Especially when it came to internal politics.
If a matter could be handled through peaceful, established procedures, that was the route to take. Relying solely on personal whims and brute force was out of the question.
Fear was a weapon reserved for enemies.
A regime built purely on violence was an option Menma rejected completely.
Balancing the carrot and the stick was one of the most fundamental qualities of a competent—let alone exceptional—leader.
As the person who understood Menma's intentions best, Karin naturally knew exactly what she had to do.
Just then.
As Karin was about to say something more.
Suddenly.
Both Menma and Karin felt a shift in their senses, clearly picking up on the arrival of a unique, highly potent chakra signature.
"Arriving at a time like this? Talk about a rare guest... Never mind. Go handle the tasks we just discussed, Karin," Menma said, raising an eyebrow and muttering the first half to himself before turning back to her.
"Got it, Menma," Karin replied. She gave a serious nod, turned on her heel, and marched out.
"Release!"
The moment Karin left the room, Menma formed a single-handed seal, temporarily deactivating the barrier jutsu securing the area.
Setting his current research aside, he walked up to a brightly lit room above the laboratory.
Just as he finished brewing a fresh pot of green tea, that cold, chilling presence arrived right outside.
"Showing up at this hour. What a rare guest you are, Orochimaru-san," Menma said with a faint smile, casually taking a seat in the left armchair and slowly pouring two cups of tea.
Swish!
The next second.
In the chair directly opposite Menma.
A tall, gaunt figure materialized. With that familiar, sickly pale skin and those unnervingly demonic snake eyes, the visitor was none other than Menma's most crucial "partner"—Orochimaru.
"I actually thought my recent minor breakthroughs might let me slip past your detection, Menma-kun. I suppose I underestimated the Uzumaki clan's Mind's Eye of the Kagura. It caught my chakra almost instantly."
Orochimaru maintained his usual sinister demeanor, his cold eyes locked on Menma as he spoke in that familiar, raspy voice.
Yet, beneath that calm exterior, a deep, unmistakable wariness lurked within his serpentine gaze.
After all, Orochimaru had spent a considerable amount of time recently studying the Uzumaki bloodline.
Especially after obtaining Menma's own blood and samples of the Nine-Tails' chakra, his research progress had skyrocketed. It wasn't that Orochimaru delusionally believed he could evade Menma's senses entirely.
He knew that was practically impossible.
The deeper he delved into the Uzumaki genetics, the more he understood their terrifying potential. Just their raw physical durability and sheer, overflowing vitality defied the conventional limits of a shinobi. In all his years of research...
The only person who could suppress the purest, strongest Uzumaki in terms of life force and physical resilience was the First Hokage.
It was no wonder the Uzumaki were considered the ultimate vessels for sealing Tailed Beasts. And their inherited bloodline technique—the Mind's Eye of the Kagura—was the most flawless sensory jutsu Orochimaru had ever encountered.
Add to that the fact that Menma was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Orochimaru had never expected to stay perfectly hidden, but shouldn't he have seen at least some improvement? Couldn't he have at least confused Menma's senses from a distance?
But their brief "exchange" just now made it painfully clear.
Within Menma's sensory net, Orochimaru's movements held zero secrets. The moment he crossed a certain threshold, he was completely exposed.
Menma's raw combat power was already monstrous enough. Now, pair that with pinpoint, long-range sensory abilities...
And his mastery of the Flying Thunder God.
It meant that in this world, truly ambushing and killing Menma was a physical impossibility.
At least, as far as Orochimaru's current knowledge extended, it was.
"Heh. You flatter me, Orochimaru-san. This little trick is about all our Uzumaki clan has to offer," Menma chuckled, taking a slow sip of his tea.
"Still, what brings you here at a time like this? Shouldn't you be buried in your lab? Don't tell me you've run into a bottleneck with your Byakugan research?"
Orochimaru making a move on the Hyuga main branch was something Menma had anticipated long ago.
Despite how it looked like Menma was constantly using him, Menma had provided genuinely crucial, priceless intelligence. These were secrets the original timeline's Orochimaru hadn't uncovered even by the end of his life.
So strictly speaking, Menma wasn't just stringing him along with empty promises.
Orochimaru was a very willing participant, wasn't he?
Did Orochimaru know Menma was using him? Of course he did.
Why did he gladly accept it? Simple: Menma actually delivered what he wanted. If that meant being used as a pawn once or twice, so what?
Just the Uzumaki genetics, the secrets of the Rinnegan, and the evolutionary path of the Byakugan were enough to drive Orochimaru mad with obsession.
A path he had previously abandoned as a dead end...
Now radiated with the genuine dawn of truth. A dawn that allowed him to glimpse the heights of that man. How could Orochimaru not be thrilled!?
This was exactly why their relationship remained so incredibly "harmonious" up to this point.
They genuinely, practically needed each other.
Sometimes Menma even worried he was pushing Orochimaru too hard. Until his grand plans were fully realized—or at least past their primary milestones—he absolutely could not afford to lose Orochimaru.
The snake Sannin felt much the same way.
He fully believed Menma harbored even deeper secrets he had yet to uncover.
And not just a few scraps—mountains of them!
"Heh. The research has only just begun. No major hurdles yet. I actually came because of the targets you asked me to track down. Ah, excuse me—the person and the beast. We have concrete intelligence on them now. I just need to know when you plan to strike so I can arrange my people to coordinate with you."
Of course, the Byakugan research still required Menma's insight.
The intelligence Menma had provided on its evolution had only discussed the issue of 'purity.' The actual mechanics of the evolution had been completely glossed over. While Orochimaru was confident he could eventually crack it himself, why ignore a perfectly good shortcut?
