Researching the inheritance of bloodline traits was a project that required a massive amount of time. Besides his constant experiments involving the transplant of Hashirama cells, Orochimaru was also unwilling to give up on the study of natural biological combinations. As the current successor to the Wood Release, no one was more perfect for this line of experimentation than Minato. Unfortunately for Orochimaru's scientific curiosity, Minato already had two very important people by his side.
Tsunade and Kushina were both incredible in their own ways. One was a legendary Medical Ninja, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and also served as Minato's personal teacher. The other was the primary candidate to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. She was born with a powerful Chakra that was specifically capable of suppressing the Nine-Tails, and she was Minato's close childhood friend. Both were outstanding young women, and the relationship between the three of them was becoming quite subtle. Before today, Orochimaru always assumed that Minato would eventually be forced to make a choice between them.
But now, it seemed that the boy had no intention of choosing at all; he simply wanted to keep them both! When he thought about it carefully, Orochimaru realized this did not seem strange at all. The key to such a situation was not whether a man wanted to do it, but whether he actually dared to try and whether he had the power to pull it off. Minato was the type of person who practiced deep self-reflection and had a clear understanding of his own nature. It was very unlikely that he would try to avoid the problem. Moreover, the kid even dared to think about achieving immortality. If he was brave enough for that, then two-timing a couple of girls was nothing to him.
Still, if he was already standing on two different boats, adding one more to the fleet should not hurt, right? After all, a man has three legs... or at least, that was how Orochimaru viewed Minato's impressive stamina and ability. Gently tapping his chin with his pen, Orochimaru became lost in his dark thoughts. The Senju, the Uzumaki, and now the Uchiha... well, that should be enough for the moment.
"Kari," Orochimaru called out softly. "I am here, sir," a figure replied. A ninja quietly appeared directly behind Orochimaru and knelt down on one knee. "Go and investigate the girls in the Uchiha clan who are between the ages of 5 and 15. Find those who have excellent talent and beauty, and bring the organized information back to me." The ninja bowed. "Yes!"
Next, Orochimaru summoned a different female subordinate. "Tsuru." A slender figure knelt down on one knee, her voice filled with respect. "Lord Orochimaru." The Sannin looked at her coldly. "Find out which female friends Kato Dan is currently close with. Pick one who clearly has romantic feelings for him. Have him contribute a bit to the population growth of Konoha. Remember to clean up the evidence properly when you are done." Tsuru nodded. "Yes!"
Although this specific mission was somewhat bizarre, the members of Root only cared about executing their orders. Whether a mission was reasonable or moral was not something for them to consider. Orochimaru was different from Danzo in some ways. He did not follow the philosophy that Ninjas were just tools without emotions, but he still maintained the strict rules that Root required to function.
The next day, after Nawaki finished his breakfast, he excitedly rushed out of the house. Today was the day he would follow Kato Dan and officially begin performing real Ninja missions! Carrying a burning sense of hope and great expectations for his future career, Nawaki arrived at the front of the Hokage Building to gather with his teammates. He was ready to take on the very first mission of his life. However, his excitement soon deflated into disappointment. The first mission of his career was simply finding a lost pet cat.
Minato's figure remained hidden high up in the tree canopy. He watched as Nawaki stuck his rear up in the air while searching through the thick bushes for the cat. Minato felt in his heart that Konoha was truly a magical place where pet cats seemed to go missing every single day. However, there were many detached houses in the village, and most families let their cats roam free. How could so many of them actually get lost? Moreover, D-rank missions had a starting price of 5,000 Ryo, which was not a small amount of money.
At this time, the price of a single bowl of ramen in the village was about 50 Ryo. Two people could eat until they were about to burst in a local Izakaya for only 500 Ryo. Spending 5,000 Ryo just to find a cat meant there were truly a lot of rich people in Konoha. This was not sarcasm; it was a simple fact. Although Konoha was called a Village, its land area and urban economy were much larger than an ordinary city. Many wealthy nobles from the Land of Fire chose to live within its walls.
After spending the entire morning searching, the group finally located the target cat in a narrow alley. Nawaki pounced forward to grab it, but he only managed to get his face scratched by the angry animal. This seemed to be the special treatment reserved for the center position of the team. "Ha... I really did not expect catching a cat to be so exhausting," Nawaki complained after they handed in the mission at the Hokage Building.
"The path of a Ninja is always full of challenges, Nawaki-kun," Kato Dan said gently. "But to celebrate the success of our very first mission, how about I treat the whole team to some BBQ?" Nawaki's female teammate drawled out her response. "Eh? I finally graduated so I would not have to go to school every day. I was actually planning to go shopping with my friends this afternoon."
"Then why not invite your friends to come along with us? It is still very early. It won't be too late to go shopping after we eat," Kato Dan suggested with a friendly smile. The girl's eyes lit up with excitement. "Hmm? Is that really okay? Would it be inappropriate? After all, the teacher is the one paying for everything." Kato Dan laughed. "Haha, do not worry. I am a Jonin after all; I can certainly afford a BBQ meal for everyone." He then looked at Nawaki and the other boy on the team.
"You guys should do the same. If you have friends, you can invite them along, or even your siblings. Having a good social circle is very beneficial for our future missions together." Nawaki just waved his hand dismissively. "Count me out. A normal Barbecue Restaurant cannot satisfy the people at my house. Brother Dan, you don't know, but that guy Minato is like the Reincarnation of the God of Cooking. He can make everything they have at a restaurant, and he can even make things they have never heard of!" After he finished speaking, the other boy also nodded. "Count me out too; I do not really have many friends to invite."
"Hahaha, I see..." Kato Dan laughed awkwardly. He could not help but mutter to himself that this kid was truly dense! Not far away, Minato had transformed himself into a random passerby. He was pretending to read a newspaper, and he almost burst out laughing when he heard Nawaki's words. Well done, Nawaki! Once you learn the Rasengan, your future brother-in-law will definitely teach you the Rasenshuriken!
It was not until the group finally entered the restaurant that Minato quietly slipped away. It was now the second day after he had given Nawaki the necklace, and the boy had not encountered any life-threatening danger yet. However, continuing this constant surveillance was not a long-term solution. Minato had to focus on his own Cultivation. As he grew older, he needed to begin serious physical technique training. Some Ninjutsu could be learned by Clones, but the actual improvement of the physical body could only be achieved through the exercise of the main body.
Thinking about his schedule, Minato felt he really should learn a few scouting-type Ninjutsu. It would save him from having to follow people so sneakily. Anyone who didn't know the truth might think he was some kind of voyeur. While Minato was busy pondering which jutsu to learn, several new documents were delivered to Orochimaru in the Root base. "Are these really the only Uchiha girls of the right age?" Orochimaru asked. "Yes, sir."
"This clan is a bit imbalanced. They have many more males than females. No wonder they all have such terrible tempers; it turns out to be a simple endocrine disorder," Orochimaru joked casually as he flipped through the files. Uchiha Meihui, 5 years old, excellent talent. Her looks were not bad, and she seemed sweet, but he didn't know if she was Minato's type. Uchiha Yun, 14 years old, a Genin with average talent. She looked better than the first girl, but her lack of talent was a flaw. Minato deserved someone better.
Come to think of it, there really were not many ugly people in the Uchiha clan. Of course, that was not an absolute rule; their Young Clan Chief Fugaku was quite ugly. As Orochimaru continued to flip through the papers, his movements suddenly paused. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the next page. Uchiha Mikoto, 12 years old, a Chunin with excellent talent. As for her looks... judged by a connoisseur of beauty like himself, she was a true great beauty!
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