Chapter 208
2-in-1-chapter
-----------------
Something that held no taste, yet was a shame to throw away.
"…You really are troublesome."
Rēn furrowed his brow briefly before relaxing it again with a sigh. "It seems this won't be settled without some bloodshed. Orochimaru, you've heard of the three great dōjutsu of the shinobi world, haven't you?"
"Naturally I have. The Uchiha clan's Sharingan, the Hyūga clan's Byakugan, and the legendary Rinnegan… Rēn-kun, I trust it's all right if I address you that way?"
"As you like."
Rēn didn't concern himself with such trivialities.
"Then, Rēn-kun, since you brought up the three great dōjutsu, are you planning to offer the Rinnegan as a bargaining chip?" Orochimaru himself chuckled after saying that—it sounded utterly absurd. The Rinnegan was known as the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. Aside from mythical tales, there was no record of its appearance in any of the historical texts of the shinobi world.
Still, there was something odd about what Rēn had said. When mentioning the three great dōjutsu, he had clearly warned Orochimaru not to lay a hand on the Uchiha. And Orochimaru had little regard for the Hyūga clan's Byakugan; he didn't believe Rēn would offer him something like that in trade. Which left only one possibility—the most unlikely of all: the Rinnegan.
"Impossible"
Rēn gave a short laugh.
"If I had something as valuable as the Rinnegan, I would've already implanted it myself. That's the Sage of Six Paths' eye we're talking about."
"Well, that's true."
Orochimaru laughed as well.
If Uchiha Rēn really possessed the Rinnegan, even if he chose not to use it himself, there was no way he would hand it over to someone else. Anyone would think the same.
"Then, Rēn-kun, what exactly are you offering in exchange? If you don't have something of real value, I won't be giving up anything just because of those secrets you mentioned." Orochimaru smiled as he spoke. Though the two had been conversing amid the wind and snow, an odd sense of mutual understanding had begun to form between them.
"I can't give you the Rinnegan itself—but I know where it is. I wonder if that information is enough to trade for the Six Paths Ninja Tools?"
Rēn asked shamelessly.
Originally, he had planned to offer a severed piece of White Zetsu's body as a trade item, but after testing Orochimaru's responses, it became clear the man hadn't yet come into contact with the Akatsuki. That opened the door for a clean, risk-free gain. Since Orochimaru hadn't met Pain, Rēn could exploit the information gap and profit from it.
"Is that… true?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up instantly.
His obsession with the pursuit of knowledge was extreme—especially when it came to something as mysterious as the Rinnegan, which lay in the realm of the unknown. For him, it carried an irresistible allure.
"If you know where the Rinnegan is, why not take it yourself?"
Orochimaru, still in control of his desire, immediately saw through the core issue.
"The reason is simple," Rēn said calmly, holding up two fingers. "There are two reasons I won't retrieve it myself: it's not so easy to take. Didn't I already mention that Uchiha Madara isn't dead? The current wielder of the Rinnegan has a deep connection with Madara. To tell you the truth, I only discovered the Rinnegan's existence while investigating Madara's affairs."
"I had two main reasons. First, I simply didn't have the time. The village was first at war with Kirigakure, then immediately entered conflict with Kumogakure. Over in the Land of Grass, it seems Jiraiya-senpai has also engaged in battle with Iwagakure. With all this fighting across every front, there's been no opportunity to plan for taking the Rinnegan."
"I see."
Orochimaru wasn't surprised.
If the Rinnegan were that easy to acquire, that would be the real surprise. Clearly, those eyes were like a searing hot brand—without hands of steel, no one could hope to grasp such a treasure.
"But most importantly, I believe that even if you, Orochimaru, knew about it, there's still a high chance you wouldn't be able to obtain the Rinnegan. So instead, I'd rather trade the information for something valuable in return." Rēn stated his intentions plainly.
"Haha! So you're planning to snatch the wolf with bare hands?"
Orochimaru laughed with genuine amusement.
Even being underestimated by Uchiha Rēn didn't bother him. There was nothing worth getting upset about. Orochimaru had never seen himself as invincible. There were plenty of opponents in the shinobi world whom he found troublesome—like Ōnoki, that stubborn old relic; among his peers, Jiraiya and Tsunade were certainly no weaker than him, especially Jiraiya with Sage Mode—Orochimaru openly admitted he was no match in a direct fight.
And now, there were rising stars like Uchiha Rēn and Uchiha Shisui.
So, there was no reason to be angry over something so trivial.
Rather than wasting energy on useless indignation, it was better to think about the Rinnegan—the dazzling bait dangling in front of him. Rēn had made it clear that this was a "willing participant takes the hook" situation.
But the more Orochimaru thought about it, the more he realized he didn't mind biting.
Even if, just as Rēn said, knowing the secret wouldn't help him get his hands on the Rinnegan, he still very much wanted to see it with his own eyes. The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.
Compared to the Sharingan and the Byakugan, it was ten—no, a hundred times more mysterious and coveted.
His thirst for knowledge, his drive to uncover truth, would not allow him to let such a chance slip by. Even if he knew it was bait, he couldn't help but take it. Even knowing that Rēn was just as obsessed with the tools of the Sage of Six Paths, he couldn't resist.
But he wasn't some haggling merchant.
"Rēn, you're counting on me saying yes, aren't you?" Orochimaru fixed his gaze on him.
"That's right."
Rēn answered with a smile.
"I have four of the Six Paths tools in my possession, but I'll only give you one. After all, this is just information," Orochimaru said directly, not wasting any more time.
"Only one?"
Rēn furrowed his brows slightly.
"Just one."
Orochimaru was firm.
He didn't mind being the one who took the bait, but no one should expect to bleed him dry.
"Fine, that's acceptable."
Rēn didn't push the issue.
He hadn't yet fully mastered the Uchia Fan. Even if he obtained the other Six Paths tools, he'd need time to understand and train with each one. Whether he had one or several made little difference to him for now.
"I'll take the fan, if I can only choose one."
"The fan?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. He had already figured out the abilities of the four Six Paths tools he'd acquired. The rope could force a person to spit out their most frequently spoken word; the sword could sever and curse that word; and the gourd could record the severed word and use it to seal the target.
Those three tools were interdependent—remove any one, and the system fell apart. They were cumbersome to use and full of restrictions. Frankly, in Orochimaru's view, they weren't worth much.
As for the last item—the fan—it was actually decent. It ignored the user's chakra nature and could release all five elemental chakra transformations—Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind, and Earth—in a single strike. However, it required a tremendous amount of chakra to wield. Most ordinary shinobi would be drained dry by it. Its practical utility was extremely limited.
"Fine," Orochimaru agreed without protest.
"The Rinnegan wielder is in the Land of Rain. He killed Hanzō the Salamander and took his place, seizing control of Amegakure. He's also the leader of an organization called Akatsuki. I suspect the real figure behind it is Uchiha Madara. The name this guy goes by… is supposedly Pain."
"Amegakure, huh?"
Orochimaru's brow twitched slightly.
The death of Hanzō the Salamander was still a tightly held secret in the shinobi world. It hadn't been publicly announced. But Orochimaru's intelligence network was far-reaching.
That said, he didn't care much about Hanzō's death. In his youth, he had found Hanzō difficult to deal with—but now, he no longer gave the so-called "Demi-God" a second thought.