Orochimaru's Little White Snake

"Recently, Konoha's weather seems to have changed a little!"

It was another day off. After finishing his training for the day, Uchiha Shunichi was reading when he suddenly noticed strange changes in the distant weather.

"This is..." As he watched the anomaly not far away, an image surfaced in Uchiha Shunichi's mind.

"The ability to control the weather... Should I get involved?" Uchiha Shunichi stared at the shifting weather on the horizon and thought to himself.

"Shunichi, what's wrong?" Uchiha Sasuke, who was training his chakra control nearby, noticed that something was off about Uchiha Shunichi and asked.

"Nothing." Uchiha Shunichi came back to his senses and continued reading.

If Naruto had not been involved, seeking out Yota would have been a good idea. A body capable of controlling the weather should provide some useful ideas for his experimental base.

But... forget it.

As the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Naruto was constantly being watched by the village's Anbu. If Uchiha Shunichi suddenly went looking for Naruto now, it would only bring trouble upon himself.

Without absolute strength, it was better to avoid certain things whenever possible.

Seeing Uchiha Shunichi like this, Uchiha Sasuke did not ask any further questions.

Uchiha Sasuke knew very well that although they appeared to be the same age, Uchiha Shunichi knew far more than he did.

Moreover, Uchiha Shunichi could help him improve his strength. That was even more important than the teachings of the teachers at school!

The courtyard fell silent once more.

However, the silence did not last even half an hour before several people suddenly barged in and disrupted it.

"Naruto... You guys are..." Uchiha Sasuke watched the group fleeing in a bedraggled state, confused.

"Sorry... coming through!" Shikamaru casually greeted them, then dragged an unfamiliar child away.

"Wait... Shikamaru! Who is he?" Uchiha Shunichi suddenly spoke, pretending to know nothing as he pointed at Yota.

Shikamaru, Naruto, and the others did not stop. They ran off, leaving behind only one sentence.

"Sorry, I don't have time right now..."

Uchiha Shunichi watched their retreating figures, deep in thought.

Should I follow them? It would be a perfectly suitable excuse, but... forget it.

Uchiha Sasuke was a little angry at the sight.

But when he saw that Uchiha Shunichi said nothing, he stopped as well. After thinking for a moment, his emotions gradually calmed down.

However, Uchiha Shunichi's mood was somewhat off at that moment, because he suddenly discovered that an extra Little White Snake had appeared in his courtyard.

Snakes were not frightening. Even Ninja Academy students would not fear such things. But the person represented by this White Snake was someone Uchiha Shunichi had to consider carefully.

"Sasuke, keep training! Don't follow me..." After only a moment, Uchiha Shunichi made his decision. He picked up the Little White Snake from the ground, then spoke to Uchiha Sasuke with a grave expression.

Uchiha Sasuke watched Uchiha Shunichi enter the room in confusion, having no idea what had happened...

"Orochimaru... Are you inside this little snake?" After returning to his room, Uchiha Shunichi cautiously asked the little snake.

The little snake flicked out its tongue, but no sound came from it.

This was the world of ninjas, not the world of immortal cultivators. As Orochimaru's Summoning Technique, the White Snake could only help him carry out basic tasks; it could not be treated as Orochimaru himself.

Because he was overly nervous, Uchiha Shunichi's thoughts were somewhat chaotic, though that suited his apparent age.

After crudely confirming that there was no chance Orochimaru could crawl out of the little snake's mouth, Uchiha Shunichi took out a slip of paper, wrote several words on it, and stuffed it into the Little White Snake's mouth.

After swallowing the note, the Little White Snake seemed intrigued as it slithered once around Uchiha Shunichi's body. Then, as if it had completed some mission, it swiftly departed.

Uchiha Shunichi did not know whether contacting Orochimaru was the right choice, but in Konoha, he truly could not find anyone capable of teaching him.

What he needed now was to strengthen his physique. As long as his body was strong enough, he could display Jonin-level strength at any time.

Hashirama Cells were a good thing!

But... what price would he have to pay to obtain them from Orochimaru? And he did not know whether what he had written could attract Orochimaru's interest.

"Shunichi, what happened just now?"

When Uchiha Sasuke saw Uchiha Shunichi come out, he immediately asked with concern.

Uchiha Shunichi's expression was somewhat solemn as he casually brushed him off. "I just thought of a very interesting experiment, but it failed!"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sasuke stopped talking. Although they were both survivors of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Sasuke could not understand at all what Uchiha Shunichi was thinking or doing.

However, the increase in strength Uchiha Shunichi had brought him was plain to see, so Uchiha Sasuke was very concerned about him now.

Lying back on the reclining chair again, Uchiha Shunichi picked up the book from before, but he could not focus on it at all.

At that moment, he entertained the idea of going to Root first, becoming Danzo's test subject, and then rebelling.

With his Mangekyō Sharingan ability, he could leave whenever he wanted and did not even have to fear death!

However, that thought only flashed through his mind.

Shimura Danzō... would not let him achieve his goal so easily. Besides, many things he needed had not even been invented yet.

Uchiha Shunichi did not want to be like Uchiha Madara, casually stuffing a lump of flesh into his body and then relying on Medical Ninjutsu to endure it.

That was the stupidest approach. Not only was it highly dangerous, but it would also take far too long.

"Sasuke, you can stop your chakra training. You've been training too hard lately, and your body has suffered some injuries."

Uchiha Shunichi suddenly spoke to Uchiha Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke froze upon hearing that, then stopped half-convinced and half-doubtful. "Really?"

"Really. Even though you've been using the medicine I developed, those are only supplements. If you overtrain, it could very well affect your future development. After all, you're not a true Taijutsu ninja," Uchiha Shunichi said with great sincerity.

"All right. What do you need me to do?" Uchiha Sasuke had already gotten used to it. Since he could not tell whether it was true or false, he might as well choose to believe him.

Doing some work for his clansman in exchange for rapidly improving his own strength was, in Uchiha Sasuke's eyes, a very worthwhile deal.