Orochimaru's Lair

Orochimaru's lair was located deep in the uninhabited mountains of the Land of Fire.

As the times developed, Lightning Trains developed by Raimon Company had become the primary means of transportation for shinobi carrying out long-distance missions across different countries.

Even shinobi's daily lives and home furnishings were filled with a modern atmosphere.

Orochimaru was a man who kept up with the times. While spending enormous sums to bring in the latest scientific research equipment, he had also transformed a small room within his base into a reception room with the comforts of modern living.

It was specifically used to receive distinguished guests like Naruto and Sasuke, who were seated there at that very moment.

Orochimaru sat facing the two of them on a warm, comfortable red fabric sofa. On the round glass coffee table before them sat three cups decorated with coiling little snakes, each steaming hot.

There was a note of humanitarian concern in Orochimaru's hoarse voice.

"Sasuke-kun, it must be rare for you to come home. I prepared a cup of specially blended tea for you. You can try it and see how it tastes."

"Naruto, you often stay up late handling paperwork. The tea in front of you can also refresh your mind and sharpen your focus."

After saying that, Orochimaru picked up the hot cocoa before him and took an elegant sip.

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke showed any intention of drinking their tea.

Sasuke got straight to the point. "Orochimaru, do you know anything about Uchiha Chen?"

A flicker of surprise passed through Orochimaru's slit pupils.

Sasuke, who had been closely watching his microexpressions, immediately called him out. "Looks like you do."

Orochimaru slowly set down his cocoa cup and smiled. "No wonder you returned so soon after leaving. It seems you encountered a problem even more troublesome than Shin."

Naruto said gravely, "That guy attacked Konoha's forbidden grounds, took Madara's corpse, and even broke Sasuke's Sealing Spell of the Coffin!"

Orochimaru said, "So you were worried Madara might be at risk of being reincarnated through Impure World Reincarnation. That is why Konoha's two Shadows came all this way to confirm whether this had anything to do with me. After all, only Kabuto and I can use Impure World Reincarnation in this age. Kabuto has already retired, and I am the only one still pursuing research in the name of truth."

Sasuke's feelings toward Orochimaru were somewhat complicated.

Orochimaru had once coveted his body, yet he had also guided him along the path of his growth.

Before the hawk soared into the sky, the shadow stretched long by light and darkness was that of a white snake.

Orochimaru was the road Sasuke had traveled, and aside from Itachi and Naruto, he was the person in this world who understood Sasuke best.

In truth, Sasuke believed from the bottom of his heart that Orochimaru would no longer do anything harmful to the shinobi world.

But as Konoha's Shadow Support, he could not place his own personal judgment above public trust.

He too was someone burdened by countless watchful eyes from within, unable to act entirely as he wished.

He could only handle this by the book.

"That is the situation, Orochimaru. You once committed heinous crimes just as I did. Only because you made certain contributions during the war were your crimes offset, allowing you after the war to conduct experimental research under surveillance, on the condition that you did not harm innocent lives."

"Since you have not done anything excessive these past years, Konoha has turned a blind eye."

"But this incident is no small matter. You should prove your innocence as soon as possible."

Orochimaru lifted his cocoa again and savored it in small sips.

"Sasuke-kun, you should understand me. I do not have a habit of reheating old leftovers. The truth I seek is always moving forward. Just as the Cursed Seal I was once so proud of has been discarded like worn-out shoes, I have long since lost the desire to study Impure World Reincarnation."

"Those bodies without warmth or heartbeats are not the immortality I seek."

He raised his slit pupils, his gaze clear. "Does that answer prove my innocence?"

After a brief pause, Sasuke said, "As long as this has nothing to do with you. Tell me everything you know about Chen."

Orochimaru lowered his eyes. "Uchiha Chen and I never actually dealt with each other face-to-face. The first time I learned his name was from an old friend of mine, Miyashiro En."

(Miyashiro En was the underground arena owner who appeared in Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise and sat with Orochimaru.)

"Miyashiro En was a survivor of the Chinoike Clan."

Sasuke said, "Chinoike? The clan rumored to possess the Ketsuryūgan, right? Eyes with immensely powerful genjutsu. Once someone fell under that genjutsu, all the blood in their body could be controlled by the caster, leaving them lambs to the slaughter!"

