Chapter 9: Spark of Life | In Naruto With an Achievement System

Please read the AN at the bottom of the chapter after you're done reading!

In Naruto With an Achievement System

Chapter 9: Spark of Life

I remained on the rooftop for a few moments after Anko and Asuma had left, the wind tugging uselessly at clothes that suddenly felt too thin. The world, which had seemed so full of potential just that morning, had contracted to the size of this rooftop, defined entirely by the chilling presence that had just vanished from it.

My feet felt heavy, leaden, as I finally turned and made my way to the narrow stairwell. Each step down was a measured thud in the echoing quiet, a descent back into a reality that had been irrevocably altered. Team Orochimaru. The name itself was a cruel irony, a brand. I was no longer just an Academy student with a secret; I was now a designated student, a test subject in the making for one of the most brilliant and depraved minds in the world.

The walk home was a blur of muted sounds and colors. The late afternoon sun cast long, lazy shadows across the streets. Civilians milled about, finishing their shopping, heading home from work, completely oblivious. Their normality felt like an accusation. How could they be so calm when my world had just tilted off its axis?

For a stupid, fleeting moment, the thought of running crossed my mind. Just grab my things, the stipend money, and disappear into the night. Leave Konoha, Orochimaru, all of it behind.

The thought died as quickly as it came, crushed under the weight of cold, hard pragmatism.

First, there was nowhere to run to. This wasn't my old world. The lands beyond Konoha's walls weren't some peaceful countryside waiting to be explored. War was brewing. Smaller nations, places like Amegakure, were already being ground into mud under the heels of the larger villages. Defecting didn't mean freedom; it meant becoming a refugee, a nameless victim in a war I was trying to avoid. Suicide by attrition.

Second, and more importantly, Konoha knew.

My conversation with the Hokage hadn't just been a debriefing; it had been an assessment. Hiruzen, and now Orochimaru, were aware that I possessed a unique, un-cataloged ability. I wasn't just a generic genin they could afford to lose. I was an asset. An anomaly. If I defected, they wouldn't just write me off. A bounty would be placed on my head. Hunter-nin would be dispatched, not with orders to simply kill me, but to capture me. My skills, my unique aptitude, could not be allowed to fall into the hands of another village. I'd be hunted, not as a simple deserter, but as a stolen secret.

There was no escape. The village walls that were meant to protect its citizens had just become the bars of my cage. The only path was forward, directly into the serpent's den.

When I finally reached my apartment building, the familiar grey concrete seemed more like a prison block than a home. The key felt cold in my hand. The lock turned. The door swung open, revealing the small, spartan room.

I didn't bother with the lights. I kicked off my sandals, stumbled over to the futon, and collapsed face down onto the thin mattress. The accumulated exhaustion of the day – the shock, the terror, the grim acceptance – washed over me in a tidal wave. My mind felt like a frayed wire, humming with a tension that had nowhere to go. I just laid there, breathing in the musty scent of the futon, every muscle screaming.

Just as a genuine groan of despair started to form in my throat, the air in front of me shimmered.

With a soft pop, the familiar transparent blue screen materialized just above my head. I didn't even have the energy to flinch, just stared up at it wearily from my place on the futon.

White text began to scroll across it.

[Achievement Accomplished!]
[Become a Genin]
You have taken the first step on the path of a shinobi.

[Achievement Rank: LOW]

A small, bitter laugh escaped me. A low-level achievement for a low-level life, it seemed. This was the milestone that had led me directly into this mess. But then, more text appeared, the system announcing another, far more significant event.

[Achievement Accomplished!]
[Student of a Sanin]
Your potential has drawn the eye of a legend. For good or ill, your path is now intertwined with greatness.

[Achievement Rank: HIGH]

The exhaustion, the dread — it all vanished, burned away by a sudden, fierce surge of adrenaline. I pushed myself up, sitting ramrod straight on the futon, my eyes locked on that single, glowing word: HIGH.

It wasn't just a label. It was a promise.

Defeating Anko, a named character and a significant rival, had only warranted a "Low" achievement after the System recalibrated. The reward for that, [Train the Slayer], had been incredibly useful, granting me foundational kenjutsu and enhanced senses. It was a solid, practical ability.

But this was a High-Level Achievement.

