Orochimaru the Cold Lord (Part One)

A conference room in Kikyo Castle.

"Orochimaru- senpai, Minato Namikaze reports to you. From now on, I am your subordinate. This is the document that the Lord Hokage asked me to give you..." After separating from Minato and the Issui, Minato met Orochimaru under the guidance of a Konoha Ninja and gave Orochimaru the secret scroll entrusted to him by the Third Hokage.

"Hmm..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, reaching out to take the scroll from Minato's hand. Jiraiya's student is getting more and more powerful...

"There's one more thing..." Minato hesitated, unsure whether he should tell Takuya Nakamura. Not telling him might be inappropriate, given that Nakamura was his senior. However, Orochimaru's personality was truly... What if things went wrong and incurred Takuya Nakamura's wrath? Then Konoha would have gained another hidden, enormous threat...

Orochimaru's cold gaze flashed briefly as he put down the information scroll in his hand and said, "Just say what you want to say. This isn't like you. You're always so hesitant. Is something bothering you? Your reputation has been quite impressive lately, almost catching up to me, Jiraiya, and Tsunade..."

Minato smiled and scratched his head, saying shyly, "Haha, not at all, not at all, you flatter me too much, senpai. You, teacher, and Tsunade- senpai are much more capable than me. I still have a lot to learn from you all..."

Minato couldn't understand why Orochimaru was hostile towards him. Perhaps he was overthinking it. Orochimaru had never praised anyone like that before; he had always been a confident and aloof person. How could he casually comment on someone like that?

"Is that so? Let's not talk about that anymore. Let's get back to what we were talking about. What did you want to say?" Orochimaru said, narrowing his eyes.

"Here's what happened. On the way here, I encountered a young man wearing Konoha Ninja. He was about fifteen years old and incredibly strong. I fought him at first, but I didn't manage to hurt him at all. However, the clothes on my back were torn... After some questioning, he revealed that his parents were Konoha ninjas who died in battle, and Rin from my team recognized him as a Konoha ninja..." Minato explained simply, hoping that nothing unforeseen would happen.

"Hmm?! You're saying he's slightly stronger than you? That's really interesting. Such powerful ninjas are rare. His parents were Konoha ninjas who died in battle; they have names, right? With his talent, his parents must have been powerful ninjas too. Maybe I know them..." Orochimaru's body trembled slightly. Another exceptionally talented young man! Worthy of our attention. As for whether he's from Konoha... well...

"His parents' names were Ono Nakamura and Erika Nakamura... I'm not sure if their names are on the Memorial Stone..." Minato said.

"Ono Nakamura, Erika Nakamura? He shouldn't be Jonin, more like Chunin. That's strange. With such talent, it's not Kekkei Genkai limit; it's probably just individual talent. A commoner genius! I'll have someone keep an eye on him. If he really is from Konoha, that'll be easy. We can use the communication hawk; we should receive the information tomorrow. For now, just keep an eye on his movements. Once we have the information and verify his identity tomorrow, I'll meet with him personally..." Orochimaru said calmly.

"Yes, I understand. I'll take my leave now. If Lord Orochimaru needs anything, please have someone notify me immediately..." Minato bowed to Orochimaru and left.

"Send a message to Konoha, investigate Ono Nakamura and Erika Nakamura... as soon as possible..." Orochimaru took out a scroll, quickly wrote a few words, closed the scroll, threw it into the air, and said in a commanding tone.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru..." A ninja wearing a cat-face mask suddenly appeared, caught the scroll, and disappeared instantly.

Minato calmly returned to the rest room, poured himself a glass of water, and slowly drank it. No matter what, as long as he posed no threat to Konoha, that was all that mattered...

"Minato-sensei, you're back..." Rin came out from the inner room, saw Minato, and called out happily.

"Hmm, where are Kakashi and Obito...?" Minato asked.

"Those two went to train. Obito said he wanted to surpass Takuya, and Kakashi said he wanted to become even stronger... Honestly..." Rin pouted her cute little lips and said, she really didn't understand why boys had to be so competitive...

"Hmm, really? That's perfect. Why aren't you training with them?" Minato asked with a smile.

"I'm not like those boys. They're just jealous of how good Takuya is. Kakashi is alright, but Obito is just a complete mess..." Rin said, dissatisfied.

"Haha... Is that so? Although they have some competitive thoughts, it's still very good that they're actively training. You also need to train hard, otherwise you'll suffer on the battlefield..." Minato said with concern. He was most worried about his daughter. Although Obito didn't have Kakashi's talent, he was still a good ninja, caring about his comrades and keeping to his own pace, only lacking confidence. He didn't need to worry about Kakashi; his talent was outstanding, and he would become a powerful ninja in the future. Only Rin remained optimistic all the time, only skilled in Medical Ninjutsu, lacking in combat. If she encountered a truly powerful ninja, she might...

