And then the next day.
Yugito woke up groggy and realized Uchiha Yorin hadn't run off.
For a Kumogakure shinobi, that was… honestly kind of novel.
After all, Kumo, as the America of the shinobi world—
Uchiha Yorin: "That is a racial stereotype about Black folks."
Yugito: "Trust me, I'm an expert."
Yorin didn't keep arguing with her about whether Black people counted as a stereotype. After the… various fun experiences they'd shared, their relationship had gotten close enough that they could move on to more interesting and meaningful topics.
Like how to raise future kids.
Or whether they'd buy a house in Kumo or a new villa in Konoha.
At least for this stretch of time, Yugito was appearing as a classy rich cat, instead of a bristling hissing one.
Sometimes she still wanted to hiss at him, of course. But overall, they got along surprisingly well, and hadn't fallen into some tragic doomed-lovers storyline that would get mocked by some insane penguin narrator.
Just like that, Yorin "swept the grass and bagged the rabbit," neatly wrapping up his business with Kumo.
After thinking it over, Yugito also made a decision: she joined Yorin's harem squad, taking over the "teammate slot" that Terumi Mei had vacated.
Terumi Mei was extremely annoyed, but there wasn't much she could do. As Mizukage, the fact that she snuck in a few… vigorous "sessions" with Yorin when he visited Kirigakure was one thing. But if she stayed as a long-term party member, the situation in Kiri could easily spiral out of control.
And with the new "Ninshū" not yet rebuilt, she had to hold back for now.
So she decided: while Yorin was back in Kiri for these few days, she'd make the most of it and happily drag him off for a few more "training sessions," ehehe.
Yorin: "..."
You really couldn't underestimate the determination of a woman who'd decided she wanted to get pregnant. Even Uchiha Yorin felt just the tiniest bit overwhelmed.
Just a tiny bit, of course. He was the legendary invincible Saint Yorin, after all.
…
After fending off an over-clingy Mei, he spent some time deepening things with his new girlfriend, Konan.
And of course, the cat Yugito needed extra petting too.
With that, everything was basically in order.
Felt like he'd forgotten something… but it was probably fine, right?
Tsunade: "..."
She'd already made up her mind to jump him during the trip, and then out of nowhere, Yugito had popped up and stolen the timing. Tsunade was, understandably, not thrilled.
But there wasn't much to be done.
Rebuilding the Ninshū and unifying the shinobi world couldn't happen without Kumo's support. A political marriage with Kumo was always part of the plan.
…
After that, came happily handing the Chimera Technique over to his chief researcher, the Doraemon-level omnipotent Orochimaru.
What do you mean, "Hiruko's dead so the Chimera Technique is lost forever"?
You really underestimate Orochimaru.
Once Yorin delivered Hiruko's corpse, it didn't take long before a thoroughly displeased Edo Tensei Hiruko was forced to cough up every last scrap of his "secret ultimate technique."
"You'll regret this," Hiruko snarled, even as a resurrected wage slave. "Orochimaru will never be content under anyone's thumb!"
He glared at Yorin.
"One day, he'll betray you!"
Yorin sighed at the barking loser.
"You really don't get it."
He turned to Orochimaru instead.
"All right, this guy's yours. Don't disappoint me, Orochimaru-kun."
"Ah, of course." Orochimaru's lips curled into a delighted smile.
"I suppose it's rude to say it, but Hiruko… in this state, you might actually be more suitable than before. Fufufufu."
He turned his head, voice turning lightly mocking.
"Why would I ever betray Yorin-kun? Everything I want, he's already giving me. Research funds, every jutsu and technique I ask for."
He paused, then added—more to Yorin than to Hiruko:
"The only things I desire are eternal life and infinite knowledge. Power, status, glory… I don't care about any of that."
"Hmph…"
Hiruko snorted. Even as a resurrected lab slave, he was still trying to figure out how to overturn the table.
And to be fair, there is a theoretical path to flipping the board from Edo Tensei. Madara had pulled that stunt once, after all.
