This next chapter comes just after this fic broke the 1000 hits mark! So I'd just like to extend an even more grateful thank you to everyone who has read, enjoyed, and recommended this fic to their friends. It's thanks to the amazingly positve response from all of you that I've been so driven to provide more frequent updates. I hope you continue to enjoy the fic for the next 1000 hits!
Also, in the face of this fic doing so well, I've released the first chapter in my next project. I'll take advantage of my readers here and give myself a brief plug. "To Fly" is a fic written in a similar style to "A Matter of Perspective." However, the narrator in this case is Hyuuga Neji. I hope all the Neji fans among you will check it out and enjoy it.
As always, I encourage feedback. I love to hear from everyone; and not just the compliments. I welcome constructive criticism and suggestions just as openly as positive feedback. Thank you all again for your continued support of this fic.
-sor
It only took a few months of work to prepare my second lab and see to it that it was well stocked with everything I might need. Had we not been at war at the time, I never would have been able to get away with procuring the necessities so easily, but with the village's full energy focused almost entirely on war, it was easy enough to bring in what I needed without the notice of the all too nosey council. And yet again my connection with Kabuto-kun proved to be indispensable. Due to his training, he had begun to work a few shifts in the hospital, tending to wounded ninja and acting as a nurse's aid, allowing him to further his training under the tutorship of not only his father, but also other accomplished medic nin.
He was also granted access to certain medical formulas used to accomplish what the medics could not. Sedatives, pain killers, antibiotics. He was able to swipe small samples here and there, all of which eventually lined the shelves of my lab. In the often hectic wartime environment, it was rare the medics even noticed the missing goods and when they did, it was attributed to faulty record keeping rather than the sticky fingers of their youngest aid. Kabuto has always had the advantage of being the least suspicious man ever to walk the paths of Konoha.
As a reward for his assistance, I graciously allowed him more access to my original lab, even giving him permission to work when I was not present. I trusted Kabuto to be inconspicuous and he did not let me down. True, his work was hardly at the level of my own, but it gave me the time I needed to work on more promising projects. The council, fools that they were, simply assumed I was too busy with Anko to produce results at the speed I had previously. Had they known they were looking at the work of an eight year old, I believe the old coots would have lost their minds; or what was left of their minds.
Meanwhile, there was more than enough to keep me busy while Kabuto took up my less important work. The first few objects of study were a pair of ninja from Iwa, spies who attempted to waylay me as I returned from a brief mission to one of the neighboring towns. There were no witnesses and it was a very simple matter to smuggle the men into the city and then into the basement. Rock ninja were troublesome, however. I knew little about the village, which was a constant bane to my attempts over the next few years to study their kind. I found it much more productive to study ninja from the leaf, but the saying that beggars cannot be choosers was of particular significance.
I did eventually manage, however, to procure a few much more interesting specimens after one particularly fierce battle. Three, in fact, though had I not been forced to at least feign interest in defending my fellow ninja of the leaf, I might have managed five or six. I did, however, manage to bring home the three most valuable yet. The first was one of those paranoid, self absorbed Hyuuga, whose corpse I was only able to procure thanks to a grand stroke of luck. Hyuuga corpses were known to vanish notoriously quickly from the battlefields and I was lucky to find one, let alone find it unwatched.
Of course, upon closer examination, the corpse turned out to be absolutely useless. The Byakugan I had so desperately wished to study had been sealed away even before I had gotten my hands on the man. I couldn't exactly comprehend how, but that did not stop me from further investigating the body. It was only due to the relatively recent and intense flow of chakra into the man's eyes that I even knew where to look. This sealing had not been the cause of any outward influence, but rather something within the body. Something had triggered a reaction within his brain and it did not take me long to find the source.
The seal was no longer visible, but was easily detectable. It was a fascinating thing, really. Every ninja knew of a number of seals, though they were rarely put into practice for a variety of reasons. In fact, nearly every sealing technique I had learned was considered forbidden, only allowed in the most dire of circumstances in the most trusted hands. To realize the Hyuuga used such a thing in order to maintain their secrets was fascinating. In fact, it was so fascinating that the Hyuuga clan lost another member of their branch family to that same war. Sadly, the bodies were never recovered.
