Hey, Everybody, Look It's An Orochi Time Skip
[===== One Month Later =====]
Yusuke had learned, through his Grandmother and aunt of Shenron the current Uzushiokage, that she was to accompany the Second Uzushiokage on a trip to Konohagakure.
He wasn't certain whether or not he could actually get away with hunting down Orochimaru and having a talk with him but, since the opportunity was presenting itself, he certainly wasn't going to let it slip past him.
Thus, he had spent several days nagging his Grandmother about letting him go with her and here he was in the Land of Fire, just about to enter Konoha.
In the distance he suddenly saw a contingent of ninjas arrive in front of the village's entrance. The one in front was wearing a white full length robe, and a white wide brimmed hat that had a drape like cloth hanging from that rim and a red triangular section with the kanji for fire imprinted on the front.
It seemed the Hokage and his Anbu were here to greet us. They stood there and patiently awaited our arrival.
"Uzushiokage, it's been a while, my friend. How have you been?" A young Third Hokage greeted him.
"I've been well, Hokage. The death of the First Hokage was shocking to me, only to be followed so soon by the death of Second Hokage. You have my condolences, Lord Third."
"Thank you, Lord Second. Their deaths were indeed a tragedy for Konohagakure but the peace we've achieved, since then, I believe honors them greatly. But enough about the dark past. It seems you've brought along a little visitor."
"Ah, yes, this is my nephew, young Yusuke. Actually, he's normally quite reserved but, the second he heard about our trip here, he was all smiles and giggles. Although, I haven't the slightest idea why.
"Haha! Perhaps, he simply has an adventurous spirit and Uzushiogakure is just far too boring for him. Haha!" Shenron joked.
"Hello there, Yusuke, I certainly hope you enjoy your stay in our village. Who knows? Perhaps, you'll even manage to make a friend or two.
"In the meantime, I hope you don't mind if I steal your Uncle from you, we have a bit of business to discuss."
"Sure, that sounds boring anyways. Can I run around the village, while you do that?" Yusuke responded.
"Hahahaha! Certainly, just be careful and don't get into any trouble."
Nearly everyone present stared at the back of the young boy who immediately took off at a full sprint into the village, as soon as the Hokage finished speaking.
"Boar." Hiruzen called.
An Anbu, with a boar mask, immediately appeared from seemingly nowhere and bowed before Hiruzen. "Yes, Lord Third."
"Follow the lad closely and make certain that no harm befalls him."
"At once, Lord Hokage!"
Shenron grinned awkwardly, while scratching the back of his head. "Ahhh, I guess I really do have to apologize, Lord Hokage. I hadn't expected him to be this unruly. I apologize for imposing upon your Anbu. Thank you, for sending someone after him. If I had known I would need a babysitter for him, I probably wouldn't have brought him."
"Haha! Not at all Lord Uzushiokage! He's simply a child, after all! There's no harm done here! Now, let's head towards the Hokage Tower. Ram, Weasel!"
Two more Anbu then appeared bowing before the Third Hokage. ""Yes, Lord Hokage.""
"The escort we have here is plenty. If you would see the Uzushiokage's family to their residents?"
The group then divided themselves in two, one heading towards the Hokage Tower and one towards Konohagakure's guest lodging for influential people.
-----
Yusuke was absolutely stunned at how easy that was. 'Damn, my family must be pretty confident about the security here in Konohagakure, if they just let me run off like that. Although, they probably shouldn't be, with Hiruzen in charge. I'm sure there's an Anbu following me at least but that shouldn't be a problem for what I have planned.'
Yusuke simply kept on running around the streets of Konoha, seemingly aimlessly, until he finally found what he was looking for.
'Ahh, there it is. The public restrooms.'
Making sure to alter his walk so that he seemed to be disturbed by bladder emergency, he quickly entered the restroom and sat down. He didn't need to use the restroom but instead he began creating Shadow Clones, until he was pressed up against the door and he could barely move.
