In Naruto, you can become a god through gacha pulls.

“No.” Yoriichi shook his head, his eyes beneath his face flickering slightly.

“Lend me Jugo,” Yoriichi said.

Orochimaru's pupils showed a hint of doubt and curiosity. "I didn't expect you to know about Jugo."

"Tell me, what do you need him for?"

"Be my subordinate and cultivate with me," Yuan Yi said, uttering the words he had prepared in advance.

"After all, Jugo, who possesses abundant natural power, is very friendly to us people with immortal bodies, and can accelerate our cultivation speed."

"Hehe... Let me think about it some more. Let's go inside and talk," Orochimaru said politely.

"No need. I'll be frank. You hand over Jugo to me, and I can provide you with a blood sample from Sage Mode for research."

"Is that so? Hehehe... Alright then." A hint of greed flashed in Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils.

"Then I agree." Orochimaru didn't waste any time, gently waving his finger to signal Yoriichi.

"Come with me, he's in the basement."

Yoriichi followed Orochimaru through a large door, down a narrow, enclosed spiral staircase, and continued to descend. The sound of water droplets falling to the ground could be heard from time to time, and the entire space was dark and gloomy.

"This is Orochimaru's laboratory..." Yoriichi thought to himself as he surveyed his surroundings.

Orochimaru conducts his research in such a secluded space every day; not only is it completely enclosed, but even the lighting is dim...

Although Yinyin Village is poor now, it shouldn't be so poor that it can't even afford a decent light.

Yoriichi stopped his urge to ask questions. In fact, in the original work, Orochimaru's laboratory in Shippuden was black, giving people a sense of oppression.

Perhaps he just likes this color.

The dim light gradually obscured the path below, and Yoriichi immediately lit a flame at his fingertips, illuminating the surroundings.

"Kenshin, Night Vision..." Orochimaru said in a hoarse voice.

“Using a bright light will disturb the test subjects around you. You have snake eyes, don’t you?”

Orochimaru's words enlightened Yoriichi: the nearby experimental subjects could not be exposed to light, so Orochimaru deliberately used a dim light instead. His own body had undergone multiple modifications, and although he did not have the Sage Body or Sage Mode, he had barely acquired the heat-sensing mode of snakes, which allowed him to see clearly even in the dark.

Yoriichi immediately activated Sage Mode, and his body began to gradually change. His pupils turned into silver-white vertical pupils, and the surrounding environment gradually became clearer under his senses.

The underground space is enormous. Compared to the simple and cramped layout of the buildings above, the underground is like an emperor's tomb, with different rooms scattered throughout. If it weren't for the numerous sealed cages around the perimeter, Yoriichi would probably have mistaken it for a grand imperial mausoleum project!

The two stepped across the damp ground, and Yuan looked closely and confirmed that the place he had stepped on was blood.

Yoriichi remained calm. He was well aware of Orochimaru's actions; bleeding from experimental subjects was perfectly normal. Orochimaru should not be viewed through the lens of a normal person.

Through the trail of flowing blood, Yoriichi saw what was locked in the cage.

It could no longer be called human... a monster with four arms and four legs, a huge mouth, bulging eyes, covered in black fur, was whimpering and crying, but the tears flowing from its eyes were tears.

Without a doubt, these are Orochimaru's masterpieces... Orochimaru is cruel and violent in his experiments, and has done many inhumane things.

Yoriichi turned his head away, no longer watching the horrific state of the test subjects. The two quickly arrived at a single prison cell whose decor was far more luxurious than the cold iron cage.

Lying in the thatched huts was a man with no expression, eyes closed in meditation. His orange hair roots resembled slowly burning flames, and he wore a loosely fitted prison uniform.

As the two approached, the man's figure vanished instantly.

The next second, a gust of wind came from nearby. Yuan Yi sensed it instantly and was about to defend himself when he heard a soft "clang".

Jugo's arm transformed into an iron-gray steel arm, slamming violently into the cage that bound him, the cage echoing softly in the empty basement.

Yoriichi deduced from the sound that the cage trapping Jugo had been specially reinforced.

“It seems something happened before…” Yoriichi smiled. No wonder Orochimaru specially arranged a private room for Jugo.

Jugo gasped for breath, his face filled with hatred, his eyelids gleaming with a blood-red hue as he stared intently at Yoriichi.

"Who...who are you! I'm going to kill you!"

As he said those words, Jugo's body suddenly stiffened and began to tremble violently.

Yoriichi watched this strange change closely and guessed that Jugo's dual personality had relapsed.

"Run, or I'll... lose control and kill you." Jugo's voice was strained, sounding like an exhausted lapdog still wagging its tail at the human.

"Clang clang clang!" Three more heavy knocking sounds!

Jugo covered his head, the gray in his eyes refusing to fade. He prayed while tears streamed down his face, as if he had gone mad.

"Don't worry, Jugo, you can't hurt us," Orochimaru said.

"I'm here today to tell you something. From now on, you will follow the man next to me. He is your future master—Kenshin."

Chapter 84 The Child and the Businessman

"Master?" Jugo's mind went blank as he looked at Yoriichi. Yoriichi was wearing a mask, so his face was not visible. Although he was not tall, he looked particularly imposing in his black robe.

"No, no, no, he can't suppress me! Let Kimimaro come!" Jugo cried out miserably, falling into a self-contradictory dialogue again, and began to bang his head against the white wall.

Orochimaru helplessly raised his hands. "Kenshin, he has a dual personality, which is why I don't want you to take him away."

