Orochimaru momentarily mused over Hiruko's particular tastes, but he didn't dwell on it. To him, the fact that Hiruko had identifiable weaknesses and desires was a blessing.
Once I'm back on the battlefield, I'll capture a few notable kunoichi for him, Orochimaru thought. I can trade them for that fellow's core technologies. He didn't for a second believe that Hiruko was being entirely transparent with his research data.
As he looked at the Uchiha head, a dark, idle thought crossed his mind: I wonder if Fugaku would be willing to sacrifice his wife for the sake of the clan? After all, for men like us, what use is a woman once she's finished providing heirs?
Shaking off the stray thought, Orochimaru spoke plainly. "Fugaku-kun, you are well aware of the Research Division Hiruko and I have established, yes?"
Fugaku nodded. The department had become common knowledge during the previous Hokage's final days, and its profile had only exploded recently due to Hiruko's public movements. First, there were the factories churning out "Snow Salt"—a luxury good now being dumped onto the market at such low prices it was raking in a fortune. Second, the Division was laying iron rails across the Land of Fire, connecting Konoha to the rest of the nation like a new circulatory system. No one could ignore them.
"Fugaku-kun, have you considered... investing?" Orochimaru asked suddenly.
Investing? With personnel or resources? Fugaku's heart tightened. He wasn't afraid to spare a few men, but he feared Orochimaru was trying to force the Uchiha to pick a side. Right now, the Uchiha wanted only to stand firmly behind Minato Namikaze. Since there were known frictions between Orochimaru and Minato, any formal alignment was a political minefield. The Uchiha were still a premier noble clan; they weren't desperate enough to gamble their entire future on a whim.
Orochimaru laid out his terms with startling bluntness. "The Research Division needs results. We've made progress on the First Hokage's Wood Style, but it's not enough. If the Uchiha are willing, I am prepared to offer you... technical support."
Fugaku frowned. "Technical support? You mean jutsu? The Uchiha do not lack for techniques; our Sharingan has seen to that over the centuries."
Orochimaru leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper that made Fugaku's blood run cold.
"The Mangekyō."
"What?! The Mangekyō!!"
Fugaku's voice cracked, spiking into a near-shriek of shock. He stared at Orochimaru's face. If anyone else had uttered that word, Fugaku would have ordered them out of his house immediately.
"Hiruko and I can help develop methods to enhance the Uchiha's ocular power," Orochimaru continued smoothly. "And perhaps... a stable path to awakening the Mangekyō. All we require are the necessary resources and personnel."
Fugaku was reeling. He knew better than anyone that Orochimaru and Hiruko were the apex of the shinobi world's scientific minds. If they truly intended to unlock the secrets of the Mangekyō, it was an opportunity beyond his wildest dreams. His hands began to tremble. Little Itachi watched his father with a confused gaze, wondering why his normally stoic, dignified parent was suddenly so agitated. Being the genius he was, Itachi carved the word "Mangekyō" deep into his memory.
"Think about it, Fugaku-kun," Orochimaru tempted, his voice like a silken demon's. "Imagine the impact of an Uchiha with a pair of Mangekyō. Even if they don't reach the legendary status of Madara Uchiha, it would cement the clan's position as the village's undisputed elite forever."
Fugaku took a long, shaky breath. "The village already has the salt plants... surely you don't need Uchiha funding. Is this like the Wood Style experiments of the past? Using our people as test subjects?"
Orochimaru gave a thin, eerie smile. "This time, the experiments are fully sanctioned and public. We won't be repeating the 'extreme' methods of the past that traded lives for paths."
After a bit more idle chatter, Orochimaru rose to leave. "I shall await your news."
He took a few steps toward the gate, then paused, turning his head slightly to drop one final, devastating bombshell.
"One more secret for you: the Wood Style experiments haven't been a total failure. One subject has already successfully manifested the Wood Style Bloodline Limit."
What?!
The Senju bloodline—the power that had integrated into the village through generations of marriage—had reappeared? Fugaku's mind was a whirlwind of panic and calculation as Orochimaru disappeared.
Two months later.
The Research Division had become a hub of non-stop financial and material exchange. With a virtually unlimited budget and a steady stream of "resources," Hiruko had finally achieved a breakthrough in plant-based fusion.
In a massive subterranean chamber thirty meters underground, the lab had been completely overhauled. Orochimaru stood before a bizarre specimen, his eyes gleaming with intense curiosity. It was a gnarled, twisted plant towering ten meters high, its countless branches drooping like weeping willows.
Hiruko looked at it with a sense of accomplishment. "Thanks to the village opening up the old research archives, I saved a great deal of time."
He patted the trunk of the pale vine-plant. The creepers reacted instantly, coiling around Hiruko's arm like playful snakes.
"Does it have a will of its own?" Orochimaru asked, fascinated.
"The consciousness of a small child," Hiruko replied. "Immature, but there's a chance to cultivate it further."
The plant was grotesque. Its pale vines were etched with intricate patterns resembling Cursed Seals, and faint, translucent human faces occasionally flickered across the surface of the trunk, creating a haunting atmosphere.
Orochimaru reached out to touch it, but as his hand made contact, a terrifying suction force took hold.
"What?!"
"You used a plant as a substitute for the...?"
"No, wait! This thing!"
Orochimaru looked at the eldritch vine with pure, unadulterated excitement. "You've actually done it!"
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