whom Orochimaru had met not long ago, actively broke through the barrier between the Yin and Yang realms and appeared before Orochimaru.
"Father?"
Asura's eyes, wide with fear, lowered as he recognized his father.
The Sage of Six Paths looked at his son, who had lingered in the cycle of reincarnation for a thousand years, his eyes filled with complexity and affection.
"Foolish child..."
"A thousand years ago, I witnessed you pacify the disasters of the ninja world with your philosophy of peace. Seeing the genuine smiles on those people's faces, I decided to make you the successor of ninjutsu."
"But I never imagined that after my death, you and Indra would embark on this path of conflict for a thousand years."
"What Orochimaru said is correct. You need to reflect properly."
"Ever since Orochimaru revealed the ninja world's darkest secret to me, I have completely abandoned the idea of continuing to watch over your souls' reincarnations."
"Let the people of the current ninja world handle the rest!"
"It's time for you and Indra to return to the Pure Land and rest with me!"
Asura lowered his head in silence, his eyes filled with struggle.
The Sage of Six Paths ignored his son, who was caught in an internal struggle, and turned to Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, you are excellent!"
"You can see things from both sides, and you harbor no prejudice against Indra's actions."
"For that, I thank you on behalf of that troublesome child."
Orochimaru felt a sense of overwhelming favor.
The primary purpose of his previous words was to shatter the will of the relatively simple-minded but powerful Asura, making it easier for him to plunder the origin of Wood Style within him.
He never expected...
"You crave power, yet you intend to bestow Wood Style upon your disciple. You desire peace, yet you are ruthless to your enemies."
"Asura's compassion, Indra's decisiveness, both are embodied in you."
The Sage of Six Paths shook his head with a sigh.
"As I told you before, do what you wish. I will always be watching you from the Pure Land."
"If you want Asura's power, then take it!"
"A thousand years of fraternal strife must end now!"
With that, the Sage of Six Paths gently waved his sleeve.
A large mass of Wood Style origin, wrapped in Yang Release energy, floated out of Asura's body and slowly drifted towards Orochimaru.
"This is the greatest help I can offer you without harming Asura's soul."
"Cultivate the power within yourself well. Perhaps you can forge a path distinctly different from mine."
"Just as you once told Kurama, your future enemies might only be defeatable with power that does not belong to ninjas."
"Then..."
"Farewell, child!"
With those words, the Sage of Six Paths, just as he had in life, took Asura's hand, and together they vanished from Orochimaru's sight.
"As expected of the Sage of Six Paths!"
Orochimaru looked at the floating cluster of chakra radiating a powerful energy fluctuation before him and let out a long sigh.
"I accept this debt!"