Once the final Konoha ninja vanished beyond the perimeter, Orochimaru's posture subtly shifted. The air around him loosened, as though a tightly wound spring had finally been released. He flicked the ancient book in his hand, and it dissolved into his spatial ring without ceremony.
"Boss Li," he said, tongue briefly brushing his lips, his tone deceptively casual. "Is there any pill in this world that truly transcends life and death?"
Tsunade, who had just approached the bonfire, staggered half a step. She coughed sharply, as if his words had physically lodged in her throat.
"You're still chasing that absurd dream of yours?" she snapped, crossing her arms. "Immortality doesn't exist. Even the Sage of Six Paths wasn't exempt from death. And even if such a pill did exist—what would you do with it, with those half-baked alchemy skills of yours?"
Li Rong didn't even glance up. He turned the skewers slowly, fat sizzling as it dripped onto the coals.
"Strictly speaking," he said calmly, "there's no pill that grants absolute immortality. Longevity pills, however, are plentiful."
Tsunade's head snapped up. "What does that mean?"
Orochimaru's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly. He had asked the question with no real expectation—more a probe than a demand. The answer caught him completely off guard.
"What if we loosen the definition?" Li continued. "There's a pill called the Divine Marrow Pill. It requires faith power during refinement. The user transforms into the deity associated with that faith."
"The upside is functional immortality—as long as the faith remains," Li said evenly. "The downside is stagnation. No further growth. And… diminished autonomy."
He flicked his fingers, transmitting the pill's core principles directly into Orochimaru's mind.
Orochimaru absorbed the information in silence, then clicked his tongue softly. "So it's less an immortality pill, more an artificial divine shell."
Li smiled faintly. "Exactly."
"Then what about longevity pills?" Orochimaru pressed. "Not five-year toys."
Li obliged.
Second-grade, third-grade, fourth-grade—each name fell like a hammer. Ten years. Twenty. Sixty. One hundred and fifty. Five hundred. Three thousand.
"—and the ninth-grade Life-Death Re-creation God Pill," Li finished, "extends life by ten thousand years."
The world seemed to pause.
Ten thousand years.
Tsunade's fingers tightened around the tongs until the metal creaked. The Six Paths Sage himself was a figure of a mere millennium past. And yet such a pill existed?
Her heart pounded so loudly she could barely hear the fire crackle.
"Above ninth-grade…" she said hoarsely, eyes fixed on Orochimaru. "Do higher ones exist?"
Orochimaru didn't even look at her. "Anything beyond that," Li replied, shaking his head, "is outside my current reach."
Rather than disappointment, Orochimaru's face lit with something dangerously close to joy. Like a child handed a locked treasure chest and told the key could be forged.
"Then I have time," he murmured, caressing the book in his mind. For the first time in over a decade, his shoulders truly relaxed.
Tsunade exhaled slowly and sat down. Only then did she realize her palms were slick with cold sweat.
She waited. Counted breaths. Then—
"Boss Li," she said, voice strained despite herself. "Can the Sacrificial Shop… revive the dead?"
The fire snapped loudly.
Li didn't answer.
"I'm curious as well," Orochimaru added quietly, tapping the book's spine. His eyes darkened. Even now, he hadn't forgotten that disciple.
"As long as death isn't complete," Li finally said, "resurrection is possible."
Orochimaru leaned forward. "Define complete."
"The dispersal of the soul," Li replied. "The body is secondary. For weaker beings, life is body and soul. Destroy the body, and death is delayed. Destroy the soul, and it is final."
Tsunade stood abruptly. "How do you tell? If the soul remains—how do you bring it back?"
Li looked at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru nodded, unflinching. "I intend to resurrect my disciple."
"Then first," Li said, raising a finger, "confirm the soul's existence. Preserve it with Soul-Nurturing Pills."
A second finger rose. "Prepare a compatible vessel."
A third. "Merge them."
"Can you do it?" Orochimaru cut in.
"I can," Li replied lightly. "But our agreement is instruction, not retrieval."
Golden light flared in Orochimaru's eyes—not frustration, but exhilaration.
"Then I only need time."
Li pointed. Knowledge surged into Orochimaru's mind—alchemy, refinement, body reconstruction.
"The weak soul dissipates quickly," Li added. "And you lack soul-binding techniques."
Orochimaru closed his eyes, then opened them sharply. "Not entirely. Edo Tensei."
Tsunade stiffened.
"Bring me all related research," Orochimaru said calmly.
She hesitated—then nodded. "Alright."
"How long?" she asked quietly.
Orochimaru counted. "…Ten years."
Her shoulders slumped instantly.
"That's conservative," he added quickly.
"Then tell me when it's certain," Tsunade said flatly, returning to the grill. "This old woman doesn't have patience for guesses."
[[update- got my refund]]
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