"So, Tushi and Uchiha Kiyo are two different people?"
Although this seemed to be the most reasonable explanation at the moment, Orochimaru still found it difficult to accept.
He had thought about this issue extensively before.
"No, my line of thinking was correct. If I follow my initial speculation, it makes perfect sense that Tushi would take White Fang's body."
Uchiha Kiyo had no idea what Orochimaru was pondering. At this moment, Kiyo was considering whether he should strike a deal now that he had encountered Orochimaru again.
However, he had already obtained a significant number of valuable resources from Root, including several secret techniques from the Scroll of Seals.
"It doesn't seem like the Flying Thunder God Technique was among them."
As a space-time ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't something that could be fully documented in just a few scrolls.
Having developed his own version of teleportation-based space ninjutsu, Uchiha Kiyo understood this better than anyone.
Space-time techniques involve a vast range of concepts—sealing techniques, spatial perception, the mechanics of the jutsu, positioning, and calculations. The scope is incredibly broad.
Uchiha Kiyo had refined his self-developed teleportation technique over the years. It might not seem extraordinary at first glance, but if one were to document every detail of its evolution, it would take dozens of scrolls just to record all the modifications that optimized its efficiency.
After all, this was a technique Uchiha Kiyo had been perfecting since his days at the academy. Countless optimizations had been made to increase its efficiency and reduce chakra consumption.
Still, the Flying Thunder God Technique was superior to Kiyo's teleportation technique.
Its teleportation range was longer, and its chakra consumption was significantly lower.
Therefore, it was highly unlikely that the Flying Thunder God Technique was among the scrolls he obtained from Root.
"In that case, I should consider negotiating with Orochimaru."
The question was—what should he offer in exchange?
Before he had begun researching immortality techniques, he had already developed a foundational understanding of certain theoretical aspects. While the direction of research was crucial, Kiyo was reluctant to use this knowledge for trade.
"If I wait until Orochimaru hits a bottleneck in his immortality research, this information will be much more valuable."
Suddenly, Uchiha Kiyo's eyes lit up as an idea struck him.
"Besides his obsession with immortality, Orochimaru's greatest goal is to study the essence of ninjutsu—to master all jutsu in the world. His pursuit of power is an extension of this ambition. That makes this bargaining chip valuable."
What did Uchiha Kiyo have that could tempt Orochimaru?
His self-developed theoretical framework.
Of course, he wouldn't share all of it with Orochimaru. Instead, he planned to trade a relatively independent section—his research on elemental nature transformation.
His division of elemental transformations and his later advancements in the field should be enough to attract Orochimaru's interest.
Moreover, he didn't just have theories—he had tangible proof of success.
There was no way Orochimaru wouldn't be intrigued.
"Sensei, I came to Konoha this time to propose another trade."
Uchiha Kiyo's words broke the silence, snapping Orochimaru out of his thoughts.
"A trade?"
Orochimaru's interest was piqued. He licked the corner of his mouth with his serpentine tongue.
He was quite intrigued. The last trade had proven to be highly beneficial—the research data on Bloodline Limits had been enlightening.
Though Orochimaru's approach differed from Uchiha Kiyo's, he had still recognized the validity of Kiyo's ideas and believed that following them would yield results. Nonetheless, Orochimaru was steadfast in his own path, believing that his own research was no less effective than Kiyo's.
At this point, Orochimaru's research had nearly reached a breakthrough. He might not yet be able to master Hashirama's Wood Release, but he felt confident that he would soon grasp Bloodline Limits like Ice Release and Lava Release.
Now that Uchiha Kiyo had come to him with another deal, Orochimaru focused his full attention on the offer.
Seeing Orochimaru's reaction, Uchiha Kiyo was satisfied. It seemed that Orochimaru had greatly benefited from their last exchange.
"This time, I want the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Orochimaru wasn't surprised. It would be odd if someone as cautious as Uchiha Kiyo didn't want the Flying Thunder God Technique—a jutsu that significantly enhanced one's survivability. He had been surprised last time when Kiyo had asked for the Sage Art: Myojinmon instead of the Flying Thunder God Technique, but this request made sense.
The technique itself wasn't difficult to obtain. After all, Orochimaru had gotten it from the Scroll of Seals. Although he hadn't practiced it himself, he had a copy stored away.
"It depends on what you can offer in return."
"The Theory of Nature Transformation. I developed it myself."
Orochimaru blinked.
"That's it? I already know how nature transformation works. What's so special about your theory?"
However, when he received the scroll Kiyo tossed to him and skimmed through it, Orochimaru fell silent.
"So nature transformation can be explained like this?"
"Engraving the understanding into the soul itself?"
"An astonishing concept!"
"Beginning, middle, and peak stages?"
"Mine is only at the mid-stage... The peak stage requires engraving it into the body's genetic structure to increase affinity with the element?"
Orochimaru took a deep breath and looked up at Uchiha Kiyo, his eyes filled with astonishment.
His gaze seemed to ask, "Are you sure?"
Uchiha Kiyo nodded, confirming his research.
He held out his hand, and a flame ignited in his palm. Under his control, the temperature of the flame increased dramatically. Orochimaru could immediately tell that this fire was vastly different from what most ninjas could produce.
The shocking part was that Kiyo had done this without actively applying nature transformation.
And then, the moment he did apply it, the temperature spiked to a terrifying level.
Even standing five to six meters away, Orochimaru could feel the scorching heat.
"So this is what late-stage nature transformation can achieve!"
"If you want to know how I achieved it, that will cost extra."
Orochimaru nodded. The theory itself was already invaluable, and the fact that it had been successfully tested only made it more significant.
Orochimaru unhinged his jaw, regurgitating a giant snake. The snake then spat out more than twenty scrolls—each one appearing to contain extensive, high-quality research materials.
He sealed them inside a storage scroll and tossed it to Uchiha Kiyo.
Kiyo ignored the lingering snake saliva and tucked the scroll away in his ninja pouch.
He then stared at Orochimaru, his expression clear—"You can leave now."
Orochimaru wasn't offended. The unexpected windfall had put him in an excellent mood.
"Can nature transformation really be used this way?"
Though he didn't yet know how Kiyo had reached the final stage, with his knowledge of genetic modification, he was confident he could achieve the same results.
Orochimaru's body dissolved into countless snakes and slithered away.
Uchiha Kiyo let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally got rid of him."
His gaze drifted toward his pouch.
"And the gains this time are substantial."