The Hyuuga seal was in all ways unique in its ability to control chakra flow from a specific outside source and direct it to any part of the brain, destroying brain cells or even causing death to the victim. In every way, it was a useful, ingenious means of control. However, what made it imperfect was that all the power lay outside of the body in the hands of another. A seal would be much more efficient if it were able to draw chakra from within the body and apply it, giving the bearer the ability to utilize all of the body's chakra to a much stronger degree. Enhancing power was always more promising than limiting it, at least, so long as control remained within the hands of those intelligent enough to use it to its best promise.
The next acquisition was a young man of marginal strength, easily killed thanks to his obvious lack of intellect. His name wasn't important; only that the family name was Uchiha. The clan wouldn't miss him much. Uchiha was already renowned for breeding like rabbits. What was the loss of one pathetic man, especially with that little genius Itachi drawing all the clan's focus?
This man was the first I took to studying, focusing nearly all of my attention on his eyes. He was obviously a lesser member of the clan as his Sharingan was underdeveloped compared to clan leaders like Uchiha Fugaku. Still, it was a much more productive course of study than rats. An Uchiha eye was formed in a slightly different fashion from the regular eyeballs I had studied in the past. It was littered with chakra paths dense enough to supply half a dozen normal eyes with power. I could only imagine what it might look like in a live subject. It obviously took an immense amount of chakra to both activate and control the Sharingan, which explained why there were certain members of the clan who excelled and others who never activated it at all. The strength of the eye was very much dependant on the strength of the user's chakra.
Of course, this was all in theory, as that damn clan was as tight lipped as they come. It was only when Hatake Kakashi returned from that battle that I was able to judge the true scope of Sharingan's chakra use. The boy and his teammate were evasive with the details, but rumors abounded as to how the team left the village that morning as three and returned as two, one bearing the eye of the deceased chuunin, Uchiha Obito. To say the least, there were those in the village who suspected foul play, but none brave enough to say as much. The team had been Yondaime's students, after all.
Only the Uchiha clan dared to speak out against the boy, demanding direct involvement in whatever course he chose to take. Because of this, Yondaime kept him tucked away, dealing with the clan himself on Hatake's behalf. In the meantime, the council also chose to intervene, citing multiple reasons from avoiding conflict with one of our most powerful clans to learning more of the rather extraordinary process involved in the transplant. Because of all this overreaction, I was faced with a challenge of my own. I wanted nothing more than to have a look at the Hatake brat, to determine exactly what had been done to give him such a gift. Truly, where was the logic in allowing a boy like him to have a gift so precious when he would only squander it on reading Jiraiya's novels?
During this time of great internal turmoil, I managed to find myself a perfectly logical reason for showing up unannounced at Yondaime's office. Kabuto had completed some routine experiment and while the results were nothing of real interest, it would serve me well as an excuse for an unannounced visit. It also just so happened that I arrived not long at all after Uchiha Fugaku had been spotted entering the building, his highly overrated son in tow. It was also quite convenient that I managed to arrive just in time to overhear a bit of their somewhat heated conversation from outside the half opened door.
It seemed, however, that I was not the only one interested in listening to the business inside the Hokage's office. Leaning against the doorframe, pretending to look completely uninterested was just the boy I had been hoping to see. Hatake Kakashi glanced my way with his one eye, the Sharingan that I so wished to see hidden away behind his forehead protector. On the opposite side of the door stood the equally silent and brooding Uchiha Itachi, who had absolutely no reason to be there other than his father's ridiculous desire to flaunt him in front of the village, and most especially the Hokage. No doubt the boy was there to illustrate the strength of Uchiha and that the village should show more respect for the clan. No matter how obvious the ploy, though, I did take note of the incredible strength in the boy. If there were those in the village who compared his early potential to my own, I would not have argued.
Still, had I known then the trouble Itachi would eventually cause me, I would have snuffed out his pathetic life right then and there.
I might have been more interested with the two brooding children had there not been a much more significant discussion going on within the office. Fugaku's voice was level, though he couldn't entirely hide the tension buried beneath the calmer façade. "My only concern is the ease with which such a transplant could be accomplished. I realize the girl was extraordinarily talented, but still, if a chuunin could complete such a surgery in the field, there is no doubt in my mind that it could be accomplished more easily and more successfully within ideal circumstances. Your student has set quite a dangerous precedent that puts my clan into a very awkward position."