"Hmph, here we go again. Aren't Minato-sensei and Kakashi here? All I have to do is heal everyone. Besides, I'm not that weak, I'm already Chunin..." Rin said, slightly annoyed. Honestly, why does Minato-sensei always talk about me like that...?

"Haha... Never mind, by the way, where's Takuya?" Minato could only laugh when he saw Rin's angry expression. Oh well, with me here, they'll be fine. As long as I train them into strong ninjas, that's enough. If Rin isn't good at fighting in the future, she can become a medical-nin.

"Huh? Brother Takuya, he's resting. He said he was tired or something. Honestly, I wanted to have a good chat with him..." Lin said sadly. Brother Takuya is resting so early, it's impossible to talk to him...

"Is that so? Then never mind. It's getting late, let's get some rest. We have a reconnaissance mission to carry out tomorrow..." Minato said.

"Um..."

The backyard where the Issui and Minato Namikaze squad rested.

"Kakashi, do you think that Takuya is a spy? He might be..." Obito said to Kakashi, who was practicing Shuriken.

Kakashi ignored Obito's words and continued practicing his Shuriken.

"Hey, are you looking for a beating? How dare you ignore me?" Obito waited for a long time but didn't hear Kakashi's reply, and his anger surged.

Kakashi continued his practice, seemingly oblivious to Obito's voice, completely ignoring Obito's presence...

"Caw caw... Fool... Fool..." Several Crow flew across the sky, seemingly mocking Obito. He was so insignificant; damn it, he was treated like a wooden puppet. What a tragic life...

"You..." Obito a big step, grabbed Kakashi by the collar, and glared angrily at Kakashi.

"Do you want to fight me?" Kakashi said calmly, ignoring Obito grabbing his Obito.

"???" A few drops of cold sweat dripped down Obito's forehead. He had just remembered that Kakashi seemed to be much stronger than him. He was now caught in a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward. Impulsiveness was the original sin.

"If not, please let go, okay? I need to train..." Kakashi said calmly.

"..." Obito slowly released his grip and stepped back, a feeling of frustration welling up inside him. Was his strength really that bad? His Sharingan was still unawakened; was he truly not a genius? But...

Issui on the rooftop, admiring the moonlight, Ikki witnessed the entire scene Obito and Kakashi. Kakashi's entanglement with Obito would accompany them throughout their lives, even though the current Obito wasn't as powerful...

"What, admiring the moonlight?" Minato suddenly appeared in front of Issui and said with a smile.

"Well, not entirely. I just witnessed a farce..." Issui said, not noticing Minato beside him, his eyes fixed on Kakashi and Obito.

"Oh... what do you think of my two disciples...?" Minato asked.

"I've only just met him, so I don't have much of an impression, but I do have some opinions. Kakashi's talent is indeed impressive, but he's too focused on the rules. Hopefully, he'll change that in the future. Obito is a good ninja, but he's too concerned about his comrades. What if one day..." Issui said meaningfully...

"What if?" Minato, somewhat puzzled. He seemed to be saying something he didn't quite understand.

"It's nothing, they'll all become powerful ninjas in the future..." Issui said.

"Oh, thank you for your praise. I think so too..." Minato was very satisfied with his two disciples, and he also believed that Kakashi and Obito would become powerful ninjas.

"Has the Land of Wind made any moves recently?" Issui changed the subject.

"Yes, it's started, a small-scale disturbance. I suppose war isn't far off..." Minato said.

"Is that so? But I believe Konoha won't be defeated so easily, because there are many ninjas like you in the village, constantly striving for the village's prosperity. Konoha is a magical place; every war makes it rise from the ashes, and many outstanding Konoha Ninja will continue to grow..." Issui said calmly.

"Really? You think so too? It seems you have quite a lot of feelings for the village. Why didn't you grow up in the village? Why did you have to leave and wander alone..." Minato asked.

"At first, it was because I was overwhelmed with grief over the sudden loss of my family. I didn't want to stay here and continue to feel the memories my parents left behind. I felt that wandering outside would soothe my sorrow. Then, while wandering, I searched for the power to change the village's situation. The constant wars caused many children to lose their loved ones, and the growing sorrow and hatred accumulated. How could I prevent my loved ones from leaving again? The only way was to obtain even greater power to protect them..." Issui Shui said without changing his expression, making his lies sound so convincing. He was just bluffing, endlessly bluffing...