Ch 115

Well, isn't this just fantastic? Orochimaru, for reasons known only to him, has decided to position our labs within the same room. 

I could almost understand if they were placed side by side, like many labs tend to be, but in the same room? 

No, this was a deliberate decision on his part. I can only imagine the strings he had to pull to make this happen. 

"And why exactly did you do this?" I asked, my tone flat, unamused by the entire situation. 

He simply shrugged, a nonchalant expression on his face, as if he had no care in the world. Why was he doing this? Was it some way to keep a close eye on me? 

Or perhaps he simply wanted to observe my work firsthand. Who knows with him? 

Instead of dwelling on it, I decided to focus on the task at hand. Chakra from the nine-tailed fox, Kurama. Orochimaru did meet Naruto apparently! Wow, like I didn't already know that. 

And with my seal, I managed to get a bit of the chakra. 

Through my seal, I could sense its oppressive nature—dark, thick with malice, and pulsating with raw power. It was as if the very air around me grew heavier the closer the chakra came. 

This, I realized, must be what it feels like to possess tailed beast chakra. The pressure was unimaginable. 

As I concentrated on the chakra, I could feel Orochimaru's gaze boring into the back of my head. He stood behind me, clearly intrigued by what I was about to do, like a hawk watching its prey. 

But I chose to ignore him. His presence, while unsettling, was of little consequence. 

I began to release the seals I had placed on the table in front of me, careful not to let the chakra overwhelm me. It was a delicate balance, one I had perfected through countless hours of research and trial. 

The layered seals I had crafted were finely tuned, each one complementing the others in a harmonious dance of containment. Even now, I hadn't yet come up with a name for this technique. 

Perhaps that would come later. 

When I released it, it appeared that nothing happened. But if you were to put chakra in the general vicinity then it would get stolen. 

"Ah, so that was your greatest achievement. I'm glad to finally witness your hard work." 

Orochimaru stood up, standing behind me as he watched on, speaking his thoughts openly as they echoed through the silent room. 

When I had shown this to Obito, no one else had ever seen the seal's effects. It was a secret, something I had kept hidden until now. 

But Orochimaru? 

He could watch all he wanted. I didn't care. In truth, I needed him for this experiment anyway. 

I took the seal containing Kurama's chakra and, in a brief but intense moment, placed it over the carefully arranged seals. 

The effect was instantaneous. 

The chakra reacted violently, spiraling into a vortex of intense orange energy. It twisted and spun erratically, almost as if it resented being contained. 

I watched, fascinated, as it struggled, its nature far different from anything I had ever encountered. Normally, chakra—especially that of a human—flows with a certain calmness. 

Even if a person's demeanor is darker, their chakra still behaves in a relatively controlled manner, albeit faster and more erratic. 

But Kurama's chakra... This was something else entirely. It seemed alive, brimming with untamed force. 

It wasn't content with being sealed; it wanted to break free, to lash out, to escape its confinement. It was, without a doubt, the most violent chakra I had ever felt. 

"I haven't seen anything like this before. This is a great accomplishment in the ninja world," Orochimaru remarked, bringing a hand to his chin as if lost in thought. 

Despite his cruel, heartless nature, there was no denying his deep fascination with the sciences. His words were a rare form of praise, though I didn't let them get to my head. 

I had created multiple versions of this project, driven by a desire to understand and replicate whatever it was I had stumbled upon. 

The short answer? Yes, I succeeded. 

However, there was one version where I made a critical error, and the result was a spectacular failure. Watching it self-destruct was oddly fascinating, but I had no desire to repeat that experiment. 

Now, I turned my attention back to my work. Carefully, I brought out three more of the projects, preparing them for their intended purpose. 

Ah! 

Yes! 

I finally figured out a name for this! 

Kokoriku! 

A simple name with a big meaning. It didn't have to be this grand thing, why should it? 

"Kokori" means spirit, symbolizing the core source of chakra energy and "Riku" means "land" or "earth," representing something that grounds or contains energy, much like a vessel for the chakra. 

Together, it means something that grounds chakra to the earth. Much like what this was. 

There! 

Now, back to business. To be specific, I wanted to see what Orochimaru meant by unique chakra. I was curious. 

I needed to understand why my chakra was considered unique. What made it different from others, and more importantly, how could I use this to my advantage? 

Orochimaru had made it clear that there was something distinct about my chakra, but I wanted to explore the full scope of it. 

Once everything was prepared, I took out another seal and placed it on one of my Kokoriku. A stream of blue chakra emerged, forming its own spiral. It spun quickly but with a calm, controlled rhythm. 

Orochimaru, standing beside me now, observed closely. 

"And whose chakra is that?" He asked, his voice laced with curiosity. 

"Sasuke's," I replied without looking at him, keeping my focus entirely on the work. 

"You said my chakra was unique, so the only way to understand it is to compare and contrast." I didn't need to explain more—Orochimaru knew exactly what I was doing. 

I placed my hand over another Kokoriku, feeling the chakra pulse out and beneath of my fingertips before glancing at Orochimaru. 

His understanding was immediate. 

He mirrored my actions, placing his own seal on a Kokoriku, bringing it to life. With all the chakras activated, I narrowed my eyes, scrutinizing the spirals before me. Each one had its own rhythm, its own personality. 