The implications crashed through my mind, washing away the last vestiges of despair and replacing them with a sharp excitement. This was a game-changer. Being Orochimaru's student was a death sentence, a guaranteed path to becoming a lab rat or a casualty. But the System had just acknowledged the sheer narrative weight of that danger and was offering a correspondingly powerful reward.

This wasn't just a consolation prize. It was a weapon. A tool handed to me precisely because my situation had become so dire. Orochimaru was a predator, but the System had the potential to give me sharper teeth.

A genuine, almost manic grin spread across my face. Hope. It was a dangerous thing in this world. I was still in a cage, but I wasn't defenseless. 

As if sensing my renewed focus, the screen flickered, the text changing.

[Rewards Granted!]

[From Low Achievement]

[Become a Genin]

[Perk: Extraordinary Affinity (Against the Gods) (Talent)]
You have an extraordinary talent for one of the five basic elements of nature: Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, or Wind. While nowhere close to what someone with an Evil God’s Seed would have — like, at all — you are still among the top 1% most talented people in that element in the world.

The text was followed by five shimmering kanji, each representing an element, pulsing with a faint inner light. A prompt appeared beneath them.

[Please Select Your Affinity...]

I took a deep breath, my excitement momentarily quelled by the gravity of the choice. This would define a huge part of my future combat style. I immediately discarded Water and Earth. While invaluable for their defensive and supplementary capabilities, my path, especially now, required overwhelming offensive power and tactical speed. I needed lethality.

Fire was a tempting option, offering pure, unadulterated destructive force. But it was a blunt instrument. It burned, it consumed, but it lacked the subtlety, the versatility I craved for in a flexible fighting style.

That left Lightning and Wind.

This was the real decision. Lightning was the flashier, more direct choice. My mind immediately jumped to the Raikage and his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. A cloak of pure, condensed power and speed, a perfect synergy with my Taijutsu focus and Attribute Distribution. The potential was staggering. I could become a living bolt of lightning.

But... that was its primary strength. A singular, incredibly potent application. Beyond that, its versatility was more limited.

Wind, however, was for me — versatility incarnate. It could be shaped into blades for ranged combat, focused for unparalleled cutting power capable of severing connections on a cellular level, or used defensively to create gusts and barriers. More importantly, it was the element of sharpness and speed. Augmenting a blade with wind was a given, but I could envision so much more. There was no reason a similar enhancement to the Lightning Armor couldn't be achieved with Wind. It would be different — a swirling vortex of razor-sharp air as a shield, blades of wind extending from my fists and feet — but the potential was there. Wind offered a broader foundation to build upon.

My choice was clear. My focus shifted to the fourth kanji.

"I choose Wind."

The moment the choice was made, the other symbols faded. The kanji for Wind flared brightly before dissolving into countless particles of pale green light that flowed into me. There was no jarring influx of knowledge. Instead, it felt like a part of my senses had been unlocked. I could feel the air more clearly for a lack of words, not just on my skin, but as a tangible presence. I understood, on a deep, instinctual level, the nature of a breeze, the power of a gale, the sharpness of a focused current. I could feel how my chakra yearned to flow into that shape, to become that cutting edge. I didn't know a single Wind Style jutsu yet, but I knew, with absolute certainty, that when I learned them, it would feel as natural as breathing.

A powerful tool, and this was only the reward from the Low achievement. I turned my attention back to the screen, my heart pounding in anticipation for the main prize.

[From High Achievement: Student of a Sanin]

[Perk: Living Disaster (Jujutsu Kaisen) (Mystical)]
Your cursed technique embodies some sort of natural disaster, letting you manipulate it with both great power and versatility. The known examples of this kind of technique include Jogo’s pyrokinesis, Hanami’s plant manipulation, and Dagon’s hydrokinesis. You may select one of the above, or choose something entirely different with a similar power level to the examples given below.
Jogo’s pyrokinetic abilities, for example, allowed him to create enormous blasts of flame from his hands capable of burning down vast areas and seriously wounding or killing grade 1 sorcerers. Aside from this, he was also capable of generating small volcanos to emerge from surfaces at a distance and violently erupt; producing fist-sized ‘Ember Insects’ which flew towards a target, attempted to sting them (to unknown effect), then exploded; and even creating an enormous flaming meteor capable of destroying much of Shibuya.
Hanami’s ability, on the other hand, allows for the creation and manipulation of plants with various special abilities. On the simpler end, this can be used to produce various wooden constructs: roots to entangle and throw enemies about; spikes of wood that emerge out of the ground; vast masses of roots the size of a large building; and balls of wood from which branches can emerge mid-flight to skewer those around it. On the more complex end, this can also be used to produce such things as a field of flowers that distracts and disorients those caught in it or buds that drain the energy of whoever they latch onto.

