Hokage, Knowing a Little Bit of Everything

Konoha, an ordinary residential house.

This was the home of Hiruko, a Konoha Jonin. Much like the life he believed he had, it was neither here nor there.

He, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had been classmates. The four had grown up together, but as their lives took different paths, Hiruko gradually drifted farther and farther away from them.

It was not that the Sannin looked down on him. Rather, Hiruko felt that he could no longer even see their backs. Even if he forced himself into their company, they would not belong to the same circle...

Why make himself unwelcome?

Sometimes, he thought to himself that he was clearly a Jonin, one of the village's finest talents, one in a hundred. He should have been content.

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But whenever he thought of the achievements, fame, and reverent looks his former friends received throughout the village...

He could not calm down.

All he could do was throw himself into developing ninjutsu, immersing himself in the ocean of research to numb himself.

Thus, Hiruko still maintained a certain degree of contact with Orochimaru.

A knock sounded at the door.

Hiruko frowned and closed the Scientific Research Notes in his hands, putting them away.

He had recently been studying Cell Fusion. He had finally come up with a few ideas during his leave, only to be interrupted by this sudden visitor.

How annoying!

Hiruko opened the door and saw Orochimaru standing there with a smile. He awkwardly tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"What, did a busy man like you actually have time to come see me?"

Although Hiruko comforted himself by saying that he should focus on research and be content with what he had, he actually kept a close eye on the village's developments, analyzing the affairs of every prominent figure.

To put it exaggeratedly, he spent twenty-four hours a day studying trending topics and the Sannin.

So, naturally, he had also heard the rumors about the "Konoha Committee Member."

In Hiruko's eyes, Orochimaru was certain to be selected. He might even rise to an even higher position in the future...

He had probably come here to show off, hadn't he?

"I'm not here for you. The Hokage is looking for you."

Orochimaru took in Hiruko's expression and chuckled to himself.

This old friend of his really had an unpleasantly awkward personality...

If they had not both been research talents and childhood friends, Orochimaru could not have been bothered to lend him a hand...

"When I spoke with Sensei about Konoha's current research talents, I mentioned your ideas. He said they were quite interesting."

"Perhaps he's looking for you because of the Konoha Committee Member matter?"

Orochimaru waved a hand. "I've delivered the message. What you do now is up to you..."

Hiruko's heart trembled.

Was the formal name for the selection of elites that had recently been circulating among the village's Jonin really "Konoha Committee Member"?

Orochimaru had actually known about it all along!

Hiruko felt a sour pang in his heart, but then his pupils suddenly shook.

Wait!

He had been too focused on Orochimaru...

Did that mean he also had a chance to join the Konoha Committee Member?

Seeing the faintly teasing look in Orochimaru's eyes, Hiruko suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his heart and put on what he believed was an indifferent expression. "I understand."

After closing the door, Hiruko listened to Orochimaru's footsteps fade away. Then, at the fastest speed possible, he changed into his cleanest and neatest Jonin uniform, washed his face, and tidied himself up in front of the mirror.

"Could this be my chance?"

Hiruko suddenly felt a little timid. Would the Hokage even understand research?

Although the Third had been pushing reforms with vigor recently, giving people a refreshing new impression...

But as the leader of a village, he had so many matters to handle. Did he really have the energy to understand research? Especially when the field in which Hiruko had produced results was the obscure field of Bioengineering...

Perhaps he had merely gotten carried away while chatting with Orochimaru and called him over to learn a little about him?

Hiruko kept lowering his expectations, but the moment he pushed open the door, he became even more uneasy.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru was hidden at a street corner. Looking at Hiruko in his brand-new uniform, his face stiff with tension, he smiled with considerable malicious amusement.

"Pretending not to care while actually being fully prepared? Interesting..."

"I wonder whether he can pass Sensei's test," Orochimaru mused.

If Hiruko became a Konoha Committee Member, then as someone whose strength lay in research, he would naturally stand in Orochimaru's camp. That would mean one more ally.

In other words, he could also give his childhood friend a hand. Why not?

"It seems I've changed a little too?" Orochimaru shook his head with a laugh, but did not think much of it.

To someone who believed that "change is a good thing," he himself was naturally part of that change.

Konoha, Hokage Office Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi held Senju Tobirama's research notes in his hands, reading them with endless fascination.

Ever since learning exactly what was inside that mysterious Black Jar in the Secret Archive...

Even these scattered fragments of research notes seemed filled with stories, setting his imagination running wild.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help but sigh. No wonder some people loved hearing unofficial histories and shipping bizarre enemy pairings...

Unofficial histories might be wild, but they really were fun to read!

Especially since the research notes themselves contained a great deal of useful knowledge, touching on quite a few research concepts.

As Lord Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not expect himself to become an expert researcher anytime soon. That was not something he could achieve merely by reading Senju Tobirama's notes; it required extensive hands-on work and accumulated experience.

But he absolutely had to understand certain general principles, basic logic, and operational frameworks!

If he understood nothing, he might end up like Shimura Danzō, getting thoroughly taken for a ride by his subordinates when it came to funding...

Some projects had not even begun the approval process, yet they would claim they were already working on them and demand funding.

Even though Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru shared a bond akin to family, that was no excuse to let his guard down.

A Hokage's negligence was tantamount to opening the door for others to succumb to the temptation of wrongdoing.

After knocking cautiously and receiving permission, Hiruko took a deep breath outside the door before slowly walking in. "Lord Hokage!"

"Hiruko, you're here? Have a seat."

Hiruzen Sarutobi casually closed the notebook in his hand. "Orochimaru told me you've done some research on cells?"

Hot tea poured from the pot into the cup before him.

Hiruko hurriedly rose to his feet. "I-I'll do it... Thank you, Lord Third!"

Holding the steaming cup, the warmth in Hiruko's palms could not compare to the warmth in his heart.

What was this supposed to mean?

He was merely an obscure Jonin, yet Lord Third had personally poured him tea!

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled inwardly at Hiruko's reaction.

Orochimaru had spoken to him about this man's personality. In summary, he "craved recognition."

He was clearly a talented ninja, yet he was trapped beneath the radiance of his peers. The benchmark he used to measure his own worth had been set somewhat too high...

The Konoha Committee Member system was the most suitable solution to his problem.

Suitable as it might be, though...

Hiruko still had to produce something worthwhile. Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never put an incompetent fool on the list of "Committee Members" just because Orochimaru recommended him.

"My research concerns Cell Fusion. I have a rough idea like this..." Hiruko carefully explained his thoughts, using the most concise language possible to ensure that Lord Hokage could understand.

It was not that he looked down on him; different fields were separated by mountains.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes lit up.

Perhaps this...

Could be of tremendous help in perfecting a certain unnamed Hokage's privately collected Great Figurines!

Setting Explanation:

Xiaofan will explain Hiruko a little. He is not an original character, but a character from one of the movies. The technique he developed is called the "Chimera Technique," and its ability is Kekkei Genkai fusion.

In the original work, he defected around the time of the Third Shinobi War, when he discovered that Kakashi could transplant Obito's Sharingan.

The point in time where the protagonist currently was was still quite a while before that.

So, the setting was that the current Hiruko only possessed the foundation that would later allow him to develop this technique.

In other words, so-called Cell Fusion!