Orochimaru travels to Hogwarts

Chapter 16 "Try to fall in love, child."

The moment Orochimaru heard Nicolas Flamel's assessment, his vertical, pale yellow snake eyes widened slightly in surprise.

He did not exude the murderous aura that came from another world, forged in mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Threatening a six-hundred-year-old wizard in front of the wizard god beside you is undoubtedly courting death.

But he can't remain unresponsive, or it will seem even stranger.

The best option is to tell part of the truth.

"I feel perfectly normal now, Mr. Nicolas Flamel," Orochimaru said respectfully, as if Nicolas Flamel were just an old senile man.

“No, no, your soul is in a very special condition, child,” Nicolas Flamel insisted, then slowly turned to look at Dumbledore. “Dumbledore, can’t you see it?”

Instead of answering Nicolas Flamel's question directly, Dumbledore mischievously winked at Orochimaru and Nicolas Flamel.

"Whether it's normal or not, we need to go inside and talk, right?"

"Ah, you're right, Dumbledore."

Nicolas Flamel's old and decaying body slowly turned around, allowing Orochimaru to see the true face of Nicolas Flamel's alchemy laboratory.

Unlike the former Konoha Human Experimentation Department, this room contained no limbs or culture dishes containing clones.

But the test tubes of all sizes, the small flasks distilling unknown liquids, and the strange materials laid out on the long black walnut table all point to one thing...

The owner of this house was indeed a highly accomplished alchemist.

"Would you mind if I took a look around, Mr. Nicolas Flamel?"

Orochimaru said eagerly.

"Of course, please go ahead."

After receiving permission, Orochimaru slowly strolled around Nicolas Flamel's alchemy laboratory with his hands behind his back.

This place is different from my own laboratory; it rarely involves physical research, and there are no detailed notes.

However, Orochimaru still managed to find out Nicolas Flamel's research direction from some clues.

He is studying the soul.

Although he couldn't find enough evidence, Orochimaru trusted his sixth sense as a researcher.

It's just a pity that, given his new body's identity, he's only a sixth-grade elementary school student who hasn't even attended Hogwarts, so he can't discuss the study of the soul with Nicolas Flamel.

Just as Orochimaru was examining the phoenix relief book that Nicolas Flamel had placed on his desk, Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel's whispered conversation ended.

Dumbledore seemed unable to change Nicolas Flamel's mind and lost the conversation between the two.

"Child, I've just won a remarkable victory," Nicolas Flamel said with a hint of delight to Orochimaru, who was examining his phoenix relief book. "Would you like to join a bet?"

"A bet?" Orochimaru slowly turned around, his face once again displaying his usual leisurely expression. "I'm all ears, sir."

"Dumbledore disagrees with my opinion of you, but I think you can find the right answer," Nicolas Flamel asked tremulously. "Why do you think I, who already possesses the elixir of immortality, am in this state?"

Before Orochimaru could answer, Nicolas Flamel laughed first.

"Don't hide it, I can see the disappointment in your eyes. Speak your mind, and let Dumbledore lose this time."

Yes, how could Orochimaru not be disappointed?

Having lived for six hundred years and possessing an almost inexhaustible lifespan, Nicolas Flamel appears as a flickering candle in the wind, nearing the end of his life.

Orochimaru turned around and calmly examined Nicolas Flamel's body.

If it were to conceal his ambition, he would certainly have many brilliant answers.

For example, six hundred years has made your body extremely fragile, and even the use of various magical potions cannot resist the erosion of time.

but……

Orochimaru has his own ambitions, and this opportunity is truly rare, especially since he is very experienced in this area.

Comparing his past experiences with the Reanimation Jutsu with the recollections that occasionally surfaced in his mind after arriving in this magical world, Orochimaru had already formed his own deductions.

"Lifespan is the combination of soul and body. The elixir of immortality made from the Philosopher's Stone can only extend your physical body indefinitely, but..."

Orochimaru's pale yellow snake eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were staring at himself when he first used the Reanimation Jutsu.

"The wear and tear on the soul is not repaired. When the soul wears away at a slow pace, you realize something is wrong. But it's too late; there's nothing you can do."

This was Orochimaru's assessment of Nicolas Flamel.

He used the elixir of immortality made from the Philosopher's Stone to prolong the life of his physical body, but the Philosopher's Stone, which did not contain a soul, prolonged the life of his soul.

Perhaps no problems were discovered in the first hundred years, nor in the third hundred years, but when he reached the age of four hundred, Nicolas Flamel suddenly discovered the wear and tear on his soul.

Dumbledore had told himself that Nicolas Flamel had not made a move since he was four hundred years old.

This must be because the wear and tear was so great and deep that his soul was no longer able to support him in taking action, and he could only eke out a living in this world with his now dying body.

