Kakashi descended the stairs into the basement, the air cooler and tinged with the scent of ink, and steel. What used to be a modest basement space had transformed into a vast underground complex.
Stone walls had been reinforced with chakra-imbued sealing scripts, and the floor was a polished black slate, smooth and clean. Scroll racks lined one side, while the rest was filled with tables, bookshelves, and complex sealing arrays drawn into the ground.
And at the far end, surrounded by a faint glow of green chakra-infused lights, was the Orochimaru clone.
The former remnant soul and 'Sannin' sat hunched over a collection of old scrolls, his golden snake eyes wide with glee as he devoured the knowledge within. It was Tobirama Senju's personal work, tomes that hadn't been seen in generations.
Some were incomplete, and some were coded, but Orochimaru had been deciphering them bit by bit under Kakashi's watchful eye.
"Kakashi-sama," Orochimaru drawled, not even looking up, "Second-Hokage was a genius. A ruthless visionary."
"I know," Kakashi replied, walking toward him. "Don't drool on the scrolls."
Orochimaru chuckled, finally looking up. "You've given me a treasure trove… but," his smile faded slightly, "there's a problem."
"Go on." Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"There aren't enough instruments here to conduct proper experiments. I need chakra amplifiers, cellular isolators, and chakra-preservation tanks… not to mention specialized lab fūinjutsu. These things aren't something one just finds at the market."
"I can buy them. After all, I have plenty of funds." Kakashi said as he leaned against the reinforced desk nearby and crossed his arms.
He wasn't exaggerating. After the downfall of Gato, His Shadow clone seized not only the man's fortune but his entire black market empire.
Titles, businesses, assets… it was enough wealth to last ten lifetimes. A single warehouse of Gato's illegal storage had been sold off to the Daimyo for a fortune. Kakashi had invested none of it for personal gain, but now, it was proving more useful than he had imagined.
But Orochimaru raised a pale finger. "There's no need. I suggest something much more efficient… and poetic."
"Oh?" Kakashi tilted his head.
"Why not simply steal from my inferior clone?" Orochimaru smiled like a cat who'd found a wounded mouse.
"I know the locations of all my original laboratories. Hidden, secure, and filled with top-grade equipment. My inferior clone has likely improved some of them even more, but they're still mine. Let us rob him blind."
"You want to rob yourself?" Kakashi laughed, an actual laugh, not just a chuckle.
"The irony is delicious," Orochimaru said with a grin. "Besides, I built those labs. They belong to me. And I know how to bypass every trap."
"You'll need protection. I'll assign you a team. Strong, reliable ANBU only." Kakashi's amusement faded into a serious one.
"Perfect," Orochimaru hissed. "And… I'll need your special scrolls. The ones you modified to store large-scale equipment and chakra-infused materials. You know, the ones with the compressed pocket dimensions."
Kakashi sighed but nodded. "Of course. I'll prepare them tonight. And I'll talk to Tsunade in the morning, she'll authorize the squad."
Orochimaru gave him a bow that was very sincere. "You are, as always, a gracious partner Kakashi-sama."
As Kakashi walked past him, he placed a stack of fresh scrolls beside the Sannin. "Just don't bring anything weird back. Last time, I thought I could hear whispers from the walls."
"No promises," Orochimaru smirked.
Kakashi moved to the next desk, where Tobirama's other scrolls remained untouched. He sat down, pulling one open and scanning its contents.
Diagrams of cellular structures, chakra flow dynamics, and regeneration cycles sprawled across the parchment.
Next to it were notes on genetic mapping and early senjutsu theories. Kakashi absorbed every detail with his Sharingan.
The Genesis Seal on his palm pulsed gently as he read.
Kakashi's thoughts drifted again, this time, to Kurama.
After using the Genesis Seal to devour the Sharingan and thanks to that he reached High-Kage level reserves, he was now bordering on the edge of something greater.
One final push could push him to the Super Kage level, a level comparable to Hashirama or a full-powered Bijuu, probably.
Kurama's chakra was the key.
But the fox had grown selective. He had allowed Kakashi to absorb his chakra once again, during their cooperation to train the tailed beast's chakra for Naruto.
But lately, Kurama had become more unpredictable, sometimes refusing, sometimes cooperating. It was all dependent on his mood.
Kakashi frowned. That wouldn't do. He needed a method where Kurama couldn't say no anymore, but without being cruel or forceful.
Then it hit him.
What if… he gave Kurama a new body?
A real one.
Not a chakra cloak or summoning, but a separate vessel. An artificial, animalistic form created by fusing genetics from various tailed beasts, perhaps even drawing from ancient chakra beast scrolls stored in the Uzumaki archives which he could access thanks to Tsunade. A body that Kurama could place his consciousness in—freeing him from the gloomy seal space inside Naruto.
In essence: a true physical avatar.
Kurama would retain his chakra form inside Naruto but could live in this world outside it. No more solitary darkness. No more waiting, the fox would probably like it.
And Kakashi could use the seal while Kurama's consciousness was away. Then there would be no refusal or resistance when he wants to absorb Kurama's chakra.
A win-win.
The idea started unfolding in his mind rapidly. He grabbed a separate notebook and began sketching a beastly form, not quite a fox but a chakra-animal hybrid with massive chakra channels, a hollow core to contain Kurama's spirit, and biological amplification circuits to stabilize the body.
His sealing technique would bind Kurama's consciousness temporarily into this form using a dual-link seal.
He flipped through Tobirama's scroll again and found notes on cellular reinforcement with Hashirama's wood-style tissue. That could work. Using synthetic cells patterned after wood-style healing to keep the body stable under intense chakra strain.
Kakashi's mind raced. This would be the key. Not only to push past his limits, but to give Kurama something he deserved: freedom.
"Kakashi-sama," Orochimaru said suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts, "your chakra is shifting."
Kakashi blinked, realizing his Genesis Seal had begun spinning on his palm, reacting to his excitement and energy buildup.
"I assume," Orochimaru added slyly, "you've come up with another insane project?"
"Let's just say… the nine tails might be getting a new body soon." Kakashi gave him a wry look.
Orochimaru leaned forward, intrigued. "A tailed beast avatar? Fascinating. Risky and Brilliant. You'll need stable synthetic cells to withstand its chakra… I might have some samples from my old experiments that could help."
"Then steal those too," Kakashi said with a small grin.
They both laughed, a strange pair of masterminds working beneath the village he protected and the other betrayed.
As the hours passed, Kakashi copied new notes, modified schematics for the artificial beast body, and designed three new seals.
One for Kurama's consciousness transfer. One for chakra moderation. One for the Genesis Seal to absorb the rest of Kurama's power safely, once Kurama was separated.
By the time the basement clock hit midnight, the special scrolls for Orochimaru were complete and sealed in a box.
Kakashi stretched his back and closed Tobirama's final scroll. He stood and glanced once more at Orochimaru, who had begun organizing a list of target labs to raid. His enthusiasm was unsettling, but effective.
Then he looked down at his palm. The Genesis Seal still spun gently.
Tomorrow, he would speak with Tsunade.