But that was Madara—the "God of Shinobi," a super‐Super Kage.
Hiruko was… small fish. Talented, sure. A neat ultimate technique, sure. But on the level of Uchiha Madara? Not even he believed that.
So in the end, he could only accept his fate: a permanent, unpaid research grunt under Orochimaru.
Anyone who could invent something like the Chimera Technique was clearly not an idiot. His research ability wasn't at the very top, but it was absolutely high-tier. And most importantly—he was free.
This kind of lab rat? Whoever used him would sing his praises.
…
Then, right in front of the man himself, Yorin asked Orochimaru:
"So, Orochimaru-kun, what do you think of the Chimera Technique? Does it have the kind of potential we're hoping for?"
The moment he asked, not only Orochimaru, but even Hiruko perked up.
He might hate Orochimaru now; his friendship with the Sannin was long dead. But he still wanted to hear what the great Orochimaru thought of his masterpiece.
Unfortunately for him, it wasn't the praise he wanted.
"It needs improvement," Orochimaru said bluntly.
Hiruko almost cracked.
"It's crude in every sense. The side effects are enormous. Using shortened lifespan and bodily damage to gain power is the worst path. If it weren't for its ability to devour kekkei genkai, I wouldn't rate it highly at all.
If you really want to trade lifespan for strength, my Cursed Seal system is superior to this chimera mess."
"You don't understand a damn thing!"
Hiruko snapped. He'd braced himself, but that still stung.
"In the early stages, yes, the Chimera Technique puts a heavy strain on the body. It causes mutations. But once you've collected five kekkei genkai, I can—"
"—Die from system overload," Orochimaru cut in smoothly.
"In my calculations, a normal human body can barely handle one or two kekkei genkai. Even a tempered shinobi body starts falling apart around three or four.
At five, there's only one outcome: total collapse.
You'd become an unnameable, ever‐multiplying lump of flesh. That's the future you were headed for, Hiruko. You should be grateful Yorin saved you from that, really. No matter how bad this looks, at least you didn't die as a blob. You preserved some shred of human dignity."
Hearing that, Hiruko nearly laughed.
So Yorin kills him, enslaves him with Edo Tensei, and now he's supposed to thank the guy?
Yorin, merciful savior?
Orochimaru ignored Hiruko's twitching expression. Old friend or not, he had better things to focus on—like the other goodies Yorin had promised.
"Though I hate to admit it," he continued, "this rough technique has quite a bit of insight hidden inside. It'll help us.
It will help us tune the Senju and Uchiha genes. It'll help with restoring the power of the legendary Sage of Six Paths.
In fact, if you wanted to, right now, I could graft Hashirama cells into you and pair them with a refined Chimera protocol. You could skyrocket instantly—perhaps even into Six Paths territory.
Even short of that, your power would grow dramatically. Forget Mangekyō; a new eye technique beyond Mangekyō wouldn't be impossible. Like those stages you mentioned to me—six‐tomoe, even nine‐tomoe Sharingan. Or Nagato's eyes…"
When he mentioned those eyes, even Orochimaru's usually cool expression slipped, becoming almost fanatical.
Even for him, the Sage's "eyes of a god" were something to revere.
Just imagining such a power restored in his hands made his blood race.
Yorin: "You've listed all the upsides. How about the downside?"
"…None. Absolutely none," Orochimaru said at first, too quickly.
But under Yorin's stare, he sighed and relented.
"Well. Perhaps a minor… cosmetic adjustment. I don't really consider that a downside."
Yorin immediately pictured all the people he'd seen using Orochimaru's cursed seals and Hiruko's chimera tech—every single one of them looked like a walking bad ending.
To turn him, the immaculate handsome Uchiha Yorin, into that? That would be worse than death.
"Yeah, no," he said. "Skip it for now. Keep working on it. When you get it to the point there are no external changes, I'll think about using it."
Orochimaru opened his mouth. "I still think—"
"Stop," Yorin cut him off.
~~~
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