[Uchiha Clan Grounds]
[Orochimaru's Laboratory]
Compared to everyone else, Orochimaru was much busier.
But since everything he did was something he liked, he was a lot happier about it.
Ever since Hiruko attacked Konoha last time, Orochimaru had been thinking about one thing, how could a non-Uchiha possibly awaken a Mangekyo Sharingan?
After all, for someone outside the Uchiha clan, even the burden of a three-tomoe Sharingan was huge.
And Obito, who had a Mangekyo Sharingan, definitely wouldn't have given it to Hiruko.
Which meant that pair of eyes must have evolved recently.
The timing of that evolution was important, so Orochimaru called over Rengoku, who knew a lot about what happened.
"Because the Uchiha clan was wiped out, originally he wanted to take the Sharingan from Kakashi's eye."
"But it got destroyed during the Solar Eclipse, so there was no follow-up."
Rengoku reviewed it with Orochimaru based on his memories, though he couldn't remember every detail.
"But Kakashi's eye was blown apart by Obito, and I already called back all my Uchiha clansmen who had three-tomoe eyes."
"So the only possibility is that Obito gave Hiruko a pair of three-tomoe eyes."
Orochimaru thought for a few seconds, "Seems he broke through to Mangekyo level during the Chimera ritual."
Rengoku's face showed surprise, "That's possible? But he doesn't have Uchiha blood."
Orochimaru flipped the logic on him, "Bloodline-wise, everyone who has a Kekkei Genkai has some trace of Kaguya's blood."
He pointed at an arm lying on the experiment table, it was the one Hiruko left behind after the last war.
"I tested this arm. Hiruko's Chimera extracted all those bloodline limits and combined them into itself."
"In terms of attributes, he gathered all seven, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, yin, and yang."
"With all seven attributes complete, and catalyzed by the Solar Eclipse's power, it should have created the energy needed for the Sharingan's evolution."
Rengoku rubbed his chin, thinking, "Could that kind of thing really produce the power of All Creation?"
Orochimaru nodded, "Yin and yang united can give birth to all things. With seven attributes and the Solar Eclipse added, it could create a similar power."
"Though both are 'power of creation,' they're slightly different."
"They're both forces that integrate bloodlines and push them to evolve upward."
"And the Chimera contains a massive number of soul fragments, it means Hiruko's own soul grew stronger too."
"With all the conditions for evolution met, why couldn't his Sharingan evolve into a Mangekyo?"
Rengoku looked Orochimaru up and down, "So you're saying Hiruko accidentally got ahead of you and really became the perfect ninja?"
Orochimaru's face went cold, clearly annoyed, "That trash? You think he deserves to be compared to me?"
Rengoku couldn't help but laugh, "Relax, I was joking. You actually got mad?"
Orochimaru gave a low snort.
"Perfect ninja, my ass. Chimera has a fatal flaw, one that's never been solved since it was first developed."
"Oh? Do tell."
Rengoku was curious. So far, he hadn't noticed any clear weakness in Hiruko.
"You've got it wrong. The one that's strong right now isn't Hiruko, it's Chimera."
"Whether Hiruko himself will still exist later… that's the question."
Orochimaru's words froze Rengoku for a second, "You mean…"
Orochimaru nodded slightly, "When Hiruko first started this experiment, he actually discussed it with me."
"The Chimera is a cultivated, devouring-type plant."
"But aside from devouring Kekkei Genkai, it also devours souls."
"Just from this arm alone, I found traces of many jumbled soul fragments inside the Chimera."
"But the fact that Hiruko wasn't affected at all shows that he never achieved full symbiosis with it."
Rengoku thought for a moment, "You're saying the Chimera will backfire?"
"If Hiruko fully merges with it now, he won't be able to handle that many soul fragments. He'll…"
Orochimaru tapped his temple, "Go insane."
"Because he's human, not a plant."
"If he waits until the Chimera finishes digesting all those souls and then merges completely, the Chimera will become stronger than him."
"In the end, it'll turn on him and devour Hiruko's soul too."
Hearing that, Rengoku was stunned. Orochimaru had pinpointed the flaw in Chimera's technique with just limited information.
"So you're saying Hiruko's only option now is to abandon symbiosis with it?"
A mocking smile crept across Orochimaru's face. He pointed at the arm on the table. Inside, it was filled with a translucent jelly-like substance.
"It's too late. The symbiosis has already begun."
———
All of Sarutobi Hiruzen's people had gathered in the Daimyo's city.
They thought that meant they could finally rest easy.
After all, the three great ninja villages were all watching Konoha now, none of them would bother with his group.
But just because Konoha wouldn't go after them didn't mean no one else would.
Although the Uchiha clan members were thrilled that Rengoku had become the Fifth Hokage, for Rengoku himself, it was just a change in title.
The remaining members of the old Anbu were few, and uneven in quality.
So Rengoku simply disbanded the entire unit and started over.
The first thing he did after taking office was hand full control of the new Anbu to Itachi and Shisui.
Both of them were illusion masters, more than capable of determining who was loyal and who wasn't.
Originally, Rengoku planned to assign Kakashi to them too, but Kakashi refused.
He said he wanted to wait until his cloned eye was ready and then focus on training his swordsmanship.
Of course, whether that was just an excuse to stay close to Rin was anyone's guess.
Rin now hid herself away in the Uchiha hospital every day, studying medical ninjutsu and related knowledge.
Nohara Rin didn't have much potential as a fighter, her only real talent was in medicine. Her lifelong dream had always been to save more people.
Back when she first became a chunin, it was wartime and Konoha was short on manpower, so she had to go to the battlefield.
Now that she didn't have to fight anymore, Rin wanted to study medical jutsu more deeply so she could heal more lives.
Kakashi, meanwhile, showed up like clockwork every day to check on her.
Before she died, Rin had liked Kakashi. But now she'd been revived, she was only thirteen. Kakashi was already twenty-four.
Obito liking Rin was his own story.
But Obito's very existence left both of them unable to move on.
Rin wanted to persuade Obito back. Kakashi wanted to capture him.
Yet the more information they learned, the more uneasy Rin felt inside.
At this point, all she could do was bury her head, focus on what she could do, and wait for Rengoku's summons.
After all, her life was one that Lord Rengoku had given back to her, it didn't belong to her anymore.
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