Kakashi returned home just past midnight, silent as the shadows that clung to the forest edge. The sealed vials containing the DNA of Fugaku, Mikoto, Shinku, and Kushina were tucked safely within his pouch. His chakra was low, but his mind was sharp, and his purpose was clear.
He entered the house through the back door and walked straight down the stone staircase into his private basement, no, not just a basement anymore. It had grown, expanded with each passing month.
Sealing diagrams covered the walls, cabinets overflowed with old scrolls, and machines of chakra, ink, and steel lined the corners.
The place looked more like a forbidden laboratory than anything beneath a home.
Kakashi reached the central table and activated the summoning scroll on the wall with a single press of his hand. A ripple of chakra shot outward, and seconds later, a soft, amused hiss echoed behind him.
"Well, well. That didn't take long," Orochimaru said, his voice smoother than silk.
"I told you I'd call when I had everything." Kakashi glanced back.
Orochimaru slithered down the stairs, cloaked in a dark lab coat. His black hair shimmered faintly under the lab's pale lights, and… glasses now perched on the bridge of his nose.
"Glasses?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"A noble scholar and scientist like myself must look the part," Orochimaru smirked, tapping them with a single pale finger.
"Sure. Just don't blame me when Anko laughs for a week." Kakashi chuckled, shaking his head.
"Anko laughs at everything," Orochimaru replied flatly, though the corners of his lips curled upward.
Kakashi walked over to a wall panel and tapped a glowing seal. Part of the wall split open with a hiss, revealing a long hallway lined with preserved scrolls, chakra containers, and scientific notes.
The deeper they walked, the more intricate the space became, a hybrid of Tobirama's left research, Orochimaru's original ideas, and Kakashi's refined genius.
"You've been busy." Orochimaru's eyes glinted with delight as he trailed his fingers across a shelf filled with sealing formulas.
Kakashi nodded. "This place… It's everything the Second Hokage wanted and everything you also tried to build.
"I don't mind," Orochimaru said softly, eyes scanning the notes. "This is heaven. A sanctuary for those who truly seek to understand."
"You can stay here as long as you want," Kakashi said casually.
"You know me well." Orochimaru gave him a crooked grin.
Turning, Kakashi activated the central control seal. Four prepared benches slid out from the floor, and with a burst of chakra, Kakashi summoned four spore clones. Each one began to rapidly form blank bodies, lifeless for now, but perfect vessels for the rebirth to come.
"Four? I thought we only prepared for three." Orochimaru stepped closer, eyes narrowing.
"We did. But I decided to add one more." Kakashi nodded as he placed the sealed vials near the appropriate benches.
"Who?" Orochimaru tilted his head, curious.
"Kushina Uzumaki, for Naruto," Kakashi answered quietly.
"Ah… I see. The boy never got to know his parents, did he?" Orochimaru's gaze flickered with interest.
"No. Hiruzen made sure of that," Kakashi muttered, bitterness leaking into his voice.
Orochimaru's face darkened. "That man became obsessed with control, power, and order. He was once my teacher… but in the end, even my inferior clone pitied him enough to put an end to it."
"You still call your original self 'inferior'?" Kakashi smirked.
"I was bound by ego, emotion, fear," Orochimaru said, adjusting his glasses with pride. "Now, I am reborn. Free of the madness, but with all the brilliance."
Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle. Despite everything, this version of Orochimaru was actually… easier to deal with. Grounded. Honest, in a twisted way. And more importantly, loyal to the one who gave him purpose again.
"Alright. Let's get to work." Kakashi clapped his hands together.
For the next several hours, they worked in silence, side by side, two of the most brilliant minds the ninja world had ever seen.
Each clone was carefully prepped with chakra conductivity, neural tissue stimulation, and genetic templates.
Kakashi began by placing Fugaku's DNA into the first, fusing it with the prepared cellular structure. Orochimaru followed, delicately adjusting the chakra matrix with medical techniques derived from Tsunade's teachings and his own knowledge.
Mikoto followed next. Her DNA proved more stable than anticipated. Kakashi took extra care in reconstructing her chakra coils, he wanted her to awaken naturally, as if waking from a long sleep.
Then came Shinku. Orochimaru showed surprising care here, adjusting for any degradation and infusing the spore body with restored red chakra essence.
Finally, Kushina.
Kakashi moved more slowly here. This wasn't just a project, this was for Naruto. He didn't want a clone or puppet. He wanted Naruto's mother alive, breathing, and free.
"Her chakra is fierce," Orochimaru noted as they stabilized the infusion. "Even now, it resists our manipulation."
"She was the Nine-Tails' previous host," Kakashi said. "She shaped her own chakra like a weapon."
"She'll be strong," Orochimaru murmured, pleased. "That boy… he'll have someone again."
Kakashi didn't reply, but the faint warmth in his chest spoke volumes.
Each clone began to glow faintly with pulsing life. The DNA had been taken. The structure was stabilizing. Now they just needed time, a few more hours until morning, for the cells to regenerate, align, and awaken the bodies properly.
"You've made incredible progress," Orochimaru whispered as they stepped back to admire the work.
"Blending genetics, enhancing chakra compatibility, controlling memory reformation… this is beyond cloning. This is rebirth."
"Don't get any weird ideas." Kakashi glanced at him.
"Please. You've already outdone me, I wouldn't dare." Orochimaru laughed.
They sat beside the benches, notes spread across the table, half-empty tea mugs forgotten beside them. Kakashi reviewed the sealing marks while Orochimaru scribbled new formulas for chakra stabilization during awakening.
Eventually, the first hints of dawn began to glow beyond the lab's closed shutters.
"It's almost time," Kakashi said, his eyes fixed on the four clone bodies.
"Let's rest a little, we'll need full focus when they awaken," Orochimaru suggested, stretching.
Kakashi nodded, leaning back in his chair.