"Is this Mirai-sama's experimental base?" Orochimaru asked as Hyuga Mirai led him to the underground base of the Uzumaki Trade Association, located outside the capital of the Land of Fire. Walking through, Orochimaru's eyes were opened to the sight before him. Though he didn't see any equipment used for human experimentation, the numerous electronic instruments and the hundreds of skeletal robots amazed him.
"Hehe, this isn't even the true experimental base yet. The two selected bases are in the Land of Tea and the Land of Hot Water," Mirai replied, a hint of pride in his tone. There was a certain satisfaction in showcasing just a small portion of his capabilities to someone who could truly appreciate it.
From Orochimaru's perspective, he could barely guess the purpose of the base, though he didn't know much about computers and chose not to speak out of turn. However, one of the massive supercomputers that dwarfed regular ones, easily hundreds of times more powerful, kept pulling his attention.
"A supercomputer, equipped with basic artificial intelligence, capable of simulating and calculating many experimental results," Hyuga Mirai boasted, explaining the capabilities of the base. He even demonstrated a cellular fusion process for Orochimaru to observe.
"How do you like it? If you want, I can have 18 make one for you."
"Perfect. Then, I won't hold back." Orochimaru couldn't refuse such a computer, which could drastically shorten the time spent on experimental calculations.
18. Orochimaru quietly noted the name. Then, following Mirai, they continued the tour of the base. If Orochimaru had come earlier, he might have seen more classified areas. However, 18 had been instructed by Mirai multiple times not to put all eggs in one basket, so recently, the weapons manufacturing center had been moved to the experimental base in the Land of Tea.
Now, the base was mostly a computer production center and a network data processing hub. Due to the slow development of computers in the Land of Fire, the internet was only able to cover half the country. Some remote and barren regions were simply blank spots for 18.
After finishing the tour, Orochimaru suddenly asked Hyuga Mirai, "Mirai-sama, I've never asked this before, but with your talent, you could have climbed the ranks to Hokage, even without defecting from Konoha. At that point, the entire village could have supported you. Why didn't you stay?"
Mirai took a deep breath, then slowly replied, "I've thought about it seriously, you know. I could have started with breaking the Caged Bird seal, changed the branch families, and used the strength of the Hyuga clan to run for Hokage. That might have led me to becoming a combination of the ideologies of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, uniting the ninja world for peace and marrying several wives along the way." He shook his head, frowning. "But that future is too dull. The ninja hierarchy is too low. I don't want to be trapped in that system. Besides, staying in Konoha would have led to deep connections, and that's a terrifying and troublesome thing for people like us. It forces you to do things you don't want to. Orochimaru, you should understand that."
"Heh, I do," Orochimaru said with a soft chuckle, immediately thinking of Jiraiya. If that fool kept searching for him, Orochimaru feared he might lose the freedom to carry out his experiments properly.
Mirai hadn't explicitly mentioned it, but that connection would inevitably soften a person's heart. The scales he gave to Orochimaru's Purple Snake were also intended to push him out of Konoha's environment, forcing him to leave.
Mirai wasn't a native of this world, and the first five years of his life felt like an extremely long film to him. When he first arrived, he was terrified that he might be sent to the battlefield and die, so he constantly pushed himself to become stronger.
As for the Hyuga Main House, Mirai had no affection for them at all. Their lofty attitudes made him, a foreign soul, feel extremely uncomfortable. Over time, this discomfort turned into resentment. He frequently had unpleasant encounters with the Main House, and that only heightened his dissatisfaction. If it weren't for Kiyo Hyuga, Mirai wouldn't have let the Main House off so easily. That naïve young lady still refused to use the Caged Bird seal to bring him back to Konoha, even though he was practically their arch-enemy. She still held onto naive fantasies. Mirai wanted to see what kind of person that innocent young lady would become after her hopes were shattered.
Orochimaru asked, "Mirai-sama, what are your plans now?"
Plans?
"First, I'll change the ninja world. I've put up with its twisted development for far too long." Mirai thought for a moment before continuing, "As for changing my life form to achieve immortality, I can put that on hold. I'm not dying anytime soon. Once the experimental base in the Land of Tea is fully established, I plan to make a few clones and use the Spirit Technique combined with cursed seals as backup lives."
With decades to go before the Otsutsuki clan appears in the ninja world, Mirai believed he could reshape this world into his ideal perfect state before they arrived, rather than making empty speeches about stopping children from going to war and excluding those over ten years old from being considered children.
