"Yeah… looks like my training finally paid off a little."
Kenichi put on a simple, honest smile.
He didn't expect to fool his teacher. Not now.
And in any case, training couldn't stop.
Only with real strength could he ever have a say in this world.
One day, he would dissect the truth behind the Rinnegan, the Ōtsutsuki bloodline…
And even the God Tree itself.
"I'd originally thought you might never reach jōnin in this lifetime," Orochimaru said as he turned, leading Kenichi toward the lab. "But if you have the chakra reserves of a chūnin now… you at least have a chance."
His tone was calm, indifferent.
To Orochimaru, a disciple who might become chūnin was hardly worth getting excited over.
Unless Kenichi gained the power of a jōnin, Orochimaru wouldn't truly pay attention.
For him, jōnin was only the starting line.
Above jōnin were elite jōnin, then monsters like the Legendary Sannin and the Kage-level titans.
And above them—existences that even Kage struggled to touch.
The so-called "God of Shinobi."
In those golden eyes, there was a flicker of crazed ambition.
"Sensei, about… that experiment, I've been thinking."
Kenichi stepped closer and lowered his voice.
Orochimaru glanced meaningfully around them, then waved a pale hand.
Not here.
Kenichi understood immediately and shut his mouth, following quietly as they descended into the hidden base.
Only after they entered the underground lab, the heavy door shut behind them, did Orochimaru sit down, pick up a petri dish, and speak:
"Go on. What did you have in mind?"
Kenichi organized his thoughts and began.
"Sensei, when we were experimenting on the mice before, I noticed something…"
He tried to keep it concise, explaining his "observations" in simple, clear language, then introduced a brand-new concept.
At first, Orochimaru seemed half-distracted.
Then, as Kenichi continued, his eyes sharpened. His posture straightened.
"…This 'rejection response' you're describing… is quite interesting."
A faint, appreciative smile touched Orochimaru's lips.
His little disciple might have no talent as a traditional ninja, but in science, his insight was real.
And what Kenichi was describing—this idea that different bodies resisted foreign tissues in different ways—echoed things Orochimaru himself had recently brushed up against.
Especially in his… research into immortality.
"So according to you," Orochimaru said slowly, "we should first test for this 'rejection,' find candidates whose bodies are more compatible with the First Hokage's cells… and then consider suppressing the reaction?"
Kenichi nodded.
"Exactly, Sensei. If we do that, we can minimize the number of test subjects we burn through… and lower the risk of attracting unwanted attention."
Every sentence was framed in his teacher's interest.
That was how you convinced Orochimaru.
"I'll think about it."
He didn't agree.
He didn't refuse.
But Kenichi knew this teacher well enough—Orochimaru was already tempted.
Right now, he still hadn't completely let go of the dream of becoming the Fourth Hokage.
But once the Fourth was chosen, once that hope was cut off… his teacher's restraint would probably disappear.
"Kenichi, your suggestion this time was very good." Orochimaru tilted his head, curiosity glinting in his eyes. "Do you want a reward?"
He wasn't a stingy master.
And a disciple who could support his research was valuable.
Kenichi thought for a moment, then answered.
"Sensei, I'd like to research kekkei genkai."
Ninjutsu he could get anytime.
If he wanted to learn a technique, Orochimaru would teach him. The man even shared combat experience from fighting other shinobi.
But the thing Kenichi truly coveted—the Forbidden Scroll—was out of reach for now.
Hiruzen Sarutobi might be old, but his strength hadn't fallen that much. He was still a monster of a ninja.
Say what you will about his politics; in terms of pure power, the current Third Hokage earned the title of "ninja hero."
If he hadn't become Hokage, he might have been even more terrifying.
Even Orochimaru found dealing with him troublesome—at least until the day he fully mastered Edo Tensei.
So Kenichi took a step back.
If he couldn't get forbidden techniques, then he would take bloodline limits.
"Oh?" Orochimaru's smile deepened. "The Hyūga? Or the Uchiha?"
Of course he thought of those two first.
Kenichi shook his head.
"Neither. Sensei, I heard that in the Hidden Mist there's a very powerful kekkei genkai—one belonging to the Kaguya clan."
Shikotsumyaku.
The Dead Bone Pulse.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
The Kaguya clan of Kirigakure?
That would indeed be Shikotsumyaku.
He'd heard of that bloodline before—its brutal power, its battle maniacs.
"…That will take time."
He didn't say no.
In truth, Orochimaru held interest in almost every jutsu and bloodline that existed in this world.
But the Hidden Mist had its own Kage-level monsters.
Snatching a living specimen from them would not be simple.
Kenichi just nodded.
He wasn't in a hurry.
He remembered that Orochimaru eventually brought back a boy named Kimimaro, but he had no idea when that happened on the timeline.
Either way, he could wait.
Their relationship was "teacher and student," but when Kenichi thought of his future… he couldn't help recalling Mitarashi Anko.
She knew almost nothing about the experiments and walked away with a curse mark and emotional trauma when Orochimaru defected.
Kenichi, on the other hand, was basically the second-in-command of the lab.
There was no way he'd walk out clean.
Still, that was a problem for later.
"For now," Orochimaru said, "I'll give you three test subjects. Use them to verify this 'rejection' test of yours, then write me a detailed report."
Kenichi licked his lips, then nodded with a small smile.
As long as he remained under Orochimaru, his hands would never be clean.
That was the price of survival in this world.
He'd accepted that long ago.
"Understood, Sensei."
Even if his hands were stained red, he would keep walking—
Until the scalpel was in his hand, and the world itself lay on his operating table.
(End of Chapter)