"I'm still not quite used to it, but I can tell you've done a lot of research into all this, Teacher Orochimaru. You really deserve to be called a scientist."
Chihane caught the fleeting disappointment on Orochimaru's face, but he truly couldn't imagine what life would be like spending every day surrounded by these animals and severed human limbs. Still, he admired Orochimaru. After all, Orochimaru had no kekkei genkai. He had started as an ordinary shinobi and worked his way up, one step at a time.
And he really did deserve to be called a scientist. The genetic modification, cloning, cell transplantation, and artificial human technologies he developed had all broken new ground in the shinobi world. Later, he even used his artificial human technology to create a real human being, Mitsuki. Danzo's Sharingan-covered arm was also Orochimaru's work.
"A scientist? An odd term, but surprisingly fitting!"
Orochimaru saw the genuine admiration in Chihane's eyes and suddenly felt understood. Aside from his collaborator Danzo, he had never let anyone know about his experiments. Human experimentation was expressly forbidden in the shinobi world, after all. He had brought Chihane here today to see how he would react.
If Chihane had openly expressed disgust, Orochimaru would have found an opportunity to dispose of him. After all, a secret known to others was no longer a secret. One fewer person who knew meant one less risk of exposure.
Only when he saw Chihane's admiration for his experiments did he truly accept him. If they had merely been allies with shared interests before, now he genuinely regarded Chihane as his disciple.
"Come along! Let's test your cellular activity first."
Orochimaru composed himself, gave Chihane a faint smile, and spoke.
Orochimaru began the physical examination. First, he drew two tubes of Chihane's blood, then collected some skin flakes and hair. He also measured Chihane's height, weight, chest, waist, hips, arm span, and various other measurements.
"The detailed results won't be ready until tomorrow. For now, let's discuss the direction of your future training."
"During yesterday's fight, I noticed that your physical conditioning is excellent, Chihane. You also have outstanding perception and an exceptionally firm will. You were almost immune to my genjutsu."
"However, although your swordsmanship is certainly sharp, you have no way to deal with distant enemies. As soon as someone puts some distance between you, there's nothing you can do to them."
"Your offensive options are also too limited, and you aren't fast enough. Against a powerful opponent skilled in ninjutsu, you could be defeated before you even got close. You might not even be able to escape."
Analyzing Chihane's genes would take some time, so Orochimaru first used yesterday's assessment to explain Chihane's current strengths and weaknesses.
"That's right, sensei. My biggest problem right now is that I can't fight anyone outside my sword's reach. But I've always had difficulty refining chakra. I have too little of it to use ninjutsu."
Chihane understood all of this himself. Against shinobi skilled in taijutsu, he could still make use of his physical advantages, but against those skilled in ninjutsu, he was nothing more than a target. Still, he believed that since Orochimaru had brought it up, he must have a solution.
"With so little chakra, it really will be difficult to solve your current problem! I could teach you the Body Flicker Technique, but both that and the Flying Thunder God Technique Minato uses require chakra."
"Since you won't be able to use ninjutsu in the short term, you could ask Tsunade to teach you her Yin Seal. You could store chakra in your daily life, then release it all at once during battle. That would allow you to use ninjutsu. But sealing jutsu is difficult to master in a short time, too. Still, we can use taijutsu to improve your speed.
"What is your chakra nature?" Orochimaru had been considering Chihane's current physical condition. Even if refining chakra was difficult for him, Orochimaru knew ways to solve it. The simplest was to transplant the First Hokage's cells into Chihane. Thanks to the First Hokage's sage body, even a tiny cellular change could give Chihane a vast chakra reserve. However, the experiments were not yet mature, and he still couldn't trust Chihane completely, so he abandoned that idea. Then he thought of Tsunade's Yin Seal, which could store chakra over time and release it all at once when needed.
Given how highly Tsunade regarded Chihane, and the help Hatake Sakumo had given them in the past, getting her to teach him should be fairly easy.
But learning Tsunade's Yin Seal required extensive knowledge of sealing jutsu, something he couldn't acquire overnight. For Chihane, who had never studied sealing jutsu, it might take several years before he could even begin practicing the Yin Seal.
The shinobi world didn't have time to wait for him to develop. As far as Orochimaru knew, Danzo had already been sent to the border with the Mist Ninja. War could break out at any moment. What he needed now was someone who could fight immediately, not someone with future potential.
"Teacher Orochimaru, my chakra nature is lightning!"
Chihane was the eldest son of the Hatake Clan. Although it wasn't a large clan, it still had some resources. Chakra Paper was expensive, but both he and Kakashi had already tested their chakra natures. Chihane's was lightning, with no other natures-just lightning alone.
Unlike Kakashi, he didn't have multiple chakra natures that would let him use all kinds of ninjutsu.
"Lightning? Then Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode would be perfect for you."
Having fought in the Second Shinobi World War, battled Amegakure's demigod Hanzō, and earned his place among the Sannin, Orochimaru had naturally seen Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode. The Third Raikage's son, A, the Fourth Raikage, had even earned the name Blue Lightning through his use of it.
In the original story, the A-B Combo had even fought Minato Namikaze, then known as the Yellow Flash, head-on and emerged unscathed.
"Teacher Orochimaru, you actually know how to train in Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode?"
Hearing that Orochimaru intended to teach him this ninjutsu, Chihane couldn't help being startled. Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode was a Forbidden Technique for strengthening the body, passed down exclusively among the Raikage. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to know how to train in it.
"I don't know their training method, but I understand the general principles. We can try developing it ourselves. Aren't ninjutsu created by people, after all? With your body, Chihane-kun, we're bound to succeed, aren't we?"
At the thought of developing a new ninjutsu, an unusual gleam flashed through Orochimaru's eyes, and he stared at Chihane with a feverish expression.
Ninjutsu are created by people, sure, but how many people died to create those forbidden techniques? This is a forbidden technique, isn't it? Can I refuse? I doubt he's giving me a choice! Ugh!!!
Looking at Orochimaru's feverish expression and the way he regarded him like a lab rat, Chihane couldn't help thinking bitterly. Orochimaru might say that all ninjutsu were created by people, but he clearly intended to experiment on him.
Before you continue