Chapter 200: There Is His Chakra on You

Land of Fields, a secret experimental facility somewhere.

"You say Saiga asked about my whereabouts recently?"

The man with purple eyeshadow paused his autopsy, his neck twisting one hundred eighty degrees to look behind him.

As he spoke, his long, snake-like tongue flicked across his lips.

Standing behind him was a boy wearing round-framed glasses.

In response to the man's question, the boy replied respectfully: "Yes, my lord."

"But Saiga didn't ask about your whereabouts—he exposed my identity."

"He knows you've lifted his jutsu."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's face unconsciously showed a flicker of curiosity: "Interesting."

"Tell him the location of the other base. Let me see what he intends to do."

At his current state, he's not suited to confront that puppeteer—he must first obtain the Uchiha body before acting.

But before that, he might as well secretly observe what the man plans to do.

Thinking this, Orochimaru let out a raspy laugh.

Meanwhile.

Li Ang looked at Saiga, who had suddenly approached him, and asked curiously: "What? Changed your mind?"

Hearing this, Saiga replied coldly: "Orochimaru has accepted my invitation to meet. Come with me."

After receiving that news, he tested the waters.

As Li Ang said, his mole embedded in Orochimaru's side had long been turned.

Without this information, if he'd later followed the mole's intel to find Orochimaru, who knows what might've happened.

"That scaly snake isn't that trustworthy," Li Ang shrugged. "Are you sure we'll actually meet him?"

"We'll see when we get there."

Saiga turned and walked out.

Seeing this, Li Ang hurried after him.

Orochimaru's abilities are troublesome—few in Akatsuki would dare claim they could definitely win against him, and even if they did, you'd never know if he was truly dead.

That's why Saiga, despite his grudge against Orochimaru, has held off acting.

For Li Ang, it's not absolutely necessary to confront Orochimaru—details will depend on meeting the Sannin himself.

Soon, the two arrived in the Land of Fields and met a ninja wearing the Hidden Sound headband at the agreed location.

As Li Ang expected, Orochimaru did not appear immediately.

Seeing the two in black cloaks with red clouds, the ninja bowed respectfully: "Saiga-sama, please follow me."

But Saiga only replied coldly: "Where is Orochimaru?"

At this, the ninja stepped slightly aside, gesturing for them to follow: "My lord Orochimaru awaits you inside the base."

Throughout, he never asked Li Ang's identity.

Thus, Li Ang and Saiga followed the Hidden Sound ninja into an underground secret base.

Yet from the thick layer of dust on the ground, it was clear this base had not been used in a long time.

"Orochimaru" ignored the ninja standing nearby; Saiga directed Hiryu no Aka toward the corner's electronic surveillance equipment, its red lights flickering constantly: "You're still the same old self—no change at all."

No sooner had Saiga finished speaking than a raspy voice echoed through the base: "Saiga-kun, it's been a long time."

It was Orochimaru—his voice transmitted through the base's speakers.

In the Naruto world, electronic devices exist, but their presence is weak due to the overwhelming versatility of ninjutsu.

Just as Saiga was about to retort, Li Ang suddenly spoke: "Orochimaru, is the Sharingan all you want?"

At these words, the underground base fell silent.

Saiga, who had not yet met Orochimaru, did not know what his partner intended, so he chose to observe.

After a moment, a raspy laugh echoed through the base: "Hahaha, you must be Saiga's current partner."

Orochimaru tried to seize the initiative in speech, but Li Ang would not give him that chance.

"My identity isn't important. Is Uchiha Sasuke with you now? If you truly plan to use him as a living vessel, better abandon that idea now."

For someone like Orochimaru—a mysterious scientist—dilly-dallying only puts you at a disadvantage.

So Li Ang decided to drop a bombshell.

Upon hearing Li Ang's words, Orochimaru replied in a voice devoid of emotion: "Did Itachi send you?"

It wasn't unreasonable for him to suspect this—he didn't know the details of the Uchiha clan massacre, but he could deduce some conclusions from subsequent events.

Yet upon hearing this, Li Ang suddenly laughed: "Orochimaru, arrogance has blinded you—you haven't even noticed the special trait on Uchiha Sasuke."

"His chakra is poisonous."

What does that mean?

Orochimaru, hidden in another base, furrowed his brow.

