Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

The Uchiha clan once mobilized a large force to search for this treasure that symbolized the clan leader's authority.

But it still came to nothing.

Orochimaru recalled some past records he had seen in the village's documents, and thought back to how strange they seemed. Now, with the speculation that Madara Uchiha had not died, some of the inconsistencies suddenly made sense.

but,

Orochimaru remained attentive and receptive.

The secrets that Uchiha Sogen spoke of seemed quite frightening, but in reality, they were just that—frightening. What did Uchiha Madara's life or death have to do with him? What benefit could Uchiha Madara possibly bring him if he were alive? In short, these secrets weren't entirely useless, but they were hardly useful either; they were more like a chicken bone—useless and insignificant!

It's tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw it away!

"...They're really troublesome!"

Zongxian frowned, then relaxed his brows and sighed, "It seems that we can't avoid drawing blood. Orochimaru, you must have heard of the three great dojutsu in the ninja world, right?"

"Of course I've heard of it. Your Uchiha clan's Sharingan, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan, and the legendary Rinnegan... Zongxian-kun, is it alright to address me like that?"

"casual."

Zongxian didn't care about such a trivial matter.

"So, Sogen-kun, you mentioned the three great dojutsu, are you going to exchange them for the Rinnegan?" As soon as he said this, Orochimaru himself felt it was absurd and laughable. In legend, the Rinnegan was the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. Apart from appearing in mythology, there is no record of the Rinnegan in any of the ninja world's historical records.

However, Uchiha Sogen's statement was also strange.

Speaking of the three great dojutsu, Orochimaru had clearly warned him not to touch the Uchiha clan. To be honest, Orochimaru didn't think much of the Hyuga clan's Byakugan, and he didn't believe that Uchiha Sogen would use the Hyuga clan's Byakugan to make a deal with him. So, the most likely thing to be offered as a condition for exchange was actually the least likely thing: the Rinnegan!

"how is this possible?"

Zongxian laughed.

"If I had a treasure like the Rinnegan, I would have replaced it with my own long ago. Those are the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths!"

"That's true."

Orochimaru also laughed.

If Uchiha Sogen really possessed such a treasure as the Rinnegan, even if he didn't equip it himself, he would never give it up for exchange. If it were him, he would think the same way.

"So, what exactly are you going to use as a bargaining chip, Zongxian-kun? If you can't offer anything of value, then I won't keep the secrets you mentioned earlier." Orochimaru said with a smile. The two of them had been talking in the wind and snow for a while, and unknowingly, they had developed a kind of inexplicable rapport.

"I can't produce a treasure like the Rinnegan, but I know where to find it. I wonder if this information can be exchanged for Six Paths Ninja Tools?"

Zongxian asked shamelessly.

Originally, he was planning to use a piece of White Zetsu's body as a bargaining chip, but judging from the earlier probing, Orochimaru had not yet made contact with the Akatsuki. He immediately had a plan to get something for nothing. Since Orochimaru and Pain had not met, he could take advantage of the information gap to make a profit from Orochimaru.

"Is this really true?"

Orochimaru's eyes lit up immediately.

This guy's thirst for knowledge is excessively strong, especially for things like the Rinnegan, which are in the unknown and have a fatal attraction for him.

"Since you know where the Rinnegan is, why don't you go and get it yourself?"

Orochimaru was clearly not blinded by his desires and clearly saw the key point.

“The reason is simple,” Zongxian said calmly, raising two fingers. “There are two reasons why I didn’t go to retrieve it myself. First, these Rinnegan are not so easy to obtain. Didn’t I say before that Uchiha Madara didn’t die? And the holder of these Rinnegan has a very deep connection with Uchiha Madara. To tell you the truth, I discovered the existence of the Rinnegan while investigating Uchiha Madara’s affairs.”

"Secondly, it's because I don't have time. The village is first fighting a major battle with the Mist Ninja, and then it's fighting with the Cloud Ninja. In the Land of Grass, Jiraiya-senpai is probably also fighting with the Iwa Ninja. With all these battles going on, I simply don't have time to plan how to seize the Rinnegan."

"I see."

Orochimaru wasn't surprised.

It would be strange if the Rinnegan were so easy to obtain! It's obvious that these Rinnegan are like a red-hot iron; only a pair of iron hands could hold such a treasure.

"Most importantly, I think even if Orochimaru knew this news, he would most likely still be unable to obtain those Rinnegan eyes. So, it would be better to use this news to exchange for some treasures." Zongxian directly and clearly stated his 'thoughts'.

"Haha! Are you planning to get something for nothing?"

Orochimaru was laughing heartily.

Even when Uchiha Sogen looked down on him, he wasn't angry. There was nothing to be angry about. Orochimaru never considered himself invincible. He had quite a few troublesome opponents in the ninja world! Ahead of him was Onoki, an old man who was still alive. Among his companions were Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were no weaker than him. Especially Jiraiya in Sage Mode. Orochimaru himself admitted that he was no match for him in a head-on fight.

Now there are rising stars like Uchiha Sogen and Uchiha Shisui!

Therefore,

There's absolutely no need to get angry over something like this.

Instead of getting angry over such trivial matters, it's better to think about the Rinnegan, this tempting bait dangling right in front of you. Yes, Uchiha Sogen is clearly playing the game of letting those who are willing take the bait, but Orochimaru thinks it over and over and finds that he doesn't seem to mind taking the bait willingly at all!

Even if, as Uchiha Sogen said, he had no chance of getting his hands on the Rinnegan even if he knew the news, he still really, really wanted to see the legendary Rinnegan, the eye that the Sage of Six Paths possessed!

It is a treasure that is ten or even a hundred times more mysterious than the Sharingan and Byakugan!