[Achievement System Notice: Abilities that utilise a certain energy do not come with the perks. Instead, the current energy of the user « Chakra » will be adapted to use all of the techniques possible with the ability.]

This… this was on another level entirely. The choice in front of me could dictate the entire course of my future.

The conflict wasn't between the options provided. Jogo's pyrokinesis was highly impressive, a deluge of raw power, but it lacked the sheer versatility of Hanami's plant manipulation. The real dilemma stemmed from what Hanami's ability represented in this world. The creation of wooden constructs, roots, plants, and even the energy-draining property… it was a near perfect 1:1 match for the signature ability of the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju. The God of Shinobi's legendary Wood Release.

Sure, Hashirama's immense strength was partly due to him being Ashura's reincarnation, but it was his Mokuton that defined him. That affinity for nature, for life itself, had allowed him to suppress the chakra of Tailed Beasts. And from the sounds of it, this ability, with its connection to natural life, might make mastering Sage Mode far easier.

But with such incredible power came an equally incredible risk. This ability would be found out eventually; I simply could not hide it forever. Considering I was already under the microscopic gaze of both the Hokage and Orochimaru, this would only intensify the attention on me.

But maybe that wasn't a bad thing.

The truth was, my new sensei couldn't just cut me open. Not yet. He was still a Konoha Jonin, bound by the village's rules until he was caught, which likely wouldn't happen until after the Third War. The more public attention there was on me, the more valuable I appeared to the village as a whole, the harder it would be for someone to “disappear” me. It would, however, make Orochimaru’s interest in me significantly deeper, especially given his future experiments with Mokuton that resulted in Yamato. And it would make defecting from Konoha absolutely suicidal. If fleeing now could result in a large portion of hunter-nin on my trail, revealing a power like this would guarantee the entire force, and likely other villages, would hunt me until I was either locked in a cell or dead.

On the other hand, this ability could serve as a plausible ‘explanation’ for my Attribute Distribution. I could bullshit about adjusting the “vitality” present in my own body. I’d let them come to their own conclusions. Then there was the political angle. This could give me an in with Tsunade, Hashirama’s own granddaughter. As an orphan, it might even allow me to be absorbed into the Senju Clan. That would mean powerful backing, a real shield.

The sheer number of variables, the risks and rewards, was a genuine headache. God damn it. Fuck it all.

My finger tapped the screen, selecting the option for the ability of Hanami.

I was tired of always hiding. The constant, meticulous effort of holding back, of shaving off bits of my potential to simply appear above average — it was exhausting. And for what? The Hokage knew anyway. All that caution had been a fucking waste! Frustrating didn't even begin to cover it.

This time, the ability came as a mix of both innate knowledge and a new sense.

The sense was odd. It wasn't physical, more like a quiet understanding, an awareness of the nature around me. The hardy weeds growing in the cracks of the rooftops, the potted plant on a distant windowsill, the deep-rooted trees in the parks. In the middle of the village, the sensation was muted, a faint background hum, but I knew, instinctively, that if I were in a forest, that hum would become a symphony.

The knowledge, on the other hand, was more direct. It settled in my mind not as memorized text, but as muscle memory I hadn't yet earned. I knew how to sprout roots from the earth and bind an opponent. I knew the specific twist of chakra needed to erupt a spike of hardened wood from the ground. This wasn't a complete library of techniques; it was a foundation. The perk gave me the tools, but it would be up to my own creativity and practice to build anything truly magnificent with them.

Right now, I could probably manifest a mass of roots the size of a small house and maintain it for a minute, maybe two. The limiting factor, as always, was chakra. I had more chakra than most kids my age, even more than many genin, because I constantly exhausted my reserves day after day, forcing them to grow. If I had to guess, I'd say my total capacity was probably on the low-to-middle end of a chunin. Pathetic for the challenges ahead, but a decent starting point.

