Naruto: All My Targets Are Ninjutsu.

……

At this moment.

Konoha Research Institute, a laboratory filled with sophisticated instruments and research samples.

Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzo forcibly suppressed his anger, coldly staring at the man with his back to him: "Orochimaru! You'd better give me a reasonable explanation for why you interfered with Root's assessment of Mikami Yu?"

"Oh?"

Orochimaru, who was examining a petri dish under the microscope, didn't turn around. He merely narrowed his eyes slightly, a slight smile playing on his lips: "So it's Lord Danzo. You came all this way, only for such a trivial matter?"

"A small matter?"

Danzo Shimura frowned, his anger growing even stronger: "I am looking for suitable seedlings for the Root, guiding them onto the right path, so that the great tree of Konoha can grow even more lush and verdant. This is related to the future of Konoha! You dare to obstruct even this kind of thing? Are you challenging the authority of the Root?"

"Don't forget who helped you climb to this position!"

"...Lord Danzo, you flatter me."

Orochimaru finally turned around, licking his lips: "We are all people who walk in the shadows, why bother with such high-sounding words? I'll just say it directly, that brat named Mikami Yu has the potential to become a researcher, it's a waste for him to become an obedient 'sword' for Root."

"Only with me can his true value be discovered."

"and……"

Orochimaru paused, then continued, "Don't forget, that kid's instructor is Minato Namikaze, the 'Yellow Flash' whose reputation is soaring. Jiraiya, that idiot, seems to be ready to pass on his mantle to him, and Hiruzen-sensei also seems to favor him. If he makes significant contributions in the upcoming war…"

What do you think will happen?

"You mean... Minato Namikaze might be competing with you for the position of Fourth Hokage?"

Danzo Shimura squinted, finally grasping the key point.

Chapter 91 You Need a Written Agreement! (Second Update, Please Subscribe!)

"Yes."

Orochimaru nodded, a smile appearing on his face: "Minato Namikaze is truly outstanding, so outstanding that he might become our greatest rival. However, the strongest fortress is often breached from within."

"If we can get Yu Mikami to become our 'eyes' within the Minato Squad, even if it's just to provide intelligence a few times at crucial moments, the situation will be much more favorable to us."

"As for the seedlings needed by the Root, I can keep an eye out for you, Lord Danzo. After all, the ninja world has been in turmoil for some time now, and those orphans who have lost their parents and been displaced in the war must be in great need of a place that can provide them with shelter."

"..."

Danzo Shimura said nothing more, but remained silent for a moment before striking the metal floor heavily with his cane and turning to leave.

This silence is enough to show our stance.

While Shimura Danzo is currently obsessed with the position of Hokage, he doesn't necessarily feel he absolutely needs to be one.

For him, the optimal strategy to realize his political ambitions was to promote Orochimaru, a disciple of Hiruzen Sarutobi, to the position of Hokage, while he, as the Hokage's assistant, would manipulate the situation from behind the scenes, control most of the power in Konoha, and gradually expand the influence of Root.

To achieve that goal, he could tolerate Orochimaru's overstepping of his authority. Besides, Orochimaru had also given him a way out.

Just as I stepped out of the research institute's gate.

Shimura Danzo suddenly paused, casting his cloudy gaze at a white-haired boy not far away.

A brief exchange of glances.

Then, Danzo snorted coldly and turned to leave.

……

Watching Shimura Danzo's departing figure.

Yuu Mikami breathed a sigh of relief, calming his tense body somewhat.

For him now, the title of "Darkness of the Ninja World" still carries considerable weight. Even though his opponent doesn't yet possess a full set of resurrection tokens, the pressure from the current second-in-command of Konoha and a near-Kage level shinobi still puts immense pressure on him. He's even more nervous than when facing Orochimaru.

At this time,

Orochimaru appeared at just the right moment inside the research institute:

"Oh, Mikami-kun, you've come at the perfect time."

"Please come in, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"..."

