Chapter 30: The Technology is His
The next day, Kyosuke woke up early. After quickly getting ready, he first made a trip to the Second Elder's house.
Despite his best efforts to be careful yesterday, Nagisa had ultimately fallen ill. After the recent ordeal, her body was already weak. Compounded by her overwhelming grief and being soaked by the rain all day, it was no surprise that she got sick.
He spent some time talking with her and teasing her a little before finally setting off for Orochimaru's laboratory. From his teacher's demeanor yesterday, it was clear he had something important to discuss. As for what that might be, Kyosuke had a faint suspicion.
It was probably... related to Danzō.
"Starting today, I will teach you two new techniques," Orochimaru said, getting straight to the point the moment Kyosuke arrived.
Without waiting for a response, Orochimaru continued, "You must master these two techniques as quickly as possible. I will have a mission for you afterward."
Kyosuke, though puzzled, nodded in agreement. After all, learning new techniques was a good thing.
But then, Kyosuke felt his heart begin to pound in his chest.
The two techniques were the very ones he had longed for: "Cloning Technology" and "Cell Transplantation Technology."
At the same time, he understood. Orochimaru had likely already colluded with Danzō.
The purpose was to carry out that critical experiment.
The "Hashirama Cell Transplantation and Cultivation Project."
After all this effort, I've finally reached you, Kyosuke thought, an unavoidable smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Three months passed quickly.
Little Kyosuke had finally turned a year older.
He took a moment to recall the events of Konoha Year 40. He realized that aside from Kakashi being promoted to Chunin at the age of six, there didn't seem to be any other major events.
So, Kyosuke fully immersed himself in his experiments, ignoring everything else.
The results were gratifying. After three months, he had finally succeeded in converting these two key technologies into his own skills.
Cloning Technology: LVL 1 (0/100)
Cell Transplantation Technology: LVL 1 (0/100)
Like the other two top-tier technologies, these skills required a staggering 100 experience points to upgrade from Level 1.
Still, just being able to convert them into skills was enough to satisfy Kyosuke. No matter how high the experience cost, he would eventually max them out. He was confident of that, even though he still had no reliable method of gaining experience.
But he knew it wouldn't be long before a "method" presented itself.
Just as Kyosuke successfully mastered these two techniques, Orochimaru, who had been absent for a long time, reappeared. After examining his results, Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction.
At the same time, Orochimaru finally revealed his mission.
From his explanation, Kyosuke learned that Orochimaru had indeed begun to cooperate with Danzō. But because Orochimaru was busy with official duties, the work of cultivating the "cells" and observing the experimental results had to be handed over to Kyosuke.
And due to the secret nature of the experiment, Kyosuke would need to continue his work within "Root."
Orochimaru had come specifically to ask for his opinion.
Kyosuke pretended to consider it for a moment before readily accepting, but he proposed his own conditions.
First, his activities within Root were not to be monitored by anyone. Even if Danzō wanted to enter the laboratory, he would need to obtain Kyosuke's permission first.
Orochimaru nodded and agreed to this condition without hesitation.
Seeing him agree, Kyosuke had a good idea of the situation and proposed his second condition.
Second, he needed the identity of a Root "Anbu" as cover. That is, on the surface, he needed to join the Anbu system.
After all, this experiment was the kind of research that would be "dead on sight" if exposed. To be safe, Kyosuke had to leave himself a way out. If the truth ever came out, he could use his "Anbu" identity to successfully distance himself. On the surface, he was just there for training. The "Hashirama Cell" research? What did that have to do with him?
Of course, this was just his explanation to Orochimaru. His real goal was the "Anbu" identity itself.
He hadn't forgotten that his previous "Patrol" mission was recognized by the system and generated quests precisely because he held an "official" position. Therefore, Kyosuke believed that as long as he became an Anbu, he would definitely be able to get "missions" again.
After all, there were no enemy ninja for him to kill right now. With his status, he probably couldn't even leave the village, let alone lead a team on a mission.
After much thought, Kyosuke finally decided to temporarily side with Danzō.
Although it was risky, he had no other choice.
Should he join the Hokage's Anbu instead?
Don't be ridiculous. Although the Third Hokage was nice to him on the surface, he was actually very wary of him and the Uchiha. How could he possibly let an Uchiha extend their influence into his personal Anbu?
But Danzō was different. Setting aside his personal impression of Kyosuke, the ability to cultivate "Hashirama Cells" alone was enough to make the old man cast aside all his principles.
Besides, for the profit-driven Danzō, what were principles anyway? As long as it was for the "good of Konoha," there was nothing he wouldn't do, let alone give Kyosuke a minor Anbu identity.
Kyosuke was well aware of all this.
Even if Orochimaru hadn't proposed this mission, he probably would have found an opportunity to "contact" Danzō himself and then find a way to join Root.
Now, Orochimaru—or rather, Danzō's—proactive move had saved him some trouble. After all, if he had made contact himself, he would definitely have been noticed by "certain people."
Especially within the currently turbulent Uchiha clan.
Why did Kyosuke think this way?
The answer was simple: the fact that Fugaku had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan had been exposed. And he had revealed it himself.
Kyosuke had learned this information from the Second Elder, who had strictly forbidden him from telling anyone, on pain of clan punishment.
At the same time, Kyosuke could feel that ever since the elders learned of this, their attention on him had greatly diminished. After all, no matter how great his talent, it was uncertain whether he would ever awaken the Mangekyo. And even if he could, it would be many years later. They couldn't wait that long.
Fugaku, on the other hand, was someone they could see and touch. So their actions were not surprising.
While Kyosuke sneered inwardly at this, he also felt a sincere sense of joy. He wished the Uchiha would forget about him completely.
Relying on his relationship with Orochimaru, his own wings were growing stronger, and he was no longer so dependent on the Uchiha.
But the Uchiha clan held a very important place in his plans. In the future, he had to have them under his control.
He had originally hoped that Fugaku could be of some help in this. But now, it seemed that Fugaku was simply not cut out for a major role. Even if it was to seize power more easily after becoming clan head, needlessly exposing his Mangekyo was just too foolish.
He probably still naively believed that as long as the elders knew about it, they would gradually hand over power to him after he took over. But he hadn't considered the consequences if this matter were to be exposed to the outside world.
There was no such thing as a secret in this world. Otherwise, why did the Konoha leadership point the finger directly at the Uchiha clan after the Nine-Tails incident? It was because they all knew that only a Mangekyo Sharingan could control a Tailed Beast. And by that time, Fugaku's Mangekyo had probably already been exposed.
Another point: the reason the Uchiha launched their coup, aside from being overly oppressed, was largely because Fugaku had given them the confidence to do so.
In summary, while exposing his Mangekyo might bring Fugaku temporary convenience, it had also planted a seed of endless trouble for the future.
These were all things Kyosuke would probably have to deal with in the future. That's why he felt a twinge of resentment toward Fugaku.
But fortunately, there was still plenty of time. Time for him to plan, and to grow.
Otherwise, he felt like he could have strangled Fugaku.
(End of Chapter)
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We cross the 100 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 200 power stone, good luck guys.
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