While Hyuga Kei quietly savored the acquisition of the legendary phantom Shunshin, Shisui Uchiha was spiraling into the abyss of his own mind.
Never in his life had Shisui imagined that a total stranger could reach into his chest and lay bare his deepest, most closely guarded terrors. Not even his closest confidant, Itachi, knew the full extent of his dread. Despite the Third Hokage's gentle assurances of peace, Shisui's heart remained a battlefield of ceaseless, gnawing anxiety.
Yet this blind doctor—a man whose physical chakra reserves felt entirely unremarkable—had, in their very first encounter, delivered an answer that was both chillingly absolute and undeniably accurate.
Destruction.
Countless times, Shisui had awoken in a cold sweat from that exact nightmare: the Uchiha clan and the village erupting into a catastrophic civil war, a bloodbath that would ultimately lead to the decline of Konoha and the utter eradication of his family.
And now, this obscure Hyuga, armed with nothing but psychological insight, had effortlessly pinpointed the rot festering at the core of Shisui's soul.
How could he know? It's impossible.
Kei, however, paid absolutely no mind to the prodigy's internal collapse. He simply offered a dismissive wave toward the door. "The storm has forced us to close early today," he stated, his voice devoid of sympathy.
Still reeling, his worldview fractured, Shisui stumbled blindly out of the clinic and into the torrential rain.
Listening to the fading footsteps, Kei allowed himself a faint, satisfied smile. He was certain his brutal honesty would plague the young Uchiha for a considerable time, perhaps even forcing him to question the foundational pillars of his life.
Yet, knowing Shisui's canonical stubbornness, Kei doubted the boy would actually alter his tragic trajectory. Even staring down the barrel of impending ruin, Shisui would likely stay the course. If blame had to be assigned, let it fall upon the indomitable, intoxicating Will of Fire that compelled so many Konoha shinobi to march willingly toward their own graves.
But what concern was that of his?
For Kei, dodging the political landmine that was Shisui Uchiha meant he could comfortably retreat into the quiet safety of his clinic, slowly and methodically harvesting his System rewards.
A week slipped by in unbroken tranquility.
By nature, Kei was a man who cherished peace. Within the sprawling, strictly hierarchical Hyuga clan, he was a ghost—a blind branch member of no political consequence. It was an invisible existence he found thoroughly enjoyable.
However, life in the shinobi world rarely allowed for uninterrupted peace.
One evening, under the pale glow of a high-hanging moon, Kei was preparing to lock the clinic doors when an unwelcome, deeply unsettling presence crossed his threshold.
The man introduced himself simply as "Fu." He radiated an aura of absolute, chilling rigidity, his chakra signature as stark and devoid of warmth as a corpse. If he possessed any natural human emotions, Kei's heightened senses could not detect them.
Fu Yamanaka concluded a slow, calculating sweep of the clinic's interior before his gaze sharpened, fixing intently on the blind doctor. "I hear you possess the ability to peer into people's minds," he stated.
It wasn't an inquiry. It was an accusation.
Kei's face remained an unreadable mask as his fingers idly stroked the smooth metal of his cane. "What I do," he corrected evenly, "is ascertain a patient's mental state by observing their vocal cues, behavioral patterns, and physiological responses. From these fragments, I construct a diagnosis."
"Then how do you determine if a person seeking your help is actually insane?" Fu pressed, his tone laced with clinical skepticism.
Kei paused, as if giving the question serious thought. "It is quite simple," he finally answered. "You fill a bathtub to the brim with water. Then, you place a spoon and a large basin next to it, and you ask the patient to empty the tub."
"Oh." Fu considered the scenario for a fraction of a second. "A sane person would use the basin, I presume."
Kei shook his head gently. "No," he replied. "A sane person would simply pull the plug."
The clinic plunged into a suffocating silence.
Fu, a seasoned operative of Root clearly unaccustomed to lateral psychological deflections, experienced a rare, microscopic twitch in his otherwise impassive facial muscles. He leveled one final, piercing glare at the blind Hyuga, turned on his heel, and walked out of the shop without another word.
