A Yamanaka's Trait System

[Multiversal Voyager] possessed the ability to traverse worlds, but each trip consumed a massive amount of energy.

Kei had always been cautious in his actions.

As long as the energy within his body was insufficient to support a single world traversal, or until he found a way to store large amounts of energy for his use, he had no intention of rushing off to travel to other worlds.

After all, the Naruto world was essentially his home base.

Before heading out, one must always tidy up at home first.

Not to mention, there might be people capable of sneaking in as stealthily as he did, picking locks and slipping through unnoticed.

After consolidating the resources of the Naruto world, if he encountered any problems in other worlds, he could also rely on the power of the Naruto world to quickly gain the upper hand there.

Even if he didn't need it, this world could still serve as his backup resource station.

Leaving the control room where the Ryūmyaku switch was located, he went to the Queen's chamber at the top of the central tower in Rōran, using medical ninjutsu to examine Sēramu and Sāra.

The condition of the mother and daughter wasn't particularly complicated.

Just like in the original work, where the ninjas of Hoshi used the power of the "Star" to train, and their bodies were eroded by its special chakra, the mother and daughter's bodies were similarly affected by the energy of the Ryūmyaku, causing overconsumption of life force.

Using his Yin-Yang Release abilities, he treated them. Afterward, he considered something and, with Flying Thunder God Technique, brought Kushina and two Root ninjas from Konoha's outpost on the border of the Land of Fire.

Kushina's [Sealing Mastery], had advanced through her constant training, upgrading it to purple-tier.

In terms of sealing arts alone, there were likely very few in the shinobi world who could surpass her.

As someone like Kei, who used sealing techniques purely by brute-forcing with massive amounts of chakra, he simply couldn't compare to her expertise.

Just by hearing about Sēramu and Sāra's condition and understanding the nature of Ryūmyaku energy, Kushina, in perfect jinchūriki mode using her special chakra, designed a controllable, combined seal for them within half an hour.

In normal circumstances, this seal would completely block the influence of the energy on them. When they wanted to use it, a few simple hand signs would unlock the seal, and they could also reseal it on their own afterward.

In just half an hour, Kushina resolved a problem that had troubled the royal family of Rōran for hundreds of years.

Using [Destiny Chronometer], Kei checked and saw that the mother and daughter's lifespans had now skyrocketed to nearly 80 years.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, once all nations of the shinobi world were unified in the future, given their status and the importance of the Ryūmyaku, their lifespan would likely extend even further.

After all, Orochimaru's research, even if not publicly shared, would certainly prioritize the more important high-ranking individuals.

Having settled the matters of Rōran, he assigned the two Root ninjas to temporarily act as bodyguards for Sēramu and Sāra.

Then Kei brought Kushina straight back home to Konoha.

After a light kiss on her forehead, Kushina, sensing her boyfriend's restless emotions, blushed and turned to run a bath.

She didn't know why, after being apart for just a few hours, he had such a predatory look in his eyes—but… it was not like it was a bad thing~

---

In Experimental Base No. 7, inside a sterile laboratory, Orochimaru peered through a high-powered microscope at the powerful cells brimming with life force. He carefully extracted them and placed them in a pre-prepared petri dish.

Sealing the dish into the culture chamber and adjusting the related data, he finally walked out of the sterile room.

Taking off his sterile suit and gloves, he looked toward Kei, who was standing at the side of the hallway.

"The last White Zetsu from the numbered storage remains intact. I didn't bother filing a report. As for the negotiations with Iwa, they won't require my presence. So, are you here today with a new research direction to offer?"

Cough cough...

"Not exactly," Kei rubbed his nose, "I just wanted to ask—what's your view on the differences between men and women?"

While in Rōran, his future self had used Sage Art Sealing to send a memory warning: remind present him to play matchmaker for Orochimaru early.

Though he didn't know exactly what would happen in the future that would prompt himself to specifically bring this up, surely he wouldn't set a trap for his own self... right?

"I use my eyes to look." Orochimaru's expression tensed slightly as he subtly took a step back.

If this had been their first meeting, he likely would've answered such a question from a biological, sociological, psychological, or philosophical perspective.

But this wasn't his first day knowing this guy.

With Kei's calculating personality, there was no way he'd randomly ask something like this without a reason. Sure, they were technically on the same team now, and logically speaking, Kei had no reason to harm him.

But just look at what happened to Minato, Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chōza over the past few years—this guy never hesitated to strike against his own allies.

In fact... the closer the relationship, the more ruthless he became!

"You use your eyes... so that means you don't particularly care, huh?"

"I could care. A bit."

"No need, no need. That's perfect. I'm off~ Catch you later!"

Kei watched as a gray trait, visible only to him, sank into Orochimaru's body. Satisfied, he turned and left without hesitation.

He was well aware of the Sannin's current research progress—using White Zetsu as a template, he was cloning some incredibly powerful bodies.

The male-to-female ratio of those clones was roughly 1:1.

When Orochimaru eventually realized the abnormal changes in his own body, given his disregard for external appearances...

Yeah, from then on, he'd have to be called Orochi-hime.

As for Jiraiya...

Doesn't seem like there's anything particularly suitable for him. And who knows if Orochi-hime even likes silk? Maybe I should just give all the silk-related stuff to Jiraiya?

Kei looked at the ten-odd remaining traits after giving away [Nothing to His Name] to Orochimaru, and couldn't help but nostalgically recall [Why Are You Gae?] he'd once given to Danzō.

What a waste that had been!

If only he still had [Why Are You Gae?], would he be having such a headache now?

As for using one of his trait duplication attempts... That was a rare and precious resource he'd gone through hell to obtain—using it on this? No way!

System, gimme an associated trait extraction next time, and I swear I'll never curse you again.

Kei muttered in his heart, and with Flying Thunder God Technique, vanished from the base.

Orochimaru watched Kei leave, a faint sense of relief washing over him. However, his typically cold, indifferent face now carried a look of confusion.

Such a random and out-of-nowhere conversation... What was that about?

He stood there in thought for a while, but lacking sufficient information, he couldn't make sense of it.

Deciding not to dwell on it, he returned his focus to his experiments.

Just as he was about to step back into the lab, an odd sensation while walking made his pupils contract sharply, his face contorting in disbelief.

A moment later.

Face dark with fury, he looked again toward where Kei had disappeared.

"Painless sterilization? What the hell is the principle behind that..."