Again, I'm sorry the updates are so slow in coming. Work is hell. But I hope everyone enjoys this latest chapter, even though it'sa little shorter than I might have liked.

As always, thank you for all the great reviews I've gotten and I hope everyone will continue to read and review. I value your feedback and I'm glad to know I'm able to provide so many people with enjoyment.

Here's hoping I get another chapter done by this time next week. Keep your fingers crossed!

-sor

I had been terribly eager to gauge the results of my work, but the man was incoherent to the point of ineptitude. At first, he did not seem to understand my questions at all, responding only with a series of unintelligible mumbles. This, sufficed to say, was completely unacceptable. I took a firm hold of the man's chin, yanking his face to the left with considerable strength, forcing him to direct his gaze not on the ceiling, but on me. That seemed to help his focus and the fogginess cleared momentarily from his gaze, only to be replaced by confusion.

"Who the hell are you?" His single eye squinted for a moment as if he were trying to make out some image far distant. A hand twitched as if an attempt had been made to move it, however movement was nearly impossible. The medication Kabuto had given him was intended to keep the body numbed to the point of immobility and that small twitch was likely the extent of his ability to move.

However hostile his questioning, I ignored it. To reply would only give him the impression that he possessed some sort of power over his situation and thus make him more resistant to instruction. Experiments were based entirely on observation and the observation of the subject was of just as much importance as that of the scientist. It was necessary not only to maintain that this man possessed no power, but to break his spirit, allowing him to become as moldable as clay. The first step on this road was to speak with as much indifference as humanly possible, while giving not even the slightest hint of eye contact. "Describe the quality of your vision."

As expected, my indifference prompted anger. Not only that, but his limbs twitched somewhat more violently. He would require further injections soon to prevent not only a violent explosion, but also to protect the Rock nin from himself. I would not risk my only live subject in such a way. Still, he was relentless in his demand for information. "I want to know who you are. Are you here to interrogate me or something? I don't do interrogations so you might as well just forget it."

My more logical side protested, but I simply could not help but put the fool back in his place. "Were I an interrogator, I would likely have what information I need from you in mere moments. What kind of shinobi behaves in such a manner? Is your entire village so stupid?" So much for painful indifference. How quickly one's plans changed when faced with the chance to humiliate your opponent.

I could tell when I finally glanced his way that the man was furious; so much so that his entire body trembled like a leaf in the wind. It was much more satisfying than I had anticipated and quite worth the temporary interference with my plans. And as if angering him were not satisfying enough, he did not even continue to fight me, thinking his silence somehow would absolve him of any stupidity. I should not have, but I absolutely could not help but laugh, which had the added benefit of infuriating the man even further.

"Now that we have established your situation, perhaps you will describe your vision for me."

"Go to hell." The venom in his voice was absolutely delightful! It brought forth another bout of laughter. Good. Let him be difficult. It would make it all the more satisfying when he finally broke.

I approached the table from behind, out of his field of vision. Thanks to the sluggishness brought on by Kabuto's very helpful concoction, he was either unable or too exhausted to turn his head and this it came as a surprise when my hand darted into his field of peripheral vision, causing his gaze to shift quickly in my direction. "Good."

Now that I had determined that he could, at least, see clearly enough, I no longer maintained my distance. Rather I leaned fully over him, tugging the eyelid sharply downward in order to examine the eye itself more closely. The scar was heading nicely, but the eye itself was a brilliant red. Sadly, it was not red in the places I would have preferred. It was the sclera that had taken on such a bright shade. The iris, however, remained completely dark. It was then that I deemed the experiment a complete failure, though later I would admit that the transplant of the eye itself had been quite extraordinary; a testament to Kabuto's talent. However, any hope of the man's eyeball being able to activate the dead Uchiha's Sharingan was completely dashed.

Only a living Uchiha with an active Sharingan would provide a successful transplant and yet even such success would be relative. Through my work with Kakashi, I had determined there must be a better method. Kakashi's Sharingan drained his chakra much too quickly, despite his best efforts to follow my instructions. Using such a technique myself would only put limitations on my ability to perform rather than giving me the edge I desired.

It was becoming increasingly obvious that the Sharingan eye itself was incompatible with any genetics that possessed no blood link to the Uchiha clan. There must have been something more within the clan's anatomy that prevented the unnatural chakra drain. Thus, the only way to possess a Sharingan for one not born Uchiha was to somehow acquire the same genetics as the clan; something that was thus far impossible.