The next question was when to reveal this. I could either let it be discovered by chance or reveal it on my own terms. The first option was out. I couldn't risk a surprise reveal on the battlefield, not with Orochimaru as my sensei. The chance of me "dying" would be far too high. It would be all too easy for him to report back to the Hokage, his voice full of false regret: "Oh, no, poor Yuuki. He unlocked a strange power in the heat of battle but couldn't control it. A stray explosive tag caught him in the chaos." And Sarutobi, his former teacher, would probably buy that shit up.

No, it had to be here, in the village. It had to be on my terms.

Agh, why the fuck did I take this ability! My head was starting to ache again. Right, I needed to focus. Orochimaru couldn't just dissect me in his lab, not yet. He was still a public-facing Konoha Jonin, and with the war on, his duties likely left him little time for extensive, unsanctioned experiments. But I couldn't take the risk of revealing it to him first. That would be like a mouse handing a cat a menu.

Revealing it directly to Hiruzen was for the best.

But could I just waltz back into the Hokage's office and demand a meeting? It had only been an hour since I'd left. The thought seemed absurd, but then I considered my new reality. I wasn't an anonymous orphan anymore. I was a special case, the genin with the strange attribute-shifting ability, now personally assigned to a Sannin. If I showed up at the tower again, claiming something urgent had developed, the ANBU guards couldn't just turn me away. They'd have to inform him. And he, now aware of my "potential," would likely be curious enough to call me in.

Better to be a high-profile asset than a disposable secret. I had to do it now.

I got to my feet, my mind racing faster than it ever had. There was no time to second-guess. Every moment I waited was a moment Orochimaru was solidifying his plans for me, plans that I was still completely in the dark about. I had to seize the narrative, now.

I smoothed out the wrinkles in my shirt, took a steadying breath, and walked out the door. The screen had vanished after I'd confirmed the choice.

The short walk back to the Hokage's Tower felt entirely different this time. Before, it had been a descent into despair; now, it was a march. My steps were purposeful, my gaze fixed. I ignored the stares of passing villagers, the casual life of Konoha fading into a backdrop for the singular, critical task ahead.

Reaching the tower, I bypassed the lower floors and ascended the stairs directly to the reception area outside the Hokage’s office. The same weary-looking aide was at her desk, her expression souring slightly as she recognized me.

“You again?” she said, her voice flat with annoyance. She didn't even look up from her paperwork. “The Hokage is an extremely busy man, genin. You can't just walk in here twice in one day.”

I stepped up to her desk, keeping my own voice level and respectful, but firm. “I understand his time is valuable, but this is urgent. It pertains directly to the… aptitude Lord Hokage discussed with me, and a new development concerning my assignment to Orochimaru-sama’s team.”

She finally looked up, her eyes conveying a complete lack of interest. “All 'urgent' matters for a fresh genin go through your Jonin-sensei. Find Orochimaru-sama and take it up with him.”

Her words sent a jolt of ice through my veins. That was the one thing I absolutely could not do. My resolve hardened. This was the moment.

I took a half-step back from the desk, enough to be clearly visible to the corners of the room, and raised my voice. Not yelling, but projecting, infusing my tone with a desperate insistence that was only half-feigned.

“With all due respect, I was just dismissed from his office an hour ago! A situation has developed which I need to talk to him about! It cannot wait!”

The aide’s face flushed with anger at my outburst. She stood up, ready to call for a standard guard to have me thrown out. “You will lower your voice, brat! How dare you…”

She never finished the sentence.

In a flicker of movement too fast to properly track, a figure dropped from the ceiling, landing in a perfect crouch between me and her desk. The porcelain animal mask, the stark black and grey uniform — ANBU.

The aide gasped and stumbled back into her chair, her face pale.

The masked figure ignored her entirely. Their head tilted slightly, the painted eyes of their mask seeming to bore directly into me. For a tense second that stretched into an eternity, there was only silence.

Then, the ANBU spoke, their voice a filtered, emotionless rasp that cut through the still air.

“Hokage-sama will see you. Come with me.”

The ANBU operative didn’t wait for a reply. He straightened from his crouch and turned, walking towards the heavy wooden doors of the Hokage's office with a fluid, silent grace. The message was clear: I was to follow, no questions asked. I shot a quick, neutral glance at the stunned secretary before turning my back on her and obeying, my heart hammering against my ribs. The gambit had worked.

