_________ POV Ken _________
It has certainly been a while since Ume has become one of my personal pupils.
In all honesty, all children of the Brotherhood are my personal pupils, they are all learning techniques that I either created or perfected.
But she is one of the few that I have been teaching personally for a while.
Her talent for Senjutsu can only really be described as monstrous, aside from me there is no one in the Brotherhood able to match her in that aspect.
But she is still too green to win against that brat Takehiko. The Adamantite Sealings Chains have the ability to suppress anything, including senjutsu.
We know that thanks to Kazue, who so kindly showed us how the Adamantite Sealing Chains worked during spars.
Of course, he only ever fought against some of the blades, he never quite got around to challenging me to a fight, but I'm sure he'll gain the courage to do so eventually. Hopefully, within the meagre time, he has left to stay with us in the brotherhood.
Regardless, his frequent spars with Akira have managed to showcase some of the strengths of the Sealing Chains, and to say they are powerful is to put it lightly.
I doubt there is any other bloodline limit as powerful as the Adamantite Sealing Chains from the get-go.
Things like the Sharingan and its evolution into the Mangekyō Sharingan are powers that one must unlock and work hard to strengthen.
However, the Adamantite Sealing Chains will always be overwhelmingly powerful as long as one has an inexhaustible supply of Chakra to feed them.
Of course, the more mastery one has over Fuinjutsu the better one can use it and the stronger it technically becomes, as the chains can intertwine to create powerful arrays and barriers. But its raw power alone is enough to press any Jonin, let alone regular Genin.
It is very safe to assume that this Takehiko kid doesn't have the Fuinjutsu knowledge to use his bloodline limit to a level even close to being comparable to Kazue. However, it's still safe to assume that the chains would suppress all energies of the one they bind.
So, worst case scenario, the moment Ume is trapped within those chains is the moment the fight ends.
In that case, I have to teach her some tricks to give her at least a chance. Even if she can't win, she at least will be able to take care of herself and maybe even give that Uzumaki child a run for his money.
Well, training her is going to be my priority in the following days, but for now, I can't help but direct my attention inward... Something within this Hidden Village has once again caught my attention.
As my feet stepped onto the tiles of a house, the cold air brushed passed my hair, and leaves danced around me.
As I felt the trees around me dance in the wind, I couldn't help but feel an omen.
A smell of blood wafted through the air, so neutered that even the most trained hound would've not been able to feel it. Someone is certainly trying to hide it.
Blood was mixed with other substances, disinfectants, pesticides, and venom. All of those aromas merged into one, making it seem almost... Sterile.
This is the type of smell that I would expect to feel in Saburo's laboratory, or within a hospital, not in the middle of Konoha in what seems to be a residential area.
... I guess I should take a 'look' into this, huh?
___________ POV Narration ___________
Like all men, Ken was very much driven by his curiosity at times. Usually restrained and hampered by his carefulness, but after he had grown so strong, he had no real reason to keep his guard up at all times.
Even if all of the other leaders of the alliance were to band together against him, Ken was still confident that he'd be able to escape with his life.
This self-confidence allowed his curiosity to flow unrestrained, which led to him finding a rather strange scene this time around.
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A house that looked populated on the outside, maintained, was completely deserted, with no signs of life.
A few alarm seals and formations were placed around the home, but it was a breeze for someone with Ken's skill to bypass them even without disabling them.
It was also not difficult for him to find traces, a scent that led him to a hidden door, one that could only be opened by a specific seal engrained by someone's specific chakra signature.
Ken could try to replicate it, but it was a lot easier said than done. So he went with a more direct approach.
"Earth Style: Hiding Like A Mole Technique..."
With a simple handsign, he burrowed into the ground, slightly breaking some of the wooden flooring of the house, but leaving otherwise small traces behind.
Hidden in the ground, he found it easier to navigate towards the room that the hidden passage would have led to.
It was by quite a large room, walls made of compressed dirt. It seemed to be filled to the brim with objects, shelves and tables.
There was only one person conscious in the room. A rather tall person, dressed in what Ken assumed to be a coat, long pants and sandals. He or She also seemed to have long hair.
The Doctor was carrying out an operation that Ken couldn't quite make out the purpose of at first.
