The Best Seed: Orochimaru!

Hyuga Shin set off again. This time, he was sure no one would dare bother him.

He was a strong man! What did it mean to be strong?

It meant doing whatever you wanted, however you wanted!

Rules were made for the weak. He was going to be someone who made the rules!

Ahem! He'd been drinking a little too much motivational Kool-Aid lately. He'd almost brainwashed himself!

The Shinobi World was still full of dangers. At the very least, he needed to reach the Nascent Soul Realm before he could afford to run wild.

For now, he'd continue his Great Teacher of Virtue journey and look for quality seeds to sow throughout the Shinobi World.

But finding talented seeds in the Shinobi World wasn't easy. Even Uchiha Madara had to spend a long time vetting candidates before he found a successor.

Hyuga Shin couldn't help feeling helpless. He couldn't exactly go and steal Madara's candidate.

Most of the weirdos in the Shinobi World were either strong but stupid, or smart but weak.

Those who were both strong and smart were busy ruling their own little fiefdoms. They all considered themselves powerful, too, so there was no way to fool them.

Besides, they were all bound by deep-rooted beliefs.

You could tell them the Chakra system had a problem, and they'd come after you before you'd even finished speaking.

Don't think the Sage of Six Paths was sitting around doing nothing. He'd been keeping an eye on the Shinobi World's general direction all along.

Just like Hongjun in the Primordial World!

He was practically about to say, "The Great Trend of the Shinobi World cannot be changed!"

After all, each generation's Child of Prophecy was the reincarnation of Chakra carrying the spiritual will of his two sons!

Hyuga Shin had reason to believe that the previous generation's Child of Prophecy was Hashirama Senju! The Slug Sage had backed him, and he'd had one lucky break after another! But the Slug Sage probably didn't care much about fame or fortune, so he might not have advertised it.

The next one was naturally Naruto Uzumaki. It was the Toad Sage's turn, and he was pretty good at talking people into things. He'd found Jiraiya to act as his spokesman, which felt a lot like the Teacher of the Human Emperor in Primordial World novels!

The generation after that should belong to Old Loach's lineage. Hyuga Shin really had no idea about that one!

The Sage of Six Paths and those three must have had some kind of shady arrangement going on.

Damn it, could it really be as melodramatic as in the Primordial World?

Actually, now that he thought about it, the Slug Sage did resemble Taiqing a little. He didn't care about fame or fortune and had never shown his true form. He'd only ever sent out clones!

The Toad Sage was a bit like Yuqing. He talked about fate all day long. In the Primordial World, he'd be Primordial Heavenly Venerate, proclaiming the Heavenly Dao and following its will!

Old Loach's summoned creatures didn't distinguish between good and evil. Anyone who passed the test could sign a contract, and his underlings, the little loaches, were good and evil alike. Wasn't that exactly like Shangqing Tongtian?

Hyuga Shin's imagination went wild!

Then what did that make him? One of the Two Saints of the West?

"Hmm, close enough. All living beings are suffering, and they need me to save them." Hyuga Shin murmured solemnly, looking like a fake monk.

"Forget it! It's all just the same old stuff. Who cares?" With the confidence to flip the table at any moment, Hyuga Shin wasn't afraid of them.

If I, Hyuga Shin, had not been born, the Shinobi World would have languished in darkness for eternity!

I'll lead the charge!

Because I can!

But finding his next candidate was still going to be tough.

Hyuga Shin felt a headache coming on and couldn't help lamenting, "Why is this so hard for me?"

After thinking it over and over, he could only come up with a few suitable candidates.

Nagato and Yahiko had already begun to show promise, but Jiraiya had gotten to them first and already brainwashed them.

They'd established lofty ideals for their lives! They were working toward those ideals and had already gained a following of ninja. They'd be hard to handle!

What's more, Nagato was one of Uchiha Madara's pawns.

Madara was keeping an eye on him. If he found out Hyuga Shin was trying to poach them, things would get awkward!

If he was going to poach them, he'd have to wait until Madara was dead. The only worry was that by then, it might be too late to win them over.

The two of them were actually promising seeds. They had talent and potential, and they'd be easy to persuade. What a shame! He'd made his move too late.

Who else was there? Fugaku Uchiha?

But that guy had something wrong with his head. Later on, he'd be just like Hyuga Hiko, obsessed with his clan and narrow-minded! Wouldn't that be a waste of time?

