Freelancer in the Ninja World

Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat when he heard that. As baffling as it was, he knew Uzumaki Senshi wasn't the type to make groundless claims.

"My reason? What reason would that be?"

Though inwardly shocked, Orochimaru forced himself to sound composed.

In response, Senshi spoke in a casual tone:

"Lord Orochimaru, didn't you join the Akatsuki because you want Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan?"

Strictly speaking, Orochimaru wanted the Rinnegan most of all. But obtaining the Rinnegan was too difficult—he'd already suffered a setback and now harbored lingering fears. He could only lower his sights and go after the Sharingan.

Not long ago, Orochimaru had already felt that Uzumaki Senshi's intelligence was shockingly accurate. Hearing him state this so bluntly now, Orochimaru found himself even more astounded.

To his surprise, Senshi went on, seemingly unwilling to stop with just that bombshell:

"Actually, I happen to know where to find several extraordinarily powerful Sharingan with very special abilities. You'd be interested in those, right?"

That statement hit Orochimaru like a surge of electricity. The Sharingan was an extremely special and mysterious kekkei genkai—nobody, not even its own wielder, could know in advance exactly which powers a newly awakened Sharingan might hold.

If anyone else claimed to know the whereabouts of "extremely powerful Sharingan," Orochimaru would have scoffed. But Uzumaki Senshi was different; even the behind-the-scenes Akatsuki seemed like an open book to him. Orochimaru didn't understand why, but it appeared that Senshi possessed some unusually potent intelligence-gathering capability—one Orochimaru greatly valued.

After thinking for a moment, Orochimaru posed a question to test whether Senshi truly had such remarkable intel:

"Where is Uchiha Shisui's eye?"

He wanted to see if Senshi really did know top-secret information.

Senshi paused briefly, then answered:

"One of Shisui's eyes is in Shimura Danzo's possession."

To be precise, it was in Danzo's own eye socket, while the rest of the Uchiha's eyes were grafted to Danzo's arm—an arm Orochimaru himself had engineered. So one of Shisui's eyes was indeed with Danzo, something Orochimaru already knew. But that was an extremely high-level secret, known only to a handful of people.

This made Orochimaru scrutinize Senshi once again.

"Just who is this guy? He was allowed to join Akatsuki, so their vetting must have found nothing amiss. Yet he knows about Shisui's eye being with Danzo—information of that caliber is practically top secret. Who in the world is he, and how does he know all this?"

Orochimaru now felt a deeper wariness toward Uzumaki Senshi. Dealing with him might prove complicated. Still, he quickly thought of something else: he might hire Senshi long-term to study this "mystery" ninja. If Orochimaru hired him, he could get Senshi's help with intel and gradually analyze him in detail. Once he thoroughly understood Uzumaki Senshi, capturing him or taking him down would be easier.

With that in mind, Orochimaru broke into a faint smile and said:

"I accept! I'll hire you long-term for 500,000 ryō per month to assist me in the development and research of ninjutsu and related technologies!"

[Congratulations! You have gained Orochimaru's approval!]

[He plans to hire you long-term with a salary of 500,000 ryō per month to aid in his ninjutsu & tech research!]

[Upon successful acceptance of this long-term commission, you will receive one Super Draw!]

[When settling this long-term commission, your Commission Points will be doubled!]

Reading that wave of system notifications, Senshi was overjoyed. There was a world of difference between rewards for a one-time job and a long-term job. Once he received this wave of rewards, his physical strength and chakra capacity would rival that of the Nine-Tails. Meaning in upcoming missions he could gain SSSS-level chakra rewards, fully stepping into the realm of the Ten-Tails. In time, he could genuinely become a human "Ten-Tails."

"Come with me."

Now that he had confirmed hiring Uzumaki Senshi, Orochimaru spoke offhandedly. Of course, Orochimaru wouldn't carry around a million ryō on him. He planned to pay Senshi 500,000 ryō first, then take him to one of his nearby hideouts to do some research.