However, I was not one to think anything impossible.

I was also not one to think all knowledge came easily. However, unlike so many, I enjoyed not only the final success, but the process, however lengthy. It was fascinating as much as it was frustrating to observe both success and failure and how one could grow from the other. Kabuto and I shared this quality in abundance and it was he who tempered my eagerness with sense.

Upon arriving, he had put the Rock nin to sleep once more, alleviating the need to tend to his pathetic fretting. It was as I pushed the man only the rolling gurney in order to keep him out of our way and Kabuto was putting away his various tools, that he made the almost casual suggestion. "You know, Orochimaru-sama, maybe we shouldn't waste the Uchiha body on your genetic experiments. Wouldn't it be wiser to perfect our methods using the genetics of a lesser bloodline?"

"Of course it would." I made it a point to answer sharply so as not to allow the brat to think he'd come up with such an idea all on his own. Had I not been so enthusiastic regarding my plans, no doubt I would have had such an idea myself. In fact, it was only a matter of time before I thought of it myself and I did not need some child to suggest what was only logical.

I caught his reaction out of the corner of my eye; a faint smirk and a shake of his head, as if he were merely indulging me when he offered agreement. "Of course, Orochimaru-sama." I let his attitude slide, however, as I often did. Still, to this day, I cannot fully comprehend what it is that prompts me to be so lenient with Kabuto, but I cannot recall any time in which he has ever overstepped his bounds. Teetered precariously close to the edge, perhaps, but never overstepped.

"Besides, there are advantages to pursuing study in other bloodlines." I had thought quite a bit about the lost or dwindling traits which were all too quickly fading from our village. It would be thrilling to rejuvenate the versatility that had existed in my youth and was little more than a memory to a village which had begun more and more to rely upon the success and prestige of a few noble clans.

However, I knew well enough without having to be told that attempting such radical, unprecedented experiments was a risk. Such work required living subjects, which were never easy to come by, even in the war. Plus, the ability to modify the human body to such a degree demanded a more intimate knowledge of the body's inner workings, of which my knowledge was basic; nothing nearly so in-depth as Kabuto's. However, I did not intend to become reliant on the boy. Before I undertook my primary mission, I intended to learn all I could.

This also required bodies, both living and dead, not to mention a variety of fascinating experiments, examinations, and dissections. Let me assure you, there is nothing in this world more magnificent than cutting open a living body and realizing that this bloody mess that lay before you was the most unexplainable phenomenon in the world. To watch a living heart beat and pump blood, only to stop and start again at your whim. To know that you alone held the power of life and death in your hands. It was different from battle. In battle, there is always a margin of control that lies in your opponent, but with science, the power was mine alone.

Not only was the power of life and death in my hands, but that of control as well. I put significant time into my study of the human brain, observing the body's reaction to various stimuli delivered directly to the brain. It was fascinating to think that simply by sawing a man's skull open and applying just the right pressure to any part of the brain, I could prompt anything from movement to speech failures and yes, even death.

I disposed of a number of corpses that year; perhaps six, perhaps more. I realized the danger of overdoing things and thus I limited myself to such a small number, stretching what bodies I could find until there was little left to test. I worked with each one for a time while they lived, but the human body is not as durable as a scientist would wish and they expired far too quickly until eventually there was nothing left of them aside from a variety of entrails and organs scattered throughout the various jars that lined my shelves.

I also took advantage of my living subjects in ways which could not possibly be copied in the deceased. The dead did not allow for any study of the internal chakra system and such information was vital now in order to achieve my goals. Every ninja, of course, has basic knowledge of the chakra system, however even those gifted with the Byakugan cannot fully explain what exactly relegates the flow of chakra. True, they have discovered a means with which to stop or amplify the flow, but as for knowledge of the source of the flow itself, they are as ignorant as all the rest.

However, through careful experimentation, I was able to tentatively effect the rate at which chakra is used by the body, creating a temporary, yet much more powerful flow. This enabled the body to perform above and beyond its intended capacity for a period of time; a reaction similar to the forbidden practice of breaking chakra gates. However, this technique caused no physical damage aside from the sheer exhaustion and potential death that has always come from chakra depletion. Yet the technique was incomplete. It was not in me, after all, to grant such power to a human being without coupling it with some means of control. What good was strength if it was not used for my benefit?

