Early the next morning, Arashi marched toward Orochimaru’s laboratory with a sizable group.
Besides Arashi himself, there were Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, Konoha’s current leading medical ninja Shizune-san, and the three children—Obito, Kakashi, and Rin.
The laboratory was hidden on Konoha’s outskirts.
It looked dark and ominous even during the day, surrounded by a layer of mist that never seemed to fade.
Hardly anyone ever came near it.
The moment the three children approached the base, they shuddered and rubbed the goosebumps rising across their skin.
“My, my.
You’ve brought quite an impressive group.”
Orochimaru had clearly received word in advance.
He stood alone outside the laboratory with his arms spread in welcome.
“Kaeda-kun, who are these children?”
“This is Uchiha Obito.”
Arashi patted the boy beside him.
Despite struggling to remain brave, Obito unconsciously grabbed the hem of Arashi’s clothes.
“He is also the war hero Danzo-sama asked you to treat.”
“These two are Kakashi and Rin, Obito’s teammates.
They volunteered to stay with him.”
“This is Shizune-san.”
Arashi turned to the other side.
“I paid quite a price to persuade her to assist us.”
Orochimaru’s pupils shifted slightly.
He had clearly recognized the niece of Kato Dan, Tsunade’s former lover.
“And these two are Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.”
“Itachi will return with me later, while Shisui will remain here and document the entire procedure.”
“What exactly do you mean by documenting the entire procedure?”
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, and a cold light appeared within his snake-like pupils.
“It means Shisui and Shizune-san will supervise every step of your experiment.”
Arashi returned his gaze with the same narrow-eyed smile.
“If either of them notices a problem, matters may become rather troublesome.”
“Oh?
How troublesome?”
Orochimaru appeared completely unconcerned.
He was one of the legendary Sannin and had nearly become Hokage.
His reputation within Konoha was far beyond anything a junior like Arashi could currently match.
“For example, there is a child within Danzo-sama’s Root whose codename is [A].”
Arashi opened with his strongest card.
“I’m sure Orochimaru-sama understands what that child experienced far better than I do.”
[A] was the future Captain Yamato.
People often mocked his Wood Release as useful only for landscaping, but his creation had involved an extremely dark and bloody sacrifice.
During Hiruzen’s administration, Konoha began researching the cells of Senju Hashirama, the elder brother of the Third Hokage’s teacher, to gain the power needed to control the Nine-Tails.
The project consumed enormous manpower and resources, yet produced nothing but failure and death.
Hiruzen eventually ordered the research terminated.
However, the ambitious Danzo and Orochimaru, who oversaw the project, had no intention of stopping.
They secretly restarted the experiments and used children as test subjects.
All sixty children died except one.
That sole survivor was taken into Root by Danzo and given the codename [A].
Arashi had always found it absurd that monsters like Orochimaru and Danzo could ever be redeemed.
Still, his feelings about the original story would not dictate his behavior after transmigrating.
As long as Orochimaru remained useful, Arashi would use him.
And once that usefulness disappeared…
He would remove the problem at its roots.
Orochimaru’s pupils contracted sharply.
Only he and Danzo knew of [A]’s existence.
He had never imagined that this young man would expose the secret with a single sentence.
If Arashi revealed everything…
He would not even need much evidence.
The moment Hiruzen learned that [A] could use Wood Release, he would immediately understand what had happened.
Unlike Orochimaru, the old man still possessed a few moral limits.
More importantly, he would feel that his disciple had escaped his control.
‘I ordered the project terminated, yet you secretly restarted it with Danzo.’
‘Who is your teacher, me or Danzo?’
‘And who is the Hokage, me or Danzo?’
Hiruzen was already deeply dissatisfied that Orochimaru had joined forces with Danzo in an attempt to seize the Fourth Hokage’s position.
If this incident became public, Hiruzen would have to accept one of two accusations.
Either he was too incompetent to notice his disciple and subordinate conducting inhumane experiments, or he knew about them and chose to ignore everything.
No matter which accusation he accepted, Hiruzen could no longer tolerate Orochimaru.
Their bond as teacher and student, along with the darkness Orochimaru had carried for Konoha, might spare his life.
But he would no longer have any place within the village.
That was unacceptable.
Orochimaru had not yet finished stealing Konoha’s forbidden techniques.
He also could not relocate his carefully constructed laboratories and equipment on short notice.
Konoha still held considerable value to him.
For a moment, killing intent emerged within Orochimaru.
The simplest way to prevent the secret from spreading was to eliminate the person who knew it.
Shisui instantly stepped forward and stood between them.
The eyes Orochimaru coveted most—and feared most—stared at him with icy calm.
‘The Sharingan…’
Orochimaru fell silent.
Arashi casually scratched his ear.
