"Kabuto, what's wrong with Lord Orochimaru lately?"
A young man with pale grayish-white hair turned toward Kabuto as he spoke.
It was Kimimaro. Orochimaru's behavior had been very abnormal recently—he wasn't even performing the experiments he had once been so obsessed with.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, his tone uncertain.
"It should be related to the Umbrella Organization… I've rarely seen Lord Orochimaru this serious."
At that moment, Orochimaru was still brooding over the three questions Naruto had given him. With his brilliance, he had already unraveled the meaning behind the first question and even gained some insights into the other two.
What fascinated him most was: what kind of power could explain these phenomena?
He knew gravity permeated the world—water flowed downward because of it, fruits fell to the earth because of it. Yet when it came to the third question, Orochimaru was stuck.
These were things he had never seriously pondered before, and now the essence of the questions consumed his thoughts.
The leader of Umbrella had called this "understanding the three questions in order to open the door to truth." Simple as they seemed, Orochimaru couldn't ignore them.
Leaving his underground lair, Orochimaru walked deep into the forest. A small stream glimmered in the shadows of the trees. For once, the serpent's cold, calculating eyes were clouded with doubt.
Scooping up a handful of water, he watched as it slipped through his fingers, dripping downward to the ground. Everything was pulled down.
Gravity was everywhere… but what was its source?
Was there something hidden beneath the earth that produced it?
The thought made Orochimaru tremble with excitement. A hunger for knowledge, a craving for discovery, surged within him. Without another word, he turned and left—ignoring Kabuto and Kimimaro, who had hurried to follow.
Meanwhile, in Konoha, Naruto smirked when he learned his letter had reached Orochimaru. The questions he posed seemed simple on the surface, yet they struck at exactly what the current shinobi world lacked.
Technology in this world had originated among commoners.
Though it brought convenience, shinobi dominance, feudal tradition, and noble authority had slowed its spread. Some nobles even branded technology as "improper," insisting on horse-drawn carriages instead of modern vehicles.
In truth, the nobles opposed it not out of tradition but out of fear—fear that technology might destabilize their rule. Still, convenience always found a way, and technology crept forward.
In places like the Land of Fire, however, certain lords outright banned it. Thus, despite being in an age of electrical appliances, the world remained twistedly outdated. To Naruto—who came from a world steeped in advanced science—this contradiction was both absurd and frustrating.
He believed technology could not only aid shinobi but also accelerate the growth of chakra and taijutsu. To him, the shinobi world was far too small.
The Ōtsutsuki Clan had already proven the existence of universal colonization, planting the God Tree on world after world. The ones that had appeared in the "original" story might only have been insignificant scouts compared to the true might of their clan.
How terrifying must an Ōtsutsuki be after feeding on planetary essence and living for countless millennia?
Naruto knew true peace meant preparing for threats before they arrived.
The Fourth Shinobi World War to come would merely be a civil struggle compared to the looming danger of the Ōtsutsuki. If the clan didn't receive the results they wanted from this planet, they would surely send others.
Not to mention—the Ōtsutsuki already hiding in this world, regaining strength.
Chakra itself had been a gift—or perhaps a curse—from that very clan, spread to humanity by the Sage of Six Paths.
Naruto even suspected Hagoromo hadn't passed down the complete method of chakra cultivation, leaving glaring gaps beyond the "Super Kage" level… a way to ensure no one could ever threaten him.
It was only a theory, but one Naruto couldn't dismiss.
And so, while Naruto continued his training, he assumed the concept of universal gravitation would be enough to keep Orochimaru occupied for quite some time. What he hadn't expected was just how relentless Orochimaru's pursuit of the truth would become.
In the Land of Rice Fields, Orochimaru turned to Kabuto and Kimimaro.
"Kabuto," his voice was calm yet resolute, "I'm leaving the Sound Village in your care for a while. I must pursue the truth. I sense this will lead to a monumental discovery."
He intended to wander the shinobi world itself, seeking answers to the questions Naruto had posed.
Kabuto frowned, pushing up his glasses.
"Lord Orochimaru… are you truly going? What if this is all just a trick?"
During this period, Kabuto finally grasped what Orochimaru was truly researching:
Why does water always flow downward?
Why do fruits fall from trees?
Why is it that, when a ship returns from afar, its sails appear before the rest of the vessel?
Such odd questions…
But weren't these simply questions about gravity?
Although Kabuto's talent was exceptional, he lacked Orochimaru's relentless spirit of inquiry.
Orochimaru sought not just answers, but the very essence of natural phenomena—the causes hidden beneath the surface.
"Kabuto, you are not yet mature enough," Orochimaru told him with a chilling smile. His words carried both menace and an undeniable charisma.
"You cannot see the true nature of this world. Remember—sometimes, the simplest things conceal the deepest truths."
With that, Orochimaru left, embarking on his journey to uncover what he believed to be the truth.
He began by observing fruit falling from trees, tracing patterns through forests across multiple lands.
His wandering footsteps even gave rise to legends among commoners—whispers of a serpent spirit that haunted the woods and devoured disobedient children.
At times, Orochimaru even used Earth Release to burrow deep underground, searching for some hidden force that might explain gravity. But he found nothing.
Eventually, he reached the sea, where every river converged. There, he watched ships pass along the horizon, their sails always appearing first. At last, he even boarded vessels to sail across the ocean himself.
Each fragment of observation, each fleeting insight, collected within Orochimaru's heart like droplets, slowly merging into rivers, then lakes, and finally, an endless sea of thought.
Naruto could never have expected that Orochimaru would devote months to this pursuit. He had only intended for Orochimaru to gain a basic understanding of universal gravitation, yet Orochimaru had become utterly consumed by the mystery, digging ever deeper.
During this time, Naruto was surprised that Orochimaru hadn't contacted the Umbrella Organization. Was he insulted by the questions? Or was he simply too absorbed to care?
Whatever the reason, Naruto could only wait. He knew they would meet again soon—when Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan.
For now, there was just one month left until graduation. Naruto's own research on the Caged Bird curse mark was nearing completion.
Half a month earlier, he had completely removed the seal from Neji. Now, the Hyūga prodigy's Byakugan was free of its once fatal weakness.
...
TN:
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