The very first efforts at what would eventually become my curse seal were performed on a pair of captured Rock nin, but both turned out to be nearly insurmountable failures. Their bodies were unable to adapt to the sudden influx of power and within hours, they were little more than burnt out shells. This development seemed to greatly amuse Kabuto, who merely shook his head at my failures, wearing that self satisfied smirk of his that seemed both out of place and all too fitting on his youthful face. "Their bodies were simply unable to adapt to such a great change." He strolled past me to one of the deceased men, peering over the charred remains with barely contained glee. "Did you know, Orochimaru-sama, that children are much more adaptive to change than adults?" His amusement vanished for a time, though, as his focus settled on the fascinating subject of the human body. "Their bodies are not yet fully developed and are much easier to mold while also leaving little or no permanent damage. Children are quite resilient."

I only spared the barest glance over my shoulder at the boy, but it was clearly enough to send him shrinking, turning away to busy himself with one of those pointless projects I forced him to complete in order to satisfy Yondaime's demands. Still, I thought I saw the smallest hint of a smirk, hidden in the shadows of his bowed head. I fully intended to wipe away that smirk. "Tell me, Kabuto-kun, where I might find children readily available for testing? I know of only one within my reach."

As expected, my words silenced him for a time, though he managed to quite skillfully keep his expression hidden. He was correct, of course. Children were more adaptive to change, both mentally and physically. It would have been a blessing to have enough children at my disposal for such things, but Konoha was hardly full of children at the moment. The war had killed a number of them through one foolish act or another and it was always a risk to snatch a child. Children are always missed more than adults and the effort put into retrieving them was twice as strong. Still, I could not resist the temptation.

The child I acquired was a stupid little thing, found sneaking about the battlefield one evening, ignoring the orders given to the genin to remain far from the front lines. His arrogance served to be his undoing, though I should think he would be proud to be such an integral part of the improvement of Konoha. Or rather, the improvement of Konoha's strongest shinobi. Unfortunately, he was of less use than I anticipated. The curse seal killed him in less than an hour. Still, he did provide me with a few scraps of valuable information; enough to keep me occupied for days, at least.

It was due to my rampant fascination with all things biological and genetic that I began to neglect my other duties. I refused missions more often than I had previously. My training with Anko wavered at times, though I forced myself to tolerate the task, if only to maintain the image that I did, indeed care for the future of Konoha, or at least the future of my student. Still, despite my loathing of our time together, Anko continued to progress at her usual rapid pace, though she pouted more often than not regarding Kakashi's desire to train alone once more. I did not mind, though. I had learned all there was to learn from that boy.

It was during this period of great monotony that the war with Iwagakure was finally ended and the Rock nin were sent back to their pathetic village with their tails between their legs. It was quite satisfying to illustrate our dominance so completely, but in the same vein, it left me at a loss. My main source of test subjects had vanished more quickly than I anticipated, leaving me at a troubling impasse.

I managed to stretch the usefulness of my test subjects even more than I had before the end of the war, but there was only so much progress to be made from one solitary corpse. It was then that I was forced by necessity to become even more crafty. Still, I rarely took a shinobi from our village unless his death could be passed off as a mission casualty. I was not yet confidant enough to risk even the slightest suspicion from blossoming among the other village ninja. As a result, at times, I was forced to return to mild studies of measly animals for the purpose of satisfying myself between the more intriguing human dissections.

It was during one such study, testing various levels of chakra strength on a group of rats that my lab door was flung open with a thundering crash. Such an action put me into an immediate fury, not only because there was not a single thing in my lab that was unbreakable, but because of the invasion of privacy that could have proven disastrous on any other occasion. However, when I saw the state of panic on Anko's face, I bit back my anger long enough to hear her out.

She was forced to take in a few gulps of air before she could speak, but when she was able, her words poured out in a frantic jumble. "Orochimaru-sensei, it's an emergency! The village is in danger!"

The girl had always had a tendency for the dramatic so it was a simple matter to brush off her words as merely exaggeration. "In danger? How so?"

"One of the sentinels spotted it coming at us through the woods. Hokage-sama already went to intercept it and they're ordering everyone to assume posts. You'll be able to stop it if you hurry and nobody will get hurt!" She even dared to dart forward and take a frantic grasp of my arm. "Hurry, Orochimaru-sensei!"

I was on the verge of anger once more, but curiosity had slowly begun to overtake my stronger emotions. "What is it the sentinels have spotted?"

Her eyes grew wide the moment she realized she had neglected to even convey the basics, but judging by her expression it was as if she were afraid to even utter the word.

"Kyuubi."