Chapter 36 – Orochimaru: A Million Hybrid Senju–Uchiha Clones? Fascinating…
There were no vats of cloned bodies.
No organs floating in jars of formalin.
No racks of Hashirama cells or stolen Sharingan.
Orochimaru's "laboratory" was spotless to the point of absurdity—too clean, too ordinary.
It wasn't like Orochimaru at all.
Yujiro instantly understood: this place had been staged. Either scrubbed down beforehand, or never a real lab to begin with—just a mask.
And though Orochimaru feigned surprise at his visit, Yujiro was certain he and Danzō had already spoken.
The partnership of these two political exiles of Konoha—one a failed Hokage candidate, the other forever in Hiruzen's shadow—hadn't ended with Minato's election. If anything, it had only grown deeper.
Of course, that "partnership" existed only in Danzō's imagination. He believed they were allies of necessity, even kindred spirits. Orochimaru, however, had long since dismissed him. To the Snake Sannin, Danzō was nothing more than a tool to be discarded the moment a better option—or a more opportune moment—presented itself.
And one thing was certain: no matter what else changed, Orochimaru would never truly ally with the Uchiha.
---
"Lord Orochimaru," Yujiro said, seating himself across the table with deliberate calm. "It's an honor."
"I've heard much about you as well," Orochimaru replied smoothly, golden eyes gleaming. "The honor is mine, Yujiro-kun."
What unsettled Yujiro was how interested Orochimaru seemed in him.
The Sharingan? Or something else?
"Both," Orochimaru said much later—over a month later, in fact.
Could two men who had never met become close friends in just a month?
Apparently, yes.
If their minds aligned.
And in a strange, dangerous way, Yujiro and Orochimaru did align.
Yujiro understood Orochimaru's hunger—if not entirely accepted it. He grasped the thirst for eternity, the obsession with knowledge, the conviction that humanity could surpass its ancestors. He too believed progress could outshine tradition, that miracles could be forged by mortal hands.
That, to Orochimaru, was astonishing. Even Tsunade and Jiraiya, comrades who had fought and nearly died alongside him, had never truly understood him.
For a genius, "to be misunderstood" was its own cruel loneliness.
So in little more than a month, Yujiro became someone Orochimaru would share tea and laughter with, dissecting politics, history, and the future of the shinobi world as if they were equals. Their rapport grew close enough that Jiraiya himself would have been jealous.
As for Danzō? He was nothing but small talk. Orochimaru revealed the details of their dealings without hesitation, tossing aside secrets as if they were gossip at a tea house.
If Danzō knew, he might have cried bitterly.
Yujiro had to laugh. So much for "Shinobi of Darkness."
"No, don't underestimate him so easily," Orochimaru said, his tone oddly reflective. "For all his current delusions and wretchedness, there was a time when Danzō truly lived up to the title of 'The Root of the Hokage.'"
---
And so, in this "lab" that was more theater than truth, they sat together—sharing sweets, sipping tea, and ridiculing the so-called elders of Konoha as if they were critics in a salon.
Beyond mocking the old men, they spoke of shinobi society itself, of its corruption and future.
---
"Ninjutsu should not be confined to killing," Yujiro said after a sip of tea, his tone measured but firm. "Chakra and technique, properly applied, could reshape the world. Create resources, wealth, and sustenance. Enough to feed more mouths. Enough to make lives not merely survivable—but prosperous."
"Perhaps," Orochimaru murmured, gaze drifting, mind clearly elsewhere.
Yujiro had expected as much. At this point in his life, Orochimaru cared for little beyond his own ambitions. The world, its people, even Konoha itself—none of it mattered.
That was both his greatest danger and his greatest utility.
If he chose to sell Yujiro out, he would hesitate not at all.
If he chose to sell out Danzō? He would be just as quick.
"Unfortunate, isn't it?" Yujiro smirked.
"Yes," Orochimaru's lips curled into a thin smile. "Very unfortunate indeed."
Danzō would never comprehend how easily he could be discarded, how effortlessly Orochimaru could betray him—for no greater reason than that Uchiha Yujiro had something Danzō lacked.
He had offered himself up as a subject.
The Sharingan.
Yujiro permitted Orochimaru to study his eyes. More importantly, he was no ordinary Uchiha.
A standard Sharingan was troublesome to acquire, but not impossible. Orochimaru had ways.
But Yujiro was different.
He bore the rarest trait: Yang Release.
---
Descendants of the Sage of Six Paths split long ago into two lines.
Indra's heirs—the Uchiha.
Ashura's heirs—the Senju.
And Yujiro stood with a foot in both legacies.
Orochimaru's smile deepened.
"A million hybrid Senju–Uchiha clones…" he whispered, eyes gleaming with reptilian fascination. "Now that would be interesting."
The elder son inherited the Sage of Six Paths' yin attribute, while the younger carried the yang attribute.
Yin Release governs the mind and spirit; Yang Release nurtures the body. Thus, the Uchiha clan wielded the Sharingan, unmatched in genjutsu, while the Senju—together with the Uzumaki clan, bound to them through generations of intermarriage—were famed for their vast reserves of chakra, immense enough to rival tailed beasts in human form.
So then—
If.
I mean if.
If the bloodlines of Indra and Ashura were ever to merge once more… what would the result be?
"The Sage of Six Paths."
"Exactly. The Sage of Six Paths. And if we were to combine this with artificial human experimentation… what do you think would happen then?"
Orochimaru did not reply. His pupils, however, contracted sharply, shifting from human to reptilian in an instant. That reaction alone revealed just how deeply shaken he was.
And so, Yujiro answered in his stead:
"It would mean an infinite legion of bodies on par with the Sage himself—bodies that could be freely exchanged, granting us endless life and limitless strength."
Orochimaru's breath hitched. He quickly poured himself a cup of tea and downed it in one swallow, steadying his mind before speaking again:
"That would be… exceedingly difficult, Yujiro-kun. You know as well as I do—after all our experiments, the best we achieved was merely a vessel capable of using Wood Release."
"Wood Release is nothing but a façade. The true strength never lay in the technique itself, but in Hashirama Senju. His real secrets? First, his flawless Sage Mode. Second—Yang Release."
Orochimaru chuckled twice, offering no rebuttal. He only waited for Yujiro to continue.
"I understand this won't be easy. But I believe it's not beyond the reach of our brilliant scientist… wouldn't you agree?"
He leaned forward slightly, locking eyes with Orochimaru. It was almost rude, but Orochimaru paid no mind to such trivialities.
"…Indeed, Yujiro-kun. Fufufu… hahahaha…"
He laughed with delight, already intoxicated by the grand vision Yujiro had painted before him.
A million hybrids of Senju and Uchiha.
With the Senju's monstrous chakra and resilient bodies, coupled with the Uchiha's Sharingan—perhaps even the Rinnegan beyond it.
In that vision, the Senju would rise again. The Uchiha would stand unrivaled. System missions, clan survival, world conquest—it would all be achieved.
Even Orochimaru himself felt his blood race at the thought.
Yes.
That was it.
This was Yujiro's path to fulfilling his "One Million Senju" achievement. Otherwise, what? Was he supposed to father them alone? Not even Tsunade could manage that.
…
"So then, Orochimaru-sensei… what's your answer?"
Orochimaru considered his options one final time. Compared to the kind, amiable, and—most importantly—useful Yujiro, what was an old schemer like Shimura Danzō worth?
At last, Orochimaru made his choice.
Forgive me, Danzō-sama… but I believe Yujiro-kun's vision is far more promising.
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