Looking at Ito Hirofumi standing in front of him, Orochimaru forced a smile that was uglier than a sob.
"O-Of course we can chat… I love a good conversation! And let me tell you, nothing makes me happier than seeing the kids from the Hidden Leaf Village! You might not know this, but every time I see a Leaf kid, I just wanna put on a little show for them… So, how was my Subtle Snake Hands performance just now? Pretty cool, right?!"
He glanced nervously around. "Sakumo… we're old pals, right? How about putting that blade down so we can talk this out? And Fourth Hokage, I'm your senior, you know—does that kunai really need to be pressed against my back like that? Oh, and to all the esteemed seniors here… I, Orochimaru, have always admired you all!!!"
Seeing Orochimaru finally settle down, the others slowly reined in the chakra they'd been ready to unleash.
Gulp…
Orochimaru swallowed hard. Phew… I'm alive!!!
"Uncle Snake, let me introduce myself," Ito said casually. "I'm Ito Hirofumi, just an ordinary student who recently graduated from the Hidden Leaf's Ninja Academy!"
Orochimaru's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Ordinary?! Who in the world calls this ordinary?! If you're ordinary, then there's not a single ordinary person in the entire ninja world!
"Ahem… kid… ahem, I mean, talented young Leaf ninja!" Orochimaru coughed, trying to keep his cool. "Can you tell me what the heck is going on here?!"
Orochimaru was desperate to understand the bizarre scene before him. Why were all these people, who were supposed to be dead, suddenly alive again? And what was his deal right now?
"Uncle Snake, I'm actually more curious about how you died," Ito countered. "With all your survival tricks, I'd bet the person capable of killing you hasn't even been born yet! So how'd you end up as a soul flame just now?"
Orochimaru's mind raced as he processed Ito's words. Though the kid only said a few things, Orochimaru picked up a ton of information. First off, he had been dead, just like the others here, reduced to a soul flame. But now, they were all revived—and so was he! Which meant this Ito Hirofumi guy was likely behind it all. Plus, the kid seemed to know a lot about him, even his knack for staying alive. Just who was this guy?
The Hidden Leaf had produced a total freak, hadn't it?
Still, surrounded by all these big shots, Orochimaru decided to play it safe and spilled the beans. "I was in the middle of an experiment. I'd developed a curse seal that would let me revive myself in a vessel marked with it after I died. I was this close to success. I'd prepared the vessels and was running the final test—y'know, killing myself. But then, out of nowhere, I ended up here! I have no idea what happened!"
Ito nodded as it clicked. So, Orochimaru had offed himself for the experiment, turned into a soul flame, and got summoned here right after. Talk about timing! If Ito hadn't used the summoning jutsu at that exact moment, Orochimaru probably would've revived himself with his curse seal. After all, Ito knew from the anime that Orochimaru's seal did work in the end.
Still, it was hard to believe. Orochimaru, the ninja world's greatest mad scientist, was now here? Just like that, Ito had nabbed him?
But in a way, this was like a form of immortality for Orochimaru, wasn't it? He literally couldn't die for good now. Even if he bit the dust, his soul flame would just pop up in Ito's summoning space. All it'd take was 50 million ryo to bring him back again. And it wasn't just Orochimaru—everyone summoned here worked the same way. If they died again, their soul flames would stay in Ito's summoning space.
So, his summoning space was basically its own little afterlife, wasn't it? Except these weren't just spirits—they were living, breathing people who could go about their lives in the ninja world.
If this kept up, would his summoning space turn into a fourth holy site? You've got the toads of Mount Myoboku, the snakes of Ryuchi Cave, the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest… and now the people in his summoning space? Well, they're all summoned creatures, so it's not that weird, right?
After some wild mental tangents, Ito decided to fill Orochimaru in. "Uncle Snake, let's just say this is one heck of a coincidence. As you can see, everyone here was dead once… I got reverse-summoned by chance, and, well…" He trailed off for a moment before continuing. "Long story short, I revived everyone. I was just continuing to summon spirits when—bam—you, freshly dead, got pulled in. So, congrats, you're my summoned creature now! But honestly, isn't this kinda a win for you? You've always wanted immortality, right? This is like… an alternate version of it. As long as you've got the cash, I can bring you back no matter how many times you die!"
Orochimaru was reeling from the bombshell. His mind scrambled to process everything Ito had just said. But then, a sudden idea sparked in his head. Sure, this was a form of immortality, but being tied to someone else's whims? Not his style. What if he killed himself now and used his curse seal and vessels to revive himself instead?
As if reading his mind, Ito spoke up again. "Don't even think about offing yourself to test your curse seal, Uncle Snake. My summoning space is special. Once you're summoned by me, even if you die, your soul flame stays here. It's like a whole new afterlife. If you die now, I can't promise I'll bring you back, y'know? Revival ain't free!"
Orochimaru immediately scrapped the suicide plan. He was alive right now, and if he died and couldn't come back, that'd be a massive loss!
Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku, slumped on the ground, lifted his tear-streaked face. His lips were swollen worse than sausages from all his sobbing. "Waaah… eight times!!! Eight times, and my wife still hasn't shown up!!! Wife!!! I miss you so much!!!!"