The Third Great Ninja War had produced many exceptional talents.
The Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.
The Body Flicker, Shisui Uchiha.
But even with such prodigies, the battlefield was still littered with the corpses of countless fallen ninjas.
No matter how strong two individuals were, they could never compare to an entire village.
With the war just ending, Konoha found itself facing an unprecedented shortage of ninjas.
After discussing the situation, Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru decided to focus on ninja cultivation policies.
They needed to replenish Konoha's ranks.
Otherwise, the title of the "Strongest Hidden Village" might soon slip from their grasp.
And then there was the disaster caused by the Third Hokage when he took back power.
After the war, Konoha was already suffering from a severe lack of manpower.
Then he went and wiped out the village's strongest clan.
No wonder Kumogakure dared to attempt kidnapping the Hyūga princess.
No wonder Sunagakure, the weakest of the Five Great Nations, had the audacity to declare war on Konoha.
Thinking back to the beginning of the original storyline… Konoha had been utterly weakened.
Most of its strong ninjas had either fled or defected.
Orochimaru spoke about these matters casually, but in reality, they were top-secret village affairs.
Things that should never be discussed with outsiders.
Yet, Orochimaru didn't seem to care at all.
Ren Asakura simply nodded.
This was politics, after all.
"Well, good luck with that," he said, shrugging. "You guys have your own paths to follow. I wouldn't want to interfere. But hey, I'll be watching—don't disappoint me."
Orochimaru licked his lips, amused.
Behind him, the young boy—no older than ten—watched the exchange with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
The boy glanced at Ren, who didn't look much older than himself.
Then he looked back at Orochimaru—his new leader.
A man rumored to be ruthless beyond measure, a merciless killer, and the former second-in-command of Root.
Now, the current leader of Root.
And yet, here he was, treating Ren Asakura with what seemed like… respect?
The boy couldn't understand it.
Ren tilted his head, studying the kid.
There was something familiar about him.
"This little guy is…?"
"He's a ninja from Root. His name is 'Kinoe.'" Orochimaru smirked. "He was one of the products of my past experiments. Don't underestimate him—he is the only one who successfully inherited the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai."
Ren's eyes widened slightly.
Ah.
So that's why he looked familiar.
This ten-year-old kid would one day become…
Konoha's future real estate mogul.
Yamato.
The boy straightened up and introduced himself.
"Greetings, Ren Asakura. I am Kinoe, a ninja of Root!"
Yamato bowed slightly, showing his respect.
"Not bad, not bad!" Ren Asakura said with a grin. "Are you planning to train him personally?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"He's different from the others. His body holds the gift of the gods. Standard training won't be of much use to him."
The Wood Release Kekkei Genkai was incredibly powerful.
Even if he couldn't reach the level of the God of Shinobi, becoming an elite jōnin was more than possible.
That's why Orochimaru wanted to help him fully develop his Wood Release abilities.
This meant Yamato's training would be separate from the rest.
And since Yamato was Orochimaru's own creation, he understood the boy better than anyone.
Ren smirked. "So, how's the training going? Can he use the 'Three-Room-One-Hall Technique' yet?"
Orochimaru: "???"
Was that an actual Wood Release technique?
Orochimaru's face twisted in confusion.
Still, he responded, "Not ideal. Despite possessing Wood Release, he's far too weak compared to the First Hokage—the true God of Shinobi."
Ren thought back to Hashirama.
Summoning Wood Dragon and Thousand-Armed Buddha, fighting against the combined forces of four nations…
And most importantly—Sage Mode.
Instant activation, ridiculous duration, and enough power to end an entire war.
Not to mention his absurd chakra reserves.
One moment, he'd be saying, "Kurama, you're too dangerous!"
The next moment?
Sealing the Nine-Tails with one hand.
Even Kurama was left speechless.
Ren mulled it over and then said, "Well, keep at it! I believe in you."
Then he turned to Orochimaru.
"Speaking of which, weren't you researching Sage Mode? That whole Heaven's Curse and Earth's Curse thing—why don't you hook Kinoe up with one of those? That way, we'd get a proper low-budget version of the God of Shinobi."
Ren smirked.
"Y'know why Hashirama was so strong? Because Sage Mode lets you tap into natural energy, making your body insanely powerful..."
Orochimaru glanced at Kinoe.
"Not a bad idea, but I still need to refine the Curse Mark. Right now, the survival rate of those who receive it is only one in ten. Once it's more stable..."
Yamato shuddered.
The look Orochimaru just gave him—full of obsession and scientific curiosity—was way too familiar.
He remembered that look from when he was a child.
It seemed like he was about to become another test subject again.
Noticing Yamato's wary expression, Orochimaru smirked.
"Relax, Kinoe. You're the only one who survived. I wouldn't let you die so easily. Your future will be one that revives the glory of the God of Shinobi. Don't forget your dream—once you're truly ready, you'll leave the Foundation and become one of Konoha's brightest shinobi."
That was what Orochimaru said—and what he believed.
Right now, he wasn't obsessed with simply replicating Hashirama's power.
He wanted to surpass the God of Shinobi.
Yamato's hesitation vanished instantly.
"I understand."
Ren Asakura, watching from the side, couldn't help but feel like Orochimaru was gaslighting Yamato.
Orochimaru turned to him. "Mr. Asakura, I won't be able to chat with you much longer—I need to take this child for training."
Ren grinned. "I'm coming too!"
He had nothing better to do, so he followed them.
Until the Nine-Tails Incident, Konoha would remain peaceful.
This was the calm before the storm.
—
Yamato's childhood was far from happy.
As everyone knew, Orochimaru was a villain back then, and Danzo was no better.
The two of them hit it off instantly and started conducting forbidden experiments.
They injected Hashirama's cells into newborn infants.
As a baby, Yamato was one of Orochimaru's test subjects, implanted with Hashirama's cells and raised under observation.
Because an infant's body lacked the resilience to withstand such power, all of the other 59 children in the experiment died—one after another.
Orochimaru eventually deemed Yamato a failure and abandoned him.
But his will to live kept him going.
By sheer luck, he was later found by Shimura Danzo, who decided to take him in instead of letting him die.
Having witnessed the deaths of countless other test subjects, Yamato developed a strong desire to protect others from a young age.
But as a mere lab rat, he had no control over his fate, leaving a permanent scar on his heart.
After surviving the brutal experiments, he became the only one to successfully inherit the First Hokage's Kekkei Genkai.
In the original storyline:
At age ten, Kinoe had already become one of Danzo's most trusted subordinates, thanks to his Wood Release.
After the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died, Danzo—unwilling to accept Hiruzen Sarutobi's return to power—ordered Kinoe and other Root members to assassinate the Third Hokage.
During the mission, Kinoe fought Kakashi Hatake but was ultimately defeated.
However, Kakashi spared him, recognizing that his Wood Release was far too valuable for Konoha's future.
With the Third Hokage's help, Kinoe left the Root and joined the Anbu, adopting the codename Tenzō.
Later on, he even became the temporary captain of Team 7.
Naruto's team leader.
°°°
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