Orochimaru's History of Dissection

"It's the Sharingan!"

Cries of alarm seemed contagious, ringing out one after another from the sidelines opposite Hyuga Wuye.

But he was forming hand seals. Supported by the burst of chakra that came with his injury, a golden chain suddenly shot out from behind him.

With the Sharingan's ability to track movement, Nawaki's figure seemed to move in slow motion, allowing him to lock onto him precisely.

"Clank, clank, clank!"

In the blink of an eye, Nawaki was wrapped into a dough-like bundle by the chakra chains and rolled right up to him.

The kunai fell to the ground with a clang. Hyuga Wuye picked it up and slowly held it across Nawaki's throat.

The surroundings fell utterly silent.

It seemed as though a long time had passed, yet perhaps only a few seconds. At last, the world shifted from extreme silence into uproar.

"What was that?! Golden chakra chains!"

"The Sharingan—it really is the Sharingan! Isn't he from the Hyuga Clan?!"

"..."

Amid the commotion, the Third Hokage's expression darkened several shades... He knew that there was no way to hide Hyuga Wuye in the Anbu now.

Originally, he only needed to guard against Danzo snatching him away first. Now, the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan would inevitably become involved as well.

These two great clans had the lowest degree of assimilation into Konoha, and they were also the groups the Third Hokage least wanted the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki to become entangled with.

But the reality was that Kushina's bond with Hyuga Wuye could not be severed, and Hyuga Wuye's Sharingan had also been exposed.

To the Uchiha Clan, a clansman who had awakened the Sharingan at seven years old was someone they would never give up on. As for the Hyuga Clan, even for the sake of their pride, they would not let him go easily.

But to Hiruzen Sarutobi, no matter whose hands Hyuga Wuye fell into, it meant Kushina would be taken along with him...

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and the Third Hokage's expression darkened another ten shades.

"Tsunade, this kid's in big trouble..." Jiraiya suddenly said, glancing at Orochimaru.

Tsunade also looked at Orochimaru. She nodded knowingly, her eyes full of sympathy. "When was the last time we saw that look in his eyes? That look like he wants to dig out every last secret someone has?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin as he recalled it gravely. "Probably when he first became interested in snakes... He cut that snake into pieces. From its bones to its fangs, from its blood to its venom, every part was separated and studied over and over."

"You tell me," Orochimaru's hoarse voice sounded, his snake-like pupils gleaming faintly, "how about I take this child as my disciple?"

After the Third Hokage, Tsunade's expression also darkened several shades.

They had come to assess Nawaki, only for his opponent to catch Orochimaru's eye...

"Orochimaru, you'd better not get involved with him, especially not now," Jiraiya said with rare seriousness. "A huge storm is coming. We still don't know what the Hyuga Clan and Uchiha Clan will do. If you get involved, every spearhead will be aimed at you."

Orochimaru remained silent. His gaze drifted past the Third Hokage's figure not far away, and a flash of understanding surfaced in his heart. "It seems the old man knew about this long ago. He had originally planned to find an excuse to bring him into the Anbu, but it was exposed instead."

"Forget it. I'll take Nawaki as my disciple."

The desire to explore in his eyes suddenly withdrew, buried deep within them.

The Three Legendary Ninja who would one day shake the world were currently only young people who had just become jonin. They were not yet capable of interfering in a whirlpool like this.

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief. Her gaze wandered over Hyuga Wuye, though no one knew what she was thinking.

"Orochimaru's taking a disciple, so I should take one for fun too."

Jiraiya's gaze passed over Hyuga Wuye at the center of the storm, then lingered on Minato Namikaze at the edge of the field.

"Can you two still form the Reconciliation Seal?"

Once the students' clamor had quieted somewhat, the chunin instructors finally came back to their senses.

By then, Hyuga Wuye had already released the Adamantine Sealing Chains. He pulled the shuriken out of his knee and casually wrapped it several times with a simple bandage.

Bandages might be accompanying him for a long time... purely for show.

When he stood up, Nawaki also climbed to his feet.

One looked dejected, while the other had lifeless eyes... Naturally, Wuye was pretending.

"You won."

Nawaki slowly held out his hand, and Hyuga Wuye formed the Reconciliation Seal with him.

"Originally, I shouldn't have exposed the Sharingan or the Adamantine Sealing Chains," he said in a low voice.

Nawaki shook his head. "Just like my chakra reserves, those are talents that belong to you."

He silently turned around, looking rather lost and despondent.

"Nawaki."

Tsunade could not help walking over. She pulled him aside. "You lost, so you lost. Win next time."

Nawaki raised his head and looked at the person closest to him. Mist gradually filled his eyes. "Sis, I promised Grandma. I promised her I would graduate first in the class, that I would become Hokage, that I would lead the village toward peace, but..."

"I lost..."

"And Grandma... she can't see it anymore..."

"She can't see my efforts, can't see my defeat, can't see anything..."

"..."

As Tsunade listened, her nose began to sting.

"Grandma always said I was too idealistic. I really wanted... really wanted to prove that such ideals could come true..."

Nawaki choked out, "But she... she'll never look at me again..."

"Nawaki..."

Tsunade buried all her emotions deep within her heart. "Your sister will always support your ideals, but first, you need to learn how to be a ninja."

Nawaki froze. "Learn how to be a ninja?"

Tsunade said slowly, "A ninja's grief is restrained and contained. A ninja buries their pain and shoulders their missions and responsibilities."

That was what being a ninja meant.

Nawaki stood stunned for a moment, then tilted his head back and let the mist in his eyes fade away.

He turned around and came before Hyuga Wuye. "Wuye, you won this time, but that may not be the case in the future."

"Oh."

Hyuga Wuye looked rather downcast... Nawaki, worry about surviving the Second Shinobi World War first.

"Wuye," Nawaki said in a low voice through clenched teeth, "Grandma liked you very much, and Kushina likes you too. You carry the bloodlines of both the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan, but I hope you can put the village before your clan..."

Hyuga Wuye looked up in surprise, only to find that Nawaki had already turned and left.

Kids in Konoha thinking about problems from the standpoint of the entire village—perhaps that was a traditional skill?

But why stand from the village's perspective? Why not from the perspective of a great nation, the shinobi world, or the whole world?

Then, for world peace, could they destroy Konoha, which occupied the best resources?

Do what your abilities allow you to do. If you could not even protect your own family and clan, yet wanted to protect the village, wasn't that putting the cart before the horse?

Of course, the clans who had abandoned the Senju Clan surname and integrated into Konoha did have the right to say such things.

Because they themselves were Konoha.

Hyuga Wuye shook his head... Forget it. The radiance of idealists was best admired from afar, not examined up close.

He looked around, only to find that the Third Hokage was already gone... Perhaps he had been angered beyond measure.

The gazes around him drifted over him now and then, filled with curiosity.

Before, as a Hyuga clansman without the Byakugan, he had endured countless strange looks.

Three years had passed, and he had awakened the Sharingan...

Yet there were even more strange looks now.

Life was just that dramatic.

As for what came next, even he did not know.