Kenichi actually felt a bit sorry for the Uchiha clan.
But sympathy was one thing.
Helping them… or not taking advantage of the situation… that was another.
If their tragedy could be turned into funding, then as far as he was concerned, it was just another "resource."
Because doing research was expensive.
Painfully expensive.
As a lowly genin, the missions he could take only brought in enough to live on. Food, rent, basic supplies—fine.
But building a personal laboratory?
Impossible.
And yet, that was exactly what his elective task demanded: Establish your own laboratory.
Not a symbolic shack. A real lab.
Orochimaru's lab was only possible because of two things: his strength and reputation… and Danzō's financial backing through Root.
"Money, huh… I cross worlds and still end up having to grind for cash."
Kenichi rubbed his face, mildly depressed.
He had done the math yesterday.
Everything he'd saved so far was barely enough to set up a bare-bones lab frame: a place, a basic layout, some shelves.
Equipment? Instruments? Specialized tools?
Forget it.
Without equipment, it's not a lab. And without a lab, I can't complete the task.
He sighed.
"In Konoha right now, the big money events are basically… the Nine-Tails' attack… and Sensei defecting."
Both of which hadn't happened yet.
Grabbing a huge sum in one stroke was only really possible by looting someone else when chaos broke out.
The Uchiha massacre would've been the perfect opportunity, but that was still far, far in the future.
As for Orochimaru's defection—his best shot there would be inheriting the lab itself.
But then he'd face investigation and cleansing. And if he avoided that without sufficient strength, he'd just end up as Danzō's puppet.
No.
That wasn't acceptable.
Still thinking, Kenichi wandered into a ramen shop.
Not Ichiraku.
Another small, cheaper shop he preferred—good broth, big portions, and kind to his wallet.
He planned to eat, go home, refine some chakra, and then practice the ninjutsu Orochimaru had given him.
He had just stepped inside and hadn't even sat down when someone rushed over.
"Senior Amemiya!"
A girl's excited voice cut through the clatter of the shop.
Kenichi turned and saw a familiar face.
Mitarashi… Anko…
He took a quiet breath.
He slightly regretted making her call him "senior" the first time they met. Back then it had just been a joke to tease her a bit.
But she'd taken it completely seriously.
"So it's you, Anko." Kenichi smiled gently. "What are you doing here?"
The girl in front of him was Orochimaru's other disciple—Mitarashi Anko.
Unlike Kenichi, she knew nothing about the experiments.
Only Kenichi understood just how dark their teacher really was.
Which made him worry a little about his own future. When Orochimaru eventually chose to defect, what would happen to him?
Anko, at least, survived in the original story and appeared again later.
So chances were, their teacher wouldn't go all the way with her.
But Kenichi had no intention of betting his life on someone else's morality.
That kind of thing had to stay in his hands.
"I just finished a genin mission!" Anko puffed out her chest proudly, eyes squinting into happy crescents. "I'm going to be a chūnin soon, Senior!"
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
His little junior's talent was really quite good.
Unlike him—who originally had no talent to become a shinobi at all.
…Well, all that was in the past now.
"That's great," Kenichi said warmly. "Just remember to keep training hard."
He ordered a bowl of tonkotsu ramen for himself.
Seeing Anko staring longingly at the menu with shining eyes, he sighed inwardly… and added glutinous rice dumplings and red bean paste to the order.
"Senior, you're the best!"
Anko's cheer lit up the entire counter.
Kenichi could only shake his head helplessly.
She was fine in every way… except for her overwhelming love of sweets.
And somehow, she'd developed the habit of mixing glutinous dumplings with red bean paste to make it even sweeter.
While the two of them were eating and chatting, the Hokage building was anything but peaceful.
"Old man Hiruzen… you're past your prime. It's time to step down."
In the Hokage's office, Danzō stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen and spoke bluntly.
Konoha had technically won the Third Great Ninja War.
But the price… had been immense.
Now, the village needed to stabilize.
And the one who had signed those costly treaties with other villages had to step down.
"…I'll retire."
Hiruzen took a slow drag on his pipe, smoke curling up into the dim office.
"We should prepare to elect the Fourth Hokage."
He looked at his old friend calmly.
Danzō's eyes shone with barely contained excitement.
So. After all these years, you can't suppress that ambition anymore…
"I think Orochimaru would be an excellent choice," Danzō said suddenly.
That caught Hiruzen off guard for a heartbeat.
"Orochimaru, huh…"
He exhaled another stream of smoke, expression unreadable.
"He does seem… suitable."
Danzō's smug satisfaction was obvious, even if he tried to hide it.
Hiruzen, however, felt nothing.
As the teacher of the Legendary Sannin, he understood his students better than anyone.
Once upon a time, Orochimaru had been a promising genius.
But now… he had become twisted. Obsessed. Dangerous.
A man like that could not become Hokage.
Otherwise, Konoha would be dragged into a far darker future.
Which was why Hiruzen had already decided: he would support another hero of this war.
A man whose contributions and reputation already shone brightly across the battlefield.
Namikaze Minato.
And recently, Orochimaru seemed to be getting a little too close to Danzō.
Root might be under Danzō's control, but Konoha's ANBU didn't just sit around doing nothing.
Speaking of which… according to ANBU reports, Orochimaru's disciple, Amemiya Kenichi, has been slipping out quite often lately…
Hiruzen frowned slightly.
No matter how cautious you were, people always left traces.
Orochimaru and Kenichi might be careful, but even so, a few faint threads of suspicion had been noticed.
Kenichi, of course, knew nothing about being under the Hokage's eye.
He had already finished his meal with Anko, walked her partway back, and then gone home.
The laboratory was off-limits to him alone.
According to Orochimaru, if he went there by himself too often, it would be easy for ANBU to pick up the trail.
That would be… troublesome.
"In that case, I might have to clean house, Kenichi."
When Orochimaru had said that, his tone had been gentle.
But his eyes had been deadly serious.
Kenichi believed him.
So unless Orochimaru personally took him there, Kenichi pretended he had no idea the lab even existed.
He lay sprawled on his bed now, restless.
He wanted to go to the lab.
He had a new idea related to his earlier thoughts—one he desperately wanted to test. If it worked, it might even become a terrifying forbidden jutsu.
But he was stuck.
He couldn't move freely.
"…Hold on."
A thought flashed across his mind, and he suddenly sat up straight.
If I can't go to the lab… I can still go to the hospital.
And the kind of patients he was looking for…
Were probably more likely to be found there.
(End of Chapter)