Just like...

The first time I used the Reincarnation technique.

After the initial euphoria came the shock of realizing the damage to one's own soul.

In the war-torn ninja world, where death could come at any moment, he didn't have enough time to fix the damage to his soul.

Orochimaru was very disappointed by this, and even his words to Nicolas Flamel carried a hint of regret.

"The path pioneers embark on is always so unpredictable in its ending. It's a bit of a pity, but the scenery along the way is truly beautiful, isn't it?"

Orochimaru said this as if he were comforting Nicolas Flamel, or perhaps trying to console his past self.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore sighed again.

He thought he had thought highly of Mr. Slack Anguius, and he brought Mr. Slack Anguius to see Nicolas Flamel so that this child who yearned for immortality would know the end of immortality.

But now...

But he seemed to have found another, non-standard answer.

Standing next to Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel raised his bald eyebrows, his face filled with indescribable joy.

"I've won again, Dumbledore," Nicolas Flamel said tremulously as he slowly walked to the book with the phoenix relief.

He extended his thin, bony index finger and gently touched the phoenix relief.

The phoenix spread its wings, transforming into flames that spread to both sides.

In an instant, the book was opened.

Nicolas Flamel drew his wand and laboriously turned the pages until the last one.

It was a completely blank page, without any writing on it.

"My child, this is a reward for letting me win the bet," Nicolas Flamel said, tapping the page of the book lightly with his wand.

Click!

The page drifted down naturally, like a falling leaf, and floated towards Orochimaru. He extended his index finger, gently pinched it, and discovered that the page was made of extraordinary material.

The material of this page is similar to that of a hard card. And along the edges of this page, there is a silver trim that flows gently like water.

This page...

"It's the same as Dumbledore's, but there's a difference," Nicolas Flamel explained with a smile.

He was in high spirits, not at all like someone who had lived for six hundred years and had lived enough.

"Can it change size as I wish?"

Orochimaru was the first to ask.

Under his gaze, the tiny page was shrinking at his fingertips. In the blink of an eye, the page was only the size of his palm.

"It's about the size of an explosive tag," Orochimaru couldn't help but think.

"No, each page can change size freely." Dumbledore refuted Orochimaru's guess.

Nicolas Flamel then added:

"But not every page is the last page."

The last page.

Orochimaru pondered Nicolas Flamel's words, then looked again at the pages in his hand, gazing at the silver liquid slowly flowing around them.

Nicolas Flamel seemed to enjoy watching Orochimaru guess, and it took him quite a while before he slowly revealed the answer.

"Dumbledore thinks you can't guess the reason for my soul's aging and decay, but from the first moment I saw you, I sensed the peculiarity of your soul. It's as if you have two souls inside you, one incomplete yet resilient, the other bewildered and withered."

As Nicolas Flamel spoke, he looked at Orochimaru's slightly narrowed, pale yellow snake eyes.

"So I thought you would definitely find the real reason. It's a prophet's intuition. Fortunately, I won the bet."

Nicolas Flamel was in high spirits.

Dumbledore made no intention of interrupting, but simply stood aside, quietly observing Mr. Slack Anguill as he repeatedly surprised him.

"Dumbledore told me about your situation—your father's abuse and the fantasies you had while lonely caused non-existent people and events to appear in your mind. I heard you even gave yourself an interesting codename, is that right?"

Both Nicolas Flamel and Dumbledore interpreted Orochimaru's time travel as a state akin to schizophrenia.

Orochimaru nodded calmly, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Nicolas Flamel's smile deepened; only at this moment did Orochimaru feel that this old man on his deathbed was truly alive.

Nicolas Flamel extended a trembling finger and pointed to the page in Orochimaru's hand.

"That was the last page of the Book of Abraham that I copied when I was four hundred years old. It was the most magical page because it held all the answers."

As Nicolas Flamel spoke, he nodded slightly toward Orochimaru, as if confirming something with him.

"But this page now belongs to you, and I believe it can help you correctly embark on the path to immortality. I can sense that you are far more gifted than I was back then."

But how do I use it?

Orochimaru looked at the palm-sized page in his hand with a puzzled expression.

Soon, Nicolas Flamel's voice answered Orochimaru's question.

He will tell you the most important problem you need to solve right now.

What is the most pressing issue?

Orochimaru held his breath again. He was neither a child from the magical world nor an innocent ninja who had never experienced darkness.

He was wary of everything, but he was also very curious about what kind of advice the magical ninja tools of this world would offer.

So he lowered his head and looked at the blank last page in his palm, waiting for the answer that belonged only to him.

The answer quickly emerged, in the Konoha script that Orochimaru was most familiar with—

"Try falling in love, child."

The piece of paper was spouting such nonsense.