Orochimaru!?
Wasn't he supposed to meet him tomorrow?Why was he here now?! How did he even get in?!Did he see the experiment? What was he thinking—was he planning to dissect him next?
A thousand questions flooded Hiroki's mind like a virus outbreak, freezing his thoughts.
"An interesting experiment you have here," Orochimaru's deep, husky voice echoed softly.
In the dim light, his golden, snake-like eyes glowed like twin will-o'-the-wisps, and his unsettling smile curved faintly at the corners of his mouth.
His gaze swept over the cages, then landed on Hiroki—sharp and probing, cutting through pretense like a blade.
"…Though your techniques are still rather crude," Orochimaru continued, "and you've caused organ failure in several test subjects, these little mice of yours are quite fascinating."
He tilted his head slightly. "How did you make their muscles grow on their own?"
Boom!
Hiroki's brain blanked out.He'd found the experiment?!
No—he'd understood it. He'd analyzed it. He'd diagnosed its flaws.
How?!
Orochimaru's words hit him like thunder, shattering his last shred of calm.He'd been exposed!
The man had seen through everything—the experiment, the failures, the logic behind it—all things Hiroki thought no one knew.
"I'm curious," Orochimaru murmured, taking slow, soundless steps toward him. The silence pressed down like a weight.
"This knowledge you have… biological theories far beyond this era, even beyond medical ninjutsu itself. Where did you learn it?" His golden eyes narrowed. "Even Tsunade doesn't know this much."
Hiroki forced himself to breathe. The air felt like shards of ice cutting into his lungs.
He had to stay calm.
Mentally, he hit Ctrl + Alt + Delete, opened the Task Manager in his mind, selected fear.exe, and clicked End Process.
Ice-cold calm washed over him. He could think again.
He couldn't afford to say anything carelessly. First, he needed to figure out Orochimaru's intentions.
Orochimaru showing up here wasn't some whim. He must have been observing him for a while.
And since Hiroki hadn't been dragged to an interrogation room or had his memories ripped apart by the Yamanaka clan, it meant Konoha didn't yet consider his work dangerous—or even noteworthy.
Good. That meant there was room to maneuver.
He swallowed and said, hoarsely but steadily, "This… is part of my bloodline limit."
"Oh?" Orochimaru straightened up, amusement flickering in his eyes. "A bloodline limit, is it? One that lets you understand how muscles grow and what trace elements they require?" He chuckled softly. "How fascinating. And… impossible."
"In Konoha, even I only recently began studying muscle synthesis and nutritional pathways," he said. "So tell me—how could you possibly know these things, Sawada Hiroki?"
Orochimaru crouched down, his snake-like eyes gleaming as his face drifted closer—but he didn't touch him.
"Unless someone taught you."
Hiroki's heart skipped a beat.
He hadn't even noticed the Wi-Fi signal appear—Orochimaru's signal.But it didn't matter. He couldn't read it. He couldn't read him.
"You're lying, Hiroki-kun," Orochimaru hissed softly.
"My bloodline allows me to see the essence of life," Hiroki said quickly, forcing his voice to stay even. "I can sense chakra flow, energy transformation… even the division and death of cells. My bloodline tells me how life changes."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. "A convenient explanation."
He turned toward the cages and gently nudged a stiff mouse with his pale fingers.
"So what about this one?" he asked lightly. "Group A—the healthy control. Group B—the ones that died. Group C—the ones that achieved balance. You used a controlled variable method."
He turned his gaze back toward Hiroki. "Did your 'bloodline' teach you that, too?"
"You should have a record sheet somewhere, yes? Where is it?"
Hiroki's pupils shrank.
It was over.
Orochimaru had not only uncovered the results—he'd reverse-engineered his entire thought process.
This man wasn't just a ninja. He was a scientist—one with terrifying insight.
Every word Hiroki could think of had a hole in it. Orochimaru would find it, twist it, dissect it.
"I…" Hiroki started, but no words came out.
Orochimaru stood, his expression unreadable. "You're special, Sawada Hiroki," he said quietly. "But where your knowledge comes from doesn't matter. Some secrets aren't meant to be explored."
He paused, his eyes momentarily distant—thinking of the Second Hokage's old research notes.
Who would've imagined that the Second Hokage had preserved the First's body for study?
Even Tobirama Senju had secrets no one could touch. So why should a child like this be any different?
Unless…
Orochimaru's mind raced.What if Hiroki Sawada was one of Tobirama's experimental subjects?
A child with no remarkable lineage, no powerful family, yet armed with forbidden knowledge far beyond his age…
Only two places in Konoha had such data: his own lab, and the Second Hokage's.
And Hiroki's cautious, defensive nature—his lack of initiative—fit the profile of someone who had grown up in a lab.
A lab rat who'd learned that survival meant blending in.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Hiroki wasn't Tobirama himself—too naïve for that—but possibly a reincarnated researcher… maybe even one of Tobirama's human experiments reborn.
Their timelines matched almost perfectly.
And yet… the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen—who knew almost every secret in Konoha—had never paid much attention to this boy.
That made Orochimaru all the more certain.
He smiled darkly. "You have knowledge that doesn't belong to this age. You hide behind mediocrity, pretending to be ordinary, because you've learned one truth—average people live longer in the lab."
"Those who stand out too much… die first."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a sinister whisper that slithered like a serpent's tongue.
"You think that if you keep your head down, no one will notice you. But you're wrong. In this world, weakness itself is a sin."
Orochimaru stopped right in front of him. Cold fingers lifted Hiroki's chin, forcing his gaze upward.
Hiroki froze.
No system alert. No "connection" sound.Was that even Orochimaru's real hand?
He couldn't tell what the man was thinking.
He mentally reopened his Task Manager, trying to kill fear.exe again—but this time, it refused to close.
"Look at you," Orochimaru whispered. "You're afraid—of me, of Konoha, of the future you already know. You cling to this fragile peace, terrified of losing it, so you hide behind your mask of mediocrity."
His golden eyes glimmered. "But I can help you, Hiroki-kun."
Hiroki's heartbeat thundered in his chest—not with excitement, but dread.
Was Orochimaru about to expose his secret? Did he somehow realize the truth—that he wasn't from this world at all?
Then Orochimaru smiled.
"Give me the knowledge you inherited from the Second Hokage," he said softly, licking his lips. "Share it with me, and I'll help you develop your bloodline. I'll show you how to turn that knowledge into true power—and how to survive freely in this cruel world."
He leaned closer, his voice a seductive whisper.
"I'm the only one who can help you, Hiroki-kun."
"…What?"
Hiroki's mind went blank.
The Second Hokage?Tobirama Senju?
What did that have to do with him?!
What the hell was going on?!