In that battle, Orochimaru simply abandoned the Kusanagi Sword.

Jiraiya glared with bull-like eyes at Orochimaru.

"Hm?"

The corner of Orochimaru's mouth curled upward as he cast Jiraiya a sidelong look. "Is it that you have no taste for women? Or is there something wrong with my conclusion about the Uchiha? Why should I not say it? And this time you were eavesdropping again, weren't you? You really are getting used to loitering outside women's baths."

Jiraiya felt his temper flare at once. Damn the bastard—normally Orochimaru could go half a day without making a sound, yet once he turned his poisonous tongue on someone, he could drone on endlessly.

"Enough."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, seeing that his two disciples were about to quarrel, felt a headache coming on and quickly raised his voice to stop them. "Orochimaru, say less. Jiraiya is here because I asked him to come."

Seeing the old man take sides, Orochimaru merely sipped his tea and said no more, only signaling to Jiraiya with his eyes.

"You little..."

Jiraiya snorted and took a seat of his own.

His anger came quickly, and faded just as fast; he did not bother to lower himself to Orochimaru's level.

After the little farce in the Hokage's office, the atmosphere had changed considerably. It no longer felt like a meeting between the Hokage and Orochimaru, but rather between teacher and disciples.

Hiruzen gave a wry smile at that, though there was also some comfort in it.

The Third rubbed his temples and turned his gaze to Jiraiya. "You came in such a hurry to see me. Has something gone wrong with Koharu and the others?"

The negotiations with Kumogakure were of great importance. Aside from sending the two Hokage advisors to arrange the talks, the Third had also asked Jiraiya to keep an eye on the matter while caring for Naruto.

At the mention of business, Jiraiya wiped the usual frivolity from his face.

"Yes. Kumogakure has agreed to sign a peace accord, but they want Konoha to pay compensation... blah blah... in any case, their attitude is extremely hard-line."

Taken together, the conditions made it seem as though Konoha had lost and Kumogakure was the victor.

The Third frowned deeply, his expression one of surprise. "How could this be? That is not the attitude of a village seeking agreement."

Had Kumogakure lost too quickly, and now refused to yield further, unwilling to tarnish its reputation?

"I know a little about this..."

Orochimaru licked his lips, as though recalling something, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Kumogakure is being this stubborn because of the Fourth Raikage's injuries."

"Injuries?" The Third and Jiraiya exchanged a glance, both somewhat puzzled.

They had both read the battle report from the war with Kumogakure, and knew full well that what had secured the victory was the line: Orochimaru wounded the Fourth Raikage, cutting his side open with the Kusanagi Sword.

But, to put it one way, it was not a battlefield decapitation. An injury of that degree was not difficult to treat, even if the sword strike had damaged internal organs.

Medical ninjutsu was not so inconvenient a thing, and the Fourth Raikage was a shinobi of formidable physical constitution to begin with.

Could there be some hidden reason? Had Orochimaru smeared poison on the blade?

It was possible. The report had mentioned that after this battle, Orochimaru had discarded the Kusanagi Sword outright, rather than licking the blade as he usually did.

Under their stare, Orochimaru smiled. "It's a bit troublesome to explain. In short, all you need to know is this: if the Fourth Raikage's wound is to heal, a layer of flesh must be cut away. The side and the large intestine are still manageable, but the kidney..."

The Third and Jiraiya both knew a thing or two about kidneys, and at those words they felt a chill run down their spines.

A wound on the kidney healing naturally, and a layer of flesh being sliced away from the kidney before it heals, were not remotely the same thing.

The latter would require several times, even dozens of times, more time and resources to recover from.

Otherwise, if it were forced to heal by sheer effort, the man would be more or less ruined. Kumogakure would naturally not accept such an outcome.

"So what you're saying..." the Third said, "is that Kumogakure is bluffing?"

But to whom were they bluffing? Konoha? Impossible. With Orochimaru here, the truth of the matter was plain enough.

