"Sensei, aren't you going to transplant this Byakugan?" Kenichi Amamiya asked curiously.
The Byakugan might have seemed less useful later on, but the Hyuga Clan had become one of Konoha's two great ninja clans alongside the Uchiha Clan for a reason.
A pair of Byakugan like these could fetch an enormous fortune in another ninja village.
Across the entire Shinobi World, only Ao of Kirigakure had managed to obtain a Byakugan. Other villages had coveted them for years without getting their hands on one. That alone showed how fiercely Konoha protected them.
Of course, the wretched Caged Bird Seal was another reason so few Byakugan made it outside the clan.
"They're too conspicuous, and there's something wrong with this man's eyes." Orochimaru shook his head. The Byakugan was valuable, but far too noticeable. He intended to compete for the position of Fourth Hokage; transplanting them now would be idiotic.
Besides, those strange proliferating cells were in the eyes. Even if he transplanted them, there was no guarantee he could use the Byakugan normally. The test subject's vision had been declining all this time.
Kenichi nodded in understanding. It was about what he had expected.
But he looked at his teacher a little strangely. To think Orochimaru still dreamed of becoming the Fourth Hokage. Why did that make his teacher seem a little naive?
Then again, putting himself in Orochimaru's shoes, Kenichi could see why he thought he had a chance.
In terms of reputation, he was one of the Sannin, renowned throughout the Shinobi World. In terms of military achievements, he had commanded countless battles and earned considerable merit. He even had Danzo's support.
Kenichi would have thought victory was assured too. Besides, the other leading candidate in Konoha was Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, and he did seem to fall a little short of Orochimaru.
How could he possibly lose with a lead like that?
"That Insect Amber of yours. Did you bring it like I told you to?" Orochimaru asked suddenly. Kenichi snapped back to attention, nodded, and took it out.
Orochimaru took it, compared it with something in a book, then shook his head and handed it back.
Kenichi caught sight of the book's unusual title: Miscellaneous Records of the Sage Era. It hardly looked like a serious work.
"For a moment, I thought your insect might have survived from the legendary era of the Sage of Six Paths. But after comparing them, I don't think they're the same species." Orochimaru handed him the book.
Kenichi took it and read the passage he indicated.
In short, it described an insect that had destroyed several villages. Strangely, these insects burrowed into people's bodies and controlled them, leaving their hosts "raving like madmen."
That was where the account ended. It merely said the Sage had discovered what happened and killed everyone infected.
There was an illustration, but its insects really did look different from the one in the Insect Amber.
"If bugs like that really existed, that'd be ridiculous." Kenichi clicked his tongue. Weren't those just parasites? Parasites that could control humans, at that.
Got it. So Resident Evil 4 got its inspiration from you people?
"Not necessarily. Stories about the era of the Sage of Six Paths are full of strange religions and extraordinary weapons." Orochimaru was skeptical of such accounts.
On reflection, Kenichi thought he had a point. There had once been the God Tree and aliens like the Otsutsuki Clan. Parasites that could control humans hardly seemed impossible.
"If those bugs were real, couldn't you transplant one into everyone and bring peace to the Shinobi World?" Kenichi joked. Nagato must never hear about these insects.
Then again, it probably wouldn't matter if Nagato did. This had happened ages ago, if it had happened at all. Finding the insects would be a problem in itself.
"Peace isn't so easily achieved." Orochimaru licked his face. Some of his behavior was already a little disturbing, but on the whole, he was still fairly normal.
Perhaps it was because he had yet to suffer the blow of losing the Fourth Hokage position. Kenichi also wondered whether Orochimaru was restraining himself precisely because he thought he could still become the Fourth.
"Kenichi, stay here at the Test Base for the next few days. I'll come get you later." Orochimaru stood, his gaze turning cold.
Kenichi nodded obediently. This was no time to ask his teacher where he was going. Orochimaru was terrifying when angered.
"Sensei, what about that test subject?" Kenichi couldn't help asking. It would be a shame to waste such valuable research material.
"Just don't kill him," Orochimaru replied without hesitation. Then he turned and left.
Kenichi knew his teacher's habits well. Orochimaru had done this before: brought him out, left him in a laboratory, and gone off on his own.
Kenichi had become his assistant in everything but name.
Still, Kenichi was excited. With Orochimaru gone, he could study the imprisoned Hyuga Illegitimate Child to his heart's content.
"First, let's see what happens if I surround the Cancer Cells with Yang Release Chakra." Kenichi rubbed his hands together and walked into the laboratory with a grin.
After a bout of agonized howling, Kenichi began examining the growth he had scraped off the subject.
Today, after I infused Cell One with a trace amount of Yang Release Chakra, the cells began to multiply, then died off en masse. Cell One survives very poorly outside the body, possibly because it was contaminated.
This afternoon, I scraped the last bit of growth from the subject. This time, I infused it with enough Yang Release Chakra to power a Great Fireball Technique. It multiplied rapidly again, but died off even faster.
So what went wrong? Possibilities so far: cells removed from the body cannot adapt to the outside environment; changes in temperature or humidity; exposure to other bacteria and viruses.
Second day after Orochimaru-sensei's departure: no growth remains on the subject's eyeballs. Live experiments can begin.
Before you continue