Yu Mikami took a deep breath, suppressing his vigilance, and followed Orochimaru into the research institute, arriving at an underground laboratory filled with the smell of formaldehyde.

Seeing that he remained silent,

Orochimaru finally broke the silence: "You should have seen that old man earlier, right? His name is Shimura Danzo, the leader of 'Root'... Oh right, you might not know what 'Root' is. It's an organization dedicated to 'protecting' Konoha in the shadows, but their methods..."

"Naturally, it can't be brought to light."

"They have a 'high interest' in all the promising seedlings in Konoha Village, trying to prune and shape them into their ideal 'weapons'. And you, Mikami-kun, you were lucky enough to enter Root's field of vision, and almost got caught by them."

"Fortunately, I got rid of him for you."

Good guy.

Yu Mikami exclaimed, "Wow!"

If he hadn't been a time traveler who knew that Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo were birds of a feather and had extensive dealings with each other behind the scenes, he might have actually thought Orochimaru was a good person... So, in that case, he should thank Orochimaru?

"No need for thanks."

Orochimaru seemed to see through Mikami Yu's thoughts, a playful glint in his golden snake eyes: "You're a smart person, so I'll speak to you in a smart way. To be frank, I'm helping you for a reason."

“I admire your talent in medical ninjutsu and your keenness when facing the unknown. Instead of having your spirit crushed in a place like Root, come to me and explore the mysteries of life with me.”

"Like Tsunade, I am a disciple of the Third Hokage, and also your nominal senior uncle, as well as one of Konoha's top researchers. I can provide you with all the resources you need, whether it's ninjutsu scrolls, high-quality ninja tools, the latest research data, or even the special treatment plan your father needs for recovery."

"And the price for all of this is simply to do some work for me, just like you did for Tsunade at Konoha Hospital."

"So, what are your thoughts?"

"..."

Yu Mikami remained silent.

It sounds like Orochimaru really wants to recruit him.

But... are research personnel in Konoha really that scarce? He pondered that he had only met Orochimaru once and answered a few questions, yet his intelligence stood out from the crowd, to the point that Orochimaru couldn't help but take a liking to him?

Now,

Mikami Yu carefully chose his words, then said in a low voice, "Lord Orochimaru, you should know that I am a disciple of Minato-sensei, and I have been frequently on missions outside the village lately. Furthermore, I am also studying in Lady Tsunade's medical class, so perhaps..."

"Don't worry, my conditions are very simple. You only need to come to the research institute two or three times a week. The time depends on the situation, but it will not take more than half a day on average. It won't take up too much of your training and mission time."

"What are the job duties?"

"It's very simple. In the short term, you just need to help me organize experimental data, record sample reactions, and operate some basic instruments. With your learning ability, these are easy to learn."

"...What about the long term?"

Mikami Yu watched Orochimaru warily.

The latter smiled and said, "That depends on your performance. I'm a fair person and I allocate wages according to value. As long as you can provide enough value, I will pay you a satisfactory reward."

"...Words are not enough; I hope we can have a written agreement."

"receipt?"

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"That's right, I need a clear contractual agreement, including my working hours, job duties, salary and benefits, and personal safety protection clauses. It must clearly stipulate under what circumstances I might participate in experimental projects that endanger myself, and that it must be based on my own free will."

"The contract is made in duplicate, signed and sealed. If Lord Orochimaru violates the core terms of the contract, such as making me conduct dangerous experiments without my consent, I have the right to hand the contract over to Lady Tsunade and ask her to uphold justice."

"Conversely, if I breach the agreement, I will pay you a sufficient penalty. How about that?"

Quiet.

A long period of silence.

Orochimaru's fake smile vanished, replaced by a scrutinizing gaze, as if he were truly getting to know Mikami Yu for the first time: "Interesting... This is really interesting. I'm starting to get interested in you, Mikami-kun. Alright, let's do as you say and sign a contract."

After half an hour.