"I understand. Believe me, I do." Yondaime's voice was uncharacteristically tired and it struck me that he likely hadn't had much rest as of late. The battle to push back the Rock nin had been difficult enough on its own, but if I knew that boy even a little, he was no doubt exhausting himself further over the death of that Uchiha boy. "I do not intend for the details of the procedure to become common knowledge. Kakashi has agreed to be discrete and we can ask nothing more of him."
"I have no doubt he will be a responsible keeper of the Sharingan. However, the clan only wishes to maintain contact to ensure this." Fugaku sounded sincere enough, but I was not inclined to believe he meant a word of it. Uchiha was renowned for its ego and as a clan there were only a small handful who did not look down their noses at the entire village. It was my understanding that Yondaime's little Obito had been one of those. That probably only meant the boy was too pathetic to contain an ego. After all, he was dead. A greater ninja would not have been dispatched so easily.
Yondaime, also was not fooled by false sincerity. At least Jiraiya's brat was not as unobservant as he had been a year ago. "That Sharingan was Obito's gift. I won't allow you to cheapen it by treating it as nothing more than a formality."
Kakashi stirred and I noticed right away that his single eye was peering intently at me, brows furrowed unhappily. I realized I had been listening for far too long to appear innocent and the boy was likely not inclined to welcome my curiosity. So reluctantly, I stepped forward and rapped lightly on the door before pushing it open. I might have been imagining things, but I'm certain Yondaime looked glad to see me. My visit was no doubt the excuse he needed to send the unwelcome Uchiha presence back to their over-important police offices. "Ah, Orochimaru-san. I've been expecting you."
I arched a brow from behind Fugaku's back. We had made no appointment. I could not help but grin faintly, but briefly, masking the expression when the Uchiha leader turned to peer at me through narrowed eyes. I must admit, it gave me great satisfaction to interrupt that man's ranting. "But it seems I've come at a bad time. Should I leave the two of you to your important business?" It was a whim to play along with Yondaime's little ploy, but worth it simply to see the irritation in Fugaku's face.
'That won't be necessary." It was surprising to see just how rude Fugaku was inclined to be as he practically stalked past me to the door where he retrieved his son. "I've other business to attend to today. We will speak again Hokage-sama." He placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder, guiding him out of sight down the hallway, all the while oblivious to how bored the boy looked with all of his father's dramatics.
Yondaime followed them into the hallway, leaving me behind. However, he hadn't gone to stop the pair. Rather, he stood for some time, exchanging soft words with Kakashi that I could not quite hear and despite my desire, I knew that moving closer would only be a detriment to my cause. Fool that he was, Yondaime was perceptive. So I waited patiently until he sent the boy off and stepped inside once more.
When Kakashi was out of sight, Yondaime sunk into his chair with an exaggerated sigh, though he was suddenly all grins a moment later. It struck me then that he truly was not very talented with politics. He did not have the courage to put the Uchiha clan in its place as I would have. One could not be an effective Hokage if he worried only about stepping on toes and hurting feelings. It was just another way in which the boy proved my point that I could have done the position justice where he only fumbled through.
"I really didn't think the clan would take this so seriously." Yondaime's willingness to confide such a thing in me came as a surprise. I imagine Jiraiya's inexplicable fondness for me must have somehow worked its way into his student, giving me just the advantage I needed. I would provide him an ear while he went on about his lack of ability to control Uchiha. Not only that, but providing aid to his sensei had the potential to earn the trust of the Hatake boy, and with trust came the possibility of examining that eye of his much more closely. I could easily accomplish both tasks if I played my hand well.
"Everything is serious to the Uchiha clan." I waved it off as if it were nothing, chuckling just enough to hopefully put the fool at ease. Despite my effort, though, the monkey brat did not seem inclined to agree.
Yondaime lifted a hand to his forehead, rubbing a bit at what must have been a fast developing headache. "I don't really want to act like their concerns are baseless, but I'm not sure exactly what Fugaku-san wants me to do. What's done is done."
"Still," I spoke to Yondaime, maintaining a calm, almost nonchalant tone. "You can't blame them for being fascinated. Your students have managed to prove a theory that has been dangling tauntingly before many ninja for some time. The question of an unnatural kekkei genkai. Can it exist in a body not born with it?" I was hardly inclined to hide my own interest in the subject, but I hoped Yondaime would see it only as another manifestation of my desire for learning. "Now that it has proven to be possible, the clan is paranoid of losing their superiority."
