Orochimaru's words were like the sweetest poison, precisely injected into the deepest fissures of Tsunade's heart.
But for her to join Orochimaru? The suggestion was utterly absurd; her reason told her she must never accept.
Orochimaru's reputation preceded him, and it was notorious; she was quite unwilling to associate with him.
But Kimimaro stood right there—a living, powerful, perfect "resurrected body"! This was an ironclad fact, proof that Orochimaru truly held the key to that "possibility" in his hands! Even if the key was stained with blood and led to the abyss of Hell, to the current Tsunade, the flickering light in that abyss was enough to leave her spellbound.
Her breathing grew heavy, her chest heaved violently, and the fierce struggle in her eyes raged like a storm.
On one side were her principles and bottom line as one of the Sannin, a Konoha Ninja, and the strongest Medical Ninja.
On the other side was the irresistible temptation that her closest flesh and blood, her deeply engraved love, might return.
Jiraiya was extremely anxious. He knew how profound the guilt and longing Tsunade felt for her younger brother and lover were, and he feared she might be momentarily confused and seduced by Orochimaru's honeyed words.
"Tsunade! Don't listen to his nonsense! Don't you know what kind of person Orochimaru is?! He'll only use you! Those resurrection techniques are filthy things bought with who knows how many lives! If Nawaki and Dan knew, they would never want..."
"Shut up! Jiraiya!" Tsunade turned her head abruptly and interrupted him with a raspy voice, her eyes bloodshot.
"What do you know?! You don't know anything!" It wasn't that she didn't understand the logic Jiraiya spoke of, but that logic seemed so pale and powerless in the face of "possibility."
Orochimaru's eyes were full of interest, as if he were enjoying a brilliant play; he knew the timing was just about right.
"Tsunade," he spoke again, lowering his voice further with a persuasive tone.
"Don't think of me so poorly. I admit my methods of pursuing knowledge might deviate slightly from conventional morality, but my goal has always been to explore the mysteries of life and break the boundaries of life and death. This has no fundamental conflict with your pursuit of Medical Ninjutsu to save lives and understand the essence of life."
He spread his hands, gesturing to the messy traces of battle around them.
"What can we gain by fighting to the death here, other than exhausting each other's strength and creating deeper grudges? If you kill me, or I kill you, can it bring your brother and lover back? No."
He pointed at Kimimaro: "But collaboration can. We can share resources, share knowledge, and together perfect this technique. Think about it, with your medical attainments, if you could participate in this process, how many unnecessary failures could be avoided? It would greatly increase the probability of success and the perfection of the resurrection! Isn't this more valuable than you swinging your fists and causing meaningless destruction here?"
These words were truly heart-piercing; they belittled Tsunade's "destructive" behavior as meaningless while beautifying "collaborative participation" as a nobler and more effective form of "salvation" and "perfection."
Tsunade's gaze wavered even more violently.
She looked at Kimimaro, as if seeing through him the possibility of Nawaki and Dan standing before her again. If... if her participation could really make this process more "humane" and "successful"... But her remaining reason, along with her deep-seated distrust of Orochimaru, continued to resist stubbornly.
"Why should I believe you, Orochimaru?" Tsunade's voice was dry. "You're a traitor and a madman with no credibility. How do I know you're not just using me?"
"Trust is the foundation of cooperation; I understand your doubts." Orochimaru seemed prepared; he tilted his head slightly, his golden snake-like pupils shimmering with a strange light.
"However, I can tell you that I am not conducting this research alone. I have a... collaborator, someone you would absolutely never expect, and who is sufficient to provide a considerable guarantee."
"A collaborator?" Both Tsunade and Jiraiya were taken aback. A guy like Orochimaru, who acted alone and treated others as tools or experimental subjects, actually had a "collaborator"? And one who could provide a "guarantee"?
"Who is it?" Tsunade followed up instinctively, a warning bell ringing faintly in her heart.
Anyone who could collaborate as an equal with a dangerous person like Orochimaru and be used by him as a bargaining chip to increase credibility was definitely not simple.
A mysterious arc curled at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth.
"An existence that... has intersections with all of us, yet transcends all our current disputes."
Orochimaru's voice carried a trace of subtle complexity, containing both recognition of the partnership and a sense of wariness toward it.
"She possesses power and knowledge we cannot fathom, and her insights into the essence of life and energy far exceed the current Ninja World. It was precisely the collaboration with her that allowed Kimimaro's resurrection to Breakthrough its final Bottleneck and reach such a perfect state."
"Oh?" Tsunade frowned; she had never heard of such a person.
"As for who specifically..." Orochimaru intentionally left them in suspense.
"Until you show sufficient sincerity for cooperation, please forgive me for keeping it a secret for now. However, I can guarantee that with this collaborator's existence, our research will be more stable, efficient, and the goal is far more than just resurrecting one or two people. What we seek is to truly understand and control the mysteries of the cycle of Reincarnation. Isn't that more meaningful than you clinging to those stale dogmas of Konoha and watching your loved ones sleep forever?"
He threw out an even bigger bait—not just resurrecting specific individuals, but controlling the mysteries of the cycle of Reincarnation. This was also extremely tempting for Tsunade, who had spent her life studying Medical Ninjutsu and exploring the limits of life; it almost touched upon the ultimate proposition of the "Domain of God."
Tsunade fell into complete silence, the scales in her heart swaying violently. Orochimaru's words were a mix of truth and lies, hard to distinguish, but the existence of the "collaborator" and Kimimaro's success undoubtedly increased the credibility of his words.
If someone whose abilities even Orochimaru recognized was truly involved, if this research really had the possibility of touching the ultimate mysteries of life... Jiraiya was anxious, but he also knew that any more verbal persuasion at this moment might not be able to match the temptation of the mysterious "collaborator" and the "mysteries of life" that Orochimaru had presented.
At the same time, he was thinking, hoping to find information about this mysterious powerhouse from the intelligence network in his mind.
He stared fixedly at Tsunade, hoping she could hold onto the final bottom line.
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