Communication Between Scientists

Early the next morning, Yusuke's family changed into the black clothes they would wear to the memorial service and set out for the venue.

The weather was clear, and many people were already making their way there, including ordinary villagers and quite a few shinobi.

Everyone looked grief-stricken. Those walking together rarely spoke, and even acquaintances who met along the way merely nodded in greeting.

The war might have ended, but the loss of so many fellow villagers still hung over everyone like a dark cloud.

Yusuke walked with his mother, Uchiha Hazuki, on his right and Izumi holding his left hand. The three of them had arrived at the memorial monument, where the service was being held.

They didn't have to wait long before the area in front of the monument filled with people, all dressed in black.

With all eyes on him, the Third Hokage slowly stepped up to the monument and began commemorating those who had died in the Third Shinobi World War.

Many of those attending had lost friends or family in the war. When they heard the Third Hokage's impassioned speech, many couldn't hold back their sobs. The sound of weeping filled the entire venue.

The Third Hokage wasn't yet as frail and elderly as he'd appeared in the original story. He wasn't especially tall, but he still stood upright.

Yusuke could tell, though, that the Third Hokage had begun to decline. As he grew older, his strength would gradually diminish.

The service didn't last long. After the ceremony to honor the dead ended, the Third Hokage announced something that shocked everyone.

The Third Hokage believed that the village's heavy losses in the war were largely his responsibility. He had decided to step back from the front lines and choose a Fourth Hokage to lead Konoha.

Although many in the village voiced their opposition, the Third Hokage stood by his decision and announced the two candidates for Fourth Hokage: Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, and the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato.

Orochimaru had been nominated by Elder Danzo, while Namikaze Minato had been nominated by the Third Hokage. Someone had wanted to nominate the Uchiha Clan's leader, Uchiha Fugaku, too, but Fugaku had turned it down.

As a transmigrator, Yusuke knew perfectly well that Namikaze Minato would win the election. It was only to be expected.

Orochimaru didn't qualify on appearance alone. He was far too sinister and frightening; he could star in a horror movie without makeup. Anyone who ran into him in the middle of the night would be scared to death. No one would choose a Hokage they were afraid to look at.

Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya's student and one of the Sannin's pupils, was not only powerful and accomplished, but also humble and of common birth. His story was inspiring, and he was already the village's most popular figure.

If Namikaze Minato lost, the villagers might start to suspect the election was rigged.

In a secluded corner of Konoha's cemetery, a pale, long-haired young man stood alone in front of an unmarked gravestone and mused, "There's no point in lamenting the dead. If death has any meaning, it's only when it can be put to use."

The speaker was Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.

"What's the meaning of life?" A handsome little boy of six or seven suddenly came up beside Orochimaru and asked curiously.

Orochimaru looked at the boy with approval. His sinister appearance and faintly leaking killing intent usually made even jonin steer clear of him. Few people spoke to him without a good reason.

But there wasn't a trace of fear in the boy's eyes as he looked at Orochimaru. He seemed neither servile nor arrogant.

"It has no meaning," Orochimaru replied slowly. Then he added, "If it does, it's only when life is eternal."

"Lord Orochimaru, I have a mission tomorrow, so I don't have much time. We should get started today." A voice interrupted the two as they discussed the eternal mystery of life.

They turned toward the voice and saw a young man in a standard shinobi flak jacket walking toward them. It was Yusuke.

Since he'd arranged to meet Orochimaru, Yusuke had asked Uchiha Hazuki and Izumi to go home ahead of him and stayed behind to wait.

At Yusuke's words, Orochimaru nodded to the little boy, then said to Yusuke, "Yusuke, I'm sorry for the trouble. I've grown old enough to enjoy pointless musings. Let's meet at our usual place." Then he left the cemetery with a few Body Flicker Techniques.

Yusuke glanced at the handsome little boy and immediately recognized him as Uchiha Itachi, the tragic genius of the Uchiha Clan.

Itachi was still an adorable little boy, but his eyes seemed to hide countless worries.

Yusuke wasn't close to Itachi. After finding Orochimaru, he said nothing more. He formed a hand seal with two fingers pressed together in front of his chest, then vanished in a burst of flame, heading for the meeting place he'd agreed on with Orochimaru.

"That big brother just now... He seemed to be Senior Yusuke, the 'Flame Tachi,'" Itachi murmured.

After arriving in the world of Naruto, Yusuke had become something of a friend to Orochimaru, though most of their interactions revolved around ninjutsu.

Before transmigrating, Yusuke had been a scientist. Afterward, he became obsessed with developing ninjutsu. Orochimaru was something of a scientist in Naruto, too, so they had plenty to talk about.

That was why, although Yusuke addressed Orochimaru as "Lord Orochimaru," he spoke to him casually, like an ordinary friend.