Once he had been inside for at least a minute, all of his clones performed the Chameleon Jutsu, after which he opened the door and walked out. Knowing that his clones knew what to do, he happily took his time walking around the streets of Konoha, visiting various shops and observing landmarks.
-----
'Alright, now where is that little snake at?' The Yusuke Shadow Clone thought to himself.
About an hour ago, all of the Shadow Clones that had been stuffed into the restroom with Yusuke exited the restroom and went their separate ways, all the while creating more Shadow Clones.
They had looked over the entire town and had found nothing. Now, they were searching the nearby woods and weren't sure what they would do, if they couldn't find him here.
The Yusuke Shadow Clone landed on a tree branch and cast his gaze around for anything out of the ordinary.
A small smile then crept onto his face, as he witnessed a small pale skinned child wearing white and throwing shurikens and kunais at the surrounding trees.
The YSC hopped down from the tree, while making his presence known, only to find a kunai flying straight towards where he was about to land.
Quickly retrieving his own kunai, he easily blocked the attack and said, "Hey, there. My name's Yusuke Uzumaki. What's yours?"
Orochimaru only stood there studying the stranger in front of him. He didn't feel anything like a threat coming from him but his sudden appearance still made him uneasy. Eventually, he said, "My name is Orochimaru. Why are you interrupting my practice?"
The YSC looked embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. "Haha! Well, I actually was just hoping we could talk but…" the clone gradually assumed the stance of his newly created Taijutsu and finished, "If you are that set on training, then I can be your opponent."
Orochimaru seemed to consider this for a moment, before also assuming his own stance.
The two them stared each other down, as the wind blew at their clothes and hair. A handful of leaves was caught up in the breeze and were blown in between the two of them. Just as the last leaf passed before their eyes, the clone put all of his strength into his right leg and propelled himself forward.
YSC made a beeline for Orochimaru and brought his left knee up for a flying knee strike. Orochimaru dodged swiftly to the left and was about to return the favor, with his own knee strike into YSC's back.
However, he instantly realized that YSC's body wasn't moving like a body that had just missed his last attack. YSC hadn't wasted the momentum of his knee strike and had immediately slammed his left foot down while bending forward at the waist to plant his palms on the ground.
Using his impact with the ground combined with his remaining momentum, YSC thrust his right leg up and into Orochimaru's jaw, sending him flying.
Following this motion through, he transitioned naturally into a forward handspring and regained his footing.
Then he saw the shape of Orochimaru's body flying through the air suddenly transform into a small log, with a puff of smoke.
Even though YSC knew that Orochimaru wasn't anywhere near as powerful as he would be, he still hadn't underestimated him. He had anticipated something like this and remained calm, while listening closely to his surroundings.
*Phwish*
*Phwish*
Drawing his kunai, YSC casually sidestepped the three kunai coming at him from behind and deflected the three coming at him from the right side. He then slid his front leg around, shifting his stance towards the oncoming Orochimaru, who was coming from the left.
Orochimaru initiated a flying roundhouse kick aimed at YSC's head. YSC crisscrossed his arms and blocked the blow, only to see Orochimaru use his forward momentum to attempt another straight kick to his head, with his other leg.
At this moment, YSC grinned. 'Wrong move.' He thought.
He grasped hold of the leg Orochimaru used for his initial kick with his right hand and then grasped the oncoming kick with his left hand.
Pulling Orochimaru's upper leg forward and pushing his lower leg back towards Orochimaru's center of mass, he caused Orochimaru's forward momentum to launch him head over heels and face down into the ground.
YSC still had hold of Orochimaru's legs and dragged him into position, where he twisted one arm behind his back and placed a Kunai at his neck.
"That was a pretty good fight, even if it was a bit short. So, do you yield?" YSC asked.
Orochimaru looked calmly back at YSC but with his face all covered in dirt. "I yield."
