Human Body Modification

"Oh, Minato, your ambition is quite high as well."

The Third was somewhat surprised, but also pleased. If possible, he too hoped the Second Hokage's techniques would be passed down in Konoha.

In his view, neither Orochimaru nor Minato was without hope.

"Since Minato-kun has also chosen this technique, we can exchange our thoughts on it often from now on."

Jiraiya figured that over the next few years, he'd be leaving the village temporarily and couldn't look after Minato. Orochimaru, it seemed, intended to help guide the fourteen-year-old in his stead.

The Third stroked his beard, watching the scene with quiet satisfaction. Nurturing the tender sprouts of Konoha—this was the Will of Fire.

In truth, Orochimaru knew Minato was certain to master the Flying Thunder God Technique and wanted to glean some experience from him.

After leaving the Hokage Building, he called Tsunade to join him and Jiraiya for a meal at an Izakaya.

Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't bring their own disciples—they were all minors, unable to drink.

After catching up, Orochimaru saw Jiraiya off alongside Tsunade, then returned home to begin studying the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Upon careful examination, Orochimaru found the technique matched his earlier speculations quite closely.

It was somewhat similar to the Summoning Technique, except he was summoning himself. However, the summoning range was limited to within his own Sensory Ability.

By modifying the Summoning Technique into a form suited to himself, he could create a desired pattern and imprint it. As long as he sensed his own technique formula within his perception range, he could form hand seals and activate it, summoning himself from another location.

It sounded simple, but the requirements were extremely high.

First, spatial perception was necessary. Even visual perception like the Byakugan wouldn't work—only spatial perception could activate the technique.

Second, modifying a technique—especially upgrading a B-rank technique like the Summoning Technique into a variant—and confining the formula to a limited area was at least as difficult as developing an A-rank technique.

Few ninjas possessed such talent.

Moreover, to confine the technique formula within a range, one needed not only a deep understanding of the technique and a clear direction for improvement but also considerable skill in Sealing Jutsu to miniaturize the formula.

The Flying Thunder God Technique demanded extremely high proficiency in multiple areas from its practitioner. Orochimaru guessed the Third had stumbled at the spatial perception hurdle.

Beyond that, Orochimaru had also recorded a series of the Second Hokage's research notes on space-time, which he'd specifically requested from the Third.

These notes were quite helpful for mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique. The Third had given copies to both Orochimaru and Minato.

Most people in the ninja world understood space only in terms of length, width, and height. In the real world, after learning high school math, they might use three axes—X, Y, Z—to represent it.

That wasn't wrong, but it was merely a description of three-dimensional space. None of it broke through the concept of absolute space-time.

What was rather absurd was that the Second had done something Einstein had done—introducing the concept of time, thereby forming a four-dimensional space-time concept.

The Second just hadn't used an imaginary axis to describe time like Einstein had.

We often speak of space-time, and Einstein believed time and space formed an absolute whole.

Orochimaru explained his description of space and the relationship between space and time to Minato.

Minato was astonished—he'd never heard anything like it.

In the ninja world, even close relationships like a Jōnin leader and their genin rarely involved teaching such profound knowledge. To outsiders, Orochimaru seemed to have no sectarian bias, treating Jiraiya's disciple as his own.

Kushina, listening in, said she didn't understand but was deeply impressed.

To express her gratitude, she wrote a book of her insights on Sealing Jutsu and gave it to Orochimaru.

She was quite clever. With Jiraiya away from the village, having someone as influential as Orochimaru looking out for Minato would smooth his path considerably.

Time passed swiftly. The Third Hokage sat in his office, indulging in women. Minato indulged in women and new techniques—he and Kushina had already established a romantic relationship.

Orochimaru stayed home, immersed in research, only occasionally checking in with his subordinates.

Until someone arrived, breaking the calm.

"Orochimaru... do you crave power?"

Danzō looked at the Orochimaru before him and asked.

He didn't know Orochimaru was currently training in the Flying Thunder God Technique, but seeing him holed up at home every day, he was likely practicing some technique or conducting experiments.

