Snake, Coercion, and Conditioning

"Huh?"

Hiroki had imagined what Orochimaru might do to him if he found him at home.

He might threaten him into revealing his secrets, tie him up like a frog for dissection, or use some unspeakable secret jutsu to bind and control him.

But he had never imagined Orochimaru would ask him to hand over the Second Hokage's knowledge.

What the hell did he know about the Second Hokage's knowledge?

...Well, it wasn't as if he knew absolutely nothing.

Hiroki thought it over carefully. He knew the Second Hokage had created the Shadow Clone and Flying Thunder God techniques, founded the Konoha Ninja Academy, created the Three Basic Jutsu, and founded the Eight Inner Gates. He was also the person in the entire Shinobi World most likely to have been a transmigrator.

But was any of that really the knowledge Orochimaru wanted?

Hiroki didn't dare deny Orochimaru's answer, but he couldn't tell him the truth about himself, either.

After all, in almost every Naruto fanfic he'd read, hardly anyone ever came clean about being a transmigrator. And of those who did, few had a happy ending.

Hiroki considered himself an ordinary programmer: not particularly clever, and not especially cautious, either. His daily routine had been writing code at work and fixing bugs after hours. He had little social life, and before transmigrating, he hadn't even had a girlfriend. In those circumstances, there was no way he had the political savvy or experience of those old hands to deal with someone like Orochimaru, who could found a village on his own and abduct children.

So what should he do?

Hiroki once again ended the "fear" process. This time, it took him longer than before to calm down.

Perhaps Orochimaru's mistaken deduction had finally given Hiroki a chance to settle down and think carefully about the situation he was in.

Known fact number one: the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama—the master of forbidden jutsu, Konoha's infrastructure fanatic, and a severe Uchiha-phobe—was, in Orochimaru's mind, the source of Hiroki's existing knowledge and Golden Finger.

From that, Hiroki could infer that Orochimaru mistakenly believed his abilities and Golden Finger were part of Konoha's resources. That was why Orochimaru was treating him with some leniency.

Taking it a step further, perhaps that was also why the Third hadn't asked him for more information after his assessment. After all, the Third, as Konoha's leader, had access to the most intelligence.

Known fact number two: Orochimaru wanted to obtain information and knowledge from him. That was what Orochimaru was after. But he hadn't sent the Yamanaka Clan or other interrogators to read Hiroki's mind directly. That meant either they were worried he might have a way to lock down his memories, or Orochimaru was afraid someone else might learn the truth.

They wanted to learn about the Second Hokage's knowledge and intelligence in secret.

So, the next step was to consider his options—

Could he agree?

Hiroki thought it over, then glanced up at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru waited with interest, in no hurry. The fact that Hiroki was thinking meant he was inclined to share his knowledge. All that remained was to wait patiently.

That put Hiroki somewhat at ease, and he began to think it through carefully.

What would happen if he agreed to Orochimaru's request?

If Hiroki agreed, Orochimaru would undoubtedly ask him about the Second Hokage's legacy and what experiments he had conducted. But Hiroki knew nothing about that. He had no idea where the Second Hokage's lab was, or what experiments Senju Tobirama had carried out in his lifetime, let alone how he had conducted them.

Given that, he might as well lay out the possibilities first—

First, agreeing:

Hiroki estimated that if he agreed, it would be very easy for him to get found out. He was just an ordinary programmer. Aside from writing code, he had no special skills, and he wasn't much of an actor. He wasn't like those transmigrators in web novels, who were full of dramatic flair after crossing over.

He might slip up at any moment and give himself away, just as he had this time when Orochimaru noticed something was wrong.

But refusing would bring even more uncertainty.

On the one hand, Orochimaru might continue to suspect his identity and motives. On the other, he might resort to force and violence to extract everything Hiroki knew.

After all, he didn't seem like the sort of person who was easy to negotiate with.

Of course, perhaps he was only like that with Hiroki.

After all, in the manga, Orochimaru seemed to treat his disciple Anko and Nawaki pretty well. Even Kabuto had received his full support and training.

In any case, Orochimaru wasn't just testing him. With that genius mind of his, he had already built a complete, self-consistent explanation that fit the ninja world's logic, accounting for Hiroki's unreasonable existence, knowledge, and abilities.

If Hiroki rejected that explanation but couldn't come up with a new one... He couldn't imagine what else Orochimaru might do, but there was no doubt he'd do something terrible to Hiroki.

If agreeing was no good and refusing was no good, then only one option remained—

Don't confirm. Don't deny. Don't refuse.

A bit like a playboy or a flirt.

If you ask, I won't refuse, but I'll only tell you what I know.

As for anything else, I won't say whether I have it or not. I'll just tell you I don't have it right now...

As for the future...

Who could say what the future held?

The most important thing was to get stronger as quickly as possible.

Hiroki took a deep breath.

