Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Gen.
He wasn't worried about Uchiha Gen's safety.
If the boy couldn't even protect himself in that place, he wouldn't deserve the effort Orochimaru had spent brewing this temporary Soft Physique Modification potion.
Part of the reason he'd gone to the trouble was that he wanted to see whether Uchiha Gen could manage to contract a second Rashōmon gate.
Truth be told, Orochimaru had no certainty—he figured the odds of success were fifty-fifty.
Fortunately, it had worked in the end.
"By the way, Orochimaru-sensei, I have a question."
Uchiha Gen suddenly asked.
"Speak."
"The mountain range there should hold rich mineral deposits; why not try to extract them…?"
"Because it's not worth it."
Orochimaru answered bluntly.
"The minerals are too varied and troublesome to refine."
"Add the long distance and the costs soar; for Konoha, it's cheaper to buy output from mines inside the Land of Fire."
"More importantly, the rock has been eroded for ages by high-intensity Yin Release Chakra."
"If you refine it into Explosive Tags, the Yin nature overwhelms the Fire nature, making the tag's seal structure unstable and yielding substandard products."
"The Second Hokage once launched a project to solve these problems."
"Refining costs could be cut by improving the process, and for transport, he proposed a simplified multi-user version of the Flying Thunder God."
"It was a Ninjutsu concept called the Flying Thunder God Formation for large-scale, long-range space-time transfer."
"But the final issue stumped even him."
"I took over the research myself and still found no workable method; in the end, we shelved it."
"Explosive Tags are valuable, but Konoha isn't exactly running short."
So that's how the Flying Thunder God Formation was first conceived, Uchiha Gen realized with a nod.
Orochimaru continued:
"Stay here tonight."
"Your body's taken a bit of a hit."
"With Lady Mito newly deceased, we won't trouble Tsunade for treatment."
"Once the softening effect wears off, I'll look after you myself."
Like Tobirama, Orochimaru was a polymath.
Though his Medical Ninjutsu couldn't match Tsunade's, it was hardly mediocre.
The slight abnormalities in Uchiha Gen's body were child's play for him.
Midnight.
After Orochimaru's treatment, Uchiha Gen leaned against the headboard of the guest room bed and closed his eyes.
[Character Name: Uchiha Gen]
[Character Level: 12]
[Currently Loaded Character Card: Uchiha Madara (Young)]
[Available Item Cards: None]
[Available Draws: 1]
Another level up.
Rescuing Kushina had been classified as a joint A-Rank mission, leaving plenty of excess experience after the last level gain.
This Nine-Tails Jinchūriki transfer ceremony was also rated a large-scale joint operation.
Although Uchiha Gen had only been one inconspicuous guard among over a hundred, the mission rank was high enough.
With the leftover experience, he'd finally reached Level 12.
[Use current draw?]
[Yes.]
[Drawing…]
[Acquired: Item Card: Quality Soldier Pills x5 (White)]
[Item Description: Grants five high-quality Soldier Pills upon use.]
Soldier Pills again?
He'd been fated to meet them today—first two premium Nara Clan pills from Orochimaru, now five quality ones from the gacha.
The quantity wasn't large, but judging by previous pulls, the quality wouldn't disappoint even if the card was White rarity.
At minimum, they'd exceed the market average; the System's products were reliable.
Whether they could beat the Nara premium pills, he couldn't say—he guessed not—but he'd find out soon.
[Use the item card?]
[Yes.]
Five pitch-black, glossy pills appeared in his palm, giving off a fresh, slightly bitter herbal scent.
"Good color and smell."
He scraped a bit of powder with a fingernail and tasted it.
Ugh, still awful.
A warm current soon rose from his stomach.
The effect fell short of the Nara premium pills, but it was decent.
It was above most brands on the market, worthy of the label "quality," and better than the ones he'd bought from the clan elders.
A rough estimate put their value at a tidy sum, especially with prices skyrocketing lately.
"Since we head to the front tomorrow, I'd better get everything ready tonight—no chance to resupply later."
Thinking of money, he did some mental accounting, then lay back and slept soundly.
Next morning, dawn.
Uchiha Gen rose early, followed Orochimaru to the training ground, and limbered up with two teammates to stay sharp.
The snake body softening had ended, but residual enhancements left him noticeably more flexible and slightly stronger.
After warm-ups, the squad dispersed.
Orochimaru, the Jōnin squad leader, had duties to attend to.
The others used the last few hours before departure to finish their preparations.
The first thing Uchiha Gen did was head to the clan's Ninja Crow breeding and sales center.
Once at the front, there'd be no chance to buy more.
Relying on the crows to breed on their own would take forever to build a usable flock.
The dozen crows he'd bought earlier had, after weeks of training and care, bonded well enough to begin practicing crow-assisted Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.
Combining this mission's pay, the unspent war subsidy, and past savings, he nearly doubled his flock to thirty usable birds.
After settling the new crows, it was already nine in the morning—time for his appointment with Uchiha Sumi.