A probe, Kei deduced, locking the door behind the retreating assassin. Danzo Shimura was testing the waters. Perhaps the old hawk was reluctant to stir up unnecessary trouble while he was already spread thin monitoring the Uchiha.
As Fu's icy chakra signature finally faded from his perception, Kei gripped his cane and began the slow walk back to the Hyuga clan compound.
Midnight approached, blanketing the village in a thick, oppressive silence. The streets were entirely devoid of pedestrians, abandoned to the shadows. Kei walked alone, the rhythmic tap-tap of his cane echoing softly against the cobblestones.
Just as he turned the corner into a narrow, suffocatingly tight alleyway, Kei abruptly halted.
If Fu Yamanaka had felt like a hollowed-out shell, the entity now scrutinizing him from the darkness was the exact opposite. The gaze leveled at Kei was so dense, so intensely predatory, that it felt like a massive, venomous serpent physically coiling around his chest. The sheer malice in the air was enough to send a sharp prickle of primal dread skating down his spine.
Noticing that Kei had stopped, the shadowy figure blurred into motion. With a flawless, silent Shunshin, he materialized directly in front of the blind doctor.
"Kei-kun," a wet, hoarse voice rasped from the gloom. "It seems you haven't entirely lost your shinobi instincts, despite what the rumors suggest."
A violent shiver wracked Kei's frame as he instantly recognized the chilling cadence. Forcing his hands to remain steady, he reached up and casually adjusted the fabric headband resting above his brow.
"So it is Orochimaru-sensei," Kei murmured, keeping his voice carefully neutral. "Long time no see. I thought you had already..."
In Kei's previous life—or rather, the original life of this body—Orochimaru had been his Genin squad's jonin instructor. The honorific 'sensei' was technically accurate. However, after the team had inevitably been dissolved, they had severed all contact.
What truly terrified Kei was the simple fact of Orochimaru's presence.
According to the established canon, Orochimaru should have been exposed for his grotesque human experimentations shortly after the Nine-Tails Attack, forcing his violent defection from Konoha. Yet, several years had passed since the Kyuubi's rampage, and the Snake Sannin was still prowling the village streets!
Frantically ransacking the original Kei's memories, he found absolutely no explanation for this massive deviation in the timeline.
While the historian in him burned with curiosity regarding this butterfly effect, the survivor in him knew this was not the time to ask questions.
Orochimaru's golden, slitted eyes tracked Kei's subtle movements with reptilian focus. "What exactly did you think had happened to me?" he hissed.
Feeling the crushing weight of that gaze, Kei constructed his lie flawlessly. "I merely assumed you had forgotten about me, sensei," he replied with a self-deprecating smile. "After all, you are one of the Legendary Sannin. An illustrious hero of the village, and the undeniable prime candidate for the seat of the Fifth Hokage. I, on the other hand, am merely a broken, ordinary Hyuga."
The vertical slits of Orochimaru's pupils contracted in genuine surprise. "Is that truly what you believe?"
"Of course," Kei answered smoothly, projecting unwavering conviction. "The Third Hokage stepped out of retirement to temporarily oversee the village, but he will eventually need to name a successor. Who else, sensei, could possibly be more suitable than you?"
Orochimaru slowly dragged a pale, elongated tongue over his bottom lip, his interest visibly piqued. "Suitable?" he mused, the word dripping with dark amusement. "How fascinating. Kei-kun, you are currently the only person in this entire village who would still speak of me in such terms."
"The Fourth Hokage is dead," Kei pressed, etching a perfect mask of innocent confusion onto his face. "Surely, sensei, this is your prime opportunity? Lord Third cannot possibly hold onto power indefinitely."
A fleeting, deeply cynical smirk ghosted across Orochimaru's pallid features, vanishing into the shadows. "Never mind," he drawled dismissively. "You wouldn't understand the politics of it. I no longer care for the title, anyway."
"I don't understand," Kei feigned, playing the loyal, slightly naive student to perfection.
