"I need to learn a ninjutsu that matches my chakra nature. I also need the Shadow Clone Technique."
"Of course." Orochimaru's lips curled into an amused smile.
He naturally wouldn't refuse Hiroki's request. This was the moment he had dreamed of: the chance to observe Hiroki's Kekkei Genkai—or rather, his ability—at work up close.
Before long, several people brought a man into the middle of the room. He was bound to a specially made chair, his eyes covered with black cloth, and his body covered in talisman papers and electrodes for monitoring his vital signs.
Orochimaru watched Sawada Hiroki, waiting for his next move.
He was curious about the limits of Sawada Hiroki's ability. How did he sort through information? Did he need a specific target, or could he browse other people's memories like flipping through a book?
And the man before them was just the person they could use to test Hiroki's ability.
He wanted to see what this "Second Hokage's legacy" could uncover on its own.
Hiroki looked at the bound man without saying much, then turned to Orochimaru for confirmation.
"He has something you want in his head," Orochimaru said succinctly.
Hiroki nodded, walked straight over, and placed his hand on Yakushi Jiro's shoulder.
[Ding-dong~] [Another computer available for connection detected: "Yakushi Jiro." A temporary connection has been established via "Chakra Communication Protocol."] [Open and view files?]
Hiroki selected [Yes] with his thoughts. The other party's D Drive (Memory Disk) unfolded instantly, and its file structure made his eyes light up.
[Folder: Medical Ninjutsu] [Folder: Combat Ninjutsu]
So this ninja had layers of ninjutsu stored in his brain? Hiroki had never seen that before, but he didn't think too much about it and quickly opened the Combat Ninjutsu folder.
--[Folder: Combat Ninjutsu]: [File: Ninjutsu-Shadow Clone Technique.exe] [File: Basic Taijutsu Insights.dat] [Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere (Mastery Level).exe]
The Shadow Clone Technique! Hiroki's heart skipped a beat. This was it!
With this, he might be able to use multiple copies of himself to rapidly view and write code, and modify larger files.
And there was more.
This was a genuine divine technique. Whether for training, reconnaissance, or combat, it was invaluable.
And then... there was also—
Without hesitation, he immediately selected [Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere (Mastery Level).exe] and pressed [Ctrl+C] to copy it.
Copying started [Calculating required time and space...] [Total: 3 files, total size: 19.5 MB] [Copying files from another computer (Yakushi Jiro), D Drive (Memory Disk), to My Computer (Sawada Hiroki), D Drive (Memory Disk): Ninjutsu Backup] [Files remaining: 3] |File name|Size|Estimated time| |Basic Taijutsu Insights.dat|1.2 MB|About 1 minute 15 seconds| |Shadow Clone Technique.exe|8.5 MB|About 8 minutes 30 seconds| |Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere.exe|9.8 MB|About 9 minutes 45 seconds|
But the moment the copying started, Hiroki noticed the man twitch. He then instinctively lifted his head, and when he seemed to feel Hiroki's hand on his shoulder, he appeared to realize something!
Almost simultaneously, a new prompt appeared in Hiroki's mental space.
[Warning: Access to target files has been locked. Administrator privileges required! Copy failed!]
!?
Had a moment of awareness locked the files?
Hiroki's gaze suddenly turned cold. He instinctively glanced at Orochimaru out of the corner of his eye.
He had no idea what Orochimaru would think if he couldn't even easily copy files from a bound man.
But since the man was already restrained, he was basically a computer without any Firewall. It would be easy for Hiroki to overpower him! Resistance? A pointless struggle.
Without a moment's hesitation, Hiroki's thoughts activated the program he had written earlier!
[Brain Overload Script.bat] launched!
Yakushi Jiro, who had been struggling violently, went rigid. All movement stopped at once. Through the black blindfold, his eyes turned vacant and unfocused, and he completely lost the will to resist.
Hiroki briefly checked the man's cache files and glanced at what he was thinking.
|I've been caught!?.log| |Wait_There's a hand on my head! He's trying to read my memories!.log| |Memory Seal activated!!.log|
He didn't even need to open the three log files to know what was in them.
...So this man was a criminal who had control of classified information?
The moment the man's mind went blank, the same information appeared again:
[Calculating required time and space...] [Total: 3 files, total size: 19.5 MB] [Copying files from another computer (Yakushi Jiro), D Drive (Memory Disk), to My Computer (Sawada Hiroki), D Drive (Memory Disk): Ninjutsu Backup] [Files remaining: 3] |File name|Size|Estimated time| ...(omitted)...
...This was good news. It seemed that as long as the other person was temporarily unable to think, copying files didn't require permission.
This might be a strategy he could use to forcibly copy files in the future.
However, the effect might not last long. He would have to overload the man repeatedly, and it would be best to finish quickly and copy everything as fast as possible!
With that in mind, Hiroki silently switched to high-performance mode, ready to speed up the copying. He also planned to take a look at the man's memories while he was at it, in case he could find other useful information.
[Switched to high-performance mode.] [Warning: High-performance mode will greatly increase "battery" consumption. Please ensure the "power supply" is sufficient.]
Hiroki ignored the warning. He needed speed.