He observed the situation for a while, allowing his senses to wash over the room whilst staying encased in a cocoon of dirt within the walls of that small laboratory.
If he were to describe the operation to anyone, then it was akin to a doctor trying to implant cancerous cells into another man's body.
As his enhanced senses washed over the many canisters and tissue in the room, he discovered many appendages made from the same 'cancerous' cells, and they all had one thing in common.
'... Why are these cells so receptive towards Nature Energy?'
The fact that they seemed to be almost made out of Nature Energy, similar to his own body. Not the same, of course, but still similar.
'Rather than like me, I guess it's closer to those 'White Zetsu'` beings that Madara ordered around.
It was when Ken made that realization that he decided to make his presence known.
He stepped through the wall in front of him steadily, and the Doctor immediately became alert when his foot touched the ground.
"Hmmm? I'm sure I didn't make any sound... I guess that snake on the ground alerted you? Quite skilled." Ken muttered as his masked head tilted to the side, his long hair shifting slightly.
"..." The Doctor seemed to almost hiss as he exuded an ungodly amount of killing intent towards the shadowy figure that had stepped into his sanctuary.
But as that shadowy figure stepped into the light, his killing intent turned to fear, and his hateful scowl turned into a startled one.
The familiar figure of a tall cloaked man. A pristine white mask with a blood-red dot in the centre. It was unmistakable.
"Say, I did think you felt familiar, but I think I've smelled you before. You are one of the Hokage's Pupils, aren't you?" The Blind Assassin's voice rang out like a wind chime, soft yet booming. Friendly yet authoritative. Demanding respect.
"R-Red Dot..." Was all that Orochimaru could muster before he froze completely, his skin wrinkling in fear.
In that instant, Orochimaru felt someone pass him, as Ken walked forward and traced his fingers along the operating table, where a man was still lying with his belly wide open.
"Indeed. I believe you are one of the Sanin, right? Jiraiya's comrades." Ken's back was completely turned to Orochimaru, but even in that position, the Snake Sannin felt as if he was the one vulnerable in that room.
"... That is correct. My name is Orochimaru..." With a sigh and a narrowed gaze, Orochimaru finally composed himself.
'He seems to be here on his own, no Anbu tailing him... The Hokage likely doesn't know anything about this then...' Although composed on the outside, the Sannin's mind was running on overdrive, he couldn't quite afford to get caught so soon.
He was already forced to severely downsize his operations after his main backer, Danzo, was executed for treason. His research was at a pivotal point now, he couldn't afford any distractions.
"So, Orochimaru. Would you mind telling me a bit more about this little science project you are conducting here?" Although Ken's voice sounded friendly, his face was completely neutral underneath his mask.
He examined the victim on the table and determined that it was likely a bandit or outlaw of some sort. Roguh and unkempt features, a lingering smell of grass and leaves, bulky frame and scarred body.
Of course, Ken doubted that Orochimaru cared about the man's innocence.
The Snake Sannin stared at Ken for a moment, as if weighing his options before responding.
"Well, I am merely working on a hypothesis. Say, Lord Ken, have you ever been interested in attaining immortality?"
In the end, he decided to lay all of his cards out on the table. He was still somewhat young, and a bit brazen, but he was not foolish.
There was no silencing Ken, fighting him was not an option, and sealing him was not something that Orochimari alone could ever hope to accomplish.
The only thing that the Snake Sannin could really do was to try and bring Ken to his side. To make the Blind Assassin see his cause.
"I can't say I have." Ken lied with a straight face and a smile on his lips. There was no man who never once thought about the concept of immortality and/or desired it.
Ken had already heard stories about people achieving such a feat, like the Hermit who had managed to reach immortality through Genjutsu.
Ken himself had a good chance to be immortal thanks to the fact that Tailed Beasts were known to not really ever die.
"Well, I for one am very interested in this, and I am pursuing it seriously. The samples you likely sense all around you are all special, materials that may help one reach immortality... Or at least a longer lifespan."
Orochimaru didn't go too far into his reasons, but it was self-explanatory. The dream of any doctor was to find the cure for everything, and immortality was that very cure.
'This is the second mad Scientist I've found at least in some way interested in immortality...' Ken felt that twist of fate rather amusing, but he didn't let that distract him from what interested him the most.
"So... What exactly are these cells?"