"You seem to like collecting strange things?" Orochimaru asked, sitting in Ryujin Kenichi's house, waiting for his student to finish packing. The two were going to be out of the village for a while.
"Ahaha, Teacher, since there's not much entertainment in the village, I just collect some oddities," Ryujin Kenichi responded with an awkward laugh. These items were all things he'd gathered in an attempt to study them, rather than for pure enjoyment.
Orochimaru nodded noncommittally, his eyes scanning the collection. Some of the items were indeed rare, but he had seen similar things before. His interest piqued when his gaze landed on a piece of amber.
Ryujin Kenichi didn't pay much attention to what his teacher was doing; he was quietly packing his clothes. His luggage was simple, typical for a ninja going on a mission. If Orochimaru hadn't instructed him to change, he would have just grabbed some ninja tools and soldier pills before heading out.
"Where did you get this amber?" Orochimaru asked, his voice curious. He was holding a piece of amber, which contained what looked like an insect, and inspecting it closely.
"I bought it from a merchant in the market. He said it was an ancient insect amber found in the Sand Village," Ryujin Kenichi replied, offering the truth.
Orochimaru nodded, his thoughts drifting. He had seen similar patterns and records somewhere, though he couldn't quite recall where. It didn't seem directly related to ninjutsu. If it had been, Orochimaru was certain he would have remembered it.
After Ryujin Kenichi quickly finished packing, the two of them left the village. Orochimaru remained quiet for most of the journey, only speaking again two days after leaving the village.
"Kenichi, why do you think the Third Hokage encountered you today?" Orochimaru asked casually, as he was busy with something on the ground. Ryujin Kenichi didn't look; it was likely another experiment or a small task.
"Um, I think it's possible that he had suspicions about you, Teacher, and wanted to verify them through me," Ryujin Kenichi suggested, though it could have also been a coincidence. After all, the Third Hokage had been on his way to the hospital for a checkup and had simply run into him.
"Not bad. Your reasoning is more satisfactory than Anko's," Orochimaru smiled faintly, before a hole suddenly appeared in the ground. Orochimaru gestured for Ryujin Kenichi to follow him down.
Ryujin Kenichi obediently followed his teacher. Orochimaru always seemed prepared for every contingency, like a crafty rabbit with three burrows. Ryujin Kenichi sometimes wondered how his teacher managed to fund all these hidden bases. The Land of Fire seemed filled with Orochimaru's hidden laboratories.
When they arrived at their destination, Ryujin Kenichi was taken aback by what he saw: a man, submerged in a glass jar. But it wasn't just any man—he had a pair of Byakugan eyes, unmistakably belonging to the Hyuga clan.
"Are you surprised?" Orochimaru asked, his voice knowing. Ryujin Kenichi didn't say anything, but the shock was clear on his face. He had seen Byakugan before, but the Hyuga clan rarely allowed their powerful dojutsu to be seen outside the family, and the Caged Bird Seal made sure of that.
"Teacher, isn't it said that the Hyuga clan uses the Caged Bird Curse Seal?" Ryujin Kenichi questioned, still struggling to comprehend the scene before him. The Caged Bird Curse Seal was supposed to prevent any leakage of the Byakugan, destroying both the eyes and the mind of the individual if necessary. It was a cruel means of control, a method used by the main family to subjugate the branch family.
Orochimaru glanced at the jar, his smile thin. "Yes, that's true. The Hyuga clan's Caged Bird Curse Seal ensures the Byakugan's secrecy. But not everyone follows the rules of their clan, Kenichi. Sometimes, those rules are meant to be broken."
Ryujin Kenichi stared at the figure in the jar, processing the implications of Orochimaru's words. There was more to the story, but he knew better than to ask too many questions. His teacher was a master of secrets.
"What a joke," "If the Third Hokage truly revered the Will of Fire so much, then why did the Fourth Hokage die in battle while he was still alive? Why did Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage, suffer such unfair treatment as a child?"
Orochimaru's thoughts lingered on the stark reality that the Hidden Leaf Village had, in a sense, betrayed its own core values. Despite Hiruzen Sarutobi's claims of upholding the Will of Fire, the truth remained—Naruto Uzumaki, the son of Minato Namikaze, had been treated as an outcast for years, forced to carry the burden of the Nine-Tails, while the Hokage who should have protected him had turned a blind eye.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru focused on a different subject entirely. He ran his fingers over a glass jar, his eyes gleaming with malicious excitement.
"There is a Caged Bird Curse Seal, and that curse seal is very special," Orochimaru said, his voice cold as he examined his latest find. "I don't know how to crack it yet, but I'm very close."
"Is this a child of the main family?" Ryujin Kenichi speculated aloud, his voice filled with curiosity. After all, Ao of the Hidden Mist Village had a Byakugan, and only the members of the Hyuga clan's main family carried the Caged Bird Seal. It was a mark of servitude, a tool to control them.
Orochimaru's lips curled into a knowing smile, though he quickly shook his head. "No. This is an illegitimate child, not recorded by the Hyuga clan, and therefore, there is no Caged Bird Seal."
Kenichi's eyes widened in realization. He understood why his teacher had such an unusual specimen. While the Caged Bird Curse Seal was potent and bound the Hyuga clan's branch family in a way that could only be escaped by death, it wasn't a birthright of every member of the clan. Rather, it was a mark placed at a certain age, after which there was no escape.
But if it was an illegitimate child, one not recognized by the clan, then the seal wouldn't be applied. Still, such a child would have the same troublesome Byakugan, which was so characteristic that it was easy to trace.
Orochimaru's gaze flicked over to the test subject before him, his thoughts more focused on the scientific potential than the child's true origin. "This child's body... has something unique. It feels similar to the cells of the First Hokage."
Ryujin Kenichi was stunned. The cells of Hashirama Senju were legendary, possessing extraordinary regenerative abilities and a power that was unmatched in the world. The idea that such cells could be found in this child was both puzzling and fascinating.
"First Hokage cells?" Kenichi stammered. "But... how is that possible? Those cells are a rare treasure, lost to time. If someone had managed to replicate them..." His voice trailed off, the implications of such a discovery dawning on him.
A thought crossed Kenichi's mind. He had just visited the hospital earlier, asking about a disease. This could be connected, though he couldn't be certain. First Hokage's cells were aggressive, capable of rapidly regenerating cells around them—almost like cancer cells. But was this really Hashirama's cells, or could it be something entirely different?
Could this be a sign of something even more terrifying?