If only he had Kage Level strength right now, or the strength of a Tailed Beast. Would Orochimaru dare speak to him like this? If he had that kind of strength, he could sneer at Orochimaru like Itachi Uchiha and tell the old fellow to behave himself.

In the end, just as Orochimaru had said, weakness was a sin in the Shinobi World.

He had to change the way he thought. He had to stop being an ordinary programmer and start learning how to become strong!

Thinking that, Hiroki sighed. Things had come to this, so for now he could only compromise. He'd write today's grudge down in his little book and repay it tenfold someday.

Then Hiroki looked up and met Orochimaru's gaze. He didn't pretend to be weak, and he wasn't trembling anymore.

He was going to tell the truth. "I don't know..."

"I don't know anything about Lord Second's knowledge, and I don't know what you're talking about."

Orochimaru furrowed his brow. After all this, Sawada Hiroki was still going to resist? What was the point?

Orochimaru hadn't figured it out yet, but Hiroki's next words made his tightly knitted brows relax.

"But I really do have a lot of knowledge in my head that isn't mine. I don't know why it's there, and I don't understand why I have these abilities."

"If Lord Orochimaru is willing to help me develop these abilities and learn more about this knowledge, I'd be very grateful."

Sawada Hiroki looked Orochimaru straight in the eye. For an ordinary programmer like him, this was the only thing he could do here and now.

In the future, he'd have to copy some acting skills from politicians, actors, and all kinds of other people! Otherwise, at times like this, all he could do was stare someone in the eye and tell the truth.

Seeing Sawada Hiroki act as though he'd thrown caution to the wind, leaving it up to Orochimaru to do as he pleased, Orochimaru smiled. There was even... a trace of admiration on his face.

That was it. That was the reaction he wanted: clear, innocent eyes that nonetheless revealed a hint of foolish ignorance; someone who was ignorant and foolish, yet could quickly recognize the situation and make a clear, rational decision.

That was exactly how a test subject or researcher tormented by secrets and power, yet unable to control them, would act.

Only someone like that would make Orochimaru willing to conceal Hiroki's value.

If Hiroki had instead been some old monster who was always meticulous and cautious, never revealing a single flaw, Orochimaru would have suspected that the Sawada Hiroki before him might be the Second Hokage reincarnated.

As for Hiroki's answer, Orochimaru didn't care much about it.

Help Hiroki develop his abilities and understand his knowledge? Wouldn't that mean Orochimaru could get close to his abilities and knowledge with ease?

Once Orochimaru had access to the other man's knowledge and abilities, given his experience and methods, why would he need to worry about getting his hands on the Second Hokage's research?

"A wise choice." A rare hint of pleasure crept into Orochimaru's voice.

"But you don't have to be afraid of me, Hiroki-kun." Orochimaru's voice grew a little softer, like a snake coaxing its prey to lower its guard. "You'll soon see that I'm the best person you could work with."

He slowly paced around Hiroki, his golden snake-like eyes seeming to peer right through him, seeing him inside and out.

"For example, how about I help you improve your muscle-growth experiment? I can provide you with more direct human test subjects. And I'm sure you'd also like to learn more about ninjutsu, wouldn't you?"

"I remember your ability to copy ninjutsu from others. But after you came back from that incident with the Cloud Ninja, I don't think I saw you copy any jutsu from anyone."

"I can provide you with more people to copy jutsu from."

"From Cloud Ninja to Iwa Ninja, wandering ninja to Mist Ninja, Sand Ninja to traitors within the village... From now on, you won't need to hold back. You can bring your full potential to bear."

"Another example: perhaps you're wondering why your contact-based Genjutsu worked on me, but not when you used it to attack Jiraiya's clone. Or maybe you're thinking about how to improve that contact-based Genjutsu?"

"Believe me, there's nothing I can't do." Orochimaru grinned like a python watching its prey. "There's no ninja in Konoha who knows more than I do or understands things more deeply."

Hiroki looked at Orochimaru. He wasn't happy with the fact that Orochimaru was in control, but now that he was at the other man's mercy, he had no choice but to rely on him.

There was nothing he could do. Maybe it was like that meme: Things have come to this. Let's eat first.

He'd put up with Orochimaru for now. Once his troops were trained and his supplies stocked, he'd make a plan!

With that in mind, Hiroki couldn't help thinking about what to do next.

"Do I still need to go to that training ground tomorrow?" Hiroki asked Orochimaru in return.

"If you want to, go ahead. I'll leave a clone there tomorrow to teach that little girl the basics of Chunin training. If you don't want to go, I can take you to my lab right now. I'm sure you can't wait to explore your abilities more deeply." Orochimaru licked his lips as he watched Hiroki.

The basics of Chunin training?

Hiroki raised an eyebrow. Tree climbing, Water Walking? What else? Maybe he'd also teach her a couple of basic chakra natures?

Just then, there came a knock at the door.

Hiroki and Orochimaru both looked toward it in surprise.

"Hiroki, Hiroki! I know how to get stronger! I'm going to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!!!"