But he couldn't just demand it outright.
Transactions required leverage!
And the 'person and beast' he had just mentioned were his premium bargaining chips.
The moment Menma heard that, a flash of joy crossed his mind, instantly followed by cold realization. His eyes narrowed, and he shot Orochimaru a half-smile.
"Information that Kabuto-san could have easily relayed... yet you made the trip personally. I really must apologize for the trouble, Orochimaru-san."
He had spent far too much time playing mind games with these old foxes.
It had forced Menma to subconsciously keep his guard up at all times. But even then, he never delusionally believed he could out-scheme them purely on their level.
In terms of sheer life experience, they had miles on him. Getting dragged into a battle of pure wits with these veterans was a losing game. He'd end up in a ditch before he even knew what hit him.
Therefore...
"Spit it out, Orochimaru-san. What do you want?" Menma asked directly, laying his cards on the table.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Orochimaru had traveled all this way for a specific reason. Menma didn't mind it. In fact, outside of his core allies, Menma actually preferred dealing with Orochimaru above anyone else.
Why? Because the snake was incredibly 'sincere' and 'direct.'
He didn't waste time on pointless, hypocritical posturing.
"Heh. Since you insist, Menma-kun, I'll be blunt. I need to know the true catalyst for the Byakugan's next evolutionary stage. Does it require fusion like the Sharingan to trigger a qualitative shift in visual prowess? Or does it rely on genetic restructuring—a purification of the visual power? And what tier does this evolved eye reach? The Mangekyō Sharingan? The Eternal Mangekyō? Or perhaps... the Rinnegan? Do not tell me you don't know, Menma-kun. I firmly believe you hold all the answers!"
Orochimaru gave a raspy laugh, his gaze intensely meaningful as he enunciated every syllable.
Menma had already begun drafting an answer in his head during the first half of the question—none of it exceeded his predictions. But that final sentence made him pause.
"Oho. You hold me in that high regard, Orochimaru-san? You truly think I'm omniscient? Or are you simply getting curious about my real identity?" Menma lowered his eyelids slightly, meeting Orochimaru's gaze head-on.
A dangerous, oppressive aura casually bled into the room.
Even Orochimaru instinctively felt his pupils constrict. In terms of raw power, the current Menma could effortlessly crush him. Orochimaru knew it. In a death match, Menma had an overwhelmingly high chance of killing him.
But Orochimaru wasn't afraid.
He knew Menma needed him. Until their primary goals were achieved, neither would burn this bridge. And even taking a massive step back—even if he miscalculated and Menma tried to execute him on the spot—Orochimaru still wasn't worried. He had his own contingency plans.
Death?
Please. In the modern ninja world, Orochimaru might not rank at the absolute pinnacle of destructive power, but when it came to sheer survival, he was utterly peerless.
The Curse Mark jutsu.
That was his ultimate safety net.
Right now, there was absolutely zero conflict of interest. Even if one arose later, as long as it wasn't a fight to the death, Menma had zero interest in turning on Orochimaru. Even the future problem regarding Sasuke was something Menma hoped to resolve through alternative methods.
"Heh. You're overthinking it, Menma-kun. I don't care about your identity in the slightest. I only care about uncovering the truths I wish to see. If you're willing to share them, wonderful. If not, how could I possibly force you?" Orochimaru shrugged, feigning indifference.
"Haha! You never change, Orochimaru-san. Relax. I always intended to tell you about the Byakugan. The scroll contains my notes on its subsequent evolutionary path. Naturally, these are just my personal theories. Whether you can make it reality depends entirely on you. As for the evolved eye... well, who knows? It might just rival the Rinnegan," Menma laughed noncommittally.
He pulled a pre-prepared scroll from his robes and tossed it across the table with a profound look.
Menma had come completely prepared to handle Orochimaru.
He had covered every possible angle. After all, this was his 'Employee of the Month.'
If you wanted someone to work, you had to dangle the right carrot. And in that regard, Menma had never once scammed the Sannin. The Byakugan's evolution into the Tenseigan—the original timeline never gave a perfectly clear explanation for it.
The Sharingan's evolution was documented perfectly.
But the Byakugan?
It had exactly one evolutionary stage, and the only points of reference were Toneri Otsutsuki and that massive, artificial Tenseigan.
The former likely succeeded because Toneri's bloodline purity was exceptionally high, and he combined it with Hanabi Hyuga's equally pure, yet distinctly branched Byakugan. The latter was purely the result of violently fusing hundreds of Branch Family Byakugan to artificially force a massive Tenseigan into existence.
Therefore, any research into the Tenseigan had to be based on those limited models.
The notes Menma provided in the scroll were mostly derived from those examples and his own subsequent deductions. He even threw in a passing mention of the 'Jougan'—a visual jutsu seemingly related to the Byakugan, yet vastly different.
Menma hadn't tested any of this himself. For one, he lacked the materials. More importantly, he simply didn't have the time for lab work.
What Orochimaru managed to achieve with it was entirely up to him.
The Byakugan!
The Sharingan!
The Sage Body!
Menma had already fed Orochimaru every piece of early intelligence he safely could. Given this entirely different starting point from the original timeline, Menma was genuinely curious to see how far the snake Sannin could push his research.
Could this lifetime's Orochimaru use these tools to shatter his own limitations and evolve into an entirely new dimension?
Deep down, Menma actually looked forward to that possibility.
Orochimaru was fundamentally different from anyone else. He possessed traits no one else in the ninja world had. 'Madness' was just the tip of the iceberg.
Menma didn't mind giving Orochimaru a helping hand, because ultimately... he was helping himself.