Revolution in the Ninja World

An underground laboratory, hidden from sight and sunlight.

Orochimaru was engrossed in meticulously manipulating a scalpel. Normally, no one would dare disturb him at such a time. A researcher's quiet time for research was his greatest pleasure.

But a ninja still appeared suddenly behind him.

This ninja knelt down, bringing crucial news. "Orochimaru-sama, the village has become aware of what's happening here."

Orochimaru's hand paused. "So, the village knows what I'm doing, correct?… Did they 'find out,' or was it 'leaked'?"

"It was… leaked, Orochimaru-sama." The kneeling ninja buried his head even lower.

"Do we know the extent of the leak?" Orochimaru asked calmly, showing neither anger nor surprise.

"Information on Experiment Alpha has been completely leaked. Experiment Beta… related information should not have been leaked yet."

"Hehe, just as expected from Danzo-sama…"

Since it was a "leak," there was a high probability of a spy being present – a spy from the village's higher-ups, or perhaps more accurately, a "monitor"?

"Orochimaru-sama, what should we do next? Should we completely destroy this place?"

"Completely destroy" naturally meant destroying what needed to be destroyed and evaporating what needed to be evaporated.

"No. Given that information has already been leaked, if the village asks me to hand over what I should, and I have nothing to show, it could signify a kind of break. Unfortunately, I cannot leave the village yet, so…

Though it's a pity, I can only hand over everything in this base to the village. Hehe, after all, I am a Konoha ninja," Orochimaru said with a smile.

"Then… the one who leaked the information…"

"Besides the test subjects, there are only a handful of people here. Identifying the spy will be a simple matter."

Orochimaru, being able to take things in stride and let go, would hand over everything in the base to the village. But that "everything" certainly wouldn't include the traitorous spy.

...

Habara had survived one of Orochimaru's experiments. As a valuable "successful specimen," he received meticulous care afterward… His value before and after the experiment was completely different.

The one responsible for taking care of him was the female ninja named Hotaru.

And Habara's recovery speed was astonishingly fast. Just a week later, he was practically "bouncing off the walls."

During this time, he'd been confined to that cell, along with the child who was securely bound. However, aside from their relatively extensive conversation on the first day, they spent most of their time in silence… Two prisoners, really, had nothing much to talk about.

One day, Hotaru came to the cell as usual to deliver meals to her two inmates. Her behavior seemed as it always did, but just as Habara reached for the tray she handed him, he noticed something unusual… There seemed to be a piece of paper hidden beneath the tray.

Habara instinctively glanced at her, but her expression remained unchanged. He discreetly pressed down on the note with his hand, then, seizing the opportunity, slipped it away without drawing attention.

Whatever the note was, he wasn't in a hurry to read it. At the very least, he needed a relatively safe environment.

But the quiet period of recuperation couldn't last forever. Once Habara's body had mostly recovered, Orochimaru's next move began immediately.

When Orochimaru reappeared before Habara, even though Habara had nearly been tortured to death previously, he didn't even have a chance to express any resentment.

"The experiment was unexpectedly successful, which is good news for both you and me… Please extend your arm," Orochimaru said.

Although he was somewhat afraid that Orochimaru would inject him with something again, Habara obediently extended his arm. Fortunately, this time, it wasn't about putting something into him, but taking something out… Just drawing blood. Compared to his previous ordeal, this was child's play.

Hoping to gain a bit of information, Habara observed Orochimaru's expression while tentatively asking, "Orochimaru-sama, may I ask… what kind of experiment is this?"

Contrary to the image of aloof superiority, as long as one obediently listened to Orochimaru and didn't act in defiance or resistance, he was, quite often, a relatively easy person to talk to. He was polite, courteous, and habitually used honorifics…

This showed that verbal restraint, unrestrained actions, and a cruel personality were not mutually exclusive.

As Habara had guessed, Orochimaru was quite willing to answer his question.

"It's just an inactivation or activity suppression experiment. To explain it further, it's about something that is too lethal to be practical. Therefore, if we want to make it usable, it must undergo a weakening process…

Based on common sense, the smaller the dose, the easier it is to achieve this goal. But surprisingly, the opposite turned out to be true. The large-dose experiment was the one that succeeded.

That is to say, 'Subject Zero' is too lethal and often in an uncontrollable state. Furthermore, he's in his juvenile stage and unable to undergo high-intensity experiments. Therefore, we need a 'Subject One' who can withstand 'Subject Zero's' power.

'Subject Zero' and 'Subject One' don't have much power individually, but the process from 'Subject Zero' to 'Subject One' is crucial, because the possibilities that extend from 'Subject One' are limitless."

Hmm, a good explanation, but Habara didn't quite understand it.

"Do you feel any different from before?" Orochimaru asked.

"If I had to describe a change, I feel more energetic, and my body feels more… lively?" After hesitating for a moment, Habara continued, "Also, it constantly feels like there's something moving around on me in the air. Negative ions?"

As he spoke, Habara discreetly withdrew his arm. Orochimaru had already drawn a large tube of blood from him. The latter part, though, was Habara's genuine feeling. This change even made him suspect he had developed sensitive skin.

"No. What you're describing, that 'moving around' feeling, should actually be called… natural energy."

"…"

The word "enlightenment" perfectly described Habara's current feeling. In that instant, he finally understood what Orochimaru had been talking about:

The so-called "Subject Zero" was likely Jugo, and "Subject One" was himself, Habara. His role was nothing more than a "human inactivator." And what Orochimaru was currently working on was the development of the "Cursed Seal" – or rather, Orochimaru had just begun to develop the "Cursed Seal."

At the same time, Habara could roughly determine the time period he was in. It should be during the end of the Third Shinobi World War, before Orochimaru had defected from Konoha. As for the location, if he wasn't mistaken, this should be underground, beneath Konoha.

Almost from this point onward, Orochimaru would become increasingly reckless, eventually transforming from Konoha's "ninja with four virtues" into a deranged rogue ninja.

Orochimaru was already dangerous enough, and staying by his side would only become more dangerous in the future.

Thinking this, Habara couldn't help but look at Orochimaru with a worried expression. No matter what, the escape plan was imperative.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, Orochimaru misunderstood something and offered an explanation, "Don't worry, I'm just extracting your blood serum."

"…"

What part of that was supposed to be "don't worry"?

For the next three days, Orochimaru came every day to draw a large tube of blood from Habara. Oddly enough, Habara didn't feel any symptoms of blood loss. He had no idea what kind of super-nutritious food he was being fed.

With no leads on the escape plan, time seemed to pass peacefully.

The only thing Habara found strange was that, for three days, he hadn't seen the female ninja he saw most often here.