Listening to Orochimaru's musings, Uchiha Chen nodded.
"No one is immortal, are they?"
"Indeed. Nothing is eternal. Even an existence like the Sage of Six Paths vanished into the river of history," Orochimaru sighed.
"To grow old, then die without leaving a trace... Life truly is such an empty thing. Though I am only twenty, I have already come to understand that deeply," Orochimaru said.
"Chen, what do you think of life?" Orochimaru suddenly asked, narrowing his golden snake eyes.
"What is it? Did something happen?" Uchiha Chen did not answer the question directly.
In his view, Orochimaru's enthusiasm toward him had indeed gone a little too far.
Why would a twenty-year-old Jonin ask a nine-year-old kid such a question?
"Haha... It seems I was too abrupt." Orochimaru gave a rare, slight smile, his voice hoarse yet magnetic.
"The first time I saw you, I had a strange feeling. I felt that you were very different."
"I have watched you for a long time. I think you are somewhat out of place in this world. Though you are only a child, I feel that you possess a mature soul. That is truly interesting."
Uchiha Chen became wary. Orochimaru was far too perceptive.
"I feel you are like a gust of wind, one that will eventually stir the entire world. So, I imagine your answer would be interesting."
Orochimaru paused, then continued, "From the day my parents died and I became an orphan, I had already prepared myself for death."
"But even so, at the moment I fought and killed on the battlefield, I would unconsciously feel how small I was. It was an entirely different feeling from fighting during ninja missions."
"Death. Death was everywhere. Wherever you looked, there were corpses all around. Some belonged to enemies, some to our