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"Because the Dojutsu Power of the Ketsuryūgan was too dangerous, it was considered ominous. Their clansmen were exiled to the Valley of Hell, and the Uchiha Clan was responsible for guarding them. Although the Valley of Hell is now a thing of the past, the Chinoike Clan still bears an extreme hatred for the Uchiha Clan!"

Naruto said, "Right... Chen was a descendant of the Uchiha who guarded the Chinoike Clan. It seems his parents also died in retaliation by the Chinoike Clan. Does the En you just mentioned have anything to do with this?"

Orochimaru said, "Since that is all you know, Naruto, this will be easier to explain. Miyashiro En was the one who killed Chen's parents!"

"The exact words En told me were, 'Orochimaru, have you ever seen a ten-year-old Uchiha brat awaken the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan?'"

"Ten years old?!" Naruto and Sasuke both looked shocked!

A strange light flickered in Orochimaru's slit pupils. "That's right, ten years old... En told me that if he ever died one day, it would certainly be at that child's hands!"

"That child's name was—Uchiha Chen!"

"Then, about three years later, En really did die. Not only did he die, but his wife and every surviving member of the Chinoike Clan in this world were exterminated!"

Naruto interjected, "Was that Miyashiro En strong?"

Orochimaru smiled. "He was the strongest Ketsuryūgan wielder in history. Slightly weaker than Itachi, he was probably about evenly matched with me in my prime!"

Hearing that, Naruto lowered his head and took a sip of tea. I actually underestimated Uchiha Chen. He has the Mangekyō Sharingan, and his strength is probably comparable to Itachi's...

"Mm, this tea really is good." Naruto set down his cup and offered a word of praise.

Orochimaru continued, "As an old friend, I collected En's body for him."

"Remembering what En had said, I became curious about the name Chen. But it remained only curiosity, because at the time, my attention had been drawn to another Uchiha genius! Sasuke, you know who that was. It was you!"

"The next time I heard the name Chen was five years ago. By then, he had already become one of the hidden financiers of the underworld."

"Around that time, I developed a technique called Extraction. As long as a corpse had been left behind by someone killed by a shinobi, no matter how minute the traces, I could extract a crystallization of the culprit's Chakra."

"Out of a certain degree of curiosity about Chen, I used En's corpse to test that technique and successfully obtained a Chakra crystal."

Orochimaru stood up, opened the display cabinet behind him, and quickly retrieved a silver-gray Chakra crystal from a small box according to the number he remembered.

Calling it a crystal was perhaps an exaggeration. It was actually just a particle the size of a pinky fingertip.

Wearing white rubber gloves, Orochimaru handed the Chakra crystal to Sasuke.

"If En died at Chen's hands, then this crystal contains Chakra left behind by Uchiha Chen. This should serve as a clue for you to trace Chen, shouldn't it?"

"Also, the closer this crystal is to its Chakra source, the clearer its response will become."

No matter how many stories Chen had, nothing mattered more to Naruto and Sasuke at that moment than a tangible lead to track him down.

Naruto flicked his white Hokage cloak and stood. "No time to waste. Let's get moving, Sasuke!"

"Yeah. But to be safe, there is one more thing I need to confirm before we leave." Sasuke revealed the Sharingan hidden beneath his bangs and focused on Orochimaru's head!

The Chakra activity in his brain's Chakra Meridians was perfectly normal...

Sasuke could be one hundred percent certain that Orochimaru was not under any form of genjutsu.

He let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

He truly did not want to use force against Orochimaru, under any circumstances.

"Orochimaru, we'll be leaving now."

After accepting the Chakra crystal particle, Sasuke flicked his black cloak and rose. He and Naruto headed out of the lair together.

"From here, I can barely sense a Chakra response matching the crystal. It is in the Land of Lightning."

"Go on, then. Settle it in one stroke. Sand in your shoe may not stop you from walking, but it still rubs the wrong way. If he really manages to bring Madara back, things will become troublesome."

Clearly, after hearing Orochimaru's account, they still did not think too highly of Chen... Awakening the Mangekyō at ten was certainly rare, but Shin Uchiha's clones were around the same age, and every one of them had a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.

Once you had seen the vast ocean, no other water seemed worth your attention. That was probably what it meant.

Naruto and Sasuke did not yet know what they would experience on this journey. That two-against-one battle before dawn would completely overturn everything they thought they knew!

What was more... they did not know that as Orochimaru watched their departing backs, an unusual light appeared in his eyes. Then, in a hoarse voice, he murmured to himself.

"Isn't this exactly the situation you hoped to see?... Chen-kun."