The ANBU pushed the door open without knocking and gestured for me to enter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood before a large, detailed map of the Land of Fire that was spread across a side table, a long-stemmed pipe held loosely in one hand. He looked up as I stepped into the room, his expression a complicated mix of deep curiosity and visible impatience. The ANBU guard melted back into the shadows of the hallway, the door clicking shut behind me, leaving the Hokage and me in the sudden, oppressive silence of the office.

"This is highly unusual, Yuuki-kun," Hiruzen said, his voice level but carrying the full weight of his authority. He moved back behind his desk, the massive piece of furniture feeling more like a judicial bench than an administrative workspace. "An hour. It has been barely an hour. What could possibly be so urgent as to warrant this… disruption?"

I took a deep breath, marshaling my courage. This was it. No more hiding.

"Lord Hokage, I apologize for the intrusion," I began, bowing my head respectfully. "But after I left… something happened. A change. I believe it is better to show you than to try and explain."

Hiruzen’s eyebrow raised a fraction. He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the desk and steepling his fingers, his gaze sharp and analytical. "Show me, then."

I stepped forward into the open space before his desk. I held out my right hand, palm facing the ceiling, and focused. I pushed aside the lingering terror, the complex strategies, and reached for the new sense within me. It felt like flexing a muscle for the first time—the knowledge was there, the pathway clear. I drew a small, steady stream of chakra from my core, channeling it not into heat or force, but into the concept of life, of growth.

Slowly, painstakingly, the skin in the center of my palm began to shift. A tiny green sprout, no bigger than a grain of rice, pushed its way into existence. It grew steadily, its stem thickening, tiny, perfectly formed leaves unfurling with an unnatural speed. Within seconds, a perfect, vibrant wooden sapling stood a few inches tall in my hand, its roots intricately woven into the lines of my palm. It wasn't a violent spike of wood; it was a controlled, delicate manifestation of life itself.

The quiet clatter of porcelain against wood was the only sound in the room.

Hiruzen’s pipe had fallen from his slackened jaw, landing on the polished surface of his desk. His eyes, usually half-lidded with weariness and tiredness, were wide with pure, unadulterated shock. He stared, not at me, but at the impossible plant growing from my hand. For a moment, the formidable Third Hokage was gone, replaced by a man witnessing a ghost.

He pushed his chair back and rose to his feet, circling the desk with a slow, deliberate pace that couldn't quite conceal the tremor in his hands. He stopped before me, his gaze locked on the sapling.

"What… what is this?" he breathed, his voice a low, disbelieving whisper. "An advanced Henge? A genjutsu of some kind?"

He reached out a hesitant, trembling hand, not to me, but to the sapling. His finger gently brushed against one of the tiny leaves, feeling its texture, its solidity. I felt the probing touch of his own chakra, vast and controlled, as it washed over my hand, scrutinizing the validity of the sapling. His expression shifted from shock to stunned sort-of comprehension.

This was real.

This was Mokuton or some variation of it.

I could see the moment his mind kicked into overdrive. The shock evaporated, replaced by the sharp, calculating focus of a Kage assessing a new, world-altering piece on the board. He considered every variable, every threat, every opportunity. When his eyes finally met mine again, they were hard as steel.

“This ability,” he said, his voice low and sharp, leaving no room for argument, “does not exist. It is now an S-Rank village secret. Its use is forbidden outside of controlled training environments, supervised by myself or your designated Jonin-sensei. Under no circumstances, barring a situation where you are faced with certain death, are you to use this power. Is that understood?”

I swallowed, the sapling in my hand suddenly feeling like a lead weight. I let it dissolve back into my palm and nodded mutely. I had expected as much.

Hiruzen let out a long, slow breath, running a hand over his face. “If it came out that an orphan in Konoha suddenly manifested this power… the entire world would be out to hunt you, Yuuki-kun,” he said, his tone softening slightly, taking on the gravity of a history lesson. “This ability, in the hands of my predecessor, reshaped the world. Nations were forged and Tailed Beasts were tamed with this power. Others would kill to possess it, or kill you simply to ensure no one else could.”