"Few people can control him."

After Orochimaru spoke, Yoriichi nodded slightly, his body began to emit subtle chakra fluctuations, his figure changed into afterimages, and he instantly entered Jugo's prison, forcibly stopping Jugo from smashing the wall with his hand.

Yoriichi's strength was immense, and he almost instantly stopped Jugo. Jugo shook his head, his pupils contracted sharply, and then he couldn't help but throw a powerful punch at Yoriichi!

Yoriichi remained calm, dodging to the side and extending his fist, poised to smash it into Jugo's head. Jugo hastily defended, but Yoriichi quickly gathered fire in his other fist and struck Jugo's waist with a skillful and ghostly speed.

"Crack!" A sound of bones breaking came from all around. Jugo was in excruciating pain and rolled to the ground, howling in agony.

Yoriichi brushed the dust off his black robe, his gaze fixed on Jugo, before turning to Orochimaru.

"Now you can take him away, right? I have the ability to control him," Yoriichi said coldly, like an emotionless machine.

"Hehe..." Orochimaru hadn't expected Yoriichi to resort to violence to stop Jugo, so he had no choice but to agree.

"Ok."

The night flowed slowly; it was already late at night.

Yoriichi carried the drowsy Jugo on his back and swung him towards the other end of the Hidden Village in the night.

In the Root organization's high-ranking dormitory, Lingyu was yawning, silently waiting for Yoriichi's arrival.

Yoriichi had previously found her in the Root organization's office and directly handed her a sum of money and a key.

He even asked her to wait for him at the dormitory entrance that night, saying he had something important to do...

"Why isn't he here yet?" Lingyu was getting impatient. If she hadn't been given so much money, she wouldn't have wanted to come out and help Yuanyi.

She wasn't interested in Yoriichi's affairs, and their relationship wasn't very good; in fact, it was somewhat strained.

Suddenly, a phantom flashed through the night. Lingyu stared wide-eyed at it, and a powerful surge of chakra was transmitted into her body through her senses.

"Has it finally arrived?"

Yoriichi carried Jugo on his back and flashed to Ryou's side, putting Jugo down from his back.

Lingyu looked closely and immediately noticed the small wounds on Chongwu's waist.

"Can this place provide treatment?" Yoriichi asked.

“Yes.” Lingyu placed her hand in front of Chongwu, and a dark green light began to appear in her hand.

The radiance, like tiny white particles floating in the moonlight, merged into Jugo's body. Soon, the wounds on Jugo's body began to heal. The bleeding stopped first, and then the skin and flesh slowly stitched together like a zipper.

Yoriichi looked at Jugo with excitement on his face. He had finally managed to bring Jugo here. He even lied to Orochimaru about it, deliberately injuring Jugo and taking him away.

Yoriichi did not tell Orochimaru about the Cursed Seal Army. He always felt that the time was not yet right. On the one hand, the scientist Amado had not yet been found, and on the other hand, Orochimaru could not be fully trusted.

The best outcome would be to successfully find Amado and use him for my own purposes, then study the cursed seal independently without being controlled by Orochimaru.

But how can we find him?

Under the moonlight, Yoriichi's gaze was fixed on Rei's pretty face. She was carefully healing Jugo's injuries, her movements swift and agile, without any hesitation.

"As expected of Tsunade's disciple," Yoriichi smiled.

Just then, Lingyu quietly raised her head and met Yuanyi's eyes. A look of panic appeared on Lingyu's face, and she immediately looked down, her eyes filled with shock.

Yoriichi felt embarrassed. Could this little girl have misunderstood something?

Before Lingyu could speak, Yuanyi began:

"Lingyu, do you know the whereabouts of your father, the scientist Amado?"

Yoriichi stared intently at Ryougi, awaiting her answer, though the answer was most likely to be in vain.

Lingyu raised her head slightly again, and in the moonlight, her eyes seemed to be wearing light makeup, her deep double eyelids and cat-like eyes darting towards Yoriichi.

Soon after, she lowered her head again, saying, "I don't know."

"Did your master tell you anything else about this person? Or any other stories about him?" Yoriichi pressed, trying to extract as much information as possible from Ryou.

Especially... the information obtained by Ada, who has clairvoyance.

"Sigh..." Yoriichi sighed slightly, regretting that he should have just brought Ada back when she was injured.

“But this isn’t very safe. What if he suddenly regains his power and uses a divine illusion to wipe out everyone in one fell swoop?” Yoriichi shook his head, imagining that scenario.

"He seemed to have mentioned something about...the Land of Wind..." Lingyu suddenly paused, recalling carefully...

"What is it?" Yoriichi's eyes widened slightly as if he could see into the future, anticipating Ryou's answer.

"It's a story about a merchant who went to the Land of Wind, but I can't remember the details..." Lingyu sighed softly. "I told this story a year ago, but for some reason, my memory of it has become very blurry."

"Is that so?" Yoriichi frowned slightly.

But at least there's some information, right?

The Land of Wind, a merchant—I wonder if he's related to the scientist? The scientist was heartbroken after losing his partner and daughter. Could it be that he went to the Land of Wind to become a merchant?

Perhaps the story is reversed? After all, scientists still need funding to support further research.

Yoriichi memorized the information, then narrowed his eyes and said:

"Then Lingyu, go and rest. Try to recall what your master told you, and it would be best if you could write it down in a book for me."

Lingyu snorted irritably, "What's the benefit of this?"

Yoriichi chuckled, "I'll help you find your father."