"Master Aruo sent me to find you, to reclaim what belongs to the Senju... what's rightfully mine," Nawaki said to Orochimaru. Well, his tone was slightly impolite.
That phrasing wasn't quite accurate either—whatever it was didn't actually belong to Nawaki, and truthfully, whether he even had the qualifications to inherit such power was questionable.
Previously, Nawaki had received a "[Scroll]" as a gift from Master Aruo. At the time, he'd been told that it contained the secret of the Senju's great power, but could only be opened when the timing was right.
As for when exactly the right timing would be, Master Aruo had left behind a cryptic message.
Later, the answer was revealed.
When news of Master Aruo's death came, Nawaki immediately thought of that scroll.
Sure enough, along with Aruo's passing, the chakra seal she placed upon the scroll dissipated, allowing Nawaki to open the scroll without effort.
However, rather than containing any so-called secrets of the Senju's might, the [Scroll] simply instructed him to come to this place and seek out someone called Orochimaru. Thanks to Tsunade, Nawaki naturally knew who Orochimaru was.
Still, he hadn't interacted with Orochimaru directly before now.
To be honest, normal people instinctively avoided interacting with someone like Orochimaru. Childhood aside, as an adult, Orochimaru's whole vibe? Better kept at arm's length if you could manage it.
Personality was one thing, but more importantly, in Orochimaru's eyes, nearly everyone else was an idiot. And most people could vaguely sense that condescending attitude.
Orochimaru didn't care either way… What did he care if the test subject acted out? It wasn't like he stopped being a test subject.
"Do you have a problem with this?" Seeing Orochimaru remain silent, Nawaki quickly asked again.
You could practically see it boiling under his skin.
"Not really. I'm just surprised you made it here so smoothly... Honestly, I thought shaking off the watchers would be tough for you.
But don't worry, I'll keep my end of the deal.
You give something, I take something—it's a straightforward exchange between us."
He mostly kept his word. In this particular deal, he'd already gotten what he wanted—he was essentially doing "custom processing," and it was hard to say he'd truly invested anything significant.
"But are you absolutely sure about this decision? Even though my experiment is complete, there's no guarantee of success... During the process of containing this power, you may well die."
"What level of risk are we talking about?"
"It isn't a quantifiable number. However, as a descendant of the First Hokage's bloodline, you possess remarkable compatibility. Setting aside ordinary people, this procedure should work on you—actually, must work on you... After all, you're the most qualified candidate, aren't you?"
The way Orochimaru put it—so full of leading suggestions—it was like he was practically inviting Haseo to kill him. Again.
"I understand. I'm prepared... What do I need to do next?"
"Ahaha, the task I'm asking you to do is quite simple—just grit your teeth and endure it."
As he spoke, two pale white serpents began to slowly emerge from within Orochimaru's sleeve.
Truth be told, despite his fondness for human experimentation, he'd always been quite resourceful and waste-averse. For example, he would use snake fangs as substitutes for medical syringes.
Facing those eerily human-like eyes of the approaching serpents, Nawaki's pulse spiked with sudden dread… Snakes that could "express emotion through their eyes"? That alone would make most folks (like, 90%+) seriously creeped out.
The cold, slimy snake touched Nawaki's neck, making his entire body shiver slightly.
Then one snake bared its fangs and without hesitation sank them into Nawaki's shoulder.
Nawaki frowned; aside from a slight sting, nothing particularly notable seemed to happen.
"I don't really feel anything."
"Don't be impatient. That was just the 'neutralizer.' The main course hasn't even started yet."
Before he finished speaking, Orochimaru gave Nawaki no time to react at all, and the second snake plunged its venomous fangs into the other shoulder.
Nawaki tried to speak, but before another word left his lips, his breath caught violently in his chest. Then came an indescribable, excruciating pain that struck like lightning. Sweat soaked his entire body in seconds, and in the next moment, his whole body convulsed as he collapsed onto the ground.
If you were craving some sensation, why not just say so? Orochimaru could easily satisfy such a request. Just as he said, there was absolutely nothing Nawaki needed to do except endure the pain.
"I've already returned the Senju power to you, as promised. Whether or not you can handle it is your own problem.
But actually, I hope you succeed. It should be pretty simple, shouldn't it?
After all, they say your teacher, who barely counts as half a ninja, could chat and laugh casually with Haseo while having a hole punched through her chest, and even berated him so harshly that Haseo couldn't utter a word in response. Frankly speaking, that's quite an impressive achievement. If you truly are her disciple, enduring a bit of pain like this should be manageable, right?"
The first half of this speech definitely bore Orochimaru's usual style, but the latter half sounded somewhat different… Many who spend too long around Haseo end up adopting the same traits—speaking in ways that sound less than human at times.
Like some mere test subject, Nawaki was carelessly discarded on the floor by Orochimaru, left completely ignored while he busied himself further within the lab. Over the following three days, Orochimaru only briefly left once before soon returning.
Three days later, Nawaki finally staggered back to his feet.
"Oh, you're alive? How do you feel?"
Orochimaru's tone suddenly became unusually caring, as if he'd only now started treating Nawaki like an actual person.
In reality, however, this wasn't the case at all. He was merely concerned about the results of his experiment… What was one human life worth, when weighed against forbidden knowledge?
"Not sure… But somehow, it feels good."
Nawaki appeared significantly thinner than before. In response to Orochimaru's question, he rasped out hoarsely as he unconsciously tightened his fist.
In fact, what Nawaki felt most acutely right now was thirst. After all, he had been drenched in sweat for three straight days, sweating nonstop without drinking a drop of water—but there was no need to bring it up.
Nawaki couldn't describe his current state, but he was certain about one thing: he felt somehow different from before...
"So it would seem… Then I suppose my experiment was a success." Orochimaru finally smiled.
The power of the Senju—specifically that of the First Hokage—was extremely difficult to control. That raw, invasive energy alone could kill anyone instantly.
Fortunately, it was being balanced out by the Uzumaki chakra.
"You can try gathering your chakra now."
Nawaki nodded. As he followed Orochimaru's instructions and attempted to do so, two cursed seals emerged on both sides of his shoulders… There was something Orochimaru said that wasn't far off—after all, Nawaki carried blood flowing directly from Hashirama Senju.
As for Orochimaru himself, he was a master at crafting unique life forms—his passion and expertise lay in their creation.
Hmm, those things could simply be summed up as…
"Frankenstein-like monstrosities."
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