A special thank you to all my patrons.
The List of My "Wandering Reader":
-Cain
-Goha21
-Splendid
-Varun Madhu
-Mp Gaming
-Austin Levy
-TylerD
-Orion Chung
-Patrick Darmon
-SATIONAS
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - p@treon.com/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Staring at the cold, sterile operating table, Kakashi made a silent vow to himself.
If it weren't for the fact that Kazuki had ordered him to come, and if Kazuki weren't standing right there watching, he would never have lain down on that table.
He would never have allowed Orochimaru to conduct a full-body examination on him, let alone let the man take samples.
This was way too dangerous.
Just thinking about Orochimaru's past deeds and his… preferences, Kakashi felt his skin crawl.
"Kakashi seems a bit nervous," Orochimaru remarked with a smirk, his long tongue flicking out to lick his lips.
Unbeknownst to him, this very gesture nearly made Kakashi leap right off the operating table in alarm.
You damn freak, stay the hell away from me!!
"Oh? Even more tense now."
"..."
Noticing Kakashi's rigid posture, Orochimaru couldn't resist teasing him—a rare moment of amusement for the usually detached scientist.
Kazuki, however, saw right through Kakashi's discomfort and fixed Orochimaru with a cold stare. "Having fun?"
"..."
Fine, fine. I'll get to work.
Since there was no point in resisting, Orochimaru decided to behave. After Kazuki's warning, he finally toned down the antics, much to Kakashi's relief.
Being around someone like Orochimaru was incredibly stressful.
If not for Kazuki's presence, Kakashi would never have set foot in this place—let alone been left alone with Orochimaru.
To most Konoha shinobi, Orochimaru was nothing short of a deranged, sadistic madman.
And they weren't wrong.
Orochimaru was a lunatic—an extreme one at that.
A man who could swap bodies at will, completely indifferent to gender or identity? If that wasn't the definition of a psychotic freak, then what was?
The only reason he wasn't doing so now was because of the damage to his soul. Otherwise, within a short time, you wouldn't even recognize who—or what—he had become.
This was also the aspect of Orochimaru that Kazuki found most… admirable.
Once the examination and cell extraction were complete, Kazuki dismissed Kakashi.
"Given current medical technology, cloning a new eye for Kakashi shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Of course not. However—"
Orochimaru smiled faintly, his eyes glinting with unspoken expectation—clearly hinting at his reward.
But Kazuki ignored him, turning to leave as he tossed back a single sentence:
"You're still under probation. Once you've successfully transplanted the eye for Kakashi, and once your damaged soul has recovered, then I'll give it to you. In your current state, I'd worry you might accidentally ruin the Sharingan."
"And if Obito ever found out… well, he'd probably hunt you down to the ends of the earth."
"Fair enough. I can wait. I have plenty of experiments to occupy myself with in the meantime."
Orochimaru wasn't particularly bothered by Kazuki's refusal. He knew the Sharingan would be his eventually.
While he hadn't gotten his hands on the Rinnegan—that monstrous dojutsu—studying the Mangekyō Sharingan was still a tantalizing prospect.
For now, Orochimaru was content.
"I recall you still have some Sharingan in your possession, correct?"
"Does Kazuki-sama intend to reclaim them?"
Orochimaru's smile didn't waver. If Kazuki demanded them back, he would hand them over without hesitation.
"No."
After a brief pause, Kazuki continued, "When an Uchiha undergoes extreme emotional stress, their Sharingan evolves—assuming their spiritual energy is sufficient. First the single tomoe, then the double, then the triple. Beyond that lies the Mangekyō. Do you understand what I'm implying?"
"Ah. I see."
Another fascinating experiment to pursue.
Orochimaru's grin widened.
"However, I'll need some time. I've never conducted research in this particular area before. But if all goes well… I may be able to develop a specialized device capable of stimulating Uchiha emotions."
"Then I'll await your results. If your work proves satisfactory, I might be willing to share some… valuable intelligence with you. Regarding the Rinnegan. You've had your eye on Nagato for a long time, haven't you? Pity you never dared to make a move—because you were afraid to die."
"My interest has doubled..."
In that moment, Orochimaru felt an unprecedented surge of motivation. No further urging from Kazuki was needed—he would pursue this research with everything he had.
The evolution of the Sharingan through emotional trauma was well-documented, but the conditions for that evolution remained unclear.
Beyond bloodline purity, Kazuki suspected spiritual energy played a critical role—a hypothesis based on his observations of Izumi and several clansmen's descendants.
Even among the Uchiha elders' families, there were those who still couldn't awaken their Sharingan, or whose eyes remained stagnant at lower stages.
Yet Izumi, a half-blood, had already reached the three-tomoe stage.
Her case was puzzling. Aside from the trauma of the Nine-Tails' attack, she hadn't experienced any major emotional shocks. Her Sharingan had advanced almost naturally—from one tomoe to three, at a speed that defied logic.
While other Uchiha struggled for every evolution, hers had come effortlessly.
Further testing had revealed something else: even at the same two-tomoe stage, her resistance to genjutsu surpassed that of most clansmen—matching even Itachi's performance.
Speaking of Itachi, his Sharingan had recently advanced to three tomoe as well.
Kazuki's primary goal in approaching Orochimaru was simple: to see if the man could develop a machine capable of artificially inducing the emotional stimuli required for Sharingan evolution.
If such a device existed, it could revolutionize the Uchiha's strength—making awakening and early-stage advancements far more accessible.
Even a single or double-tomoe Sharingan provided a significant combat boost. The difference between an Uchiha with and without activated eyes was night and day.
As time passed, the villagers' heated discussions about Orochimaru's return gradually subsided, and acceptance grew.
But for the Third Hokage, who had just returned to the village, the news hit like a sledgehammer.
After overseeing the final stages of the Sharingan's sealing, Hiruzen had rushed back to Konoha—only to find his clan embroiled in yet another crisis.
Issues that should have never surfaced were now exploding left and right, demanding his immediate attention.
Yet the last thing he expected was to learn that Orochimaru had returned—and had been welcomed back without significant opposition.
The villagers' hostility toward Orochimaru seemed… strangely muted.
After reading the Hokage's official proclamation, Hiruzen nearly coughed up blood in outrage.
"Tsunade… Danzō is already dead," he growled, his displeasure palpable.
To him, Tsunade's method of pacifying the villagers was nothing short of desecrating Danzō's grave—shoveling all the blame onto the deceased, absolving Orochimaru of his sins.
That was why Orochimaru had been able to return so smoothly, with so little resistance.
Hiruzen did want Orochimaru back in the village—but not like this.