Soon, as the knowledge and experience of [Medical Ninjutsu: Mystical Palm Technique (Mastery Level).dat] flooded into his mind, Hiroki froze.
Wait, something didn't seem right.
Hiroki understood the principles of the Mystical Palm Technique almost instantly, from the delicate control of chakra to the changes at the cellular level during each treatment. Yet, in this seemingly perfect body of knowledge, he found many flaws.
But... compared to the results after he copied the Lightning Style: False Darkness technique, the Mystical Palm Technique contained almost no practical experience... Even its theory seemed a little rusty...
It didn't seem like a [Mastery Level] technique at all.
Hiroki looked back at the [Mastery Level] label, and a crucial realization hit him.
--That label... who had assigned it?
Hiroki considered the question silently as he studied the man before him.
His Golden Finger didn't seem like the sort of thing that would automatically name other people's files. When he had connected to [Orochimaru]'s WiFi network, for instance, the name hadn't been hidden at all.
The names might be based on each person's subjective judgment.
In other words... this "Mastery Level" was Yakushi Jiro's own assessment of his abilities! In reality, he might only have been a beginner—or perhaps he hadn't understood the technique at all!?
This was an important discovery. From now on, he'd have to be careful when downloading files. Some ninjutsu that certain characters considered useful might actually be traps aimed at him.
The discovery made Hiroki's heart flutter. It meant he couldn't trust those labels completely. What if—what if someone learned about his abilities and used all sorts of flashy ninjutsu to make poisoned software packages for him?
The "source files" he copied over included the names assigned by the other person's subjective judgment. Who knew whether those "source files" might contain viruses targeting him? The odds were low, but he would still have to try making antivirus software to isolate and remove them.
However, Hiroki's copying soon finished. He even had time to take another look at the man's memories.
[Memory.zip] (encrypted) [Folder: Memories]
There were two... and one of them was encrypted... It was as if the files were telling Hiroki that this man was no ordinary person. But he didn't think too much about it. Orochimaru seemed to have noticed something and walked over to Hiroki.
"Done?" Orochimaru's voice sounded from behind him.
Hiroki naturally let go and nodded.
"Mm."
Then, under the astonished gazes of Orochimaru and several researchers, Hiroki began forming Hand Seals. His movements flowed smoothly, without the slightest awkwardness, as if he had practiced them tens of thousands of times.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
Hiroki took a deep breath and forcefully exhaled.
Several highly compressed air bullets formed in an instant and shot forward at astonishing speed, striking the target at the other end of the laboratory with pinpoint accuracy and leaving deep dents.
The entire laboratory fell silent.
This was...!!?
It had only been a few minutes!??!?
Even Orochimaru couldn't help looking at Hiroki with burning eyes!
That was it, that was it! This was the kind of Kekkei Genkai for copying ninjutsu he'd wanted! Those eyes that needed to watch an enemy form Hand Seals and release a ninjutsu during battle—which was practically asking to get killed—couldn't compare to this ability at all!
Meanwhile, Hiroki stared at his [Battery] indicator...
It had only dropped by 1%! And that was because he'd used high-performance mode!
It looked like he could test and analyze ninjutsu!!!
Meanwhile, deep underground in Konoha, at the Root base.
Shimura Danzo's office was as gloomy as ever.
A Root ninja wearing a rabbit mask knelt on one knee. His voice was muffled by the mask, but his tone was unusually firm.
"Lord Danzo, please allow me to go to Lord Orochimaru's laboratory. That man refuses to report Sawada Hiroki's information. He must have developed treasonous intentions!"
Danzo sat in the shadows, his one eye half-closed. He didn't answer immediately.
His heart was calm. Orochimaru's failure to report information about Sawada Hiroki had been something he'd permitted.
Once the next Hokage, raised by the Third, took office, he would retire alongside Sarutobi Hiruzen and begin his well-earned retirement.
Then Orochimaru would become the next head of Root and support the new Hokage.
--That is, provided the next Hokage hadn't died in an accident.
And as for Sawada Hiroki...? Even if those ten-year-old children were exceptionally talented, once they caught his eye, did they really think they could escape?
Orochimaru was, after all, the Third's personal disciple. He was absolutely loyal to Konoha. Danzo believed that even if Orochimaru someday killed the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, that bastard, he would never betray Root! Never betray Konoha!
Only...
Danzo vaguely remembered that the man's younger brother was named Yakushi Jiro, or something like that.
That man had apparently sold information to the Cloud Village... Otherwise, the Cloud Village wouldn't have known that Konoha had just found a suitable Nine-Tails Jinchuriki...
Danzo narrowed his eye.
A traitor... A traitor's relative...
And as it happened, it seemed Orochimaru had been the one to capture Yakushi Jiro.
Looks like this man would have to be dealt with, too. And since he was about to walk straight into his own death, Danzo could kill two birds with one stone and see what Orochimaru was trying to hide.
After thinking it over for a while, Danzo narrowed his eye and finally spoke to the ninja kneeling below him. His voice was hoarse and cold.
"You may go. But remember your place. Don't do anything unnecessary."
"Yes, Lord Danzo!"
Before you continue