Uchiha Kaien silently observed the entire exchange between the two.
At the same time, he got a good look at Hiruko. Not in his "loli" form yet, but the white hair and red eyes were already distinctive enough.
"No one can say what the future holds," Orochimaru said calmly. "But right now, Hiruko, you should worry about yourself. You're under arrest."
Orochimaru's expression didn't change. He had far too many experiments waiting. Even if things reached this point, he could always continue in secret. As long as he didn't get caught, wasn't he still a so-called inheritor of the Will of Fire?
Hiruko was a cautionary tale. Before his secret was exposed, he'd had a solid reputation among the jōnin.
In fact, when Orochimaru had reviewed some confidential records earlier, he'd seen something quite disturbing.
If that experiment was allowed, then using enemies as test subjects shouldn't be a problem either. Even if Sarutobi-sensei were personally overseeing him, there probably wouldn't be much of an issue.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru's arm suddenly transformed into several venomous snakes, tongues flickering red as they lunged toward Hiruko.
But by then, Hiruko had already completed his technique.
The serpents diving toward him were immediately devoured by some strange gelatinous substance, its consistency bizarre and unnatural. Orochimaru, realizing something was wrong, quickly canceled the jutsu and retracted his arm.
"Chimera Technique. This is the fruit of my research."
"All ninjutsu is meaningless before me! With the Chimera Technique, I can effortlessly harvest the ninjutsu of others!"
Hiruko laughed wildly, a jarring contrast to his delicate appearance.
Kaien could understand why Hiruko wasn't running anymore.
One word: overconfidence.
Clearly, this jutsu had filled him with an overwhelming sense of power—enough that he believed he could now stand toe-to-toe with elite shinobi. Even if someone were after him, he thought he could walk away unscathed. That was probably Hiruko's reasoning.
At least when facing someone like Orochimaru, who mainly relied on ninjutsu, he didn't seem all that afraid.
"It's an impressive technique, Hiruko," Orochimaru said, a strange smile curling on his lips. "But you've overlooked one thing."
He raised his hand and signaled to Kaien.
"I'm not the main force behind your capture."
Kaien's Sharingan slowly began to spin in response to the cue. The three tomoe rotated, shifting into a more complex pattern.
But Hiruko, still caught up in his own boasting, didn't notice the change.
"That child is your backup? He barely looks twelve. You think that little Sharingan of his is enough?"
"Sharingan alone won't help you. It can't see through my jutsu!"
"No," Kaien said quietly. "It's not just Sharingan."
"It's the Mangekyō Sharingan."
The moment he said it, Kaien's eyes shifted completely. Spiraling, mysterious patterns bloomed across his red irises as they locked onto Hiruko's gaze.
"Genjutsu: Mangekyō Sharingan."
"What... is this?"
Hiruko's eyes met Kaien's and saw not the familiar tomoe, but a vortex of eerie, mesmerizing design. In that instant, a torrent of powerful spirit energy surged into his mind.
Hiruko's face froze, his expression going blank.
"He's under," Kaien said softly, glancing toward Orochimaru. "He got too cocky."
Even without the Mangekyō, just looking into a Sharingan could leave you vulnerable to genjutsu. For someone at jōnin level to lose focus in front of a potential Kage-level opponent... wasn't that just plain stupid?
This guy's really a jōnin?
Learning one powerful jutsu and letting it go to his head—Kaien upgraded his opinion of Hiruko from "overconfident" to "three-syllable idiot."
Still, he was wondering whether this guy might be worth recruiting.
But would he have to fully control Hiruko?
That would be boring.
Fully controlled individuals couldn't generate any affection for him.
Kaien had tested this thoroughly: if someone was completely under his genjutsu, they couldn't provide [affection] through the system.
Better to capture him first and decide later. Too soon to draw conclusions—hopefully Hiruko could prove useful.
Otherwise, Kaien worried he might just end up taking over his mind completely by accident.
That's the downside of high ocular power—if you use too much force, you don't build bonds; you just turn people into puppets.
"Let's take him to Lord Hiruzen for processing."
While Kaien was still mulling over whether to recruit Hiruko, Orochimaru had already given the next order.
He was a little exasperated too. That Chimera Technique was troublesome. If Hiruko had used it while running, he might've actually escaped.
But to look directly into a Mangekyō Sharingan?
What was he thinking?
It wasn't like Orochimaru hadn't seen Kaien dominate a jōnin with genjutsu before. With that secret jutsu, Hiruko was maybe at the level of an elite jōnin—nothing more.
Maybe if he perfected the technique later, his strength would rise. But for now? Just another sickly jōnin.
Kaien casually marked Hiruko with a Flying Thunder God seal.
That sealed the deal—Hiruko had no chance of escape now.
The Flying Thunder God mark would remain indefinitely, powered by a subtle siphon of chakra. Even if someone peeled off their own skin, the seal would reattach as long as there was even a trace of chakra present.
...
A shinobi constantly uses chakra, which makes it nearly impossible to erase the seal completely.
Unless you were ready to cut off your own arm the moment you got marked.
And if the seal landed somewhere worse—like the face or torso—then you'd better just pray the user of Flying Thunder God doesn't come for you.
Kaien marked Hiruko's arm.
Better to leave some dignity. Putting it anywhere else might be awkward.
With the mark set, Orochimaru placed a hand on Kaien's shoulder and another on the entranced Hiruko. In the blink of an eye, they teleported to just outside the Hokage's office.
As for Hiruko's lab and the hostages inside? The Anbu were already on cleanup duty.
The moment Orochimaru had entered Hiruko's residence, the Anbu had been dispatched. Hiruzen Sarutobi had been watching through his crystal ball the whole time.
Knock knock.
A crisp knock echoed through the Hokage's office.
"Come in."
The moment the trio vanished, Hiruzen had already guessed what had happened.
"So Kaien's learned the Flying Thunder God as well."
Hiruzen's familiar, kind smile greeted him as always.
Kaien gave a small nod. "Minato mastered it a bit faster than I did."
"Excellent. Konoha now has two Flying Thunder God users. If any other village dares to start another war out of greed, they'll pay dearly."
Two elite shinobi who could strike and retreat at will—no enemy commander or supply line would be safe.
And once those were gone, the war was already halfway lost.
But for now, Hiruzen turned his attention to Hiruko, still clearly under genjutsu.
His eyes narrowed slightly with a visible trace of disappointment.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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