Chunin Exam Arc: Orochimaru Interlude

There was something of interest at the river. Or it would be to someone like Yuina. For Orochimaru, it wasn't anything he didn't already know. The end of the river acted as a park. An open, high traffic space that connected multiple parts of the village together. It was a perfect place for someone looking for attention.

The group of kannushi were one of such groups who frequently traveled to share scriptures and lessons from their kami, in this case Okuninushi, or so they claimed. They had relations with a temple, but the specific group he saw was an Iwa infiltration unit. They thought a group under a guise of prosperity and unity would be beneficial.. What better cover than those who serve the kami known for nation-building, farming, business, and medicine?

They had to serve communities for real as part of their cover but espionage was most frequently a give and take activity. For the acting kannushi, it was serving communities in order to build trust and have opportunities to discover things. It even gave them the opportunity to travel throughout the nations, even occasionally giving them access to hidden villages.

Orochimaru was familiar with one of them. She was known widely as The Wandering Miko. Known in Iwagakure as Nanigashi. Known to a select few in Konoha as Yakushi Nono. He's prepared things for her on occasion. A long-term undercover operative spying on Iwa. She had to share some of Konoha's secrets, but it was accounted for and the information they received in returned was well worth it. Working with a known piece was better than working with an unknown one.

The best action was never to eradicate all spying, but to partake in it and manipulate it. Gaining the upper hand in whatever way.

Orochimaru continued to walk around. He was amused that Yuina was able to set the stage with him aboard, against the original intentions planned for her, but he didn't like being in Iwa. He wasn't intimidated, but his routine was hindered and he frequently had eyes on him, even if they kept their distance. He appreciated his freedom, and this wasn't it. It didn't help that scenes overlapped. The scenery. The people. The mood. It was reminiscent of times he would rather forget.

Though their selection of hot foods were begrudgingly good.

He approached a bookstore when he spotted a hole in the rock building. An ermine's den. He wondered if they were one of them.

It really was a marvel. Not sentient, a light compulsion at best, but they're all the same. A similar mechanic to the Shadow Clone Jutsu without a clone for the body with minimal utility. If he hadn't been there for the experimentation stage, even he wouldn't be the wiser. A sliver of chakra, negligible and identical to what he expected of a weasel. That's supposing the ermine was even being used. Considering the positioning, it would be a waste not to be. It was too bad she hadn't been able to use the technique on non-living objects. She could imprint, but she was making use of animal senses to see and process. Something a rock couldn't provide.

The inspiration of summoning imprints led to something so…useful.

Orochimaru had taught her many things regarding biochemistry, but her affinity truly was elsewhere. He hesitated to refer to it as an inorganic science as there was almost a living quality to the way chakra was used, but while chakra was integrated into life and could even mimic it, it wasn't a biotic structure. Though, if he could figure out how to add a living property – well, he was getting ahead of himself even if he had made parallel strides in his own research.

It truly would be a shame when she becomes chunin. It was nice that someone else possessed the same hunger for knowledge. She'll be pulled in different directions and he wouldn't have as much time with her to pick her apart. It was only natural. It was the order of things. Even if Yuina failed the final round of the exam, inevitably, Sensei would promote her. She would need to make a colossal mistake to think otherwise.

Prodigies brought along more awareness and prestige – traits that formed political power, a power Sensei had grown comfortable with over the decades. It wasn't beneath him to use what was at his disposal. Orochimaru didn't disapprove, but the old man had been getting more wishy-washy over the years.

Yuina appeared to be operating under a false pretense. It didn't matter what she did. She certainly got some Iwa civilians interested for their own personal gains, but regardless if she could initiate reservations among the populous it would never be enough to prevent conflict. They've been on a tightrope for years, and things never changed. War would inevitably hit with time. As long as there was pressure, as long as there were willing participants, war would come. It didn't matter how many commoners opposed. Changing sentiments were easy enough, as she had already proven. It was even easier to do so in times of heightened conflict.

All war needed was a hand in power who wanted conflict, whether it be for gains and spoils, power and authority, ego… the list went on.

Any additional time to stockpile and prepare was essential even if it meant giving Iwa the same opportunity to do so.

The naivety was a reminder that she was a child with limited experience. He wouldn't expect someone young and removed enough to understand the intricate and delicate balance of politics. Science was one thing. A set of rules was easy enough to understand with concrete parameters. Politics was another matter completely. Sometimes she thought she was on the wrong track, but her actions made him believe she was coming to the wrong conclusions.

Days passed and Orochimaru tried to enjoy himself as much as he could.

He returned to the inn on day five. Yuina sat upright on the bed the moment he opened the door. She was so pale. She looked like someone dumped her in white powder. Her eyelids hid her eyes as she put a hand on the bed to balance herself. "Oh, good, you're back." Her speech slurred. "I passed. I'm canceling the thing. I'm going to sleep now."

Had she not slept? Orochimaru assumed she would have been tapped out long ago and would resume between the second and third round. At this point, even with drugs, and even minimal sleep through power naps, she'd be hallucinating. It also wasn't like her jutsu didn't continue when she was asleep as long as she had chakra to draw from, so why?

Her arm gave out, and she collapsed on her side in the direction her arm had been supporting her.

Yuina slept for twenty-four hours before waking up shortly in a daze and returned to sleep three hours later after drinking some tea and updating him on the third-round selections. She slept another half a day, and she lost all sense of time while remaining fatigued. She was semi-back to normal four days later, and even then he could see she was readjusting to day and night. It wasn't until the week had ended until she was a semblance of her pre-sleep-deprived self.

She wasn't semi-back to her regular self until a week later and even then he could see her readjusting to day and night.

Yuina looked over the front and back of her hands in rotation.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Yuina hummed as she stood up.

"Something feels different."

"You have just recovered from sleep deprivation."

"It's not that, though that felt weird too. I noticed it when we were still in Konoha."

"You are growing and you have been wearing yourself down with training." She had gone through another growth spurt.

Yuina sighed. Something she did to calm herself and center her emotions. "I suppose." That's what she said, but her eyebrows scrunched as she looked at him.

"Something else the matter?"

"Chakra grows and adapts with the body, right?" She slightly tilted her head.

"Yes." It was a basic fundamental anyone who cared to listen would know.

Yuina made a noncommittal sound. "Let's get this over with."