Orochimaru, ever the inquisitor, asked, "How will you know the differences? What are you looking for in these discrepancies?" 

His question was a good one, and I was more than happy to explain. 

"Chakra has three basic characteristics that make it unique to each person." 

I said, pointing to the chakras as I spoke. 

"The environment, the body, and the spirit." 

I gestured to the chakras in front of me. 

"The fact that we all have chakra shows that we are all part of this world. Our environment influences it, but there's no need to go into that in detail." 

Next, I pointed to the colours. 

"Notice that Sasuke's chakra, yours, and mine are all blue. That's the standard. Everyone's chakra has that colour." 

I paused for a moment, letting him process that before pointing to Kurama's chakra. 

"But see how Kurama's chakra is orange? That's the first obvious difference. It's the distinction between human chakra and that of a tailed beast." 

I watched as Orochimaru studied the spirals, then pointed to the behavior of the chakras. 

"Now, watch how they behave. Our chakras are calm, spinning steadily in a neat circle. But Kurama's chakra—" 

I nodded toward the orange spiral, 

"—it's wild. It doesn't want to be confined. It's constantly shifting, as if it's trying to break free. Ours stay contained, but Kurama's chakra moves like a bubble, bouncing around yet never popping." 

If we put Sasuke's and my chakra together, you could just somehow sense that there is a connection. There was a similarity that went deep within our bloodlines. 

"Sasuke and I are from the same clan so there are some similarities, but not many. If I was blood related to him our chakra would almost look identical. You couldn't pick out whose was whose." 

There was still so much I still didn't know, these were all guesses and I know Orochimaru knew that. For everything that ever was, there had to be a first. 

I was that first, so that means I have no one to go to if I have questions. And I have many. But it's still early. 

Maybe I'll become the person who will have all the answers. 

"But Orochimaru?" 

I glanced at him, a little curious. He started back, showing I had his full attention. 

"What did you mean by my chakra is unique, what do you see?" 

Orochimaru took a second to move, but when he did, he did so looking amused. 

"Ishi, your chakra doesn't act like ours." 

My face scrunched up in annoyance before looking back at the chakras again. All within my Kokorikus, all spinning, all in a circular shape. 

But... 

No, wait. 

What is that? 

There is a difference. If you look closely, my chakra... it somehow vibrates? 

Every so often, it shakes a little. Unlike normal chakra, which is often seen as a wave or spiral, my chakra emits a rippling effect. When I focus, the air near it vibrates subtly, creating a kind of light distortion like heat waves. 

What the-? 

I don't even know what to think. In that case, my chakra is closer to Kurama's chakra than Orochimaru or even Sasuke. 

I could barely be sarcastic... 

Now that's odd. 

"I see it," I muttered, kind of upset that I didn't see this first and had to be told. Orochimaru chuckled, this one sounding mocking. 

"Any reason why yours acts differently?" 

Not really to be honest. Maybe it's because I'm not from this world? Well, I've been here for a long time and I'm literally an Uchiha. 

"Nope, you'll have to give me more time if I am going to find out." 

I rolled my eyes, deactivating everything and trapping Kurama's chakra back in a seal. Orochimaru hummed, picking one of my Kokoriku's up and analyzing it. 

"I'm so glad I have both of you, you Uchiha's are so interesting." 

I snorted in mockery at that statement. Orochimaru must not just mean Sasuke and I, but also Itachi as well. Seriously, this guy has a damn type. 

I'm feeling like a confrontation right about now, I must be in a mean mood. 

"If you had to choose between Sasuke and me, who would it be?" 

I asked offhandedly. I already knew the answer but it was interesting to ask. Orochimaru answered straight away, an amused look on his face. 

"Sasuke of course, but I would never be in a position to lose you." 

Oh, is that so? 

I doubt that, because I am going to leave you of my own volition. I made up my mind and was going to go out in the world and make good choices. 

Orochimaru smirked, finally giving me back the Kokoriku. 

"You are a treasure in your own worth." 

While the flattery was a good touch, it didn't really do anything for me. He spoke his mind a lot, so if I was doing something that annoyed him, he would voice it to the masses. 

I got many compliments, but the occasional argument was there. It was rare it turned nasty, but it did happen. 

"And you were more useful than I thought," I'll give one back. 

No matter how passive-aggressive it sounds. It feels weird to say good things about him, he is not a good person. 

Orochimaru rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as a mischievous smirk came on his lips. 

"I love watching you think you're controlling me instead." 

His voice was light and teasing, but this wasn't one of his little playful comments. He wouldn't say something like that if he wasn't picking a fight. 

Must be jealous about my success. 

Poor him. 

"I am, it's just that you are more on my level than I thought, we both are keeping secrets that the other doesn't know." 

But I don't feel like one, I have been drained since the moment I got here. But from the way he's narrowing his eyes at me, this isn't going to end well. 

Fine, if he's going to act like this-

No, never mind. I'll just leave the room. 

A/n By the time you guys will see this it's already been a few months. When I made that announcement about taking a break, I didn't really do that. I just didn't post anything so the timeline wasn't weighing in my mind. I got to give you a bunch of chapters and I didn't have to feel bad about making you wait for it. I was going to make you a month either way, why not tell you so you didn't have to check so often. Well, I'm back!!! Enjoy~