"I want to go collect some of the Nine-Tails' chakra, Sensei."
Kenichi scratched his head, but still chose to be honest.
To be precise, he wanted more than that.
Tonight was a once-in-a-lifetime clearance sale on corpses and cash.
Even with the Anbu all deployed, plenty of people died during the Nine-Tails' rampage.
If Root had joined in full force, the casualty count might've been a bit lower, but so far Kenichi had only seen Anbu moving.
Not a single Root operative in sight.
They're probably all at the Uchiha compound…
Hard not to be, really.
That massive fox demon rampaging through the village had a Mangekyō Sharingan spinning in its eyes.
And everyone knew: the only clan with Mangekyō were the Uchiha.
Of course they'd be put under surveillance.
So if Kenichi didn't pick up the "unclaimed goods," they'd just rot where they fell.
It would almost be irresponsible not to loot them.
"Collecting the Nine-Tails' chakra… Your idea is a bit dangerous."
Orochimaru glanced toward the towering beast in the distance, its tails sweeping through buildings like grass.
One shinobi after another rushed forward, only to be smacked away like insects.
He chuckled softly.
The strongest of the Tailed Beasts was currently rampaging through his beloved Konoha.
So then…
Where was the man who always said he'd sacrifice everything for the village?
A moment later, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
He'd found him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was at the front, leading the Anbu in attacking the Nine-Tails, trying to drag it away from the heart of the village.
Orochimaru's gaze chilled.
How irritating.
In his mind, Hiruzen should've been watching from the sidelines, leaving things to the Fourth.
Instead, he was out front, swinging his staff, putting on a display.
"So fake, Sensei," Orochimaru sneered under his breath.
"Someone like you is more than enough to draw the Nine-Tails' attention. Why drag those chūnin up there to die for nothing?"
This wasn't "leading by example."
This was performing for the audience.
"Sensei, should we… take the chance to gather some extra bodies? And, uh… experimental funds? Nobody has time to care about that right now."
Kenichi couldn't help himself.
Orochimaru had been staring at the beast for a while now. He clearly had his own plans.
In the original plot, Orochimaru didn't really do much on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack. He definitely didn't jump in to clash with the fox.
If he wasn't going to fight, then he had to be doing something else.
"…We can," Orochimaru said at last.
He tore his gaze away from the beast.
The Nine-Tails was dangerous, yes. But this night wasn't without opportunity.
He could collect many things—
Including the prize he'd been eyeing for a long time:
The Scroll of Seals in the Hokage Building.
As for the Nine-Tails?
With the Third and Fourth both in the village, one fox wasn't going to overturn the sky.
"You," Orochimaru continued, "go collect materials. And money."
"As for me… I'll be gathering something far more valuable."
Kenichi blinked—then understood instantly.
After so long at Orochimaru's side, he knew the man's greatest desire:
To master every jutsu in the world.
And tonight, the Hokage Building's defenses would be at their weakest.
If Orochimaru struck now, he could easily get his hands on the Scroll of Seals and walk away with a dozen forbidden techniques in his pocket.
That was good news for Kenichi, too.
The more toys Sensei had, the more likely he'd share later.
So Kenichi went to work.
Compared to "fresh samples" that screamed, thrashed, and tried to escape, he much preferred quiet, obedient money.
They didn't talk back.
They didn't struggle.
They stacked nicely in bags.
Perfect research material.
He was in the middle of stuffing another pouch of ryo into his vest when something caught his eye.
Off to one side, near a crumbled section of street, something was wriggling.
The moment he focused on it, an instinctive fear slammed into him—
A feeling like staring straight into something wrong, something fundamentally evil.
His heart hammered.
Then his pupils shrank.
"Chakra…?"
He narrowed his eyes.
A mass of chakra—dense, malignant, alive—was squirming in the rubble, refusing to dissipate.
Moments later, shock turned to elation.
"Oh… this has gotta be the Nine-Tails' chakra."
Only a Tailed Beast's chakra could leave the body and still linger like this.
Anything else would've dispersed long ago.
Kenichi didn't hesitate for even a second.
He whipped out a pre-prepared sealing scroll, slapped his hand down, and rapidly wove the seals. The writhing chakra mass shuddered—
—and vanished into the ink.
He rolled the scroll back up, clutching it to his chest.
"Beautiful… Totally worth coming out here."
Forget just funding. This was real profit.
Right as he was basking in his good mood, his instincts screamed.
Chakra. Fast. Focused.
A jutsu.
Kenichi vanished in a flicker, body twisting away.
A roaring Water Dragon Bullet smashed into where he'd been standing an instant ago, exploding into spray.
He landed to the right, hands already forming seals.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A stream of searing flame tore forward, racing straight toward the direction the Water Dragon had come from.
It smashed into a row of already-damaged buildings, setting them ablaze.
The night lit up orange.
But there was no scream.
No silhouette.
Once the fire settled in, the attacker was nowhere to be seen.
Only burning wood, falling beams, and crackling embers remained.
Kenichi's expression hardened.
No warning. No words.
Straight for the kill.
That wasn't a warning shot.
He held his position for a few seconds, searching for another attack.
Nothing came.
What did come were flickers of movement in the distance—
Anbu masks, turning toward the new firelight.
"Tch. If I stay, I'm dead."
The blaze was like a beacon in the dark.
If the Anbu arrived and found him here, holding a scroll full of stolen Nine-Tails chakra and pockets full of "redistributed" wealth…
Yeah. That would go badly.
He turned and bolted, leaping across rooftops as he analyzed in his head.
"Attacking me so openly… could've been Root."
He frowned.
"But more likely…"
That other guy.
The one who, in the original timeline, had also managed to collect a chunk of Nine-Tails chakra on this very night.
Root operatives were vicious and thorough.
If it had been them, they wouldn't have given up after one failed strike.
They'd have pursued relentlessly until the mission was done.
But after that initial Water Dragon, nothing followed.
Whoever it was clearly didn't want to draw extra attention by clashing again once the fire started.
Which meant…
"Most likely, it's that guy…"
Kenichi couldn't recall the man's name. He'd only ever been a side note in the story.
But he remembered the important part:
He was one of the Guardian Twelve Ninja under the Fire Daimyō.
Well, that narrowed things down.
"Fine. We can have a proper chat about this later."
Kenichi's face darkened.
If he hadn't reacted fast, that surprise attack might've actually worked.
He made a mental note:
Next time I meet the Guardian Twelve…
Everyone except Asuma dies.
Pause.
"Actually… Asuma doesn't have to live either."
That could be decided later.
Just as he was reorganizing his priorities, the air itself seemed to vibrate.
A monstrous pressure flooded over the village.
Kenichi stopped on a rooftop, turning his head.
In the distance, the Nine-Tails had lowered its head and opened its jaws.
A growing sphere of pitch-black and blinding white energy was condensing in front of its mouth, sucking in the very air around it.
A dense, terrifying mass of compressed chakra—
A Tailed Beast Bomb.
Kenichi let out a slow breath.
"Here we go…"
***********
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