"Evil Uchiha..."
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Ren Uchiha's eyes widened, and his mind began to wander.
The first person that came to mind as a model for an "Evil Uchiha" was his future junior, Obito, after his fall to darkness. But... was he expected to go around murdering his teacher, bombing Konoha, and overturning the ninja world?
His nine years of compulsory education in his past life wouldn't let him do the first thing—murdering his teacher. Besides, even if Obito was uncultured, Ren was a civilized man. Doing things that way seemed a bit too unrefined. And his teacher was Orochimaru! How was he even supposed to kill something like that?
As for the latter two, he had already technically bombed the village once, and he was planning to go to war soon anyway. Besides, he didn't really have a grudge against Konoha. Even the biggest villain in the village, the "King of Scapegoats" Danzo, probably wouldn't even care about a pair of Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
How was he supposed to act the part? Should he show off the Zero-Tails in front of Danzo, tempt the old man into making a mistake, and then perform some "entrapment" justice?
Thinking of this, Ren looked up, his brows furrowed as he looked at Orochimaru with an incredibly serious expression.
"Orochimaru-sensei, what exactly do I have to do to be considered an 'Evil Uchiha'?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He paused, then rasped:
"For example... follow your heart. Ignore the judgment of the world. Do the things you've always wanted to do but were never able to."
Ren's body shook, and his eyes lit up instantly. "You mean... I should go to the Root headquarters right now, transform, and use a Menacing Beast Beam to vaporize Danzo Shimura since he's always targeting my clan?"
"Honestly, I've been annoyed by that old man for a long time! Kill him, and then I'll push you to take over as the leader of Root! With us as teacher and student controlling the shadows, wouldn't that be magnificent?!"
It was a viable plan! Danzo definitely didn't have an entire arm of Sharingan to spam Izanagi yet; at most, he had a Three-Tomoe in his right eye. Combined with his Wind Style, summoning, and sealing... he might not even have obtained Izanagi at all yet. At this stage, he was basically just a "Premium Ebizō."
If Ren was at full strength, his chances of killing him were quite high!
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment, genuinely unsure how to respond. When exactly did Danzo offend this kid?
After a short silence, a dark, interested smile spread across Orochimaru's face. "That... might not be a bad idea. Though there's a risk of becoming a Rogue Ninja, that hardly matters. With me around, you could certainly try."
"However..."
Orochimaru's current Wood Style experiments required a massive amount of funding, and he needed to secure investment from Boss Danzo. Before he had preliminary results, he didn't want to slaughter the "donkey" just yet.
He glanced at Ren and added indifferently: "Danzo is still useful. Moreover, in your current state, you can't beat him. That old fox hides several trump cards; even I would find him troublesome to face directly."
"You need a period of cultivation. I have reinforced the Heaven's Cursed Seal with the Evil-Sealing Method, and I've used the Four Symbols Seal to suppress those Sharingan of yours that keep absorbing Natural Energy. Before the next campaign erupts, there are several tasks you must complete."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and tossed a scroll into Ren's lap. Ren picked it up and unfurled it. The title read:
"Experimental Records and Methods for Suppressing the Heaven's Cursed Seal"!
The contents were filled with bloody, inhumane experimental logs detailing the effects of various trials on the seal. By the end, it was clear that Orochimaru had begun to analyze the usage of the Cursed Seal—such as how to activate "Cursed Seal Level 1" while minimizing side effects.
"You have prematurely developed the Cursed Seal to Level 2, reaching a form closest to the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave. But your method is too reckless. You must learn to control this power precisely."
Orochimaru gave his instructions firmly. "Do not contact those Sage Snakes of the Cave for now. I have a better way to help you master Sage Mode in one step. But the first move requires you to perfectly master this Cursed Seal!"
"There are several methods in this scroll to further integrate the seal with your body, reducing the burden Natural Energy places on your system."
Ren looked up, slightly surprised. "Is there anything else?"
Orochimaru nodded. "Second: the Wood Style experiments. As you heard, you have less than two years to live. To extend your life, we must 'expand the capacity' of your body. This is not something that can be done overnight, even with your constitution."
Orochimaru exhaled slowly. "Preliminary cell fusion experiments using your tissues failed over three hundred times. However, there was an unexpected result."
"The Hashirama cells, after dozens of iterations, can be used as 'nutrients' for the Zero-Tails larva inside you. It will help it grow significantly in a short period."
Ren was stunned. This meant his long-standing problem of low chakra reserves might finally be solved. He wouldn't have to faint and "lay on the boards" after only two shots of the Menacing Beast Beam. In terms of chakra volume, the Zero-Tails could potentially rival the true Tailed Beasts.
This was a massive buff.
"That is all for now. I will contact you via a summoning snake regarding the Tailed Beast's growth." Orochimaru's eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked toward the door. Through the small window, two dark shadows appeared.
Looking at the uninvited guests, Orochimaru let out a raspy laugh. "Heh... what a coincidence."
"Ren. Let's see then... if you can truly be a proper villain."
Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue and raised his hands, weaving a long string of signs: Tiger-Hare-Snake-Horse-Ram-Bird... Dog-Rat!
He pressed his hand against Ren's neck.
Evil-Sealing Method: Release!
Four Symbols Seal: Release!
In an instant, Ren felt two invisible shackles vanish from his body. Orochimaru then pulled a syringe filled with an unknown green liquid from his sleeve and handed it to Ren. He smiled coldly, his eyes glinting with a dark light.
"Take this. Go and show our investor exactly what a villain is. Show him... a human weapon!"
With a chilling smirk, Orochimaru vanished from the room in a flicker of movement.
SLAM!
The hospital room door was kicked open. Two ninjas wearing patterned masks and standard Konoha Anbu uniforms—radiating a cold, lethal intent—strode into the room.
They looked down at Ren Uchiha and barked a command:
"Ren Uchiha! Lord Danzo requests your presence!"
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