He looked at me, a strange, almost relieved expression on his face. “It is a stroke of immense fortune that you were assigned to Orochimaru’s team. If you had been placed with any other Jonin, I would have had to pull you out immediately, raising questions I cannot afford to answer.”

Fortune. Right. The fox was now officially in charge of the henhouse. I guess getting off this team was too much to hope for. A new, opportunistic thought cut through my apprehension.

“Lord Hokage… am I a part of the Senju, then?” I asked, my voice quiet. A normal orphan would want to know if they had a family in the village.

Hiruzen shrugged lightly, the question pulling him back to the practicalities. “That… is a complicated question. The only person to have ever had Wood Release was the First Hokage himself. It was never considered a standard part of the Senju bloodline. However,” he paused, choosing his words carefully, “the Senju are known for their incredible vitality and a singular, powerful affinity for a specific art that makes each of them unique. In the warring era, they often married outside the clan, bringing in new blood. It is… possible you are a distant descendant.”

He looked away, his gaze distant, a slight grimace forming on his face. “I will have to discuss this with the current clan head.”

He turned back to me, his expression serious. “Even so, while it is not my decision to make, I would advise you not to take the Senju name, even if it is offered.”

Huh? That was the opposite of what I expected. “But… would that not give me backing? Protection?”

“It would,” Hiruzen conceded, letting out a sigh that seemed to deepen the wrinkles on his face. “But it would also paint a target on your back larger than this tower.” His voice took on a sad, weary tone, the voice of a man who had signed too many death certificates. “The Senju are targeted in every war, Yuuki-kun. Their children are hunted, to prevent them from growing into the legends their bloodline is known for. Then the adults, in their grief, become reckless, rushing headlong to avenge their young.”

He looked at me, his eyes filled with a profound sadness. “There used to be so many of them. Now? No more than twelve remain in the entire village.”

Ah. The word hung in the air, heavy and cold. The Senju clan, founders of the village, were practically extinct. Hunted into nothingness.

I grimaced, the opportunistic gleam I felt moments ago turning to ash in my mouth. “I’d rather not, then.”

Hiruzen nodded, his expression one of grim approval. "A wise choice."

He walked back behind his desk and sank into his chair, suddenly looking every one of his years. He picked up his fallen pipe, lighting it with a small application of Fire Release as he took a puff.

"Go home, Yuuki-kun," he said, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "Act as if this conversation never happened. Go about your day. Prepare for your team's survival exercise tomorrow."

He fixed me with one last, piercing gaze, "And remember what I said. This ability is a ghost. It is not to be seen. Do not use it without your sensei or I being present to observe. You have given me a great deal of work to do, and many things to think about."

I bowed deeply, this conversation and the need to be careful of what I said or showed was exhausting. "Yes, Lord Hokage."

With that, I was dismissed. I turned and walked out of the office, the heavy door closing behind me with a soft, final click as I started my trek back home.

— Hiruzen Sarutobi —

With this much tobacco smoke clinging to him, Biwako was sure to kill him. He thought wryly, taking another deep drag from his pipe, the rich, earthy scent doing little to calm the storm in his mind.

The Wood Release. The name alone had dredged up ghosts he thought long buried. Fond memories of Hashirama-sensei, his booming laugh and his overdramatic despair over the smallest things. Though Hiruzen had been a part of Team Tobirama, the First Hokage had often taken him under his wing, imparting lessons on what it meant to be the God of Shinobi.

But then there were the other memories. The ones of the battlefield, where those same hands that had ruffled his hair could summon vast, terrifying forests from barren earth, butchering hundreds without a change in expression. Hiruzen, for all his power, had never felt he truly deserved the title of 'God of Shinobi' that others had given him. None of the current generation could truly comprehend the fear that came when the name Hashirama Senju was uttered. A simple announcement of his presence on the field was enough to end a battle before it began.

And now, that power had returned. In a child who already seemed destined for greatness. It would be a massive target on the boy's back when — not if — the ability was found out. Information, no matter how well-kept, had a way of leaking out.

He made a single, precise hand seal in the empty air.

A swirl of motion in the corner of the room resolved into a kneeling ANBU operative wearing a hawk mask. "Hokage-sama."

"Hawk," Hiruzen said, his voice steady. "Bring me Orochimaru. Immediately."

