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When Sasuke entered with Kabuto, he found Orochimaru in the middle of an experiment.
In a container, there was a person—Kimimaro, one of the Sound Four. At this time, Kimimaro's body was covered with tubes, his eyes were tightly closed, and there was no trace of emotion on his face.
It was apparent that Orochimaru was conducting some sort of experiment on him.
"Orochimaru, it seems that you're not afraid at all seeing me here," Sasuke said with a smile, looking at Orochimaru.
You know, Orochimaru is one of the most cunning and survival-focused people in the ninja world. Sasuke had even defeated him before. Now that Sasuke had come to confront him, he found it surprising that Orochimaru showed no fear.
"Sasuke-kun, if I'm not mistaken, you're not here to kill me today," Orochimaru replied, stopping his work and turning to face Sasuke with a smile. "Since you're not here to kill me, then what do I have to fear?"
Orochimaru, in his white coat, did indeed resemble a scientist.
"That's right, Orochimaru. As you guessed, I'm not here to kill you today," Sasuke smiled, clapping for Orochimaru. As expected, Orochimaru could always guess what others were thinking.
"Then, Sasuke-kun, may I ask what brings you here today?" Orochimaru asked curiously, licking his lips. He knew Sasuke wouldn't just visit for a simple chat.
"Indeed, I have only one reason for coming today. I wanted to see if the great scientist of the ninja world has invented anything impressive," Sasuke said, a teasing tone in his voice. "But it seems like you haven't made anything worthwhile, have you?"
Sasuke looked around the laboratory, his face showing disappointment.
He had expected to see amazing technological achievements, but what he saw was underwhelming. Besides Kimimaro, there was nothing else of note in the lab.
Hearing Sasuke's words, Orochimaru's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected Sasuke to judge his scientific research like this. However, he didn't dare to get angry, so he forced a smile and said, "Haha, Sasuke-kun, it's normal for you to look down on my experiments. After all, you're a genius ninja, not someone ordinary like me."
Orochimaru carefully observed Sasuke's reaction. Despite his humility, Orochimaru didn't believe that Sasuke could match him in research.
"Yes, Orochimaru, though you may be a genius, the gap between us is still considerable. But I don't blame you," Sasuke said, waving his hand nonchalantly.
Hearing this, Orochimaru felt a pang of frustration. 'This Sasuke is becoming more arrogant,' he thought, annoyed that Sasuke dared to belittle his research abilities. Yet, he maintained his smile and responded, "As expected, Sasuke-kun is full of confidence in his strength."
"Of course. If I didn't have this kind of confidence, how could I be worthy of the name 'genius'?" Sasuke sneered.
"Haha, Sasuke-kun is right," Orochimaru agreed, a glint of cunning in his eyes. "Since you're so confident, why don't we have a competition to see whose scientific research results are more powerful?"
"Oh?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You want to compete with me? Interesting. Let's do it then."
Orochimaru was secretly pleased. He knew that while Sasuke was powerful, his scientific research skills couldn't possibly match his own. This competition would be the perfect opportunity to show Sasuke his superiority.
"Since Sasuke-kun has agreed, I'll set the challenge. The theme will be Kimimaro's bloodline disease. Let's see who can cure him!" Orochimaru said with a sinister smile. "As you're the guest, Sasuke-kun, you should go first."
After Orochimaru finished speaking, he gestured for Sasuke to proceed. Seeing this, Sasuke found it amusing. Orochimaru's thoughts were too easy to read—he couldn't heal Kimimaro's illness himself, so he wanted Sasuke to do it. If Sasuke failed, it would mean he was inferior to Orochimaru. No matter the outcome, Orochimaru wouldn't lose. He really was a master manipulator.
"Alright, let me see what's going on!" Sasuke said, walking to the container to examine Kimimaro.
Sasuke activated his Curse Seal of Heaven mode and carefully sensed Kimimaro's condition. "From what I can sense, a large part of the cells in Kimimaro's body are necrotic, likely due to his bloodline disease," Sasuke said with a frown. "However, his physical strength is better than that of an ordinary person. Otherwise, he would have died long ago."
"Since Sasuke-kun has also identified the cause of Kimimaro's illness, I wonder if there's anything you can do?" Orochimaru asked, licking his lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He was surprised that Sasuke had discovered the cause of Kimimaro's illness in such a short time, something Orochimaru himself had only uncovered after numerous sophisticated tests.
Now that there was hope of curing Kimimaro, how could Orochimaru not be excited? After all, before the allure of the Sharingan, Kimimaro had always been his ideal vessel.
Hearing Orochimaru's question, Sasuke's lips curled into a faint smile. "There is indeed a way to heal him, but..."
He paused and then continued, "Why should I help you heal him?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sasuke stared straight at Orochimaru, his gaze as sharp as a sword, as if he could see through him.
In an instant, the excited smile on Orochimaru's face froze. He stared at Sasuke in disbelief. What was going on? Why wasn't Sasuke following the usual script? According to normal logic, shouldn't Sasuke just help him heal Kimimaro as he wished? Why was he suddenly refusing?
"Sasuke-kun, if you can't cure Kimimaro, then this duel will end in your loss!" Orochimaru forced a smile, attempting to use threats to change Sasuke's decision. However, his heart was full of doubts and confusion.
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