There's No Way I Have So Few Friends

After respectfully seeing Orochimaru off, the cow trio immediately surrounded Dōmeki with hostile looks on their faces.

"Kid, what abilities could a guy like you possibly have to catch Lord Orochimaru's attention?"

Zaku Abumi, the most hot-tempered of the three, was the first to step forward. He, too, had been an abandoned orphan taken in by Orochimaru, and seeing how much attention Orochimaru paid Dōmeki, the boy could barely conceal the jealousy blazing across his face.

"Orochimaru?" Dōmeki rubbed his chin and answered uncertainly, "Probably because I'm so handsome!"

Dōmeki wasn't making things up. After all, in this twisted world, the mark of a strong person was that they were either handsome or weird! His good looks might well have been part of the reason Orochimaru had taken the time to give him a look.

"O-Orochimaru?"

The three stared at the kid, dumbfounded. Lord Orochimaru was the eternal sun in the hearts of all Sound Ninja, but who would dare address him so familiarly? Even the four most gifted among them revered Orochimaru as a god.

"Hold on! Kid, are you messing with us?"

Dosu, the most levelheaded of the three, caught on. Feeling that they'd been made fools of, all three instantly looked at Dōmeki with even greater malice.

Orochimaru's orders kept them from killing this annoying fellow, but surely giving him a beating would be fine!

"Sigh!" The red-haired kid sighed, a dejected expression appearing on his handsome face. "Have I done something to displease you, seniors?"

His pitiful appearance softened Tsuchi Kin's heart for a moment. Though she kept a stern face, she couldn't help offering the red-haired kid a warning.

"Kid, you can't be so disrespectful to Lord Orochimaru!"

"But Orochimaru is Orochimaru!" Dōmeki murmured. "Orochimaru is a good person. He's taken me out for lots of delicious food!"

"A g-good person?"

All three felt that the words "good person" had nothing to do with Lord Orochimaru, but the same thought popped into their heads at once.

He's a simple-minded fool!

With that thought, their jealousy inexplicably vanished, and their gazes softened somewhat as they looked at the kid.

"All right! Kid, come with us. Remember, don't go wandering around. The others in the base aren't as good-tempered as we are!"

The cow trio led Dōmeki into Otogakure's base, and Tsuchi Kin kindly told the kid she found so likable about some of the base's forbidden things.

For instance, Lord Orochimaru's laboratory was full of traps, and quite a few areas were off-limits.

In keeping with snakes' usual habits, this base, too, had been built in a vast underground space.

The entrance was a pitch-black opening in the ground, like the gaping maw of a giant snake waiting for prey to come to it.

As Dōmeki approached, he sensed the presence of some ninja hidden nearby.

As they went deeper into the cave, the light dimmed abruptly. The lamps on the ceilings of the tunnels that branched off in every direction cast a murky yellow glow, making Dōmeki, who had always lived somewhere as sunny as the Land of Wind, a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, thanks to the impression he gave of being honest and well-behaved, Dōmeki casually drew quite a bit of information out of the three, and their favorability toward him rose all bulingbuling~.

"Hey, seniors, you must be really strong!"

"You bet! I, the great Zaku, may only be eight, but I'm already as strong as an elite Genin!" Zaku Abumi put his hands on his hips and laughed smugly.

"Wow, a Genin!" Dōmeki gazed at him admiringly with his bright eyes.

"I heard that the strongest people in the Shinobi World are all Genin. You must be the kind of person who can make the Kage tremble, right, senior?"

"Th-that's right! I'm the strongest person in the whole base, apart from those four!"

All three wiped the sweat from their brows, wondering who had filled the little guy's head with such absurd common knowledge.

"Who are those four?" Dōmeki asked curiously.

"Why, the four Lord Orochimaru named the Sound Four, of course! When Lord Orochimaru is away from Otogakure, they're the ones in charge of the base!"

The three of them immediately grew serious and sternly warned Dōmeki not to defy the four highly skilled ninja.

Dōmeki hurriedly nodded and agreed, then quietly slipped the three of them some more flattery.

After Zaku Abumi brought Dōmeki to a room, he couldn't resist giving him one last piece of advice as he was leaving.

"Kid, I like you. If anyone gives you trouble from now on, just tell them my name!"

"Yes, big brother Zaku!"

Bang!

The door slammed shut. The red-haired kid casually glanced around the simply decorated room, which had all the basic necessities, and couldn't help whistling in satisfaction.

"Just as I said. Even though I've always been a quiet guy who's no good with words, how could I possibly have few friends when I have sincerity and good looks?"

When the room fell quiet, Dōmeki felt a little restless. This was the first time he'd had a little place of his own since his parents in Sunagakure had died.

He stood there in a daze for a long while before diving headfirst into the soft bed. "Heh heh heh! Does this count as... a home?"

His voice was filled with boundless loneliness and self-mockery, growing softer and softer until only the sound of even breathing echoed through the room. For the first time in years, Dōmeki Shun slept so soundly.

Whoosh!

Dōmeki leaped out of bed, pulled the old Kunai from his clothes, and looked around warily. But the unfamiliar room before him left him momentarily stunned.

"Oh, right, this is Otogakure!"

The red-haired kid rubbed his sleep-tousled hair, rummaged through the wardrobe for a few uniforms that, though baggy, were the best fit he could find, and went into the bathroom.

When Dōmeki came out of the room again, his body, once grimy from prolonged water shortages and poverty, was clean, revealing skin as fair as jade. The red-haired kid's already handsome looks were enhanced by a few more degrees.

Though he couldn't tell the time of day in the underground base, Dōmeki felt it was getting late and left the room.

"Come to think of it, where's the cafeteria?"

Dōmeki rubbed his empty stomach and looked down the deserted passage, which was as empty as a ghost town. There was no one he could ask for directions.

Annoyed with himself for not asking the three seniors for this most important piece of information beforehand, Dōmeki hesitated for a while before deciding to look for food himself.

Relying on his powerful sensory abilities, Dōmeki turned this way and that through the winding snake's nest. He showed no curiosity whatsoever when he came across rooms bearing signs of Sealing Jutsu. At that moment, the red-haired kid had only one thought in his mind: Food!

Suddenly, Dōmeki's nose twitched. A radiant smile spread across his face, and he abruptly picked up speed.