It didn't take long. Orochimaru had always been a punctual and quick person, a trait Hiruzen admired. His prized student entered the office with his usual silent grace, a polite, questioning smile on his pale features. Hiruzen found he couldn't muster even a faint smile in return.

"Sensei? You summoned me?"

"There has been a development regarding your new student, Yuuki Kagurazaka," Hiruzen began, getting straight to the point. He watched his student's face carefully as he delivered the next words. "He possesses the Wood Release."

For a split second, Orochimaru’s composure fractured. It wasn't a gasp, or a widening of the eyes, but something far more telling to one who knew him. A flicker in his golden, serpentine eyes; the corner of his mouth twitching upwards in a motion that was not quite a smile; a flash of raw, predatory fascination that he quickly smothered.

"How... intriguing," Orochimaru said, his voice a smooth hiss that did nothing to hide the sudden, intense interest behind it.

Hiruzen knew that look. He knew his student, perhaps better than Orochimaru gave him credit for. He hadn't been blind to Orochimaru's morbid curiosity, his past requests to study the First's body, or the questionable nature of his experiments on captured foreign shinobi.

A heavy, immense pressure filled the room as Hiruzen released his chakra, the very air seeming to thicken with his unspoken will.

"Orochimaru," he said, his voice low and hard, stressing the name. "I am aware I have denied your requests to study the First's cells on several occasions. You will not, under any circumstances, attempt to study or experiment on that boy. He is a shinobi of Konoha, a student under your care, not a specimen for your research."

Orochimaru placed a hand to his chest, feigning a wounded expression. "Sensei. How could you imply such a thing? He is my dear student." But the polite smile had vanished completely, and his eyes were cold. He understood the command, and the power behind it. He gave a single, annoyed, curt nod.

"We will establish a controlled environment for us to explore this ability with him. Together," Hiruzen stated, making the terms clear. "Until then, your team is to remain within the village for training. Any missions will be local. If you are required elsewhere for a high-priority mission, I will personally oversee their training in your absence."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly at that. The Hokage himself stepping in was an unprecedented level of oversight. After a moment, he simply bowed his head. "As you command, Hokage-sama."

With another bow, Orochimaru turned and left the office.

Hiruzen was alone again. He sank back into his chair, the weight of the world pressing down on him. He took another deep puff of smoke, letting it fill his lungs. Even if the stress of this boy and his secrets didn't kill him, Biwako surely would for this much smoking.

Author's Note

Hello, hello, hello! It's been a while, hasn't it?

Before we get into the chapter, I'd like to give a huge thank you to my Patrons for sticking around even when the updates have been… inconsistent. The reason for the delay is that I've been in the middle of giving exams — and I still am, with my last one scheduled for July 3rd.

This brings me to the main point. A few of you have expressed dissatisfaction, for understandable reasons, and I want to address that. All I can promise is that I will be updating much more frequently in July, aiming for twice a week or more. I will do my absolute best to guarantee at least one update per week, no matter what.

Now, let me clarify a few things regarding this chapter:

1. The Choice of Hanami's Nature Manipulation: I personally feel I've explained Yuuki's reasoning well enough. I'm sure some of you might have better ideas for how the reveal could have happened, but remember, Yuuki was exhausted and acting under immense pressure. He deliberately chose to reveal it to Hiruzen, not Orochimaru, for a very specific reason: survival.

2. Orochimaru's Position: At this point in the story, Orochimaru cannot openly experiment on Yuuki. In my interpretation, the main reason he was eventually hunted down was for experimenting on Konoha's own citizens and orphans. Here, he has only openly requested to study the First Hokage's cells. This means he and Danzo are not yet working together on that particular project.

Also, it's crucial to remember the timeline. Hiruzen is roughly 20 years younger than he is at the start of canon, meaning the primary factor that weakened him by the Chunin Exams arc — his age — is far less of an issue. He is much closer to his prime "God of Shinobi" self. Orochimaru is also not yet the monster he would become in twenty years' time. He is powerful, but he knows he cannot directly defy his sensei. He will not be direct with Yuuki... for now. He is still "loyal" to Konoha because leaving the village would be more trouble than it's worth. He will control himself, but that doesn't mean he won't be opportunistic. A "training accident" that makes Yuuki bleed might be the perfect chance to silently collect a blood sample... wink, wink.

That's about it! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a like and a comment! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reply and ask. Your engagement is a huge motivation.