Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

Suguru spent 99% of his time studying Orochimaru's 'inheritance' over several months and creating a few handy items like poisons, antidotes, and other sneaky weapons. He was as introverted as he could be, keeping to his books and only going out to buy supplies. 

For every item in the lab, every scroll, and every instrument, a special seal had been placed upon it. Suguru nearly died a few times, which he only realized when he reviewed the seal he had successfully broken.

If not for having the power to mirror a Sharingan, Suguru would've spent ages poring through a single seal.

Luckily, all of his efforts were worth it.

"Orochimaru-sensei... Perhaps you don't have to work so hard in this timeline." Suguru felt that he could easily repay Orochimaru's generosity.

With his knowledge, peculiar thinking, and otherworldly wisdom, he was confident in surpassing his teacher in the next few years. Of course, that was only in research.

...And perhaps Fuinjutsu.

His combat capabilities were taking a lot of time in comparison.

Nonetheless, Suguru finally unsealed another scroll today. It was by far the most difficult one to crack. He looked around him.

The three Shadow Clones he had conjured dispersed. A searing migraine assaulted him, but he couldn't help but laugh.

'Orochimaru-sensei, you bastard. Those surveillance seals were unnecessarily complicated. Were you so eager to learn the exact moment I would gain access to this little scroll?'

Suguru unfurled the scroll and placed his hand at the center of the storage seal. A white puff of smoke burst into the air and revealed an exquisite chest.

At this point, Suguru had a few guesses as to what Orochimaru deemed valuable enough to hide in this manner.

—An uncontrollable excitement consumed him.

'Evil people really have their way in this world, don't they?'

Danzo, with his Sharingan-covered arm, was such an unfair existence. Orochimaru, who had given Danzo that exact arm, hid way too many taboo secrets. The waters ran deep.

'Unfortunately, the seals that cover the few remaining scrolls will probably take me years to crack.'

To be completely honest, Suguru was an academic weapon. Even Orochimaru wouldn't have expected his mysterious student to unlock this many scrolls in six months.

The only hindrance was indeed his combat-related talent. Although his chakra control was better than before, with his somewhat instinctual Dark Release, it wasn't qualitatively different since other jutsus were harder to make and master.

The body he got from Arata wasn't a genius of Itachi's caliber — all he had was a special Kekkei Genkai.

Thus, the effects of Living Corpse Assimilation on his talent weren't as large as expected.

Moreover, after months of experimentation, Suguru discovered more of Dark Release's characteristics.

Since Suguru didn't use Dark Release through a mark on his hand, he had a little more freedom in its use. This led to a drawback in the difficulty of its usage.

If he had inscribed a mark on his hand that allowed him to mechanically absorb and release chakra, he could have used Dark Release the same way Hiruko would have done in the future. However, Suguru decided against that.

His intuition told him that focusing on the natural state of Dark Release would benefit him greatly.

All he needed was time.

'—And...' Suguru cringed, 'Hard work.'

Although his studies were also considered hard work, Suguru long had a passion for the physics, chemistry, and biology of worlds that had only existed in fiction. Now that he had been transported into this world of chakra and shinobi, his passion had erupted in all its grandeur.

Thus, he didn't find his studies and experiments tiring.

On the other hand... running laps around the village, lifting weights, practicing his kenjutsu and shuriken-jutsu, and tiring himself out by draining his chakra every day, were all repetitive actions that would surely annoy him.

Suguru shook his head and turned his attention back to the chest he had just unlocked.

—Click!

Opening up the rectangular chest, a soft interior soon revealed itself. Then, Suguru's heart nearly stopped when he saw its contents.

'Orochimaru-sensei and his habits!' Suguru cursed when he saw the snake in the chest.

'Kaisugan!'

—Crack!

Suguru's eyes shattered as he hurriedly put his hands together to form a seal.

[Bird].

'Vampiric Gaze!'

The sleeping white snake, coiled around three priceless jars, had been eyeing him with great interest.

It soon realized its mistake.

Mesmerized by the beautiful shattered irises of the child before it, the snake could only stare. It completely forgot its original purpose as it faced Suguru's Kaisugan without any obstructions.

A blue aura began to leave the snake's body. It shriveled up at a rapid pace.

All of its chakra had been drained in an instant. 

It died without knowing how.

***

Breathing heavily, Suguru wiped the blood dripping down his cheeks. This was the first time he used his Kaisugan on a target right in front of him. He underestimated the abilities of his Doujutsu when used in this manner.

Moreover, he also discovered a dangerous drawback.

'Combining Dark Release and my Kaisugan might drive me insane.'

The emotions of the white snake, from its birth up until its death by Suguru's gaze, had assaulted Suguru's mind. The snake's emotions and his own had, for a moment, turned into a churning pot of chaotic sensations.

If not for the fact that he had strengthened his mental state with the Yamanaka Clan's techniques in preparation for Living Corpse Assimilation, Suguru might've fallen unconscious.

Nonetheless, Suguru already had a craving for birds and lizards.

'This is oddly dangerous,'

Suguru sat in a meditative position. He then sorted out his mind, separating the snake's emotions from his own. He reinforced his personality — his views, values, and his tendencies — inside a mental box.

This ensured that the snake's desires wouldn't interfere with his own.

'If I could even steal memories in this manner, I might actually go insane. I guess this was a miscalculation on my part.'

The Mind Transfer Jutsu and Spirit Transformation Jutsu had created side effects that may or may not be good for him. After all, what he experienced was different from simply reading memories.

It was a total immersion into the emotions of another existence.

'At least now, I have truly unlocked this part of Orochimaru's inheritance for me,'

Looking at the three jars, Suguru felt an intense thrill. His sheer delight could be seen from the massive grin on his face.

The labels of each jar read...