The Game Merchant Who Started from the Ninja World

Chapter 53: Immortality Exchange

"Honored one,"

Orochimaru's eyes shone with fervor. "Forgive my directness, but while you say that reward points can be used to exchange for anything—does that truly include immortality?"

The game shop claimed to offer everything, but from what he'd gathered through Kabuto's intel, no such item for immortality had ever appeared.

Others may not have noticed, but as a scientist in a sense, Orochimaru had sharply observed how the number of available items in the game shop had been gradually decreasing with each update.

"So that's it. Sharp observation—you're a data-driven player, huh?"

Fang Yi was surprised as he looked at the alluring female face that now belonged to Orochimaru.

Data-driven players—the type that min-maxed every stat, meticulously studied item functions, skill efficiency, class synergies, and attribute ratios.

He had been planning to gradually phase the shop out of players' purchasing habits—of course someone would eventually notice.

He just didn't expect the first to do so would be Orochimaru,

who wasn't even a player—rather than some strategist from the major villages.

With life-skill players, resource maps, forests, mines, and stream-based material points now available, the internal economy of the game was beginning to self-sustain.

The once-central, high-priced game shop was being quietly pushed into the background.

This was exactly what Fang Yi wanted.

After all,

direct sales brought the lowest profits. Only by shifting the money-making mechanisms behind the scenes could he milk players efficiently and discreetly.

The change to the shop would be a key part of the next game update.

He was just preparing to give players a soft heads-up.

Once a player in the Pirate World also managed to kill a lord-level boss, the shop's true transformation would begin.

"The items haven't disappeared," Fang Yi said, "They're simply moved to higher-tier shop menus, only visible after you break through a level cap."

He waved his hand, and a projected interface of the hidden shop panel appeared.

Leaking a little insider info wouldn't affect the bigger picture,

and it gave Orochimaru peace of mind.

This "woman" before him was, in fact, one of Orochimaru's discarded bodies after using his Living Corpse Reincarnation technique—

a testament to his obsession with immortality.

The development of that forbidden jutsu had damaged his soul,

making him susceptible even to weak illusions.

This was a man with an unyielding, fanatical pursuit—

and a player like that, once they found hope, could unleash terrifying power.

Fang Yi had no issue nudging him further down that path.

[Eternal Cells]: Special cells with ultra-high-speed regeneration, immune to aging. 75% chance of death upon fusion, 20% chance to increase all four base stats by 100, 5% chance to achieve immortality.

[Price: 500,000 reward points]

[Lesser Zombie]: Low-tier bloodline. Increases Strength by 30, reduces Agility by 20. Passive skill: Corpse Armor—greatly increases physical defense.

[Price: 300,000 reward points]

[Polluted Monk Flesh]: Special flesh. Unknown effect when consumed. Possible immortality.

[Price: 1,000,000 reward points]

[Bloodline of the Night Fiend], [Gargoyle Lineage]...

Lines upon lines of items filled Orochimaru's view, dazzling and endless.

Ever since defecting from the village, his emotions had rarely fluctuated.

But now, his heart pounded violently in his chest.

"This ninja world is too small," Fang Yi said casually. "Even the so-called Ninja God Hashirama Senju only reached peak Tier 1."

"True immortality only appears beyond Tier 1 worlds. And with the power level of current ninjas, they simply can't afford those exchanges."

"That's why I've optimized the game shop. Once you complete a Tier Breakthrough Quest, the relevant exchanges will unlock."

Simply put,

his master was preparing to launch some ridiculously expensive events to squeeze every last drop from poor players.

In the carriage, Ah Fu silently rolled her eyes.

Immortality… immortality…!

Orochimaru trembled with excitement, his tongue instinctively licking his lips.

He was like a dying weed in a crack of earth,

suddenly seeing the sky after a drought.

Fang Yi didn't mock his desperation. He just waited patiently for him to finish.

Orochimaru's inner struggle was something few could understand.

Though the ninja world was full of flashy ninjutsu, true immortality had never existed.

From a bystander's perspective,

you could see the Sage of Six Paths was an immortal with a clear power progression path.

But the ninja world didn't know that.

To them, the Sage was a legend—nothing more.

Orochimaru was like a drowning man grasping at anything that looked like land.

He had no way of knowing if immortality was real—but he pursued it blindly all the same.

Such obsession was… admirable.

Sadly, he had walked the wrong path.

With a raspy voice, Orochimaru asked, "Sir, I'd like to offer all my ninjutsu and knowledge. How many reward points is that worth?"

There was no doubt the items in the immortal category required an enormous number of points.

He didn't have time to slowly farm Corrupted Monsters.

He wanted to taste eternity now.

Even the cheapest bloodline—Ghoul's Flesh—cost 250,000 reward points.

A pale white glow fell over him.

Orochimaru felt like his entire being—every thought, every memory—was laid bare.

Once the scan finished, Fang Yi said calmly,

"All your ninjutsu and chakra research are worth 30,000 reward points."

That wasn't low.

In fact, it was a lot.

Even other Kage-levels like Mei Terumi and Tsunade had only offered about the same in terms of ninjutsu.

Orochimaru's forbidden research and secret techniques had netted him a sizable haul.

But it still wasn't enough for the immortality he craved.

"You have sharp eyes," Fang Yi smiled. "Bloodline exchanges mostly don't have level restrictions. Unlike gear and skills, you don't need to slay bosses or level up to use them."

Orochimaru took a deep breath. "Sir… can I trade Otogakure?"

That village was his life's work—

but for immortality, he was willing to part with it.

"Otogakure is worth 50,000 reward points," Fang Yi replied smoothly.

"Still not enough,"

Orochimaru muttered, then looked up with determination.

"Sir, is there anything else I can offer?"

"Of course."

Fang Yi had been waiting for this. Internally he smirked, but outwardly he remained calm.

"All the soul samples you've collected for Edo Tensei are worth 200,000 reward points."

Orochimaru was, after all, one of the people indirectly responsible for the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Though he died early, his legacy—

and his soul samples—had all been passed down to Kabuto.

But right now, he was still alive.

Those soul samples, tied to countless purified spirits in the Pure Land,

were marked by the ninja world's consciousness as the Root Cause of the Fourth Shinobi War.

That made them an absolutely massive source of origin power.