'Damn, even before all of his modifications, this guy's neck is unnaturally flexible.' YSC thought, as he released Orochimaru and sat down beside him.
"So, Orochimaru, tell me about yourself."
"Ummm...why don't you tell me about yourself so I'll know what you mean?"
"Well, my name is Yusuke Uzumaki. I like training, studying, and learning new Fuinjutsus. I like pretty much all jutsus but Fuinjutsu is by far my favorite. I also love seafood and red meats."
"Hmmm...I guess I like jutsus, too. I'd also agree that Fuinjutsu is probably my favorite. As for food?" Orochimaru pondered for a moment"...hmmm…I'm not really into seafood but I do like eggs...just not cold eggs...or anything cold for that matter."
"Hey, cool! So, we have some things in common! Tell me. Have you created your own unique Fuinjutsu yet?"
"Created my own..? No, but it sounds like it would be fun. I think I'll give it a try, now that you've mentioned it."
"Nice! Hey, since you're going to be studying new jutsus, I'll give you a little bit of advice. If you're ever at a roadblock in your research, you might try and find some animals that you can experiment on. It can be an incredibly insightful experience." YSC leaned in closer to Orochimaru and whispered. "Just make sure that, if you do that, you set up a secret location to do it in.
"For some reason, adults don't really like that kind of stuff and will punish you really severely for it. But, hey, what kind of ninja would we be, if we couldn't keep a secret, right?" YSC looked up at the sky and then a startled expression appeared on his face.
"Oh, crap! It's getting late! I should probably go! But, hey, why don't we become friends? Who knows? Maybe, we'll see each other again someday?" YSC asked as he held out his hand.
Orochimaru, for the first time, looked almost surprised. "You're not from Konohagakure?"
"No. I'm one of the Uzushiokage's many nephews. He's here visiting the Hokage, with a few of my other family members. Now that I think about it, as long as you aren't going anywhere we'll absolutely see each other again. At least, for a few days, anyways.
"How about we keep training together, while my family's here, and, after we've spent some time together, then you can decide whether you want to become friends or not."
Orochimaru stared at YSC for several more seconds, before nodding his head and shaking his hand. "Mn."
"Great! Then with that settled I guess this is where I can find you?"
Orochimaru nodded again.
"Alright, then I'm off and I'll see you tomorrow!" YSC said, as he made the Seal of Confrontation with one hand while waving with the other and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a genuinely surprised Orochimaru standing alone in the forest.
[===== Four Years Later =====]
Yusuke made every effort to optimize his Shadow Clone training regime and optimize it he did. He had started off with only twenty clones, that he would make first thing in the morning, and was now up to two hundred. He initially had his trainees stop training five hours before his bedtime and now they only stopped four hours before.
He could have made more but it became increasingly difficult to find space for all of those clones to train in secret. He was already having to send clones out to train on the sea.
As his chakra reserves grew, so too did the number of clones he could make and thus the speed of his progress.
Yusuke had now reached Mastery level in manipulating eighteen different chakra threads. His Mastery Levels also included up to B-Rank Fuinjutsus, B-Rank Genjutsus, Body Flicker Jutsu, Chameleon Jutsu, Shadow Clone and Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, up to C-Rank Medical Ninjutsu, up to B-Rank Ninjutsu, and intermediate projectile throwing techniques.
He had been correct in assuming that his extended family would offer him assistance, if he only asked, and they were actually quite enthusiastic about it. He had sought help from them in a variety of areas besides Fuinjutsu.
One of his uncles, Jorobi, had been the one who had been most helpful teaching him the Body Flicker and Chameleon Jutsus, as well as instructing him in Fuinjutsu and Chakra natures.
Not long after developing his Shadow Clone training method, he decided it was time to once again give chakra natures a try. Instead of starting with something complicated and less well known, like Yin or Yang, he opted for the standard elements and began working on wind nature first. This worked out quite well and he advanced quickly in it because he happened to have an affinity for it.
