Orochimaru did not know whether he would do something in the future that would outrage gods and men, though he had no such intentions now.
Anko, who was at a gathering at a barbecue restaurant, also noticed what was happening in the Inventory System right away.
"Wow, I never knew your teacher was so amazing, Anko," her close friend Kurenai Yuhi exclaimed.
In the eyes of the people of Konoha, Orochimaru was still one of the Sannin who had rendered outstanding service to the village in battle. At most, they might have thought his personality was somewhat cold and gloomy.
But they would not have doubted Orochimaru's loyalty to Konoha. He was also a strong contender for the position of Fourth Hokage.
"Orochimaru was a shinobi who made outstanding contributions to Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War. My father said Orochimaru was his favorite student," Asuma said quickly, as though showing off his Hokage father.
But as Obito watched Orochimaru in the Inventory System, he felt there was more to him than a cold personality. Something always seemed off.
[Shinobi World Inventory, Shinobi World Kage Level Combat Power, TOP 17—Orochimaru]
[Materialism]
[Shinobi World Scientist]
[Diligent and dedicated teacher]
Everyone found that the labels the Inventory System had given him seemed a little at odds with the real Orochimaru. And was that "diligent and dedicated teacher" label really talking about Orochimaru?
Though Anko thought Orochimaru had taken pretty good care of her, it did not seem to have reached the point of diligence and dedication.
Anko still believed she was Orochimaru's one and only student, her teacher's cherished little darling.
Little did she know that Sasuke Uchiha, the other woman, had already stolen Master Orochimaru's love.
[The scene showed a battlefield where Konoha and Kumogakure were fighting.
Orochimaru's squad had been ordered to support the second battlefield, and Kumogakure was already showing signs of collapse.
"Don't worry, Orochimaru-sensei. I'll definitely take good care of myself," Nawaki said to Orochimaru with a brave look on his face.
The war had reached a fever pitch, and all of Konoha's shinobi, great and small, had been sent to the battlefield.
As the First Hokage's grandson, Nawaki had inevitably joined the war as well.
[Asuma: Who's that student of Orochimaru's in the scene? Why haven't I seen him before?]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: Asuma, shut up!]
Asuma looked innocent after being scolded by his own father. He had only asked a question, so why was his father so angry?
"Nawaki?"
Orochimaru's thoughts were drawn back to that war, the Second Shinobi World War, which could well be called Konoha's meat grinder.
Looking back, Orochimaru could almost still hear Nawaki's dying request.
"Orochimaru-sensei, tell my sister not to be sad for me."
Nawaki had been mangled beyond recognition by Explosive Tags, but the little boy who loved to smile had still worried about his sister and had not wanted Tsunade to be sad.
But his teacher had let him down. Orochimaru could hardly call himself a qualified teacher, and if, if Tsunade's proposal to establish a medical unit had been accepted...
Perhaps things might have been different. Orochimaru's eyes dimmed. It seemed that after Nawaki and Dan died, he had changed so much that even he could no longer recognize himself.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, who was on her way back to Konoha, also saw the scene before her. She had no idea what had happened back then; she only knew that Orochimaru had told her the news very coldly.
At that moment, it had felt as though her world had collapsed, yet Orochimaru had stood beside her making callous remarks.
"If only Konoha had adopted the medical plan you proposed."
At the time, she had not understood what he meant.
[In the scene, Orochimaru looked proudly at his student, unaware that in just a little while, death would separate them.
Nawaki ran swiftly past Orochimaru to scout the terrain ahead.
"Nawaki, you really are brave." Just as Orochimaru was feeling proud of his student—
"Boom!"
The sound of Explosive Tags detonating came from up ahead.
Then, under Orochimaru's disbelieving gaze, Nawaki lay before him, blown to pieces by the Explosive Tags.
"Sensei!" As soon as Nawaki spoke, blood began pouring from his mouth.
"I hope you can tell my sister not to be sad for me." Nawaki then forced out a few more words.
"All right, all right. Don't talk for now." Orochimaru could only keep comforting Nawaki.
Orochimaru was not yet as proficient in Medical Ninjutsu as he would be later. He could only tell the others to look after Nawaki while he went to find a medical-nin.
Orochimaru searched through the forest, not daring to stop for a moment. A light rain had begun to fall steadily from the sky, but he seemed not to feel it landing on him.
By the time Orochimaru had searched the entire area, he had not seen a single medical-nin.
With no other choice, Orochimaru returned, only to find that Nawaki was no longer breathing.
Orochimaru gazed at the overcast sky. Though his heart was filled with countless regrets, he could not put them into words.
"Life really is so fragile!"
Tsunade watched Orochimaru rush around in the scene, trying to save her younger brother, only to be too late. She, his own sister, had known nothing about any of it.
No wonder Orochimaru had said those baffling words to her back then. She had even called him cold-blooded.
It turned out Orochimaru had not been cold-blooded; he simply had not found a medical-nin.
Elsewhere, Obito was also shocked by the brutality of war. Even such a young child had been sent to the battlefield.
[Obito: I, Obito Uchiha, will definitely become Hokage. I will change this chaotic, war-torn Shinobi World.]
Everyone was surprised by Obito's lofty ambition. They had not expected this kid from the Uchiha Clan to have such an ideal.
[Yahiko: That's right. Our Amegakure has been ravaged by war, and our parents also died in wars between the great nations. I founded the Akatsuki so that one day there would be no more war in the Shinobi World.]
[Fourth Raikage: What are you talking about? Plenty of shinobi from our Kumogakure died at Konoha's hands in the Second Shinobi World War too. Why doesn't anyone speak up for our village?]
[Orochimaru: Heh, I never thought the day would come when Kumogakure, the village that started the war, would play the victim.]
[Ōnoki: Exactly. Who doesn't know that Kumogakure started every one of the Shinobi World Wars?]
The Fourth Raikage A did not know what to say. It did seem that Kumogakure had started the wars.
[Mei Terumi: If you ask me, what's so good about war? So many people die every time.]