Raising the Hype

Three days later, in the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi carefully read through the documents in his hands, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Even though the Third Hokage had estimated Orochimaru's strength, he hadn't expected him to go this far—taking on Konoha's strongest clan of ocular jutsu users by himself.

Hiruzen took the pipe from his mouth and exhaled a long stream of smoke. He handed the intelligence report to Jiraiya beside him and asked, "Jiraiya, could you do something like this?"

Jiraiya held the child in one arm and took the documents with the other. After skimming them, he smiled. "I'm confident I could fight Orochimaru to a draw, but I couldn't defeat an entire clan the way he did.

"His ninjutsu and fighting style are much better suited to fighting large groups than mine."

Speaking of how many opponents one could take down at once, Jiraiya glanced at the little Naruto in his arms and couldn't help sighing. "Actually, Minato was the real expert at fighting large groups. He was even more efficient at killing than Orochimaru."

At the mention of the Fourth Hokage, who had just fallen in battle, Hiruzen fell silent as well.

Minato's performance during the Third Shinobi World War had been instrumental in his becoming Hokage.

The title "Yellow Flash" was a term of respect in Konoha, but to the enemy, it was a waking nightmare.

His speed was unmatched, and his dynamic vision and reflexes were exceptional. Few mid-ranking shinobi could withstand even a single exchange with Minato.

Where Orochimaru overwhelmed his opponents with sheer force, Minato danced along the edge of a blade. His fighting style was different—sharper, more elegant.

As a shinobi, the Third Hokage actually admired Minato's fighting style more. But he also knew that the First, revered as the God of Shinobi, and his archenemy, Madara Uchiha, both fought with sweeping, overwhelming force.

Orochimaru's current display suggested he had the potential to develop in that direction as well.

With a faint sigh, the Third Hokage steered the conversation back to Orochimaru. "Orochimaru helped the Uchiha improve their barrier ninjutsu. I suspect he intends to use it against Kumogakure's Jinchuriki."

"Probably. Orochimaru really did put a lot of effort into this. He held nothing back."

Thinking of the battles ahead, Jiraiya asked, "What's the latest from the front? Will Kumogakure really start a war? They suffered heavy losses during the Third Shinobi World War, too."

The Third Hokage shook his head. "Although the Iwagakure Ninja wore the Third Raikage down to his death, the new Raikage and both Jinchuriki have come into their own. Kumogakure's top fighters are not to be underestimated."

"There are factions opposed to war, but the one pushing for it is the Fourth Raikage. He has both Jinchuriki behind him. Unlike our Konoha, power in Kumogakure is highly concentrated in the Raikage's hands. It won't take long for him to silence the opposition."

Of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha was the strongest. But that very strength had given rise to numerous factions, with the Hokage and his direct Anbu merely the largest among them.

The Uchiha Clan and Root went without saying. Other groups, like the Hyuga and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, also had their own interests.

The Hyuga, in particular, were perhaps Konoha's most "united" family, thanks to the Caged Bird Seal.

Fortunately, the Hyuga main family had been corrupted by the power the Caged Bird Seal gave them, and no one of any consequence had emerged in generations. Otherwise, the village's power struggles would have been even livelier.

"Whatever happens, we need to prepare for a conflict with Kumogakure well in advance."

Hiruzen summoned his assistant. "Find the right opportunity to spread this intelligence."

The assistant skimmed through the documents, froze for a moment, then hurriedly bowed. "Yes, sir!"

Watching the Hokage's assistant leave, the Third Hokage mused, With this information, the villagers will probably be much less wary of the Uchiha. But... Orochimaru's standing will rise, too.

Unable to figure out Orochimaru's motives, the Third Hokage felt a faint unease.

All I can do is hope that things are as Orochimaru said, and he means the village no harm.

In the underground laboratory, the lights had been turned up to full brightness, their glow doing little to dispel the cold, bloody atmosphere.

Orochimaru took a petri dish from the cabinet and placed it under the microscope, carefully observing how the cells inside had changed.

The dish contained a mixture of First Hokage Cells, Shinsuke Uchiha's cells, and Yamato Cells as a stabilizer. It was ideal for studying the Uchiha Clan's resistance to the First Hokage Cells.

"So far, everything's stable. With the Yamato Cells keeping them apart, the First Hokage Cells' invasive properties remain dormant."

Orochimaru licked his lips. Shinsuke Uchiha was an elite jonin, among the best in the Konoha Military Police Force.

The mixture of Yamato Cells and First Hokage Cells had remained balanced even after Shinsuke's cells were added. That made Orochimaru all the more eager to see how today's experiment would turn out.

Perhaps he could develop an even better Genetic Serum today.

After recording his observations, Orochimaru proceeded methodically with the experiment.

However, when he added the nutrient solution, the First Hokage Cells once again displayed their extraordinary aggressiveness. Not only did they assimilate the Yamato Cells, but Shinsuke Uchiha's cells proved just as helpless as those of an ordinary person.

Just like before, the experiment had failed at the same stage.

Where did the problem lie?

After discarding the petri dish, Orochimaru sank into thought.

The situation before him was completely different from what Genie had described. The Uchiha Clan's cells showed none of the resistance he had expected.

Had Genie been wrong, or had he used the wrong experimental method?

The Uchiha have some way to suppress the First Hokage Cells. What sets their cells apart from ordinary people's?

Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly. "The Sharingan!"

Then his brow furrowed. "But when all is said and done, the Sharingan is just a Kekkei Genkai of the ocular jutsu variety."

"Kekkei Genkai are connected to cells and genes. It makes no sense for the Chakra in their cells to be different from the Chakra in their eyes."

"No... that's not right. Maybe it really is different..."

Orochimaru thought of how the Uchiha used their Sharingan.

They had to perform an act called "awakening." Their eyes changed from their usual black to a red-eyed state, and they couldn't keep them that way indefinitely. After a while, their eyes returned to normal.

"So the Sharingan is actually an unstable Kekkei Genkai?"

Orochimaru didn't possess an ocular Kekkei Genkai himself, so he could only speculate based on common sense and his research into Kekkei Genkai.

At least, in all his records, no other shinobi with a Kekkei Genkai had to enter a state of heightened power to use their bloodline techniques.

"Then what's the stable state of the Sharingan's Kekkei Genkai? The Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Orochimaru shook his head. Although he had never actually seen Shisui's eyes, Shisui's performance suggested that the Mangekyō Sharingan was not the endpoint of the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai.

A true ocular Kekkei Genkai should be something that, once mastered, never regressed.

"Looks like the only way to test the Uchiha Clan's resistance to the First Hokage Cells is to experiment on them directly."

Orochimaru licked his lips. For now, that would be difficult.

Poof.

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke burst into existence.

Orochimaru turned toward it. A Viper slithered over to him and spat out a scroll.