I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 637 The best vessel for knowledge is always one's own brain.

"Lord Orochimaru, what do you mean by this?"

Tatsuma also wore a smile, a smile Orochimaru found somewhat familiar—it was a smile Orochimaru often used when bewitching people. This kid...didn't he claim to be Tsunade's disciple?

However, Orochimaru did not delve into the matter further, but instead said, "I didn't realize it at first, but when we were alone, I did realize that from the moment you appeared, everything fell into your rhythm."

No. It shouldn't be from the moment you were willing to appear. Although I have improved the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Impure World Reincarnation Technique, in terms of the Flying Thunder God Technique, I am far inferior to you who have truly mastered this technique.

You came here on purpose, with a clear objective. That chakra that distracted me was a pity the Second Hokage intervened, otherwise you would have had to expose yourself. You won't kill me because of that.

Of course, you can still give explanations afterward, such as the situation being unclear, seeing an old friend, or at the time, the Orochimaru you knew had not yet defected, so you didn't think about killing me for a while.

But all of this boils down to one thing: you came with a specific purpose, or, to put it more presumptuously, you came for me.

Tatsuma wasn't embarrassed by having his thoughts exposed. He raised an eyebrow and said, "It seems that in exchange for information, you learned something from the Second Hokage."

"clever."

Orochimaru nodded and said, "Both I and Kakashi have lost our memories of Loulan, but something important must have happened there for Kakashi to instinctively start trusting you."

The biggest difference between you and me, Kakashi, is that we have lost our memories, while you haven't. That's why you foresaw the possibility that I might summon you using space-time ninjutsu, and even...

Orochimaru reached into his robes, pulled out two fangs, placed them on the table, and said, "This blood, it was even given to me by you, wasn't it?"

"yes."

Tatsuma readily admitted it and stated his purpose: "I did come for you, that's one reason, of course, there's another reason..."

I don't think I'll ever see such a spectacular scene on my end; that was my initial thought. It just so happens that at this particular moment, I need one of your techniques.

"Another technique I haven't yet developed?"

"It's a technique that won't be developed anymore."

"Oh, it's a forbidden technique."

Orochimaru nodded and said, "With a Hokage like you around, I think researching forbidden techniques is not allowed. And if I were to defect, I would be doomed anyway. I wouldn't do something so foolish."

"It's because you've found a new direction you want to research, and immortality is no longer your obsession."

"Reincarnation of the Undead".

Orochimaru said confidently, and Tatsuma smiled. He enjoyed chatting with Orochimaru and Tobirama Senju, sharing a passion for strategic games as well as a deep understanding between them.

Of course, this tacit understanding does not come from how familiar the two are, but from their respective intelligence to guess and accurately anticipate what the other is thinking.

Tatsuma asked with a smile, "Lord Orochimaru, would you be willing to generously contribute?"

Orochimaru, with a sinister smile, said, "This is a forbidden technique, a forbidden technique that violates human ethics. 'Hokage-sama' is setting an example by committing this transgression."

"Did you say this when you were talking to the Second Hokage?"

"Interesting. But I don't understand why you want this technique."

Orochimaru is no longer sarcastic. Forbidden techniques are always forbidden in terms of dissemination, never in development. Otherwise, Tobirama Senju wouldn't have been the Second Hokage of Konoha.

But he was indeed curious as to why Tatsuma would be interested in this technique. After all, if he had Tatsuma's physique and talent, he probably wouldn't have thought of developing such a technique until he was old and frail.

"Save people."

Tatsuma's answer froze Orochimaru's smile. He awkwardly brushed his hair aside and repeated, "Save people?"

Orochimaru didn't distrust Tatsuma; on the contrary, he did. Moreover, judging from Tatsuma's tone and demeanor, he could tell that Tatsuma didn't have much emotional attachment to this person.

To put it bluntly, he's someone who doesn't care much.

This aligns well with Orochimaru's characterization of Sakamoto Tatsuma: a powerful, rational person who doesn't act on emotion—a person Orochimaru understands very well.

His personality also leans towards this type, and the person he just talked to, the Second Hokage of Konoha, Tobirama Senju, is also this type of person.

People like them might have a little bit of conviction in their hearts. For example, Tobirama Senju's conviction was probably Hashirama Senju. He would do anything for Hashirama Senju.

Aside from this one person, Tobirama Senju did not let his emotions or feelings control his actions, including his hatred of the Uchiha clan, which he never actually bothered to target.

Instead, he guided his actions with reason, allowing the Uchiha clan to create the greatest value for him. The Fourth Hokage before him, who bore a striking resemblance to Tobirama Senju, was also such a person.

Therefore, Orochimaru finds it hard to imagine that Tatsuma would go to great lengths to save someone who cannot control their own emotions.

Perhaps learning from Tsunade will allow Tatsuma to perform medical actions to the best of his ability, just like before when he spared no chakra to heal the wounded of an entire village, because it was something he could do.

Clearly, the person Tatsuma wants to save right now is beyond his ability to help; he needs to ask others for help to have any chance of success.

Tatsuma probably never imagined that, to be precise, this was his first meeting with Orochimaru, who had lost his memory, yet Orochimaru had already analyzed him quite thoroughly.

Tatsuma has always been unwilling to admit that he is a medical ninja. This is not only because he does not consider saving lives as his main job as a ninja, but also because he does not have the benevolence that a doctor should have.

He wouldn't be happy about treating the wounded; of course, he would be excited about overcoming a medical problem and happy about his own progress, but not about the patients.

Those medical procedures that pleased Tatsuma could hardly be called medical procedures; they were more like experiments.

For example, Kato Dan, the Third Mizukage, and now Might Guy. Tatsuma never felt happy because he saved them, but was excited about the unprecedented "feats" of organ transplantation, bloodline limit transplantation, and even soul transplantation.