"You don't need to."
"Alright, Orochimaru-sensei," Kei conceded, subtly attempting to wrestle back a fraction of control over the encounter. "Was there something specific you needed from me at this hour?"
"No rush," Orochimaru waved a pale, languid hand, stepping closer to scrutinize his former pupil. "I hear your psychological insights have become quite… impressive lately. So tell me, as a doctor of the mind: what is the meaning of life?"
Kei desperately wanted to scream. What does clinical psychology have to do with existential nihilism? But he bit his tongue.
Orochimaru's midnight interception was not a coincidence. He had a specific, undoubtedly lethal, agenda. While Kei's flattery had temporarily entertained the Sannin, Orochimaru was not Shisui. He could not be shattered with a single blunt truth, nor could he be easily deceived.
Calculating his words with razor-sharp precision, Kei finally spoke. "The meaning of life lies in the scenery one encounters along the journey. And naturally, to truly appreciate the most beautiful, enduring vistas... one must first possess a healthy, lasting body."
Kei knew the Sannin would not miss the bait.
"Kei-kun. Is that truly your own conviction?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed into dangerous, glowing slits. "What exactly do you know?"
Kei shook his head, his face a portrait of mild bewilderment. "I don't understand what you mean, sensei."
Orochimaru leaned in, his killing intent spiking just enough to make the air taste like copper. "Do not play these trivial games with me," he hissed, his breath ghosting over Kei's face. "I am not like those gullible civilian patients who readily swallow your empty platitudes."
"I merely answered your question based on my own grim reality."
Kei sighed heavily. Raising a finger, he tapped the skin beneath his milky, sightless eyes, then gestured vaguely to the faint, bluish contour of the Caged Bird Seal hidden beneath his headband. He allowed a bitter, wry smile to surface. "For someone as broken as me... isn't the ultimate, most genuine desire simply to possess a whole, healthy body?"
"Ah. So that's it." Orochimaru murmured, the tension bleeding out of his frame. He studied Kei's lifeless grey eyes and the cursed seal branding his forehead, and his predatory interest visibly waned. A crippled branch member dreaming of being whole. How terribly ordinary.
"Are you well acquainted with Shisui Uchiha?" the Sannin asked abruptly.
Just as I expected. He was tailing Shisui, or investigating the sudden shift in his demeanor. "No," Kei replied, shaking his head. "I have only met him once. About a week ago."
"And what did he speak of?"
"He expressed deep psychological distress regarding the escalating political friction between his clan and the village," Kei stated plainly, offering just enough truth to be verifiable.
"Nothing else?"
"Nothing else," Kei confirmed. "He became agitated with my assessment and left shortly after."
Orochimaru stroked his pale chin thoughtfully. "It seems my suspicions were misplaced," he murmured to himself.
Hearing this, Kei secretly exhaled a breath he felt he had been holding for an hour. But before he could fully relax his guard, Orochimaru's final parting words sent a fresh jolt of ice through his veins.
"We will conclude our little chat for tonight, Kei-kun," Orochimaru declared, his hoarse voice fading into the ambient noise of the wind. "You have become quite intriguing. I sincerely hope we have another opportunity to cross paths."
By the time the last syllable reached Kei's ears, the oppressive, serpentine chakra had vanished without a trace.
Kei stood frozen in the alley, desperately wishing he could have told the Sannin that he wasn't interesting in the slightest, and that it would be vastly preferable if they never crossed paths again. But the monster was already gone.
As Kei leaned heavily on his cane, the System's familiar, mechanical chime echoed in his mind.
[Psychological Consultation Concluded. While the patient was surprised by some of your remarks, his heart, hardened like stone, remained entirely unmoved. Mental Disturbance Level: Mediocre.]
[Based on consultation results, you have acquired: Human Experimentation Theory (Incomplete).]
[Note: This represents a fragmented portion of the dark knowledge and biological experience accumulated by Orochimaru through countless human experiments. It possesses immense, albeit forbidden, research and clinical potential.]