Yusuke wasn't skilled in the "biological sciences" Orochimaru specialized in. His own focus was the study of energy and how it worked—in the world of Naruto, that meant studying Chakra and ninjutsu.

In one of Orochimaru's secret bases, he and Yusuke were discussing the development of a new technique.

"Yusuke, those ideas you once mentioned about cellular genes and heredity inspired me greatly. The Cursed Seal I developed with First cells has improved tremendously. Are you sure you don't want to try it?" Orochimaru coaxed.

"No. Instead of letting you run all kinds of experiments on my body, I'd rather develop my own power," Yusuke replied.

He had no interest in letting Orochimaru put one of his immature Cursed Seals on him. Besides, he knew that the seals were one of Orochimaru's methods for using Living Corpse Reincarnation.

"Is that so? What a pity," Orochimaru said regretfully. Then he suddenly formed Hand Seals, and his body turned into hundreds of white snakes that surged toward Yusuke.

Yusuke immediately sprang backward. A tachi appeared in his right hand: his Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka.

Yusuke hadn't activated Shikai, so Ryujin Jakka looked like an ordinary tachi, with no flames clinging to its blade.

Yusuke swiftly swung his Zanpakuto at the incoming white snakes. To his slight surprise, the snakes seemed to have no physical form at all; the blade passed straight through them.

Hundreds of snakes seized the opportunity to swarm him and bite down hard. The parts of Yusuke's body they bit immediately began to petrify. Soon, the petrified Yusuke was engulfed by the white snakes.

With a "whoosh," flames crackled amid the hundreds of snakes. A flash of fire flickered, and Yusuke vanished from the middle of the swarm.

"You've already mastered this technique? That's faster than I expected." Yusuke's voice came from the other side. The one the snakes had just swallowed was only a Fire Clone.

The hundreds of white snakes quickly converged, then formed Orochimaru once more.

Orochimaru took a scroll from inside his robes and tossed it to Yusuke. "I originally meant to help you develop a new technique, but the process gave me quite a bit of inspiration, too. I went ahead and modified the Wanluo Snake Substitution Technique. Bringing in genjutsu and elemental Chakra has made it even more unpredictable."

Yusuke caught the scroll and carefully read through it. A moment later, he rolled it up and tucked it into his robes, then swiftly began forming Hand Seals.

"Fire Illusion Crow Technique."

Yusuke's body suddenly broke apart piece by piece, each fragment turning into a crow wreathed in flames.

The crows' shapes shifted between normal and distorted. They clearly weren't solid—or, rather, they weren't entirely solid. Yusuke called them "Fire Illusion Crows."

Once Yusuke's body had completely split into dozens of Fire Illusion Crows, they circled through the air for a while, then gathered together again and reformed into Yusuke.

The Fire Illusion Crow Technique had been inspired by Uchiha Itachi's specialty, the Crow Clone Technique. It built upon the genjutsu crow clones by incorporating elemental energy, making the technique more powerful but also more difficult to perform.

"Your Hand Seals have gotten faster again. Judging by your speed, you've surpassed me," Orochimaru said with a smile. Even an ordinary smile from him sent a chill through the air.

Yusuke had worked hard at the fundamentals of being a shinobi over the years. He'd studied Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu, and wholeheartedly agreed with the idea that "speed is the ultimate technique." He practiced his Hand Seals relentlessly every day.

"It was nothing. I'd meant to discuss developing this technique with you today, but you finished it so quickly. I owe you one," Yusuke said calmly.

Orochimaru waved a hand, then casually sat down on the tatami. "What do you think about the election for Fourth Hokage? How good are my chances?"

Yusuke sat down across from him and didn't answer directly. "What do you think? Where do you have an advantage over Minato?"

At Yusuke's words, Orochimaru's pupils contracted, and a murderous glint seemed to gather in his eyes. He ran his snake-like tongue over his lips.

Yusuke said nothing and simply watched him.

After a moment of silence, Orochimaru suddenly changed the subject. "A while ago, I met a very interesting shinobi. The Puppetry he used was troublesome even for me. It's made me somewhat interested in Puppetry."

The only shinobi skilled in Puppetry who could give Orochimaru trouble is probably Sasori, Yusuke thought to himself. Sasori had already killed the Third Kazekage and defected from Sunagakure, but he probably hadn't joined the Akatsuki yet.

A friend asked where the protagonist's father had gone.

The protagonist's family was based on Itachi Shinden. His mother, Uchiha Hazuki, and his younger sister, Uchiha Izumi, were both named characters, but his father had no name in Itachi Shinden. The author didn't want to invent one, so in this story, the protagonist's father was always away working.

Maybe he'll appear in the final chapter! Probably.