"Can you tell me? With your expertise in medical ninjutsu, I can't imagine any patient you can't save."

Orochimaru took a deep breath, wondering what had attracted Tatsuma to do these things.

Tatsuma didn't hide anything and said, "You should know Might Guy, right?"

Orochimaru nodded, already having a guess in his mind. Before he could elaborate, Tatsuma continued to explain, "He opened the last gate of the Eight Gates, so he is doomed."

Lord Orochimaru, the other you, gave me an inspiration: the Reanimation Jutsu. Together with him, we cloned a body for Might Guy, but we couldn't transfer his soul.

I might be able to transfer my own soul, but I can't do that to other people's souls, just like the First and Second Generation Lords, whose current bodies are also extremely time-limited.

Rather than a physical body, it's more like a highly precise, high-energy-density machine. When the energy is exhausted, the machine collapses. But that's not what I want. I want complete mastery—the true means of living and killing with complete freedom.

"It sounds like a crazy, but also very interesting experiment."

Orochimaru curled his lips into a smile, licked his lips with his long tongue, and then spat out a roll of paper thicker than his neck.

"This is the Reincarnation technique. Take it if you need it. If possible, try to transmit the experimental results to me."

Tatsuma looked disdainfully at the roll of slime-covered scrolls on the table and said, "Orochimaru-sama, don't you think it's dirty?"

He wanted to reach for it, but hesitated. Even covered in blood and entrails, Tatsuma could touch it calmly, but this sticky substance, like concentrated saliva, was different.

"The best vessel for knowledge is always oneself."

Orochimaru was also somewhat displeased; no one could be happy to be disliked. Tatsuma tapped his temple and said, "The words should be directed here, not..."

He pointed to his stomach, completely ignoring Orochimaru's darkening expression.

"Water Release: Water Wave Hand!"

Tatsuma gathered water in his hands and rinsed the scroll, then disdainfully threw the water away, even using chakra to create water to wash his hands repeatedly.

Then he untied the scroll and began to study it.

"As expected, this is a technique that goes against human ethics, and possessing someone else's body... How perverted. Tsk tsk~"

Tatsuma made his comments as if no one else was there, while Orochimaru's eyes had turned icy cold, and a chilling killing intent emanated from him. Even the ANBU outside the door kept peeking out to check on the situation inside the interrogation room.

Tatsuma, however, remained oblivious to Orochimaru's murderous intent, maintaining his own reading pace and muttering to himself, and finished reading the entire Reanimation Jutsu.

"Returning to the issue we discussed earlier, the soul's escape—I've already resolved that. I wonder if Lord Orochimaru has come up with a solution?"

After Tatsuma rolled up the scroll and confirmed its authenticity, he was too lazy to study it any further. He would go back and relay the information to Orochimaru, asking him to cooperate with the surgery.

Orochimaru looked up and stared at Tatsuma. He didn't remember discussing this issue with Tatsuma, but he seemed to recall doing so.

How did you solve it?

"Yin-Yang Release. It's the technique I used to create bodies for myself and the two former Hokage. It's the only way to resolve your current twisted soul and the mutual repulsion between it and your body."

Of course, if you can rediscover your original intentions and restore your soul, even a complete clone combined with resurrection might not be impossible to solve.

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru remained silent for a moment before saying, "I will find and master the knowledge related to Yin-Yang Release."

He had long since embarked on a path of no return. His physical appearance could still be restored using techniques, but the form of his soul could not be found. Even if he had the will, he could not do it because he was no longer accepted by Konoha or the ninja world.

"Alright, Lord Orochimaru, I'll be staying for a few more days. If you wish to speak with me before you leave, just have someone notify me."

Konoha couldn't contain Orochimaru; he only stayed there voluntarily. Even Tatsuma and Tobirama Senju might not have a good way to deal with Orochimaru's escape methods.

Orochimaru looked up at Tatsuma, who had stood up, nodded, and said, "Alright, let me know before you leave. I don't plan to stay too long either."

"Tatsuma-sama."

As they stepped out of the interrogation room, the two ANBU bowed to Tatsuma. Although they did not recognize Tatsuma as the Fourth Hokage, he was, after all, the Fourth Hokage who had been recognized by the Second Hokage.

Although he wasn't addressed as "Fourth Hokage," he was still treated with the same courtesy one would show to a Hokage. Tatsuma nodded and said, "There's no need to imprison him. No one can stop him from leaving if he wants to. As long as he doesn't harm the village, let him do what he wants."

"This is!"

The ANBU member hesitated for a moment, but when he saw the look Tatsuma gave him, he couldn't help but agree.

Tatsuma nodded, transformed into a silver streak of light and disappeared, appearing on the rooftop of an apartment building. A blond-haired boy was leaning against the railing, watching the villagers celebrating below.

"Where is Jiraiya-sensei?"

The sudden sound startled Naruto, who turned around and, after recognizing the person, tentatively asked, "The Fourth Hokage?"

He had seen Tatsuma before, but after waking up, he heard about it from the Perverted Sage. Seeing Tatsuma nod, Naruto said, "The Perverted Sage went to buy popsicles. Wait, call the Perverted Sage."

"I was taught by him for quite a long time, just like your father."

"Father? My father? Fourth Hokage, do you know my father?"

Naruto asked incredulously, his steps unconsciously moving closer to Tatsuma. Tatsuma nodded, and Naruto pouted, as if suppressing a wave of sadness, and asked, "What kind of person is he?"

Tatsuma glanced at Jiraiya, who was holding two popsicles in the distance, nodded, and said, "How about I let you meet him?"

"Meet?! Me?"

(End of this chapter)