Chapter 387: From Chaotic Evil to Lawful Good
After confirming Orochimaru's research direction and preliminary results, and leaving instructions that he "looked forward to seeing actual production," Naruto made an additional request before departing.
"I need a Kusanagi Sword."
Orochimaru, his temperament dramatically changed, readily agreed.
Fortunately, this time he summoned the long blade from a storage scroll at his waist rather than uncomfortably regurgitating it from his throat.
A sword with an elongated blade gleaming with cold light was respectfully presented. The faint shimmer flowing along the edge showed it was no ordinary weapon—a truly top-grade shinobi tool befitting its reputation.
Naruto's reason for wanting this sword was simple. Uchiha Satsuki's birthday was approaching. These past few years, Satsuki had devoted herself to mastering the Uchiha clan's inherited swordsmanship. A Kusanagi Sword matching her current strength would undoubtedly make both a practical gift and one that demonstrated his thoughtfulness.
As for Orochimaru's research results that might benefit countless people and solve food shortage problems, Naruto decided to wait patiently, observing further only after actual production proved successful.
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Returning to Konoha and resuming his everyday identity, Naruto didn't relax. Based on his memories of the "original work's" timeline and cross-referencing with recent intelligence, he could essentially confirm that the Akatsuki organization's tailed beast capture operation had already begun—possibly even nearing completion.
At this point in the original story, except for the One-Tail Shukaku, the Eight-Tails Gyuki, and the Nine-Tails Kurama within himself, the remaining tailed beasts from Two-Tails through Seven-Tails seemed to have been successively captured while the Five Great Nations' leadership remained insufficiently alert or unable to react in time.
However, when Naruto inquired with Jiraiya about the Akatsuki organization's recent activities, the answer proved somewhat unexpected.
"Akatsuki? Ah, that mercenary organization."
Jiraiya recalled his former intelligence network. He'd certainly heard of them and conducted some preliminary investigation. From what he'd gathered so far, Akatsuki seemed primarily to accept contracts from various nations and factions for military support that wasn't convenient to conduct openly, earning commissions this way.
Their methods were low-key but quite efficient. For now... he'd found no obvious signs of them provoking major nations.
This answer sent Naruto into brief contemplation, but he soon sorted through the implications.
First, this world's Akatsuki organization now had a considerably different membership composition from the original. Strong members like Kakuzu, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Deidara had long ago been intercepted by himself.
Though Akatsuki itself didn't seem overly strict about member requirements—in the original work, Kakuzu had gone through quite a few partners.
So what reason caused Akatsuki to maintain such a low profile despite their tailed beast collection progress seemingly ahead of schedule?
The answer most likely pointed to that shadow manipulating events for a millennium—Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu's reconnaissance and concealment abilities were extremely powerful. It quite possibly had already witnessed through the White Zetsu network the "Otsutsuki-level" battle far exceeding normal shinobi scope that he and the future's Uchiha Sasuke displayed during Otsutsuki Urashiki's attack on Konoha several years ago.
That world-destroying power was enough to make any rational conspirator feel wary.
Perhaps this very wariness convinced Black Zetsu to persuade the actual controller, Uchiha Obito, to temporarily delay Akatsuki's high-profile tailed beast captures.
However... the mysterious power contained within Naruto's right eye, the Star Eye, still hadn't been fully developed. Once this power could be completely utilized...
Passive waiting had never been his style. Since he'd already confirmed the threat's existence and the enemy might delay action out of fear, then... it was time to consider taking the initiative.
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Slowly, time flowed peacefully through another long stretch of largely uneventful days.
No rumors of the Akatsuki organization stirring up trouble, no sudden apocalyptic crises, no mysterious forces popping up from some corner claiming they'd rule the world.
Life returned to its simplest and most solid rhythm. Daily training together with Satsuki, refining each other's strength and coordination, handling routine shinobi missions, maintaining Konoha's everyday operations. During leisure time, attending small events, temple fairs or gatherings, autumn festivals and the like.
Today was no different. The sky stretched clear as crystal, cloudless for miles, sunlight warmly spilling across Konoha's streets. The entire village presented a scene of peaceful prosperity.
However, within the Ember organization, a small yet significant "disturbance" had recently unfolded.
The trigger was Orochimaru's research project achieving milestone success. That new staple crop utilizing Hashirama Cell genetic modification—cheap, highly nutritious, with an incredibly fast maturation cycle and excellent environmental adaptability—had finally completed large-scale trial planting verification. Both yield and stability met expectations.
Regarding naming, Orochimaru ultimately designated it as "Mokute Grain."
Naruto didn't interfere with naming rights. After all, he'd only specified the research direction. The actual results rightfully should be named by the researcher, though Orochimaru himself had little interest in such matters.
This name's genesis process was probably as arbitrary as "Kiryu Sento."
Because the core material originated from Senju Hashirama's cells, which excelled at Wood Style, they took the characters for "wood" and "hand," then added its grain-spike form, combining them into "Mokute Grain."
This almost "heaven-sent" food was rapidly transported through Ember's covert yet efficient channels to impoverished, even displaced populations in marginal regions throughout the shinobi world.
Distributed at near-cost prices or even completely free, it saved countless lives struggling with starvation.
But this charitable act made the organization's finance manager Kakuzu watch with heartache, as though seeing infinite mountains of gold and silver slip through his fingers.
Because Kakuzu immediately recognized the terrifying commercial potential contained within. He urgently sought out Orochimaru, attempting to persuade this "reformed" scientific genius.
With his intellect, not developing projects that could directly convert into astronomical profits—like efficient material conversion devices, rare mineral synthesis technology, and so forth—was absolutely criminal waste! An enormous waste!
However, Orochimaru's moral principles and behavioral logic had undergone earth-shattering changes.
He flatly rejected Kakuzu's "profit proposals," his reasons sufficient and irrefutable.
"The leader's orders to me were: use your research capabilities to 'atone.' This means my research projects must possess clear public welfare attributes that 'benefit humanity.'"
"Want to research profitable things? ...That's not entirely impossible, but you need to first obtain the leader's consent."
Orochimaru's current morality left Kakuzu feeling suffocatingly powerless.
And when Naruto learned of Kakuzu's proposal, he did indeed feel somewhat conflicted. Though pleased by Orochimaru's transformation, thinking about Orochimaru's past... at this stage, keeping Orochimaru focused on "charitable inventions" that could practically improve people's lives and compensate for past sins remained more appropriate.
Thus Kakuzu's "commercialization" request was refused. After being rejected yet again in his umpteenth attempt to convince Orochimaru to shift toward "profit-oriented projects," Kakuzu finally couldn't restrain himself and erupted into fierce argument with Orochimaru.
Of course, the argument's content remained limited to disputes over research direction and debates about economic benefits, never involving personal attacks or physical conflict—after all, no matter how much money pained him, Kakuzu didn't dare openly defy the tone set by their leader.
And Orochimaru was long past being that mad scientist who'd conduct dangerous experiments on living subjects.