"What If I Could Give You Infinite Life?"
Time rewound to more than half a day earlier.
About fifty kilometers in the direction of the Land of Grass, outside the temporary encampment of the Three-Village Allied Forces, a force of two thousand Konoha shinobi moved silently through a mountain ravine.
Under Orochimaru's command, they had infiltrated deep behind the enemy lines without anyone noticing.
"Pass down the order—have the entire army rest on the spot. Maintain concealment. Send out all reconnaissance squads. Keep watch not only toward Kikyō Mountain, but also toward the border."
Orochimaru waved his hand, instructing several messenger-nin to relay the command.
Soon, the two thousand Konoha shinobi settled into the ravine.
There were no tents, no campfires, no cooking.
Each shinobi simply found a concealed spot—leaning against rocks or sitting quietly—taking out water and dry rations while recovering as much stamina as possible.
They had been marching nonstop since leaving the village the night before last.
During that time, they had repeatedly used Shadow Clone Techniques to create the illusion of dividing their forces, constantly shifting routes.
Not for a single moment had they truly rested.
By now, they were exhausted to the limit.
After issuing his orders, Orochimaru turned to the person beside him.
"Itachi, how do you feel? Can you still hold on?"
This mission had arrived suddenly.
At the time, Orochimaru had been conducting a Hashirama cell integration experiment on Uchiha Itachi, leaving him completely unprepared.
But he couldn't refuse the village's command.
After considerable hesitation, he decided to bring Itachi along—continuing the experiment while completing the mission so neither would be delayed.
Of course, this was also because the experiment on Itachi had already reached its final stage.
Most of the work had been completed. Now it was essentially a matter of waiting for the results.
Itachi's complexion was healthy and flushed, without the slightest sign of fatigue.
He shook his head expressionlessly.
"So far, I feel fine. There's no discomfort."
"Let me take a look."
Orochimaru's eyes lit up with excitement. He crouched down and began examining Itachi's body carefully.
"Judging from your current physical condition, Reagent No. 7 is working extremely well. There's no rejection reaction at all."
"Your body has already been significantly strengthened—and the enhancement is still continuing."
"What a pity. Without proper equipment here, we can't monitor the real-time changes in your body."
After finishing his examination, Orochimaru looked both thrilled and slightly regretful.
Then he took out a small syringe.
Seeing this, Itachi calmly rolled up his sleeve and extended his arm toward him.
Since being sent to Orochimaru by Uchiha Ren, Itachi had long since lost count of how many times Orochimaru had drawn his blood—or collected samples of hair, tissue, saliva, and sweat.
He was already accustomed to Orochimaru treating his body like experimental material.
That said, Itachi could clearly feel that both his body and mind had grown far stronger than before.
He had also heard that the experimental results obtained from his body would later be applied to Uchiha Ren, Uchiha Shisui, Fugaku Uchiha , and other talented members of the Uchiha clan.
Because of that, Itachi did not resent being Orochimaru's test subject.
Orochimaru carefully stored away the small vial of blood drawn from Itachi.
Since Itachi's body was still undergoing transformation, Orochimaru dared not extract too much blood at once without real-time monitoring.
Otherwise, it might introduce unexpected variables into the experiment.
"Itachi."
After confirming his physical condition, Orochimaru suddenly spoke with a faint smile.
"Besides the Sharingan, the bloodline limit of the Uchiha clan… have you ever thought about obtaining another Kekkei Genkai?"
Itachi paused, puzzled.
"Another Kekkei Genkai?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"According to the intelligence provided by Ren-kun and the conclusions from my current experimental data, once your transformation is complete, there's a high probability you'll awaken the First Hokage's unique bloodline limit—Wood Release."
"Wood Release…"
A flicker of light passed through Itachi's eyes as he softly repeated the words.
Orochimaru paid little attention to his reaction and continued speaking.
"Through my research, I've discovered that the bloodlines of the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan possess extraordinary compatibility."
"For example, those with Uchiha blood typically possess natural chakra affinities toward Yin, Fire, and Lightning."
"Meanwhile, those with Senju blood tend to have affinities for Yang, Water, Earth, and Wind."
"If someone possessed the bloodlines of both clans simultaneously, then they would very likely become a shinobi naturally capable of all seven chakra natures—"
"Yin, Yang, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Wind."
"And Wood Release is merely one manifestation of this complementary relationship."
After a pause, Orochimaru stared at Itachi's body and unconsciously licked the saliva at the corner of his mouth.
"Itachi… you now possess the blood of both the Uchiha and Senju clans."
"There's a very real possibility you'll awaken all seven chakra natures."
"And your situation is different from my teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi. His 'all-nature mastery' comes from training."
"But yours would be far more special—"
"Closer to the origin of chakra itself, the earliest form of chakra… filled with infinite possibilities."
"If you wished, I might even be able to help you discover ways to awaken special Kekkei Genkai such as Storm Release, Blaze Release, Lava Release, or Explosion Release."
Orochimaru was extremely satisfied with Itachi's current body.
In fact, he coveted it deeply, almost wishing he could take it for himself.
Although his Living Corpse Reincarnation technique was not yet fully developed, he had already established a preliminary framework.
As a result, he couldn't help but keep an eye on particularly exceptional bodies.
Unfortunately, he had now found a path more suited to himself, and Living Corpse Reincarnation had become merely a backup plan.
Otherwise, he would never have let go of such a perfect vessel as Uchiha Itachi.
Even though it wasn't the first time Orochimaru had looked at him with that kind of gaze, Itachi still felt a chill run down his spine.
He shook his head.
"There's no need. Having more abilities isn't necessarily better. Too many abilities would only divide my attention."
Orochimaru nodded thoughtfully.
"That's true. A person's energy is limited. Too many abilities often lead to being a jack of all trades but master of none."
But after a moment, Orochimaru's lips curled into a meaningful smile.
"What if…"
"I could give you infinite life?"
"With infinite life comes infinite time."
"You would have more than enough time to learn and master every ability you desire."
"In that case, the problem of being unfocused would never exist."
Itachi froze slightly.
Then he looked at Orochimaru with faint surprise.
"So… is that the meaning of your life?"
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