Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto.
In Orochimaru's mind, if those two would eventually become husband and wife, then they must have had some connection when they were young.
Just like Konoha's original twelve heroes.
Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto and Hinata—they'd known each other since childhood.
But thinking more carefully, it made sense that Fugaku and Mikoto weren't familiar with each other.
They were four or five years apart in age.
Their schooling levels were different, and their combat abilities weren't on the same level either.
And since both were from the Uchiha clan, they usually wouldn't end up in the same team!
Adding to that, it was the middle of the Second Great Ninja War, and everyone was preoccupied with battle. So... it was normal for them not to have the time to know each other.
"Never mind, let's go."
Orochimaru shook his head, dismissing the thought. It wasn't his concern anyway.
He led Mikoto through several turns before they finally arrived at Konoha's Scientific Ninja Tool Lab.
"Lord Orochimaru, this place is…"
Mikoto glanced around at the unfamiliar equipment, feeling a bit nervous.
"Don't be anxious; I just need your help with some research."
Orochimaru smiled faintly.
In truth, he was after a blood sample.
Initially, he thought of coming up with an excuse, but then reconsidered—why bother? It was just blood. It wouldn't raise any alarms.
As long as the timing was right, she had no reason not to cooperate.
"Support research?"
Mikoto seemed surprised at first, but after Orochimaru explained that he just needed to draw some blood, she had no objections.
A short time later…
"Thank you for your cooperation," Orochimaru said calmly as he observed the blood sample in the collector.
"As long as I can be of help to you, sir, it's no trouble at all."
Mikoto lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Is that so?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, then smirked as he set the sample aside and patted Mikoto's head.
"You're dismissed. Be at the village gates at nine tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir."
Mikoto's face reddened as Orochimaru patted her head, but she said nothing more. She covered her arm and turned to leave.
Sitting in his chair, Orochimaru watched her slender figure as she walked away, lost in thought…
Later that night, Tsunade was chatting with Kushina in the living room. Nawaki had already headed to the front lines, while Orochimaru had stayed in the backyard since his return from the lab.
He stood, staring at a tree and deep in contemplation.
No, to be precise, he was staring at a target fixed to the tree.
The tree was a product of Tsunade's Wood Release, intended to make the yard less barren.
The target had been placed there by Orochimaru for training purposes.
"Looks like I was overthinking. Mikoto's mental fortitude might be stronger than others in her clan, but she doesn't have the potential to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan…"
He muttered to himself. Then, lifting his hand, he felt a fluctuation in the air as a specially-made kunai materialized in his grasp.
"Enough. Time to test this."
With a quick flick of his wrist, he hurled the kunai at the target.
Thud!
The kunai embedded itself perfectly in the center of the target, its dark metal glistening.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, Orochimaru's figure disappeared and reappeared at the target.
Feeling the sensation of his body shifting through space, Orochimaru's brows knitted together.
"The speed of my space-jump is still slower than what I remember of Minato. Why is that?"
In his memories, Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique allowed for instantaneous teleportation to any marked location, without any preparation.
But after acquiring the technique himself, Orochimaru realized it wasn't so simple. The technique relied on a principle.
The mark of the Flying Thunder God was essentially an imprint of mental energy.
To teleport, one needed to connect their mental energy to the mark, creating a spatial jump.
The speed at which one could connect to the mark dictated the transmission speed.
And how fast could one establish that connection? It all came down to mental strength. The stronger the mental fortitude and chakra control, the quicker the connection, and thus, the faster the teleportation.
Now, one might ask, if the speed of the Flying Thunder God depended on mental strength, wouldn't Uchiha or Hyūga members, with their powerful eyes and mental capabilities, be faster than Minato?
Yes, in theory.
The power of the eyes reflected mental strength. Uchiha and Hyūga had stronger spiritual power than most shinobi.
Even if Minato's mental strength was above average for a non-clan shinobi, it couldn't surpass an Uchiha with a Mangekyō Sharingan.
So theoretically, their Flying Thunder God could be faster than Minato's.
But… that was only theoretical.
Learning the Flying Thunder God required more than strong mental power. It demanded innate talent for space-time ninjutsu.
Top-tier talent, not just the ability to summon.
Otherwise, the Third Hokage or Danzo would've mastered it long ago.
Orochimaru speculated that the original Orochimaru never mastered it likely due to a lack of natural space-time talent or coming into contact with it too late, causing some issue with his soul.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense.
But that wasn't his concern now. With his current level of eye power from the Mangekyō Sharingan, Orochimaru knew he had proven his spatial talent.
Otherwise, learning this technique wouldn't have been possible.
Yet, despite having the talent and mental strength, why couldn't he match Minato's space-jump speed from his memory?
Did the technique still need refining? Or was it a matter of lacking innate spatial talent?
Orochimaru felt a bit puzzled.
"Hey, Orochimaru!"
"Yes?"
"Kushina's asleep, so… we…"
"I understand."
Hearing Tsunade's voice, Orochimaru's frown eased, and he smiled, pulling her into his arms.
"Tsunade, when I'm with you, it's the only time I feel truly alive."
"Really?"
"I'll end this war as quickly as possible."
"I believe in you."
Orochimaru smiled, and without waiting for Tsunade to respond, he slipped his hand under her shirt, teasing the peaks and their tips.
"No matter how many times, I still love this part of you."
"No, Orochimaru, not here. What if Kushina..."
"It's fine, just be quiet."
Ignoring her weak protests, Orochimaru pressed her against the tree. Little did they know, in the living room, a small red-haired girl who had woken up for a drink of water caught a glimpse of them.
***
Bonus chapter.
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