"Lately… the weather in Konoha seems a little off."
Another holiday had arrived. After finishing his training for the day, Uchiha Shunichi sat reading when he suddenly noticed something strange happening in the distant sky.
"This is…"
Staring at the anomaly, a familiar scene surfaced in Shunichi's mind.
"An ability that can control the weather… should I get involved?"
He fixed his gaze on the ever-shifting horizon, the thought lingering.
"Shunichi, what's wrong?"
Nearby, Uchiha Sasuke—who was training his chakra control—noticed Shunichi's distraction and asked.
"Nothing," Shunichi replied, snapping back to reality and returning to his book.
If Naruto weren't involved, seeking out Yūto wouldn't be a bad idea. A constitution capable of controlling the weather could offer valuable inspiration for his experimental base.
But… forget it.
Naruto was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, constantly watched by the village's ANBU. If Shunichi suddenly broke his usual habits and went looking for Naruto now, it would only invite unnecessary trouble.
Without absolute strength, some things were better left avoided.
Seeing Shunichi like this, Sasuke didn't press further.
He knew very well that although they looked the same age, Shunichi understood far more than he did.
More importantly, Shunichi could help him grow stronger—something that mattered even more than the Academy instructors' teachings.
The courtyard once again fell into silence.
But that silence lasted less than half an hour before it was shattered by several people bursting in.
"Naruto…? What are you guys—"
Sasuke looked at the group fleeing in disarray, confusion written across his face.
"Sorry—excuse us!"
Shikamaru greeted them casually, then grabbed a strange boy and bolted.
"Wait—Shikamaru! Who is he?"
Uchiha Shunichi suddenly spoke up, deliberately pretending ignorance as he pointed at Yūto.
Shikamaru, Naruto, and the others didn't stop. They vanished in an instant, leaving behind only a single sentence.
"Sorry, I don't have time right now!"
Shunichi watched their retreating figures, deep in thought.
Should he chase after them? It would be a perfectly reasonable excuse—but… forget it.
Sasuke was clearly irritated by the scene.
But seeing that Shunichi said nothing, he stopped himself as well. After a moment's thought, his emotions gradually settled.
However, Shunichi's own mood had taken a strange turn—because he suddenly realized that there was an extra guest in his courtyard.
A small white snake.
Snakes themselves weren't frightening. Even Academy students wouldn't fear something like that.
But the person represented by this white snake was someone Shunichi could not ignore.
"Sasuke, keep training. Don't follow me."
After only a brief pause, Shunichi made his decision. He picked up the little white snake from the ground and spoke to Sasuke with a serious expression.
Sasuke watched Shunichi walk into the house, utterly confused about what had just happened.
...
"Orochimaru… are you inside this snake?"
Back in his room, Shunichi asked cautiously.
The little snake flicked its tongue, making no sound.
This was the world of ninja, not cultivators. As Orochimaru's summoned creature, the white snake could only carry out simple tasks—it could not be treated as Orochimaru himself.
Because of his excessive tension, Shunichi's thoughts were a bit scattered. Still, that suited his outward age well enough.
After very roughly confirming that there was no chance of Orochimaru crawling out of the snake's mouth, Shunichi took out a slip of paper, wrote a few lines on it, and gently stuffed it into the snake's mouth.
After swallowing the note, the little white snake seemed oddly interested, circling Shunichi once as if inspecting him. Then, as though its mission had been completed, it swiftly slithered away.
Shunichi didn't know whether reaching out to Orochimaru was the right choice. But in Konoha, he truly couldn't find anyone capable of teaching him what he needed.
What he required now was a stronger constitution. As long as his body was powerful enough, he could unleash jōnin-level strength at any time.
Hashirama cells were an incredible thing.
But… what price would he have to pay to obtain them from Orochimaru?
And would what he had written be enough to catch Orochimaru's interest?
"Shunichi, what just happened?"
Seeing Shunichi come back out, Sasuke immediately asked with concern.
Shunichi's expression was somewhat grave. He brushed it off casually.
"Just thought of an interesting experiment earlier. It failed."
Hearing that, Sasuke didn't pursue the matter further. Though both were survivors of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke couldn't understand what Shunichi was thinking—or what he was doing.
Still, the improvement in his own strength thanks to Shunichi was undeniable. That alone made Sasuke care deeply about him.
Leaning back into the lounge chair, Shunichi picked up the book he'd been reading earlier—but he couldn't focus on a single word.
For a fleeting moment, a dangerous thought crossed his mind:
Go to Root first. Become Danzō's test subject. Then defect.
After all, with his Mangekyō Sharingan ability, he could escape at any time—and he wasn't afraid of death.
But the thought passed in an instant.
Shimura Danzō would never let him achieve his goals so easily. Besides, many of the things Shunichi needed hadn't even been invented yet.
He had no intention of becoming like Uchiha Madara—casually stuffing a chunk of flesh into his body and brute-forcing the consequences with medical ninjutsu.
That was the stupidest possible approach: extremely dangerous, and far too time-consuming.
"Sasuke, you can stop your chakra training for now. You've been pushing yourself too hard lately—your body has already taken some damage."
Shunichi suddenly spoke.
Sasuke froze, then stopped half-doubtfully.
"Really?"
"Yes. Even though you've been using the medicines I developed, they're only supplements. If you overtrain, it could affect your long-term growth. After all, you're not a true taijutsu specialist," Shunichi said earnestly.
"…Alright. What do you need me to do?"
Sasuke had grown used to this. Whether it was true or not, it was better to trust him.
Doing work for this fellow clansman in exchange for rapid growth in strength
To Sasuke, that was a very worthwhile deal.