After hearing Mirai's ambitious plans, Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle in his hoarse voice. "Heh, to reform the ninja world? That's truly an ambitious idea."
Here is the translation of the provided content:
"Believe me, Orochimaru, if we approach this methodically, you'll see that transforming the shinobi world isn't as difficult as it seems."
"Of course, I believe you, Mirai-kun. After all, in just a few short years, you've built the Uzumaki Trade Association into a powerhouse. For most, reshaping the shinobi world would be a ridiculous notion, but coming from you… it's something worth anticipating."
At the mention of the Uzumaki Trade Association, Orochimaru suddenly recalled that Konoha had recently struck a massive deal with a company called the Hyakusa Trade Association. Interestingly, the owner of that company went by the name "Nineteen."
Numbers for names, and specifically the sequential connection between Eighteen and Nineteen… Orochimaru was fairly certain his suspicions were correct.
"What do you plan to do next, Orochimaru?"
"Next?" Orochimaru mused for a moment before responding, "I plan to roam the shinobi world for a while."
"The history of this world may hold many undiscovered truths. Once I've delved into its past, I might consider establishing a faction of my own."
Hyuga Mirai asked directly, "Do you need my help?"
Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely. "Naturally. The moment I crushed the serpent's scale, I had already made my decision." On the path to uncovering the world's truths, he considered Hyuga Mirai an indispensable ally.
Satisfied with this answer, Mirai smiled.
Orochimaru's greatest strength wasn't just his combat prowess—it was his insatiable curiosity and unparalleled talent in research. Mirai had long entertained a thought: if, during their time in Akatsuki, Konan had allocated all of their funds to support Orochimaru's experiments, what kind of world-changing results would have emerged?
With that, Orochimaru took his leave, his wristwatch in hand. He had no idea how long he would wander, but when the time came for him to establish a faction, he would undoubtedly contact Mirai through the watch.
Shortly after Orochimaru left, 18 approached Mirai and reported, "Sir, Nohara Rin wishes to see you."
Mirai asked casually, "How has she been behaving?"
"Not well. She believes we are Konoha's enemies and has been refusing to eat, hoping to starve herself to death."
"Another stubborn fool, huh?" Mirai scratched his head, then shut off the holographic display in front of him. Tilting his head toward 18, he asked, "18, what do you think about building another combat assistant, this time using Tailed Beast chakra as its core?"
"If we can eliminate the consciousness embedded in the chakra, its efficiency and weapon capabilities will surpass those of fusion reactor-powered combat assistants. I suggest designing the machine based on the unique properties of Tailed Beast chakra."
Mirai furrowed his brow slightly. "So you're saying Tailed Beast chakra could interfere with the AI of the combat assistant?"
"There's a 21% probability, sir."
A nanotech display extended from 18's hand, listing various factors of how Tailed Beast chakra could affect the neural network of a nanomachine.
"Looking at this, I realize I've only been considering chakra as an energy source and not its fundamental composition," Mirai mused. He paused, suddenly recalling that 18 had been the first successful application of chakra as a power source for a biomechanical assistant. The energy core used a Starstone—something that, in hindsight, might be connected to the Ten-Tails.
"Do you have any commands, sir?" 18 asked calmly as Mirai studied her.
Shaking his head, Mirai replied, "Nothing for now. Let's check on Nohara Rin first."
So far, 18 had flawlessly executed all of his commands without deviation. There was no rush to dig deeper into the issue—he would observe a little longer.
Within this facility, only three people had unrestricted access to the underground levels: Hyuga Mirai, Ayaka Uzumaki, and Nohara Rin.
After Ayaka had abducted her, Nohara Rin had been kept in the underground base. Aside from restricted movement, she was treated well—her meals were on par with what a Jonin would receive, and a computer was even provided in her room, fully equipped with internet access and a variety of games.
Most prisoners would never receive such treatment.
However, Rin feared this was all part of a Hidden Mist plot. Since no one engaged with her without Mirai's direct orders, she suspected she was merely a tool to be used against Konoha once again. This fear drove her to refuse food in an attempt to starve herself to death.
But 18 was a perfect executor of Mirai's orders. If Rin wouldn't eat, then she would receive daily injections of nutrient solutions—just enough to keep her alive.
"We've arrived, sir," 18 said as she led Mirai to a room. She opened the door and stepped aside to let him enter.
Inside, Nohara Rin sat slumped, her emotions low. At first, when she heard the door open, she assumed it was just another routine injection and didn't bother lifting her head.
But then, she heard a familiar voice.
"Rin."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Mirai… kun?"
(End of Chapter)
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