Chapter 186 – This Guy’s Even Harsher to His Friends!

[Multiverse Traveler] – the power to traverse different worlds – requires an immense amount of energy with every jump.

Yamanaka Shinno had always been a cautious man.

Unless he had enough energy to make a full jump or found a way to store large amounts of it, he wasn't about to go charging recklessly into another world.

After all, the Shinobi World was now his home base.

You don't go adventuring before cleaning up your own house.

Not that anyone could sneak in as easily as he could, picking locks and slipping past defenses...

But still, by consolidating the resources of the Shinobi World, Shinno ensured that if something went wrong in another world, he could draw upon this one's power to quickly gain control over the new one.

Even if he never used it that way, this world could still serve as his strategic reserve.

...

Leaving the stone chamber where the Dragon Vein switch was located, Shinno made his way to the Queen's chambers in the central tower of Rōran. There, he used medical ninjutsu to examine Sēramu and Sara.

Their condition wasn't too complicated.

Just like how the shinobi of Hoshigakure trained using the "Star," and had their bodies corroded by its unique chakra, these two had suffered from life force depletion due to long-term exposure to the Dragon Vein's energy.

Using the Yin-Yang Release, Shinno treated the mother and daughter. Then, after a moment of thought, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Kushina and two Root shinobi from Konoha's border camp near the Land of Fire.

These days, Kushina's blue trait [Seal Mastery] had evolved through constant training into a purple trait: [Seal Master].

In terms of sealing techniques alone, there were probably only a handful in the entire shinobi world who could rival her.

Compared to Shinno's brute-force approach to sealing—throwing raw chakra at problems—Kushina operated on a whole different level.

Just by listening to Sēramu and Sara's situation and getting a basic understanding of the Dragon Vein, she managed to, within half an hour, create a fully functioning and controllable sealing array using her special chakra in Perfect Jinchūriki mode.

Under normal conditions, the seal would completely block the Dragon Vein's influence on them. If they needed to use its power, they could unseal it with a few simple hand signs—and reseal it themselves afterward.

In just thirty minutes, Kushina had resolved a problem that had plagued the Rōran royal family for hundreds of years.

Using his [Clockwork of Fate], Shinno checked their lifespans. Both mother and daughter had their life expectancy shoot up to nearly eighty years.

And if all went well—once the Shinobi World was fully unified—their status, combined with the importance of the Rōran Dragon Vein, would likely extend their lives even further.

After all, even if Orochimaru's research wasn't made public, important leaders like these two would certainly receive priority.

...

With Rōran's problems resolved, Shinno left the two Root shinobi behind to act as temporary bodyguards for Sēramu and Sara, then returned to his home in Konoha with Kushina.

He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Sensing her boyfriend's barely restrained energy, Kushina blushed and turned to start the bath.

She didn't know why he was acting like this after only a few hours apart—but hey, not like it was a bad thing.

...

At Konoha's Experimental Base No. 7, inside the sterile lab...

Orochimaru stared through a high-magnification microscope at powerful cells teeming with vitality. Carefully, he extracted them and transferred them into a petri dish he'd prepared earlier.

After sealing the dish inside a cultivation chamber and adjusting the settings, he finally exited the sterile room.

He peeled off his gloves and protective gear, then looked toward Shinno, who was waiting in the hallway.

"There's one White Zetsu left in Vault No. 2. I didn't report it—figured I wouldn't be needed for the Iwagakure negotiations anyway. So... are you here with a new research direction, Shinno-kun?"

"Cough, no, not quite. Just had a quick question—what's your take on the differences between men and women?"

Shinno scratched the tip of his nose.

Back in Rōran, his future self had used a Genjutsu seal to deliver a message: remind his current self to play matchmaker for Orochimaru.

He didn't know what future events had led to that suggestion.

But hey, he probably wouldn't screw himself over for no reason, right?

"...You use your eyes to look," Orochimaru replied dryly, subtly edging backward.

If this had been his first time meeting Shinno, he might've offered a detailed answer, touching on biology, sociology, psychology—even philosophy.

But this wasn't day one.

And he knew full well that this guy never did anything without a reason.

Sure, they were technically allies now, supposedly on the same boat.

But just look at what happened to Minato, Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza over the years...

This bastard had no hesitation when it came to messing with people he knew well.

In fact...

The more familiar he was with someone, the worse he treated them.

"Using your eyes, huh? So you don't care much either way?"

"...I suppose I could care a little."

"No no, this is perfect. Don't change a thing. I'm off, later~!"

As Shinno spoke, a soft gray glow—only visible to him—faded into Orochimaru's body. Then, without another word, he turned and left.

He already knew exactly where Orochimaru's research was headed. The guy was using White Zetsu as a base to clone some terrifying bodies.

The male-to-female ratio was about even...

Once Orochimaru realized what had been done to him—given his total disregard for external appearance...

Yeah. From now on, it'd be Lady Orochimaru.

As for Jiraiya...

"Ugh, nothing really fits. Not sure what Lady Orochimaru's into. Should I hand the silky stuff over to Jiraiya instead?"

Shinno stared at his remaining thirteen Traits, having just given [Nothing to His Name] to Orochimaru. He couldn't help but long for the days when he still had [Bro, You Smell So Good].

What a waste, giving that one to Danzo!

If he still had that Trait, he wouldn't be struggling like this now.

As for Trait Duplication...

That kind of rare resource wasn't something you casually burned for nonsense like this.

"System, give me a related Trait in the next draw, and I promise I'll never complain about you again."

Muttering to himself, Shinno vanished from Base No. 7 using Flying Thunder God.

...

Orochimaru watched him go and let out a slow breath of relief.

But then, his usual cold expression shifted slightly into a frown.

Three completely unrelated questions...

What was that supposed to mean?

He stood there thinking for a while, but without enough intel, he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

So he gave up and refocused on his experiment.

Just as he turned to re-enter the lab—

A strange sensation mid-step made his pupils contract violently.

His face twisted into disbelief.

A minute later, Orochimaru's expression had darkened considerably as he looked back at the spot where Shinno had vanished.

"Painless... sterilization? Just what kind of technique was that...?"

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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