“Orochimaru-sama, that was quite an imposing display.”
“Were you preparing to attack me just now?”
“Unfortunately, I made a few preparations beforehand.”
“If I die for any reason or through any method, three sealed letters will be delivered separately to the Fourth Hokage, Clan Head Fugaku, and the Third Hokage.”
“As for their contents…”
Arashi smiled.
“Trust me.
You don’t want to know.”
In reality, Arashi possessed no subordinate trustworthy enough to carry out such an arrangement.
That did not stop him from bluffing.
This was the benefit of knowing the plot.
When he held someone’s weakness in his hand, what could they do even if he openly bullied them?
“I don’t know exactly what happened.”
Shizune stepped forward as well.
“But if you intend to harm Advisor Kaeda, I will not stand aside.”
“Hmph…”
After several minutes, Orochimaru finally yielded.
“It appears I have no choice.”
“Save Obito, and nothing will happen.”
Arashi’s tone was cold.
“Put away your ambition and greed.”
“Obito is not your test subject.
He is a patient you are required to save.”
“Fusing someone with Hashirama’s cells is nowhere near that simple.”
Orochimaru’s voice turned equally cold.
“Even if I conduct the procedure honestly, there is still an extremely high chance he will die.”
“Shizune-san and Shisui will decide whether you acted honestly.”
Arashi refused to give him any room for excuses.
“I’ll repeat myself.”
“As long as Obito survives, nothing will happen.”
“You mean you’ll blame me even if the experiment itself kills him?!”
Killing intent gathered around Orochimaru once again.
“No.”
Arashi maintained his superior attitude.
“The entire Uchiha clan will blame you.”
Orochimaru’s cold snake eyes locked onto Arashi’s face.
For a moment, his fingers nearly began forming a seal.
In the end, he lowered them.
Fighting the strongest Uchiha here would be foolish.
He could not allow anger to cloud his judgment.
For now, he needed to treat Obito and stabilize Arashi.
Then he would accelerate his study of the forbidden techniques and transfer his laboratory equipment elsewhere.
Once the proper opportunity arrived, he would take Obito with him as well.
That would make this arrogant brat lose both the prize and everything he had invested in it.
“Understood.”
Orochimaru took a deep breath.
“I must first draw some blood and observe how it reacts to the cells.”
“If we cannot even complete that step, there is no point discussing treatment.”
“Shisui and Shizune-san will observe everything.”
Arashi gave him one final warning.
“You don’t need to repeat yourself so many times.”
Orochimaru snorted.
“Brat, come with me.”
Obito did not understand everything Arashi had said, but the confrontation made one fact obvious.
Orochimaru was extremely dangerous.
Even so, Obito had to consider whether this might be his only opportunity in life.
He gripped Arashi’s hand tightly before releasing it and striding after Orochimaru.
…
“The results are excellent…
No, astonishing.”
Orochimaru stared at the reaction data with glowing eyes.
“I’ve never seen anyone so perfectly compatible with Hashirama’s cells.”
“If he had been among the original test subjects…”
His old habits resurfaced.
He stared at Obito as though the boy were an experimental specimen.
Shisui raised a hand and blocked his gaze.
“Orochimaru-sama, please remember that Obito is your patient.”
“Of course I remember.”
Orochimaru’s entire body itched with curiosity, but the situation prevented him from conducting further experiments.
“Lie down on the table.”
Obito lay on the operating table and drew several deep breaths.
His gaze moved from Kakashi to Rin before finally settling on Arashi.
“Advisor Kaeda, if I die, please take care of Grandma.”
“And please protect Kakashi and Rin.”
Arashi remained silent for a moment.
“You won’t die.
I promise.”
This boy was a rare talent admired even by Uchiha Madara.
Orochimaru’s examination had just confirmed that fact.
How could Obito possibly die in a place like this?
“Mm.”
Obito forced out a smile.
“I’ll definitely be all right.”
“That’s right.
Nothing will happen to you.”
Kakashi took his hand.
“I’ll remain here and watch until you wake up.”
“Me too…”
Rin held Obito’s other hand.
After hesitating briefly, she followed Arashi’s instructions and whispered beside his ear.
“If you die, I’ll follow you.”
“I don’t care whether you go to the Pure Land or the other shore…”
Obito’s eyes widened.
Those words were practically a confession.
The chakra throughout his body trembled violently.
At that exact moment, Orochimaru drove the needle down with a hint of personal resentment and injected the Hashirama cells deep into Obito’s body.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
A heart-rending scream echoed throughout the laboratory.
“Obito!”
Kakashi and Rin watched in agony and instinctively tried to rush forward.
Arashi stopped them.
“The procedure has already begun.”
“The only thing you can do now is…
believe in him.”
…