Exposed experiment?

Ramen shop.

Warm steam mingled with the rich aroma of tonkotsu broth, making this one of the few cozy spots in Konoha where one could temporarily forget their identity as a ninja.

"I'm telling you... it's been two weeks already, two weeks!"

Uzumaki Kushina poked at the narutomaki in her bowl with her chopsticks, listless; even her vibrant red hair seemed to droop from boredom.

"What kind of S-rank long-term mission did that jonin named Orochimaru go on, anyway? He still hasn't returned to the village!"

Hiroki ate his noodles at a leisurely pace; compared to Kushina's restlessness, he was quite content with the peace and quiet.

These past two weeks had allowed him to optimize his [Muscle_Sustainable_Growth_v0.2.bat] script to a relatively perfect degree. As long as the big rats didn't suddenly drop dead from kidney failure like last time, he was ready to use it for human experimentation on himself.

Furthermore, he was making rapid progress in exploring the system.

For instance, he had already combed through the files in his Memory Disk and discovered that by tagging, renaming, and creating new folders for specific memories, he could make certain parts of his recollection significantly clearer.

He could even vividly recall memories from over a decade or two ago, back when he was still in school before he transmigrated.

Just like when he performed the rat experiments earlier—identifying the cause as kidney failure at a glance was something the programmer Hiroki could never have done.

After all, he had returned all his knowledge to his teachers after university. But now, things seemed different—he could use his Memory Disk to forcibly recall every book he had read, every subject he had studied, and even the fine details of manga.

For example, Hiroki had only recently learned that while Namikaze Minato graduated at age 10 according to the databooks, Uzumaki Kushina originally graduated at 12, meaning Namikaze Minato had graduated two years earlier than her!

Considering their current ages, perhaps it was because Namikaze Minato saved Uzumaki Kushina from the Cloud Ninja in the original history that the guy made a name for himself, entered the fast lane, and eventually became the Hokage.

In short, for Hiroki, these two weeks had passed quickly and productively.

"Don't be impatient, the Third Hokage surely has a plan," he comforted her. "It just gives us more time to prepare."

"Prepare? I'm about to get moldy from doing nothing!" Kushina complained, but just then, a conversation at the next table caught their attention.

"Look, it's them..." a young mother lowered her voice, saying excitedly to her husband, "They must be those geniuses who graduated early!!"

"Oh! It really is Sawada Hiroki and Uzumaki Kushina! They look even better in person than in the papers! It would be so nice if our child could be that outstanding!"

"Exactly, Daimaru, look at them, you should learn from them."

Soon, the couple led their five or six-year-old child over, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry to bother you~ well... two ninja-sama, our Daimaru admires you so much, he insisted on coming over..." The man scratched his head sheepishly, then glared at the child before continuing, "So, could you... could you give him an autograph?"

As he spoke, he even turned his child's back toward them and lifted his shirt.

The little boy, Daimaru, looked thrilled, with stars practically twinkling in his eyes.

The child's mother scolded her husband from the side: "Look at you, I've told you so many times, don't always compare our child to others, you're just causing trouble for them!"

"..." The husband looked awkward.

"..." Hiroki and Kushina looked equally awkward.

Looking at that bare little back, Hiroki and Kushina had no idea what to say. Was this the Konoha village's obsession with child prodigies?

Or was this family just too enthusiastic?

In any case, after scrambling to deal with the enthusiastic villagers, the two grabbed their ramen and fled the scene.

"No, no, it's too eye-catching here." Kushina's cheeks were slightly flushed as she pulled Hiroki toward the back hills of the village. "Let's go somewhere else!"

On the grass of the back hills, a gentle breeze brushed their faces, and they finally found some peace. But before they could even sit down, they heard a voice behind them.

"Sawada Hiroki, Uzumaki Kushina."

The two spun around to see an Anbu ninja wearing an animal mask, who had appeared silently under the shade of a tree.

"The Third Hokage has issued an order," the Anbu said in a tone devoid of emotion. "Orochimaru-sama has returned to the village. Now, please proceed immediately to Training Ground 44; he will personally conduct an assessment of you two."

The excitement on Kushina's face instantly froze, replaced by shock and dissatisfaction.

"Huh?! Another assessment?! Didn't we already pass the assessment?"

"This is a specific request from Orochimaru-sama. If you have any objections, you may report them to the Third Hokage."

Meanwhile, at Hiroki's home.

The place was empty, save for a row of rat cages on the windowsill that recorded the owner's recent busyness.

A figure appeared in the center of the room like a ghost, making not a single sound.

It was Orochimaru.

He wasn't waiting at the training ground for the two little ones; instead, he had come to Hiroki's home first!?

He ignored everything else in the room, his golden slit pupils scanning the row of cages with great interest.

He saw the healthy big rats in the Group A cages, acting normally as the control group.

He also saw the stiff, abnormally muscular corpses with pointed heads in the Group B cages, left behind due to failed experiments.

Finally, his gaze landed on the cages in Group C. The hamsters there were clearly stronger and more robust than those in Group A, yet they weren't deformed like those in Group B. They were scurrying about in the cage, full of vitality.

Orochimaru extended a pale, slender finger and, through the cage, teased one of the Group C hamsters.

He did not need to look at any experimental logs; merely by observing these three sets of cages, he had already fully grasped everything Hiroki had done over the past two weeks.

Controlled experiments, used for muscle enhancement?

It was somewhat like the mindset of a researcher. Orochimaru's lips curled, though he wondered if the Third Hokage knew that the next seedling he had chosen was closer to the path of Danzo and the Second Hokage.

A playful, slightly chilling arc slowly formed at the corners of Orochimaru's mouth.

A person like this would not find it so easy to become Hokage.

And besides...

A trace of malice flickered in Orochimaru's eyes; he became increasingly eager to know where Hiroki had acquired this knowledge.

The files from Root and Anbu indicated that among all the knowledge Hiroki had been exposed to thus far, there was nothing that would have led him to conduct these experiments or develop these ninjutsu.

Could he be a spy for the Cloud Ninja?

Orochimaru felt that he had better be. If that were the case, he would have an exceptionally interesting test subject.