His thirst for knowledge and his desire to explore wouldn't allow him to let such an opportunity slip away. Even knowing it was bait, he couldn't help but take the bait! Even though he knew that Uchiha Sogen was also extremely eager for the Six Paths Ninja Tools.

But I'm not a businessman who haggles.

"Sōgen-kun, you knew I would agree, didn't you?" Orochimaru stared at Sōgen.

"Yes."

Zongxian smiled and agreed.

"I have four Six Paths Ninja Tools, but I can only give you one, since this is just a piece of information." Orochimaru didn't waste any more words and directly stated the terms of the exchange.

Is there only one?

Zongxian frowned.

"Only one."

Orochimaru bit him to death.

He doesn't mind being a sucker who automatically bites the hook, but don't even think about sucking his bones dry.

"Alright!"

Zongxian did not insist.

He hasn't even fully mastered the Flame Fan yet. Even if he were to acquire all the Six Paths Ninja Tools, he would only be able to study and comprehend them one by one. So, whether he has one or several, it doesn't make much difference to him at the moment.

"But if there's only one item, I'll take that fan."

"fan?"

Orochimaru pondered for a moment, figuring out the abilities of the four Six Paths Ninja Tools he had found. The rope could make people utter the most commonly used words of incantation, the sword could cut and curse words of incantation, and the gourd could record the severed words of incantation and use them to seal enemies.

These three ninja tools complement each other and are indispensable. However, their use is subject to many limitations and causes considerable trouble. To be honest, Orochimaru didn't see them as having much value.

As for the last fan, it's quite good. It ignores the nature of one's own chakra and can release the five nature transformations of fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth all at once. However, it requires a lot of chakra to support it, and ordinary ninjas can easily have their chakra drained. Its practicality is also very limited!

"can."

Orochimaru did not refuse.

"The wielder of the Rinnegan is in the Land of Rain. He killed Hanzo of the Salamander and took control of Amegakure. He is also the leader of an organization called 'Akatsuki.' I suspect the true mastermind behind this organization is Madara Uchiha. By the way, his name is supposedly Pain!!!"

Amegakure?

Orochimaru's eyebrows twitched.

The fact that Hanzo of the Salamander was dead was still a secret in the ninja world and was not widely publicized. However, Orochimaru was very well-informed. However, Orochimaru did not care about the death of Hanzo of the Salamander. When he was young, Hanzo of the Salamander was so troublesome in his eyes, but now he no longer cared about the 'demigod'!

Orochimaru had no interest in building a base in Amegakure, that godforsaken, damp, and godforsaken place!

but,

It seems we missed a good opportunity.

Fortunately, Orochimaru didn't feel any remorse for such a deal; it was simply a mutually beneficial exchange!

"The Akatsuki... Pain, and Madara Uchiha... they are indeed very interesting!" As Orochimaru spoke, he flicked his sleeves and summoned a giant snake that snaked across the snow and came to Sogen's front, opening its blood-red maw.

then,

Zongxian saw a fan emerge from the snake's mouth.

Its red and white colors resemble the open tail feathers of a peacock, and it is over a meter long.

"Couldn't you have cleaned it a little better?" Zongxian complained as he looked at the fan covered in snake sludge. He made a hand seal, used a water whip to wrap around the fan, dragged it out of the snake's mouth, threw it on the snow, and then summoned clean water to wash it.

With a "bang," the giant snake turned into white smoke and disappeared, returning to Ryuchi Cave.

"By the way, Orochimaru, let's exchange contact information. It'll be easier to do business with you in the future." Seeing Orochimaru about to leave, Zongxian hurriedly called out. Orochimaru had quite a few good things on him, and there would definitely be opportunities to deal with him in the future. Rather than trying his luck and searching around everywhere, it was better to establish a channel of communication now.

"interesting!"

Orochimaru smiled at Sogen, took out a scroll from his sleeve, and tossed it over. "Use this to summon a messenger to contact me." After saying that, he didn't waste any more time and immediately dispelled the Shadow Clone Technique.

In the vast snowstorm,

Only Zongxian remains.

[Chapter 196: Alliance]

"Raikage-sama? Raikage-sama?"

The voice of his secretary, Mabuyi, roused Ai from his groggy state, extinguishing the heart-wrenching, almost suffocating images in his mind. He let out a slight sigh of relief. "How is the situation? How much damage has been done?"

He has returned to the Cloud Ninja's base in the Land of Hot Springs.

Of course, it wasn't just him; he returned with the entire army braving the wind and snow. However, compared to their high morale when they set out, they returned in a state of utter dejection that was hard to believe. Their extremely low morale left many of the Cloud Ninja who remained at the base dumbfounded.

"Lord Tsuchidae has already taken stock of the army. The losses... are not great. The total number of casualties is no more than two hundred." Mabui answered cautiously. As the new secretary of the Raikage, she was not as well-informed about the Raikage's intentions as her predecessor.

"But most of the injured were Jonin, right?"

Ai's face darkened.

He wasn't entirely clear on the casualties of Tsuchida's army, but only about half of the Jonin he had led back had returned. What pained him most was his younger brother, Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, who had fallen into Konoha's hands while covering the army's retreat.

To say something I can't say out loud,

He would rather lose two or three thousand troops than have anything happen to Killer Bee. The value of a perfect Jinchuriki on the battlefield far exceeds that of an army of several thousand. Even if there are dozens of Jonin among them, it cannot change the gap between them.

Mabuyi held his breath and dared not speak.

Fortunately, Ai wasn't the type to take his anger out on anyone. In the past, whenever something went wrong, he would directly use his fists to vent his frustrations on walls, rocks, or other objects. Whenever he got angry, Killer Bee would come over to comfort him, but his strange way of speaking always made people frown, and sometimes, when they got annoyed, they couldn't help but punch him a couple of times.

however,