Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"Hiruko was studying how to plunder other people's bloodlines and continue kekkei genkai,"Naraku said slowly.

A few years ago, during the height of the Third Great Ninja War, Hiruko had been discovered by Hiruzen Sarutobi conducting human experiments. Pursued by the Sannin, he barely managed to escape.

Naraku still remembered the reason Hiruko had turned to such inhumane methods.

Hiruko was once a shinobi of Konoha—a contemporary of the legendary Sannin.Although only a jōnin at the time—

Still.

He had reached that level through sheer hard work, not natural talent.

Only someone like Hiruko could truly understand the cruel difference a bloodline made.

This—this was the real root of the problem: the gap in blood.

The so-called Will of Fire could never give him real power.

But what truly drove Hiruko down the path of kekkei genkai obsession was a single turning point—

The day Kakashi Hatake received the Sharingan from Uchiha Obito.

From that moment on, Hiruko realized: it was possible to artificially evolve…By stealing others' bloodlines.

Thus began his descent into human experimentation.The forbidden Chimera Technique was born.

Soon, Hiruko set his sights on the Sharingan.

He even placed a control seal—a puppet spell—on Kakashi himself.

Its purpose?To hijack Kakashi's body when the time came to absorb his final kekkei genkai.

Naraku, however, was puzzled by one thing:

Was the Uchiha clan extinct or something?

Why target Kakashi, of all people?

If you wanted the Sharingan, wouldn't it make more sense to kidnap an Uchiha with both eyes awakened to Three Tomoe? Far more efficient.

Naraku couldn't help but wonder if Hiruko suffered from some strange form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Hehehe~"

Orochimaru let out a dark chuckle.

"Hiruko joined the same organization I did. The Akatsuki."

"He even requested Akatsuki's help in capturing kekkei genkai shinobi."

"I recently went to the Land of Earth and captured a shinobi with the Steel Release."

"Looks like that Chimera Technique of his… may already be complete."

But—

Orochimaru's lips curled into a sneer.Disdain flashed in his golden eyes.

"To alter your own bloodline artificially and inherit multiple kekkei genkai?"Hmph."If only it were that easy."

To Orochimaru, Hiruko was nothing more than a delusional dreamer.

He had known Hiruko for years.And he knew his limits all too well.

Even worse than that idiot Jiraiya.

Maybe Hiruko had a bit of talent in research—

But when it came to true science, experimentation, and results?

Orochimaru could declare with absolute confidence:

Aside from the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, no one in the world could rival him.

Even so, even he had to rely on the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique to inherit bloodlines—

And even that method came with flaws:

It required switching bodies every three years.

Failure to do so led to soul degradation.

Worse, each new body could only carry one kekkei genkai.

It was a heavily limited path.

But Hiruko—

He aimed much higher.

Orochimaru nearly laughed aloud when he saw the list of bloodlines Hiruko sought to obtain:

Wood Release, Sharingan, Byakugan, Dust Release, Magnet Release…

Wanting both Wood Release and Sharingan?Was Hiruko insane?

Had he learned nothing from Danzo's miserable death?

That old fossil—his withered corpse probably still glared at Konoha from beyond the grave.

It was Orochimaru himself who had transplanted Hashirama's cells into Danzo.

And even after hundreds of Wood Release transplant experiments in Konoha, Orochimaru himself wouldn't dare guarantee success.

Danzo survived for three reasons:

—The Sharingan to balance the Wood Release.—An unshakable will.—And Orochimaru's personal mastery of Hashirama cell integration.

Only with all three factors did he survive the rampaging force of Hashirama's cells.

And Hiruko?

He thought he could just casually combine Sharingan and Wood Release?

Orochimaru scoffed inwardly.

If Hiruko truly succeeded in inheriting multiple bloodlines like that—

Then Orochimaru swore he would eat himself alive on the spot.