Another half-month passed.
And at last, the first high-end, offline casino on Danzhu Street opened its doors—Gunma Casino, Haruya's newest creation.
The launch was a spectacle: drums pounding, firecrackers erupting, red banners fluttering above crowds so thick the street seemed to ripple. Haruya hadn't exaggerated the scale at all.
After all, Satomi Kajiwara—the governor's wife herself—showed up to support the opening. That single dinner Haruya had treated her to had clearly paid off, though the woman did have the habit of getting handsy in ways Haruya preferred not to dwell on.
But her appearance sent the message he wanted:Gunma Casino had backing. Real backing.Enough that any competing casino hoping to cause trouble would hesitate.
And hesitation meant lost opportunity.
Gunma Casino offered what could only be described as a dimensionality-reduction strike against traditional gambling houses.
A six-story building.
The first floor had a modest entry fee—ten thousand ryō—and provided standard service comparable to any decent casino in the Land of Fire.
But the sixth floor… that was heaven on earth.
Five million ryō just to walk in.Dealers and attendants recruited in cooperation with the short-book district's finest courtesan houses. Guests were free to indulge—within reason.Food and drink sourced from the highest-end suppliers in the entire Fire Country.
Calling it a den of luxury didn't do it justice; it was borderline debauchery.
And even if other casinos wanted to copy the model, they would need at least a month or two to assemble anything similar. By then, Gunma Casino would already have swallowed the market.
Meanwhile, Gunma Bank also reopened for business.
Underground banks specialized in loan-sharking. No deposit services, no legitimacy. The above-ground banks—like the prestigious Fire Country Bank—existed mostly for the aristocracy. They didn't accept small deposits; only millions. And they didn't pay interest.
Gunma Bank was different.
It operated on a model Haruya remembered from his previous life:
Accept any deposit.
Pay real interest.
Issue loans with reasonable rates—provided there was collateral.Houses, heirlooms, ninjutsu scrolls—anything that could be secured.
With Gunma Casino and Gunma Bank working together, Haruya would never be short on money again.
…Unless the expense was on the level of Orochimaru's scientific experiments, in which case no amount of cash would ever be enough.
That night, Haruya sent a wood clone to Orochimaru's residence for another meeting regarding the Uzumaki sealing-arts trade.
"Wait."
Just as Haruya's clone relayed the time and place for the transaction, Orochimaru stopped him and produced a small vial filled with a pale green liquid.
"I have something that might interest you," he said. "I used samples from Subject A and neutralized them with cells of the First Hokage. The resulting compound has a chance of awakening Wood Release in those who take it over a long period. And it's relatively safe."
Haruya raised an eyebrow. Interesting… but not incredible, considering he already possessed Wood Release.
"What else does it do?"
"It can enhance the body and increase chakra capacity." Orochimaru hesitated. "With a high enough dosage… the subject may develop a physique rivaling Senju Hashirama."
Now that was astronomical. Haruya didn't expect to reach Hashirama's level, but any improvement would be worthwhile. With this Wood Release Potion and Uzumaki Einai siphoned through his seals, he wouldn't match Naruto's monstrous stamina—but keeping up with Sasuke might not be impossible.
"What do you want in return?" Haruya asked.
"Power," Orochimaru replied, voice low. "I can already feel the ceiling closing in. Further progress is… difficult."
Haruya silently agreed. Orochimaru had no kekkei genkai, yet stood among the strongest civilian-born shinobi in history. He might reach Sage Mode someday, but that path was nearly impossible to walk.
The Fate Value Shop held ways to help—but all were overpriced, unnecessary, or wasteful.
And Orochimaru's price wasn't even close.
If it was just the Wood Release Potion, Haruya would sell him a dream.
"Well then," Haruya said lightly. "If you've found your limit as a human, stop trying to be one. Become an immortal."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed with interest.
"I'm talking about the Sage of Six Paths," Haruya continued.
The story of the Sage founding ninshū was common legend. Everyone knew it; few believed it.
"Is that even possible?" Orochimaru asked, skepticism sharpening his voice.
"The Sage possessed two things: the Immortal Body and the Immortal Eyes."
Haruya gave him a knowing smile. "The Immortal Body—sound familiar?"
"Sage Mode?" Orochimaru muttered, eyes brightening.
"Correct. But it must be perfect Sage Mode."
In truth, the Immortal Body wasn't exactly the same as Sage Mode—it referred to the Sage's overwhelming vitality and physical energy. Sage Mode simply allowed mastery of senjutsu chakra.
The Sage's sons had inherited his power imperfectly:Asura, the body.Indra, the eyes.
The Senju clan inherited the diluted Immortal Body; the Uchiha clan inherited the diluted Immortal Eyes. But neither lineage held the complete form.
Only when a Sharingan ascended to the Rinnegan did it become a true—as Haruya called it—Sage Eye.
"As for cultivating the Immortal Body," Haruya said, "it's tied to Sage Mode. But the difficulty is… absurd. Essentially impossible."
He was, of course, selling Orochimaru a beautifully decorated lie.
Orochimaru leaned forward. "Then what about the Immortal Eyes?"
"They're called the Rinnegan," Haruya explained. "Evolved from the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"What?!"
For once, Orochimaru's composure cracked.
He'd never imagined the legendary Sage Eyes were connected to the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"It's simple," Haruya said. "The Uchiha and Senju clans descend from the Sage of Six Paths."
Orochimaru gave a strained, bitter laugh. So the source of their power really was bloodline.
Bloodline—the thing he lacked.
"As long as you obtain both the Immortal Body and the Immortal Eyes," Haruya said lightly, "you might become the next Sage of Six Paths. No one could oppose you."
He wasn't lying.The probability was simply zero.
Orochimaru's expression twisted. Haruya's words invalidated years of his research. He had invented countless techniques, pushing past the limitations of normal shinobi through sheer brilliance.
But bloodline supremacy remained the core of ultimate power.
Still—he was Orochimaru. He recovered quickly.
He didn't need to become the second Sage of Six Paths.He would become the first Sage Orochimaru—someone who surpassed the Sage through innovation, not inheritance.
Haruya would've applauded him for that thought.
"Yes, well," Haruya concluded, "one bottle of Wood Release Potion isn't enough for all that. Bring more next time."
He dispelled the wood clone, leaving Orochimaru standing alone in silence.
The information Haruya had dropped was vague, incomplete, and riddled with gaps. Orochimaru had no idea how to evolve Mangekyō into Rinnegan, nor how to fuse Immortal Body and Immortal Eyes.
He couldn't even confirm whether any of it was true.
But—by pure coincidence—both paths corresponded directly to people connected to Haruya:
Jūgo, tied to the Immortal Body
Uchiha Itachi, tied to the Immortal Eyes
The longer Orochimaru thought about it…
…the more terrifying Haruya seemed.