After years of training Uchiha Sasuke, he had detected nothing unusual about him—even his talent paled beside Itachi's.

Yet now, this unknown Akatsuki member beside Saiga claimed Sasuke had something special.

Had he truly missed some crucial detail?

And chakra is poisonous.

Orochimaru had never heard such a thing before.

Ridiculous—how could chakra be poisonous?

Before he could ponder further, the man in the monitor continued: "Let's go, Saiga."

"Since the host doesn't wish to see us, let's not waste our time."

With that, two figures—one tall, one short—walked toward the exit of the underground base.

Until Li Ang and Sasori left the underground base, Orochimaru said nothing more.

But Li Ang had already cast his bait; now he waited to see if the other would take it.

If the bait was taken, he had plenty of information to trade with the other side.

Unlike Sasori, who cared only for puppets, Li Ang believed Orochimaru would be interested in the Ōtsutsuki clan.

But if the bait wasn't taken,

then Li Ang would have to make another trip to the Sound Village.

……

After leaving the underground base, Sasori fell silent.

Li Ang knew he was displeased, but since Orochimaru refused to show himself, there was nothing he could do.

Yet before the two had gone far, a figure caught up with them from behind.

It was a boy with a single silver ponytail and black round glasses.

The moment he saw the newcomer, Li Ang recognized him.

Yakushi Kabuto.

If one were to name the most inspiring character in the original story, he would surely be among them.

I have shed my snake skin and ascended into a dragon!

Though in Li Ang's view, the boy still had a long way to go before becoming a true dragon.

Upon catching up to them, the boy wore a gentle smile and said, "My lord, please wait a moment. Lord Orochimaru wishes to meet you."

The boy mentioned only Li Ang, not Sasori—clearly, Orochimaru had no intention of seeing him.

"Dragon"

Sasori was about to speak, but Li Ang raised a hand to stop him: "I'll go meet him. I haven't forgotten our deal."

Sasori knew that if he insisted on following, the traitor across from them would never allow both of them to accompany him.

Thus, after receiving the promise, he chose silence—after all, there were no better options at the moment.

Seeing this, Li Ang gestured for the boy to lead the way.

The boy moved without hesitation, turning and leading him toward Orochimaru's location, though he took many detours along the way—clearly fearing surveillance.

After some time, Li Ang finally entered the true secret base where Orochimaru was located.

Under the boy's guidance, he entered a laboratory.

Upon entering, the neatly arranged bottles and jars along the walls caught Li Ang's attention—most of them contained soaked human body parts.

As he observed these specimens, a hoarse voice spoke: "Welcome. May I ask your name?"

"Call me Dragon."

Li Ang replied offhandedly.

He then turned his gaze toward the eerily charismatic Orochimaru.

In Li Ang's perception, the famed Sannin's current state was far from good.

He spoke in a deliberately harsh tone: "That body you acquired through the Impure World Reincarnation shouldn't last much longer, should it?"

"Aren't you afraid I'll strike now?"

Impure World Reincarnation was Orochimaru's secret technique, allowing him to transfer his spirit into another's body to achieve a form of immortality—though its side effects were severe.

Judging by the timeline, this Sannin likely had little time left, which explained his urgency to acquire Uchiha Sasuke's body.

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly—he hadn't expected this man to know so much about him.

Root's man?

After a moment, he let out a cold laugh: "Long Jun, you've surprised me."

He was indeed afraid Li Ang might attack—but more than fear, he was curious about the meaning behind Li Ang's earlier words.

But if he thought killing this body would end him completely—

How naive.

"What did you mean when you said Uchiha Sasuke's chakra is poisonous?"

Orochimaru chose to temporarily set aside his suspicions about Li Ang's identity and asked about the more pressing matter.

As the man had said, his current body was nearly spent—that was why he was so desperate about Uchiha Sasuke.

Because Sasuke was his designated next vessel.

In response to Orochimaru's question, Li Ang slightly curled his lips: "I can tell you the truth of the world."

"Including the origin of chakra, how to transcend this world, and how to attain immortal life."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's first thought was whether this member of the Akatsuki had lost his mind.

But after a moment of silence, he still asked: "What's the price?"

"Everything—techniques, research data, specimens—I want it all."

He's bitten.

Li Ang thought.