As for Kei’s shamelessness, Orochimaru accepted it, but certainly didn’t approve of it.
"Kei-kun, you really shouldn’t take shortcuts. The Cursed Seal is merely a weakened form of Sage Mode. Compared to true Sage Mode, there is still a considerable gap in both power and ability."
"At most, it amplifies the power of your ninjutsu. Without sufficient chakra to support it, it will ultimately only be a temporary solution. It won’t make a decisive difference."
Orochimaru was genuinely trying to help.
Kei knew that.
But what choice did he have?
If he could guarantee a hundred percent success in learning Sage Mode, then of course he’d choose Sage Mode.
When there was a better option with no risk, who would choose the inferior one?
Kei couldn’t exactly explain that to Orochimaru.
But since Orochimaru was being so polite and was genuinely thinking about Kei’s interests...
Couldn’t Kei take things just a little further?
Maybe he could make a few more requests.
People had to learn how to push their luck.
"So, Lord Orochimaru..."
"Is there any chance I could obtain Hiruko’s research?"
Hiruko was a missing-nin from Konoha and a former friend of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.
His natural talent was inferior to that of the other three, and he had never received the guidance of a great master.
Unwilling to accept his innate limitations, he secretly developed the Chimera Technique in an attempt to compensate for his deficiencies.
However, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, discovered his research and judged the technique to be a forbidden art that violated the natural order.
He then dispatched the Sannin to hunt Hiruko down.
Unfortunately, Hiruko escaped.
But Kei believed that Orochimaru should have retained some of Hiruko’s research.
Their relationship had never been ordinary.
Orochimaru was somewhat surprised.
This matter was extremely secret.
After all, Hiruko had absorbed the cells of shinobi such as Iwa shinobi Kaku, Sunagakure’s Yagura, Kirigakure’s Nakichi, and Kumogakure’s Toroi.
He hadn’t even harmed a single Konoha shinobi through his experiments, yet he had still been classified as a missing-nin.
The reason was worth thinking about.
At the time, Orochimaru had thought that Hiruko’s research was essentially an evolved version of the Sarutobi Clan’s secret techniques.
And for that alone, they wanted to kill him?
That was why Orochimaru had deliberately held back during the pursuit and allowed Hiruko to escape.
"You actually know about him?"
Orochimaru was genuinely surprised that Kei knew about such a closely guarded secret.
"There are very few things in the shinobi world that I don’t know."
Kei deliberately adopted an air of profound mystery.
Orochimaru didn’t press him.
Instead, he praised him.
"With an intelligence network as formidable as yours, Kei-kun, it’s hardly surprising that you aren’t worried about your teacher’s methods."
"But are you planning to walk the same path as Hiruko?"
Orochimaru didn’t approve of Kei’s choice.
He had fought Hiruko himself.
That man’s techniques were nothing particularly impressive.
A copy could never compare to the original.
Therefore, Orochimaru wanted to remind Kei that, given his status as an Uchiha, he had better choices available to him.
There was no need to pursue an inferior imitation.
But unexpectedly, Kei suddenly became serious.
It was as though conducting this kind of imitation research were some grand and noble undertaking.
Once again, Orochimaru heard the same speech Kei had delivered back when he was trying to avoid going to war.
"Orochimaru-kun, people like us are different from naturally gifted people like you."
"To achieve something that people like you can obtain with ease, people like us have to pay far more."
Kei pushed open the window and allowed the cool breeze to flow into the elegant courtyard.
The warm air brushed against his face.
For once, Kei spoke with unusual seriousness.
"Ever since Konoha was founded, the civilians here have remained like stagnant water. Nothing has changed."
"The powerful figures of Konoha have monopolized every avenue of advancement. Even the one institution that should have provided ordinary people with a path into the shinobi world—the Academy—is little more than a factory for producing cannon fodder and disposable assets."
"Every now and then, a ripple appears."
"And those ripples are people as astonishingly talented as you, Lord Orochimaru."
"But even your success depended upon being the disciple of a powerful figure. Because of that, you were given a path upward."
Kei walked toward the entrance.
He raised his eyes toward the blazing sun.
No matter how the world changed, the sun would always rise as usual.
"Lord Orochimaru, the powerful have grown accustomed to controlling the destinies of others."
"They have become too arrogant."
"So arrogant that they’ve forgotten there are at least two things they can never control."
"The talent of people like you..."
"And the determination of people like me who lack talent but refuse to accept our fate."
A white cloud drifted across the sky, blocking the dazzling sunlight.
Under its shadow, Uchiha Kei looked solemn and dignified.
"They believe they’ve found ways to control both kinds of people."
"For people like you, whom they can recruit, they pull out all the stops."
"Master-disciple relationships."
"Marriage alliances."
"Friendships formed at the Academy."
"All of these are tools they use to bring people like you into their system, until eventually you become one of them."
"And for those they cannot recruit?"
"They cut off their resources, leaving their talent with nowhere to shine."
"And for people like me—people without talent who still dare to pursue greater strength and a higher position?"
"They label every path they cannot control as heresy."
"They mock it."
"They call it a forbidden technique."
"They proudly pass judgment on people who become stronger by using forbidden techniques, people like Hiruko."
Kei suddenly turned around and stared directly into Orochimaru’s eyes.
"They call that justice."
"They make everyone despise those who try to gain power through their own efforts, through determination, through paths that weren’t designed for them."
"They label such people as evil."
"Are they arrogant?"
"No."
"They’re afraid."
"They’re afraid that people like us will use methods they cannot control to climb up from the mud and stand shoulder to shoulder with them."
"They’re afraid that if I become strong enough, people will realize that aside from being born into privilege, they have nothing special about them."
"They’re afraid we’ll tear open their magnificent robes and expose the festering wounds beneath."
"They won’t allow us to do that."
"But we must do it anyway."
"That is the determination of ordinary people like me."
The more seriously Kei spoke, the less Orochimaru believed him.
If these words had come from Hiruko’s mouth, Orochimaru would have believed every word.
But Uchiha Kei?
You’re one of the powerful figures yourself!
A person’s position determines their perspective.
Your position isn’t remotely where someone capable of making such a speech should be standing.
And how many people’s destinies had Kei already manipulated?
Yet here he was, shamelessly lumping himself in with the majority of ordinary people.
Even someone as powerful as Orochimaru had accepted the fate Kei had arranged for him.
Since Kei had deliberately opened the door and delivered such a passionate speech, he clearly wasn’t saying all this merely for Orochimaru’s benefit.
"Kei-kun, isn’t having so many powerful subordinates enough?"
"That’s a force capable of influencing the battlefield of an entire nation!"
Orochimaru subtly reminded Kei of his identity and status.
You don’t have the standing to make a speech like this.
If Kei truly possessed the ideals he claimed, he should currently be leading the Uchiha Clan and fighting on Konoha’s front lines.
He shouldn’t be sitting at Konoha’s doorstep, establishing a base and preparing for a civil war.
Kei shook his head.
He pretended not to understand what Orochimaru meant.
He was determined to occupy the moral high ground.
"Far from enough."
"Then what exactly are you trying to accomplish, Kei-kun?"
Someone who said one thing while meaning another was bound to be hiding something.
Orochimaru had already realized that Kei’s ambitions were far greater than they appeared.
Kei walked out of the elegant courtyard and into the main hall.
He stood before the crowd below.
His expression was filled with compassion for all living beings.
His gentle voice spread throughout the entirety of Naka Shrine.
"I want the heavens to be unable to cover my eyes."
"I want the earth to be unable to bury my heart."
"I want all living beings to understand my will."
"And I want every god and Buddha to vanish into smoke and dust!"
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