No, he couldn't let the original story constrain his thinking. After all, the Sage of Six Paths hadn't been written as the mastermind in the original story, either!

Besides, Fugaku Uchiha was still young. He could probably still be saved.

He'd put him on the list of candidates for now!

"Who else?" Hyuga Shin sat on a huge boulder by the road, propping up his chin as he pondered.

"Kakashi?" He was still a little too young. By the time he'd grown up enough to take part in the war, the Third Shinobi World War would be nearly over.

"He's a good prospect, but he's still in the village. It'll be hard if I have to wait that long!"

Hyuga Shin couldn't spend too much time spreading the faith. He had to finish his mission before the Third Shinobi World War ended!

After all, he still had to continue creating techniques and follow the path of the Great Dao. That was the real priority! He couldn't put the cart before the horse!

The rest were such a sorry bunch that Hyuga Shin couldn't work up much interest in them.

"Is my mission to spread the faith really going to end like this?"

"Think harder! There has to be someone I haven't thought of! The Shinobi World has so many talented people!"

"Ah, Deidara from Iwagakure might be a good choice!"

"No, that won't work either. Damn it, he's even younger than Kakashi!" Hyuga Shin did the math and grumbled helplessly.

"Right! There are so many talented people in the Akatsuki Organization. I should analyze them and see if any are suitable!" The thought of Deidara had opened up a whole new line of thinking for Hyuga Shin.

"Kisame Hoshigaki is way too young, too!"

"Kakuzu's old enough, and his strength is decent. He should be out making money everywhere by now!" He could go on the list of candidates.

"Hidan should still be a teenager. He's already started worshiping the Evil God!" He couldn't be a seed, but he could be useful as a fighter. He should be easy to use, too.

"What about Sasori? He's a troubled young man, and the spark that set off the Third Shinobi World War. Maybe I could give him a try!" He could go on the list of candidates, too.

"Konan can wait."

"Who else? Right! I forgot about Orochimaru!"

Hyuga Shin's eyes suddenly lit up!

"I almost missed the best seed!"

"Orochimaru! A key figure throughout the whole Naruto story! He's smart, strong, and thoughtful! A genius from a civilian family! A keen observer! A science lover! A master brainwasher! He's practically born to lead a revolution!" Hyuga Shin clapped his hands, instantly full of energy!

Although Orochimaru had been forcibly redeemed later on, Hyuga Shin guessed that he'd simply stopped expecting anything from the world after discovering the truth.

That was why he'd described himself as someone who set windmills turning. He'd seen through the course of fate and the true nature of the Shinobi World.

Because no one understood him! No one got him! And no one supported him! In the end, it was a miracle he hadn't become a universal target!

Sometimes, knowing too much but being powerless to do anything about it was a kind of torment!

But now I, Hyuga Shin, am here!

"Orochimaru, I'll be your kindred spirit, your guide to faith, your beacon in life! I'll show you the way through life! It has to be me—and only me, Hyuga Shin!"

"I'll help you ascend to the throne! I'll make you the wind that blows change through the Shinobi World!" The more Hyuga Shin thought about it, the more certain he was that Orochimaru was a genius!

It was settled. For now, Orochimaru was his number-one candidate!

Orochimaru was currently commanding the Rock Front, so Hyuga Shin decided to leave right away!

He could hardly wait to have a heart-to-heart with Orochimaru, to sleep side by side with him!

This was the successor he'd dreamed of!

But he couldn't rush things. He had to prepare in advance! After all, Orochimaru was far too clever!

He might have been a little less clever than Hyuga Shin, but compared with the Shinobi World's collection of rotten cabbages and old has-beens, he was on a completely different level.

Talking sense to smart people was exhausting! Hyuga Shin had learned that firsthand in his previous life!

But Orochimaru, if you were curious, there was no escaping him!

After all, curiosity killed the cat!

After quickly organizing his thoughts, Hyuga Shin got everything straight in his head and prepared to set off.

After all, a seed was waiting for him—a seed he could nurture into a towering tree in this twisted Shinobi World!

"Orochimaru, will you be willing to become the hero who slays the dragon?"

"I believe you will, with my guidance!"

"I also believe you have the ambition and ability!"

Hyuga Shin rose and shot off toward the Earth Hidden Battlefield!

"Orochimaru, I'm coming!"