To Iwagakure? Also impossible. So long as Konoha spoke up, Kumogakure's lie could be exposed with ease.

"No, that's not it." The Third frowned.

There was another possibility: Iwagakure might not believe Konoha, and could take this as Konoha sowing discord.

That old fossil Onoki was not the sort to be won over easily either.

Unless he could personally verify the Fourth Raikage's condition, or...

"Move troops to the border near the Land of Hot Water, and have the two Hokage advisors take an even harder line."

With his pipe in hand, the Third said coldly, "Make it look as though we are preparing a large-scale invasion of the Land of Lightning, forcing Kumogakure to sign the peace accord at once, while spreading word outside that the Fourth Raikage has been gravely wounded."

Hadn't Kumogakure tried to lure other ninja villages into carving up Konoha before? Then this time, the village would simply turn the tables and imitate them.

Of course, the first shot in an attack on the Land of Lightning could not be fired by Konoha itself; the losses would be far too great. Iwagakure was an excellent choice.

During the Third Great Ninja War, Iwagakure had killed the Third Raikage of Kumogakure, while Kumogakure had nearly left ten thousand Iwa shinobi behind. There was deep blood feud between them.

Jiraiya nodded at that. The village would not lightly start a war, but putting on a show was not difficult.

Having settled the matter with Kumogakure, the Third turned his gaze back to Orochimaru.

"I understand the drawbacks of the Sharingan's awakening now, but why has Uchiha Jinzuke undergone such a change?"

This was a new ocular bloodline, one that built upon the Sharingan and elevated it further. Even if it still could not compare with the Mangekyo Sharingan, the Third did not dare take it lightly.

More importantly, did it also have some hidden flaw?

"To be honest, the changes in Uchiha Jinzuke were not what I expected, but they are entirely in keeping with reason."

Orochimaru smiled, and under the two men's watchful eyes, he spoke at an unhurried pace.

"I spoke at length about love and emotion before, but in the end, the Sharingan awakens through chakra—extremely refined, exceptionally high-level chakra... But what kind of chakra is needed for the Sharingan to awaken?"

Orochimaru looked at them both and answered his own question. "...It is Yin Release. Emotion is merely a means of stimulating mental energy and raising the purity of chakra with Yin nature. A different method may be used as well."

A look of astonishment flashed in the Third's eyes. He had truly not expected this disciple to have studied the Uchiha bloodline limit so thoroughly.

"Yin Release, which symbolizes spiritual power, does not exist in isolation. Corresponding to it is Yang Release, which symbolizes bodily power."

Without waiting for the Third to speak, Orochimaru continued, "The two maintain a dynamic balance and reinforce each other. I used the Yang Release within First Hokage cells to strengthen their constitution, allowing their bodies to bear that unusual Yin Release chakra."

Reaching here, Orochimaru tapped his temple.

"Jinzuke's new bloodline—let us call it the Blood Wheel Eye for now—should be the product of those two powers reaching a new balance. Compared with the unstable Sharingan, it is a more mature ocular bloodline limit, one without flaws."

"..."

Pipe in hand, the Third could not hide the shock in his eyes.

Though he had long known that Orochimaru had surpassed him, his teacher, only now did the Third faintly grasp the height Orochimaru had reached.

Orochimaru's understanding of chakra and bloodline limits ran so deep that even the 'Professor' of ninja arts might feel ashamed before him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was both gratified and proud, but the duties of the Hokage did not permit him to remain in his emotions. He asked another crucial question. "According to you, this new bloodline, the Blood Wheel Eye, will no longer continue to evolve into the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"It should not. It will not be so easy to break the new balance." Orochimaru nodded. "Of course, Uchiha Jinzuke also no longer needs to be tormented by extreme emotions driven by spiritual power."

"He is the first normal Uchiha in a thousand years to awaken the Sharingan."

"..."

After a long silence, the Third furrowed his brow and suddenly said, "Orochimaru, I permit you to continue studying First Hokage cells, even to conduct human experimentation. My only request is that you eliminate the Uchiha affliction."