Uchiha Patriarch !

The entrance of Kirigakure village clearly wasn't a suitable place for a conversation. Sougen grabbed Kimimaro, who was completely immobilized by the curse mark, and led Shisui to their base in Kirigakure. Once they arrived at the office, Sougen threw Kimimaro onto the sofa and, as he let go, he also released the [Cursed Seal].

Kimimaro, regaining control of his body midair, moved his limbs and adjusted his landing to avoid injury. However, after his safe landing, he no longer dared to act recklessly. He sat obediently on the sofa, expressionless, observing Sougen.

"Speak! Shisui, what's going on? I sent you to find a dead man, so how did you bring back this kid?" Sougen sat down opposite Kimimaro, staring at the green-eyed youngster.

"The mission failed," Shisui, sitting beside Kimimaro, shamefully reported the outcome of his task.

"Failed? That's not surprising. If it were easy to find, it wouldn't have gone undiscovered for decades." Sougen wasn't entirely disappointed. In his plan, the Six Paths ninja tools could help him further master the essence of ninjutsu.

Of course, the tool Sougen wanted most was the Banana Fan, which could control the five elemental nature transformations of water, fire, wind, lightning, and earth without being limited by the user's chakra nature. As for the rest of the tools, which were more cumbersome to use, he wasn't particularly interested.

Now, with the Uchiha Fan in hand, even Samehada had taken a backseat.

Searching for the Six Paths tools was originally just to explore the power of ninjutsu and sealing techniques. The [Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed] ability granted him absolute mastery over tools, allowing him to unlock the secrets they held. But unfortunately—

"It wasn't that I couldn't find it. Someone beat me to it."

"...Who?"

As he asked, Sougen already had a hunch in his mind.

"Orochimaru."

The name confirmed Sougen's suspicion. Of course, it was Orochimaru, the best grave-robber in the ninja world, who had started by digging up his own clan's graves and, after leaving Konoha, had expanded his business internationally.

"Orochimaru, huh?" Sougen frowned slightly but then relaxed. The news wasn't too bad.

If the item ended up in Orochimaru's hands, there would still be a chance to retrieve it, whether by force or negotiation. The only problem was that Orochimaru had hideouts everywhere, making it hard to track him down.

He had already sent Uchiha Akitaro to the Land of Rice Fields to find Orochimaru, but they hadn't even seen a shadow of him.

"Encountering Orochimaru was purely accidental…" Shisui explained the entire process of his encounter with Orochimaru in detail, finally sighing in regret. "It's a pity I didn't realize that Orochimaru's soul had issues. If I had used genjutsu from the start, it wouldn't have turned out so badly."

"You're overthinking it," Sougen poured cold water on Shisui's reflections without hesitation. "Defeating Orochimaru might not be too hard, but killing him... even I don't have much confidence. His survival skills are too strong. Even if we use eye techniques, it's not certain we can truly take him down."

After all, he was an immortal who had lived through the unburnable times.

"No wonder he's one of the Legendary Sannin," Shisui wasn't bothered by the cold water. He just marveled at Orochimaru's abilities. In truth, after witnessing Orochimaru's strange techniques, he knew killing him wasn't an easy task. Then, Shisui took out a sealing scroll from his pocket. "This scroll contains the blade Orochimaru stabbed me with. It's a very special sword. It can be controlled from a distance without using wires or any other tools. If it weren't for that…"

As he spoke, he unlocked the scroll's seal and took out the sword he had seized as a trophy.

"Where was your Susano'o?" Sougen glanced at Shisui's shoulder and snapped, "You have Susano'o but didn't use it, instead letting yourself get stabbed. Be careful you don't hold back so much that you never get to use your real skills. What if Orochimaru had poisoned the sword? What would you do?"

"I was careless this time," Shisui admitted his mistake helplessly.

Reflecting on the battle afterward, he realized that after grabbing Orochimaru's true body, he had been too confident. As Sougen said, if Orochimaru had tampered with the strange blade, he might have been in serious trouble.

Sougen didn't bother responding. He reached out, picked up the sword, and activated his [Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed] ability. Instantly, the contract imprint on the sword was erased. Whatever backup plans Orochimaru had left behind, they would no longer work.

"This is a Kusanagi sword," Sougen said as he examined the blade, unsurprised.

Orochimaru's obsession with collecting Kusanagi swords was no secret. Any ninja who had fought alongside him knew that Orochimaru owned more than one Kusanagi sword, the most famous being the one that could extend and retract its length at will.

"It really is a Kusanagi sword!" Shisui had also heard of the Kusanagi swords.

The Kusanagi sword wasn't just a single sword but rather a system of blades. As for how many Kusanagi swords existed in the ninja world, that was as mysterious as the origin of the swords themselves. Perhaps Orochimaru, a die-hard Kusanagi sword collector, knew a thing or two.

Even the Uchiha clan's archives didn't have detailed records of the Kusanagi swords, only mentioning two: one that amplified lightning-style techniques and another that strengthened wind-style techniques. These had been collected by their ancestors, though the lightning-amplifying Kusanagi sword had unfortunately been lost, leaving only the wind-amplifying one.

That sword—

It was now hanging at Uchiha Chihaya's waist.

"Kusanagi Sword: Air Blade."

Sougen read aloud the name of the sword in his hand, a look of interest appearing on his face. "Interesting. This Kusanagi sword can fly according to the wielder's will. It really is an effective tool for sneak attacks."

It reminded him somewhat of a "flying sword."

But—

It had its limitations!

Decapitating someone from a thousand miles away was impossible; its range was limited to around a hundred meters, depending on the wielder's mental strength.