Danzō assumed Orochimaru's experiments were for the same purpose as his own—power. So he came knocking, confident he had enough leverage to tempt Orochimaru.

"No, I crave truth."

Orochimaru finished speaking and moved to close the door.

In this life, he had no intention of getting entangled with Danzō. In the original timeline, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sensing Danzō was becoming harder to control, had sent his trusted disciple Orochimaru to Root as second-in-command to rein him in.

But that had clearly backfired—no one expected Danzō to eventually drag Orochimaru into the darkness.

Danzō was dumbfounded.

"(°ー°〃)"

Why aren't you following the script I set?

He extended his cane, placing it on the threshold to block Orochimaru from closing the door.

"Truth... so you seek knowledge. Wait, Orochimaru! Hear me out before shutting the door. Whether it's power or knowledge, whatever you want, I can give it to you!"

"Teacher Sarutobi, what are you doing here?!"

Orochimaru looked behind Danzo with a feigned expression of surprise.

Danzo started, turning around.

"Sarutobi, listen to me—"

"Slap!" The sound of a door closing.

Danzo left with a dark expression. Orochimaru was too clever and too vigilant—hard to get at.

He decided to target another rival for the Fourth Hokage position instead, looking for an opening to strike.

But Sakumo was both upright in conduct and overwhelmingly powerful, with no stains on his record. Danzo would need to lie low and wait for the right moment.

As for Orochimaru, he had no real need of Danzo at present. He had enough research material to keep him busy, and with Tsunade—a veritable sugar mommy—bankrolling him generously, his funds would last a long while.

Orochimaru's home, basement.

A massive machine occupied half the room, surrounded by rings of enormous tunnel tubes. The adjoining rooms had also been knocked through to house the rest of the tubes.

This was a particle accelerator. Orochimaru had poured tremendous effort into building it.

He planned to use particles accelerated to near-light speed by electromagnetic fields to strike the Cosmic Cube, exciting its power and channeling it into his own body for transformation.

At the machine's center sat a Cosmic Cube missing its core and one small corner—reassembled by Orochimaru from fragments.

The area was covered in Sealing Jutsu inscriptions. To be honest, if not for the sealing knowledge Kushina had gifted him—which had allowed a breakthrough in his own sealing arts—he wouldn't have been able to inscribe them at all.

"Orochimaru-sama, everything is ready."

Mito Uzumaki spoke to Orochimaru, who lay inside a human-shaped container. He was Orochimaru's current second-in-command and his most trusted confidant.

Notably, his wife had recently given birth to a daughter named Anko. He hoped Orochimaru would take her as a disciple when she grew up.

Orochimaru had already taught Mito Uzumaki how to operate the machine—idiot-proof instructions were all that was needed.

At this moment, tubes ran all over Orochimaru's body. Some delivered nutrients, others kept him conscious with drugs, and still others channeled energy into him—each with a different purpose.

"Uzumaki, begin," Orochimaru ordered.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

Mito Uzumaki acknowledged and started the operation.

"Electromagnetic field activated."

"Field strength correct."

"Electrons injected. Accelerating."

The electron beam raced through the tubes under the force of the electric field, its direction constrained by the magnetic field. When it reached peak velocity, it shot out from the tube and slammed into the Cosmic Cube.

With a thunderous boom, the Cosmic Cube erupted in blinding blue light. An endless stream of energy poured into Orochimaru's body. Under the influence of the drugs, he remained conscious.

Pain! Unending pain!

It felt like every tendon was being sliced by knives!

Staying conscious under such conditions was the most agonizing thing imaginable, but Orochimaru had to remain awake to guide the power with his chakra as it continuously reshaped his body.

Cold sweat beaded on Orochimaru's forehead. He felt as though his entire being was breaking down.

Even for a ninja with a will as ironclad as Orochimaru's, every second of the transformation was pure torment.

Orochimaru's screams rang out again and again... until finally, they stopped.

His body had completed the transformation. But the Cosmic Cube's power still hammered relentlessly against him.

"Uzumaki... shut down... the machine..."

"Orochimaru-sama! The machine... it's malfunctioning!"