"Hiroki! Hiroki! I figured out how to get stronger! I want to become the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki!"
Kushina's excited voice came from the doorway, shattering the strange tension that had filled the room.
Hiroki froze. His heart skipped a beat. He was facing Orochimaru—and that shout made every alarm in his body go off at once.He slowly turned his eyes toward Orochimaru, trying to gauge his reaction.
That girl… she's even more careless than I thought.
His first instinct was to turn around and tell her to stop yelling. But before he could, Kushina had already bounded into the room, face bright with enthusiasm, completely unaware of the dangerous man standing in the corner.
Orochimaru turned his head toward her, his golden eyes calm and unreadable. He didn't look curious or surprised—just mildly interested, as if watching a bug crawl across a windowsill.
The fact that Kushina was a candidate for the next Jinchūriki wasn't exactly a secret among Konoha's higher-ups.Especially not to Orochimaru, Danzo's right hand in the village's shadowy Root division.
Perhaps only someone like Jiraiya—who hated getting involved in the village's politics—would be oblivious.
But Orochimaru wasn't focused on Kushina. His gaze shifted back to Hiroki.
He noticed the way Hiroki's expression changed—from shock, to worry, to the subtle instinct of wanting to protect the red-haired girl.
A faint, knowing smile flickered across Orochimaru's lips.
How interesting, he thought. As long as this boy has something—or someone—to care about in Konoha, he'll be bound to the village. These are the invisible chains people call "bonds."
"I won't interrupt your conversation," Orochimaru said softly, his tone emotionless. "It's good to make more friends in Konoha."
He gave Hiroki a brief, unreadable glance, and the next instant—he was gone. Vanished in a blur of movement.
From outside came his distant voice:"Tomorrow. Don't be late."
The room fell silent.Kushina blinked, finally realizing something was off.
"H-Hiroki? Was that Orochimaru-sensei just now? Why was he here?"
Hiroki didn't answer. He quietly walked to the door, closed it, and turned back toward her.
"Kushina," he said seriously, "what did you just say? Who told you about the Jinchūriki?"
"Jinchūriki." It sounded noble in translation, but the truth behind the word was grim—it meant a living sacrifice to the Nine-Tailed Fox.
He couldn't stand the thought.Even though he knew that, in the original story, Uzumaki Kushina would eventually become the Nine-Tails' host, the idea of her—still just a child—bearing that burden made his stomach twist.
At least… not yet. Not this young.
He refused to believe that after all he'd done—time-traveling, graduating early, catching Orochimaru's eye—he couldn't even change something this small.
"It was Grandma Mito," Kushina said quietly, a little confused by his expression. "I went to ask her how to get stronger, and she told me."
"Mito…?" Hiroki murmured. The old woman had always struck him as gentle and kind.
"What exactly did she tell you?"
Kushina's excitement faded, replaced by a serious look. She thought for a moment before answering.
"I told Grandma Mito I wanted to get stronger. She told me not to rush… But Hiroki, you've gotten so much stronger since awakening your bloodline limit. I wanted to be like you…"
"So I asked if there was a faster way. She sighed and said there was—and then told me about the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"But she also told me to learn sealing techniques first," Kushina added softly. "She said I should think it over and not decide too quickly."Her voice dropped to a guilty whisper. "Um… did I do something wrong?"
Hiroki was quiet for a long moment.
On the surface, everything sounded normal.A child eager for strength, an elder unable to deny her curiosity.But could Kushina—sweet, impulsive Kushina—really understand what being a Jinchūriki meant?
He was about to ask her directly but stopped himself. With Orochimaru lurking around, open conversation felt unsafe.
He needed a more secure way to talk.
Without a word, he reached out and gently took Kushina's hand.
It was small, soft, and cool to the touch—like mochi.
Her face turned bright red. For a split second, a strange thought flashed through her mind, and she quickly shook her head to get rid of it.
Then a line of glowing text appeared in her mind's eye—Hiroki's message.
|Hiroki.log|: "Do you understand what being the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki really means? Do you know the price that comes with it?"
