Naruto: Adopted By Tsunade

"You finally came."

Orochimaru sounded impatient.

These two weeks had been torture for him; he'd looked forward to Natsume's arrival every day.

As a scientist, his curiosity was endless.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was a whole new field.

Of course, he wanted to learn.

"I'm glad you're still alive."

Natsume sat down, had a cup of tea, and said, "This tea is weird. Buy better stuff next time."

If you're going to talk, talk more.

Orochimaru forced a smile. He needed something from Natsume, so he pretended not to hear. "How do you get the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"A deal is about equivalent exchange."

Natsume smiled. "Do you have the Hashirama cells I wanted?"

"Already obtained."

Orochimaru's snake-eyes flickered. "I can give them to you now."

Natsume always used a Wood Clone.

But after a Wood Clone is released, items don't go back to the main body, so the clone would have to return to the original's side.

If Orochimaru handled things right, he could uncover this mysterious person's identity.

Natsume could guess what he was thinking.

That was why he'd hesitated over how to trade before.

But now he had a solution.

After taking control of Gunma Company, he'd acquired nearly 100 million ryo in cash.

That was the profit from over a decade of casino and banking operations.

After expenses and real estate, he still had a huge amount of liquid funds.

Natsume planned to hire ninja to save Karin and her mother.

Who, besides the five great villages, had the most power in today's ninja world?

That's right—the main villains: Akatsuki.

Some might say Akatsuki was dangerous and could backstab him.

But this was the early Akatsuki, still building up funds.

They had two ways to make money: taking missions and collecting bounties.

The latter didn't matter for now.

The former meant Akatsuki was a mercenary group.

And mercenaries live by their reputation.

If you betray your client, word gets out, and nobody will hire you again.

Even Akatsuki wouldn't break the rules at this stage.

In other words, as long as you paid, they could be trusted.

Orochimaru wanted to test things? Fine, he'd give him two Akatsuki members to test.

"No rush. I'm just a clone. In a couple days, I'll contact you."

Natsume waved it off. "You can trade with my organization's people."

"No problem."

Orochimaru nodded.

Even if he couldn't meet the real Natsume, contact with his organization's members was just as good.

With his abilities, as long as he got a clue, he was confident he could uncover the whole organization.

"One more piece of advice."

Natsume gave him a meaningful look. "If you want to try anything, make sure you're prepared. They aren't as easy to deal with as I am."

That sounded familiar.

Orochimaru froze, then felt a surge of anger.

This guy was too arrogant!

You think I can't handle your underlings just because I can't beat the Mangekyō Sharingan?

I didn't become one of the Sannin for nothing!

"So, let's get back to the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Natsume changed the subject. Orochimaru paused, then looked eager.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan evolves from the three-tomoe Sharingan."

"So, the Uchiha clan must have lots of Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Orochimaru couldn't help but interrupt.

In his view, plenty of Uchiha were geniuses—there should be more than one pair by now.

"It's not that simple. To awaken it, you need exceptional talent and extraordinary experience—both are essential."

Natsume held up three fingers. "So far, only three people: Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Shisui, and the mysterious man who controlled the Nine-Tails."

Actually, there were more, but no need to say so.

Like Uchiha Izuna, for example.

Orochimaru was shocked.

He'd long suspected that a normal three-tomoe Sharingan couldn't control the Nine-Tails.

"Who's this mysterious man? Also an Uchiha?"

Orochimaru knew the clan pretty well.

But in all these years, he'd heard of no such genius.

Before Shisui, the most famous was Fugaku.

But Fugaku was too indecisive to do such a thing.

Plus, after the Nine-Tails attack, the Uchiha clan was in a worse position.

Fugaku wouldn't have asked for trouble.

"That's another price."

Natsume smiled.

Telling Orochimaru that the mysterious man was Obito wouldn't benefit him.

Orochimaru's face darkened. I came all this way for this?

"What price?"

He knew Natsume didn't lack money, so it had to be something valuable.

"You can't afford it."

Natsume ignored his sour look. "As for Shisui, you've fought him. You should know getting his eyes is impossible."

Orochimaru was annoyed but couldn't argue.

He looked at Natsume, suddenly inspired. "Can your organization help me get Shisui's eyes?"

"Again, you can't afford the price."

Natsume shook his head. "Besides, if I got them, why would I give them to you?"

Orochimaru was silent.

Without Natsume, he couldn't do it alone, unless he recruited Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and others.

But even if they helped, they'd never let him keep the eyes—they'd go to Konoha.

At this point, Akatsuki wasn't famous, and as rogue ninja, Orochimaru didn't care about them.

"But there's a way."

Natsume continued, "Our organization has found another Uchiha genius with great potential to awaken the Mangekyō. More importantly, you could easily get him—if you have enough patience."

Orochimaru couldn't hide his excitement. "Who is it?"

Patience? He had plenty.

With Reincarnation, he had endless life.

"Uchiha Itachi."

Natsume named his classmate.

Orochimaru was stunned for a few seconds before remembering who that was.

Fugaku's eldest son.

At this stage, Itachi was only six and not yet famous, so Orochimaru didn't have a strong impression.

"Itachi's talent is no less than Shisui's."

Natsume smiled. "But he's the clan head's son, and close to Shisui. If you want to act, do it fast, or things might change."

Orochimaru nodded.

He understood the difficulty.

The Uchiha were tense with Konoha.

If he went to Fugaku, he'd likely fail.

But Orochimaru quickly came up with a plan—just as he looked up, Natsume's clone dispersed.

He still had questions, but it was too late.

…

The next day.

Orochimaru went to the Hokage's office.

"Orochimaru?"

Hiruzen looked surprised.

A rare visitor.

Since the Third Great Ninja War ended, Orochimaru had become a shut-in.

No missions, holed up at home, who knows doing what.

Hiruzen had long known that Orochimaru and Danzo were cut from the same cloth—unsuitable as Hokage.

But they were powerful and useful to Konoha, so he turned a blind eye.

As long as they didn't betray the village.

Ninja were ruthless by nature—nothing unusual.

"I want to take a student."

Orochimaru got to the point.

Hiruzen was stunned.

What's going on?

Tsunade had just taken a student, now Orochimaru too?

"What made you want to teach?" Hiruzen asked.

Orochimaru's last apprentice was Nawaki.

After he died, only Anko was left.

"Nothing in particular. I need assistants for my experiments, so I want two students."

Orochimaru sounded casual, which fit his personality.

"Anyone in mind?"

"Not yet. I'll pick two good students from the academy."

"No problem."

Hiruzen's doubts vanished. "I'll have the academy hold an exam. You can choose then."

He was, nominally, the principal.

But as he finished, he suddenly thought of someone.

Uchiha Itachi.

He remembered because Itachi was Fugaku's son and the top student.

If Orochimaru took him as a student, it could be unexpectedly beneficial.

In the original, Fugaku sent Itachi to the ANBU as a spy.

But Hiruzen didn't know that.

Given the current situation, Fugaku wouldn't want Itachi to become part of the Hokage faction.

Because the Uchiha had just been relocated and were furious.

But Orochimaru taking students was aboveboard.

Hiruzen thought having Itachi in the Hokage faction might produce another Shisui.