"Where are we going?" Senshi asked casually, not seeming bothered. He hadn't yet heard the system's "mission complete" prompt, which suggested he had to do something like formalizing the deal with Orochimaru to finish.

Leading the way, Orochimaru answered, "First the money exchange, so I can withdraw your 500,000 ryō. After that, we'll go to one of my hideouts—I need you to help me with some experiments."

Senshi nodded. Once he had the money, the mission would be considered complete. Along with Karin, he followed Orochimaru through town until they reached a moneylender's establishment. Orochimaru signed a document there, receiving a case containing 1,000,000 ryō.

Swish—

Orochimaru pushed the case over to Uzumaki Senshi and said:

"Here's a million. Our employment relationship is now official. Now you'll come with me to my place and assist in some experiments."

[You have successfully taken on a new long-term commission: assisting Orochimaru's scientific research!]

[System Reward #1: 1x Super Draw]

The moment the system prompt appeared, Senshi's grin grew impossible to contain. Long-term commissions were no easy feat, and if the client's status didn't meet certain criteria, the system wouldn't even recognize the job. Akatsuki was the top mercenary force in the shinobi world, so it certainly qualified. Though Orochimaru was currently with Akatsuki, he was no mere minion—he had his own faction, making him eligible to issue a long-term commission.

Senshi opened his system menu excitedly.

"Gimme a draw!"

[Drawing Super Reward…]

[Congratulations! You have obtained an S-rank reward: unlocking a new rare Attribute.]

[You have unlocked "World Affinity." Future draws may yield additional World Affinity bonuses.]

[New entry on the Status Panel: World Affinity]

[Current Affinity with this Shinobi World: C]

Senshi was a bit perplexed by what he drew. "World Affinity? What even is that? And it's only S-rank? Ugh, Snake Bro, can't you do better?"

He himself didn't feel any immediate change, but Orochimaru definitely noticed something. In that instant, Senshi had emitted a wave of energy that made Orochimaru's pupils shrink in shock.

"What did you just do?!"

Orochimaru stared at Senshi in alarm. He had sensed an extremely familiar presence—one reminiscent of "the First Hokage." Yet not exactly. Most people wouldn't pick up on that distinction, but Orochimaru had done countless experiments with certain cells, so he recognized the aura all too well.

Orochimaru was already very interested in Senshi; after that sudden burst of a "familiar, intense aura," he was even more fixated on him. And then the case of money vanished from Senshi's hand.

"Space–Time Ninjutsu?"

Orochimaru's eerie snake-like eyes flicked to the spot where the money had disappeared. He couldn't help asking. Summoning Jutsu was also a space–time type, so the concept itself wasn't rare to Orochimaru. But using it with no hand seals, no visible formula, and not even a noticeable chakra fluctuation? That was bizarre.

What Senshi had used was, in fact, the "System Space." He had simply placed the case inside it. Seeing Orochimaru's dumbfounded face, Senshi found it amusing. Outwardly, though, he remained calm, as if this was just a trivial technique.

Karin, too, was left blinking in confusion. With her sensory abilities, she normally picked up on the subtlest chakra changes—yet she hadn't noticed any technique at all.

Senshi had felt no need to fear Orochimaru earlier, and now that his power had surged again, he was even more interested in seeing Orochimaru's hideout. Orochimaru's original plan was to trap Senshi there, but now he decided to pursue normal cooperation first. This peculiar, outlandish shinobi was tough to handle, and he also had immense research value. Orochimaru wanted to study him thoroughly.

Under Orochimaru's lead, the three arrived at his local hideout. Upon stepping inside, Senshi felt mildly disappointed. Though it was a well-equipped lab, none of Orochimaru's more bizarre or "genius" creations were here.

Rustle-rustle—

Orochimaru unrolled a scroll onto the floor, revealing a strange black-inked formula. After that, he said to Senshi:

"Sit in the middle of the seal. I want to examine your chakra and cellular traits in detail."

~~~

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