Kushina blinked as her system responded automatically.
|Kushina_Excitement_Admiration_Trust_Calm.log|: "I know, I know! Grandma Mito told me! She said people might be scared of me, and I might not be allowed to leave a certain area!"
|Kushina_Trust_Calm_Reluctant.log|: "But… if I don't become the Jinchūriki, I'll never catch up to you, Hiroki! I want to be strong too! I want to be Hokage!"
Hiroki stared at the words in silence.There was even a "calm" tag in her log. Was she truly calm—or just pretending to be?
He sighed and sent another message.
|Hiroki.log|: "Do you know what it feels like to lose your freedom? To be trapped in a tiny room every day while people look down on you?"
|Kushina_Trust_Calm_Unwilling.log|: "But everyone already looks down on me! Because of my red hair, my accent! I don't want power to bully them—I just want to prove myself! I want to be Konoha's first female Hokage! I want to stand beside you, Hiroki!"
|Kushina_Trust_Expectation_Reluctance.log|: "Hey… you'll support me, right?"
Hiroki stared at her words, unable to answer.
In the original story, Kushina's resolve had been shaped by Minato. But now, she barely knew Minato—and she was chasing him instead.
She wanted to be stronger because of him.
Was he… really worth that?
A heavy sense of responsibility settled over his heart.The quiet, lazy life he'd dreamed of—an ordinary desk job, basking in the sun like a plant—felt like it was drifting farther and farther away.
Why?
Because this world was rotten.
A world where children were sent to war.Where a single lunatic could start a conflict that killed thousands.Where someone like him—who only wanted peace—was forced to deal with people like Orochimaru and Danzo just to survive.
This damn ninja world was broken.
He clenched his fists, his thoughts sharpening.
If this was the world he'd been thrown into—and if he had a system powerful enough to change it—then maybe he should stop running.
Maybe he should fix it.
Maybe he should burn the whole damn thing down and rebuild it.
Hiroki exhaled, then reached out and ruffled Kushina's hair gently.
|Hiroki.log|: "I'll support you. But not yet. For now, do what Grandma Mito said—master the sealing arts first. I'll keep finding ways to get stronger too. Together, we'll earn the right to move freely, without fear."
He hesitated before typing the next line. The words that came to mind were harsh—too harsh for her.
He softened them.
|Hiroki.log|: "Let's grow stronger together… and then become Hokage. Let's change Konoha."
|Kushina_Admiration_Trust_Surprise.log|: "Mm!!!"
"So, you've made your decision?" Orochimaru's smooth voice cut through the silence, eyes gleaming with amusement.
Behind him stood a line of prisoners—hands bound, bodies covered in seals and wires connected to strange monitoring devices. Several researchers hovered nearby, watching data streams.
"Yes," Hiroki said quietly. "Let's begin the 'Automatic Muscle Growth' experiment. I'm ready."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Muscle enhancement, ninjutsu replication, illusion testing, elemental analysis—you've packed your schedule tighter than mine. Even I don't work this hard."
Hiroki didn't smile. "For a mediocre person like me, hard work is all I have."
He glanced coldly at the restrained criminals. "They're all guilty, right?"
"Of course," Orochimaru replied, smirking. "Each of them tried to steal ninjutsu or sell chakra secrets. Trash who caused more missions than they were worth."
"Good."
Hiroki placed his small hand on the first prisoner's chest.
A shrill scream tore through the lab. The man's muscles spasmed violently; his body twisted, trembling uncontrollably—then went still.
A researcher frowned at his monitor. "Calcium ion levels collapsed—acute hypocalcemia."
"Ventricular fibrillation confirmed. The heart couldn't maintain electrical rhythm," another added.
"Lactic acid overload… blood pH critical… kidneys failing…"
"Circulation ceased at thirty-seven seconds. Cause of death: brain hypoxia. No known medical ninjutsu can reverse it."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Shall we continue?"
Hiroki exhaled, expression unreadable. He didn't look at the corpse.
"Continue," he said coldly, stepping toward the next subject.