After discovering his aptitude for the wind chakra nature, he once again sought out his Uncle Jirobi to see if he could test his chakra natures and discovered that he had affinities for Wind, Lighting, and Water.
He was a bit disappointed that he didn't have a Yin or Yang affinity but he was sure he could find a way to remedy that, at some point. So, from that day forward he dedicated at least one of his trainees to advancing each of his chakra natures.
Aside from starting his chakra nature training, another thing he did almost immediately after starting his new training was to send a clone to the Academy in his place so he could transform into a newly graduated Genin and go to the hospital to learn medical Ninjutsu.
Of course, this only worked for a couple of days before they caught onto him but by that time he had already had access to many of their techniques and had either memorized or written them down. It was only a matter of time, after that, that he was able to fully learn the basic techniques.
He had managed to work out the necessary process for infusing his chakra into his ink and bringing his paintings to life, like Sai. It probably wasn't an exact replication of his techniques but it was close enough to give similar results and results were the only thing that mattered to Yusuke.
Most of the progress he had made during these past four years had been in the realm of Fuinjutsu, because he always dedicated more trainees to that task than the others. During this period, he grew confident enough in his own skills and understanding of Fuinjutsu that he felt ready to start trying to create his own unique Fuinjutsu. B-Rank Fuinjutsu weren't necessarily the most impressive things but they also weren't anything to scoff at either.
He had started by trying to create a D-Rank Fuinjutsu and then did this several more times, until finally moving onto C and eventually B-Ranked Fuinjutsus. Ultimately this little project had led him to starting on his first animal experiments.
Luckily, the Land of Whirlpools was an Island and so it naturally had access to plenty of fresh Octopus and Squid, if he wanted it. Of course, he had gone out and caught his own. He wasn't about to pay for something he could get for free by himself.
During these past few years if he wanted something, he would simply send one of his Shadow Clones out in disguise to steal money and food using his chakra threads.
Even though he was receiving a monthly stipend, it wasn't much and certainly wasn't enough to keep up with all of the intensive training he'd been doing. Especially when his training intensity continued to increase as his chakra reserves, knowledge, and skills increased. His chakra reserves were very close to Low Jounin, at the moment, and his physical energy was slowly catching up to his spiritual energy.
Yusuke had discovered a couple of new things about his energies. The body, as it turned out, naturally produces physical energy and the mind and soul naturally produce spiritual energy. However, by meditating one can increase the amount of spiritual energy the body can hold and by exercising and eating right one can increase the amount of physical energy the body can hold.
There were, of course, limits. If one were to repeatedly use up all their chakra and repeatedly refill it by molding their physical and spiritual energies together, then they would inevitably face severe headaches, they would become fatigued easier, and would eventually enter a state of complete lethargy, until they recovered.
It also was revealed that, even though he was born with chakra and he could mold new chakra, this chakra molding didn't happen naturally, until a certain stage of development.
When he first began his chakra control training, he would always have to mold his chakra to refill his reserves. Now, however, he had developed the ability to passively mold chakra and the rate of this chakra regeneration only increased as his reserves continued to grow.
Yusuke was now standing inside a special room inside his house, where he had set up the much needed equipment that he had stolen for his experiments.
There were several hand basket sized glass tanks filled with sea water and with at least one squid or Octopus inside each. Yusuke walked over to his first test subject, picked it up, brought it to his operating table, and placed a number of pins into its body to keep it from moving.
As Yusuke began his dissection, he kept his eye open for the ink production gland. This was what he needed for the specific Fuinjutsu Style that he wished to develop.
As night was approaching, Yusuke had already dissected six subjects and only had about ten left. Although, he felt he had learned enough from today's dissections that he could move onto the live tests tomorrow.
Yusuke weaved his way through the hundreds of sleeping Shadow Clones on his floor and entered his bedroom. After a couple of hours of absorbing all of their experiences and a bit of meditation, he finally went to sleep completely exhausted, as usual.