"And you're as fascinated as they are." It wasn't said harshly. In fact, I even detected more than a hint of humor in Yondaime's voice. He did know me better than I thought, no doubt thanks to Jiraiya and his tendency to babble.
"Perhaps." I didn't deny it. Rather, I found that admitting to bits and pieces of the truth tended to dissuade others from searching for the deeper truths. Lies made men suspicious, but just enough honesty kept secrets much more efficiently. "How could I not be? It is an amazing breakthrough. However, unlikeUchiha, my interest is purely scientific. It hardly matters to me in whose head that Sharingan resides."
My words seemed to spark something within him and he was silent for a few breaths, gaze focused inward. It was only as I was about to break the suddenly awkward silence that he spoke again, seeming tentative at first, but fast gaining confidence. "Orochimaru-san, I know you're a very skilled ninja and your talent with chakra control is nearly unrivaled." I must admit, I was terribly curious to find out the reason for such unusual praise.
"As you know, with the war to manage, I'm busy a lot of the time. And as much as I would like to help Kakashi-kun develop the control he needs to make the best of Sharingan, I'm afraid it's probably impossible." Noting the surprise on my face, he pushed on quickly, as if he were afraid I might stop him, when really, silencing him was the last thing on my mind. "If you have time, I would really appreciate your help. I realize he might be resistant, but I'm sure he'll understand the necessity. There is no one more skilled than you in the village and I have no doubt that you would be helpful to his development."
I knew, even before he fell silent, that I would accept his offer. A chance to work with Kakashi was exactly what I wanted, but I knew better than to seem eager. It would only arouse suspicion if I were to reveal how very badly I wished to examine that boy's eye. So I hesitated. "I suppose he could join Anko-chan and I." There was still reluctance in my voice, though I slowly allowed it to dissipate as if I had suddenly had an epiphany. "It would be good for Anko-chan to have a sparring partner other than myself, especially one so skilled as Kakashi-kun. In fact," I finally allowed a fraction of the smile I had been holding back to seep through my guard. "It would be good for both of them, I'm sure."
Yondaime seemed relieved to have my agreement and it showed in every inch of his face. The boy was terrible at hiding his own emotions. It was that which made it so easy to manipulate him as if he were no more than an elaborate puppet. He could not hide his own thoughts and so he deemed it impossible for others to do so. The poor boy really was too naïve to be Hokage. "Wonderful. Thank you, Orochimaru-san." He hesitated again, a hint of laughter in his blue eyes. "Just keep in mind his promotion. He's a bit full of himself at the moment. Or at least, he was." The laughter faded as quickly as it had come, replaced by a suddenly heavy air.
Sensing Yondaime was at a loss for words, I nodded, understanding all that was left unsaid. Kakashi was still mourning the loss of that fool Uchiha and thus he was likely to be grumpy. I could handle as much easily. Jiraiya had been prone to bouts of moodiness as a boy and I had dealt with him skillfully enough. Some brand new jounin brat would be simple in comparison. "Of course. I'll take care." When I saw the relief in his eyes, I knew I had spoken well. "Anko-chan and I will be meeting for our regular session this afternoon. Kakashi-kun is welcome to join us."
"Excellent." Yondaime's bright demeanor had returned in full force as he stood from his desk, nodding firmly. "If all goes well when I see him again, he'll be there."
My walk back to the lab was a bit of a blur, as my mind was focused not on the work that awaited me there, and of course, not on the path ahead, but on the opportunity that had fallen so easily into my lap. With such luck on my side, I would have to be certain not to squander it. Thankfully, I would have Anko on my side as well to do the work of putting the brat at ease. Working with the girl had the added benefit of giving me a tool not only to improve my image, but through whom I could knock down most defenses and more skillfully obtain information. For reasons I could not comprehend, most people found Anko rather pleasant and were more likely to be at ease in her presence. Thankfully, I did not need to understand this to take full advantage.
Of course, there was no point in growing too terribly excited. To become too enthused would be a detriment to my focus, so rather than do more than the basest of planning, I focused my attention on my newest experiments. The Hyuuga and Uchiha corpses had been stored away for further study and the third laid out for examination. The man was a Rock nin and on first glance there was nothing particularly special about him. In fact, he was decidedly ordinary. That is, he was ordinary until I discovered the one thing about the man that made him more valuable than all the rest.
This man was still alive.