Yu Mikami sat on a single sofa in the corner of the laboratory, carefully reading the text dictated by Orochimaru and personally recorded by himself, making sure there were no ambiguities or traps; then he circulated his chakra to sense his own condition, and after confirming that there were no traces of being under a genjutsu, he signed his name.

Chapter 92 A New Skin for the Transformation Technique! Serpent Limb Hardening! (Third Update, Please Subscribe)

In fact, if Orochimaru of Genjutsu 10 were to use genjutsu on him, Mikami Yu might not be able to detect it smoothly.

However, Tsunade should be able to tell.

Yu Mikami plans to show Tsunade the contract the next time he sees her, and ideally, ask her to keep it for him as a form of personal accident insurance...

after that.

Orochimaru also signed his name, handing one copy of the contract to Mikami Yu, and rolling up the other copy and stuffing it into his mouth.

"?"

Yu Mikami's eyelids twitched.

No, don't you have any pockets? You can't put this thing in your mouth.

However, considering that Orochimaru even pulled the Kusanagi Sword out of his mouth, the scroll isn't really anything special...

Orochimaru didn't notice the subtle look in Mikami Yu's eyes. He simply smiled and stood up, saying, "It's a pleasure working with you, Mikami-kun. Now, as your first lesson since joining the research institute, let me show you around."

Next.

Orochimaru led Yu Mikami through the labyrinthine corridors of the research institute, introducing him to the research content of each area.

From the sterile culture room filled with numerous petri dishes, to the instrument room with huge centrifuges, and then to the cold storage for preserving cell samples...

These scenes deeply shocked Yu Mikami.

He already knew the technology development in the Naruto world was off-track, but he didn't expect it to be this distorted...

What the hell is this about using a kerosene lamp to look through a microscope?

Centrifuges have already been invented, but fluorescent lights haven't become widespread yet?

Although it was quite frustrating, as a transmigrator, Mikami Yu had a good understanding of these instruments. He could basically remember the key points after listening to or seeing them once, and even when he tried them out himself, he was almost rusty, which surprised Orochimaru.

"It seems you laid a very solid foundation with Tsunade. Many people often need a week or even longer to master the operation of these instruments when they first come in."

"...About average."

Mikami Yu responded modestly, but his gaze subtly swept over the deep corridor, past several heavy metal doors that were tightly closed and required higher authority to open.

When he passed by just now, he vaguely smelled a strong, fishy odor, accompanied by a faint, muffled whimpering sound. If nothing unexpected happens…

That's probably where Orochimaru's real research is concentrated.

But since the other party didn't mention it, he pretended not to notice, as if those areas didn't exist at all.

Once you've familiarized yourself with the basic environment of the laboratory...

Orochimaru spat out a sticky scroll from his mouth and handed it to Mikami Yu: "Although according to the contract, your payment will be settled at the end of the month, and it's not time yet, to show my sincerity, I'll give you this month's payment in advance."

"This technique is a little gadget that I developed myself; it might interest you."

[Ding! Gift detected: Limited Skin - Transformation: Snake Limb Hardening!]

"Ok?"

The hardening of snake limbs—is it actually the skin from a transformation technique?

This was an unexpected surprise, but Orochimaru's method of taking out the scroll was rather unsettling. Looking at the sticky, milky-white liquid on the scroll, Mikami Yu was somewhat reluctant to accept it.

However, in the end, he still reluctantly accepted: "...Thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

That night,

After carefully cleaning Orochimaru's scroll, Mikami Yu gave it to the Transformation Jutsu.

Overjoyed to receive the transformation magic as a gift for the first time.

[Transformation: (Tears welling up) Wow! Is this the new outfit that my mistress specially bought for me?! It looks so pretty! Although it seems to be made of snakeskin... but as long as it's a gift from my mistress, it's fine!]

[Clone Technique: Hakiyu, you... you finally decided to buy your sister clothes? Now our sisterly skin count can finally rival that guy's, haha!]

[Fireball Jutsu: ?]