The Snake Aunt

Boom—

For a moment, Toneri felt as if his head were about to explode. His vision went black.

He had tried Shadow Clones the previous night, but since he had entered the sealing space, he hadn't felt much. He'd only sensed a little extra knowledge in his mind, and it hadn't felt jarring at all.

But this time, he dispelled five Shadow Clones at once. Toneri had never experienced a mental shock on this scale before, and he could barely handle it.

In truth, Toneri had been a little too confident. If he had dispelled the Shadow Clones one at a time, he might not have suffered such a severe mental shock.

He knelt by the river, bracing himself with both hands on the ground. His face was deathly pale, and he gasped for breath.

He had experience with memory shocks, at least. Otherwise, an ordinary person would have already been on the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

After a long while, his vision slowly returned.

His mind was suddenly filled with all the knowledge he had learned in class at the Ninja Academy, along with the fatigue of his body. It wasn't just the exhaustion from Taijutsu training; he also felt the muscle memory left by practicing weapon throwing and Hand Seals.

Just as Toneri had understood, Shadow Clones really could speed up his learning. But for now, five clones might be the limit of what he could handle.

"Phew—next time, I should dispel the Shadow Clones one at a time. If this happens a few more times, it'll be... way too intense.

"And next time Kushina wants to skip class, she can do it herself. She took up one of my Shadow Clone slots..."

Toneri swayed as he rose from the ground, rubbing his head and pressing his fingers against his temples.

"Oh? It seems you understand how Shadow Clones work, Toneri-kun. I didn't expect the technique developed by the Second to suit Jinchūriki like you so well. Vast amounts of chakra, a powerful body..."

Suddenly, a soft voice spoke beside Toneri's ear.

Or rather, a sinister voice.

Toneri froze in place. He was absolutely sure that, after Minato and Kushina had left, he was the only one in the grove.

Anbu Ninja were watching nearby, too. No one should have been able to approach him without making a sound.

Yet with that voice, Toneri could tell its source was right behind him. The breath that accompanied the words seemed to flow right beside his ear.

A figure appeared behind him.

A deathly pale face, long black hair, and a standard green Konoha Ninja flak jacket. Golden eyes, purple eye shadow, and an exceedingly long tongue that was licking his lips.

He looked like a venomous snake that had set its sights on prey.

Toneri slowly turned around. For some reason, he felt every hair on his body stand on end.

Just hearing that voice had sent a chill down his spine.

At last, his heart pounding, Toneri saw the man standing behind him.

That guy!

He had already made a name for himself throughout the Shinobi World and was immensely popular in Konoha. He was one of the top three candidates for the next Hokage Position, and the man who had single-handedly driven the Ninja World's technological progress.

People affectionately called him Lord Orochimaru. In the world Toneri had lived in before, people had affectionately called him the Snake Aunt. He could be considered one of the most successful survivors in the Naruto world, having managed to make it all the way to the end.

He was also the only person who, after becoming an S-rank Rogue Ninja, managed to return to his village through his own efforts.

He was Toneri's role model, someone he wanted to learn from.

And yet, of all the men in Konoha, he was the one Toneri wanted to meet least.

Toneri wasn't particularly worried about running into Hiruzen Sarutobi, currently the strongest person in Konoha, or Shimura Danzō, the devious schemer who was black from head to toe. But the man standing behind him now was the one he least wanted to encounter.

You never knew when you'd end up on the other man's operating table, or when he might dissect you.

Of course, he hadn't yet gone that far. But it was clear that, at this point in time, his thoughts had already begun to stray from the right path.

His long tongue licked his lips again. The slit pupils in his yellow eyes were just like a snake's, and he watched Toneri with interest.

"It seems you know who I am, Toneri-kun. Why are you so afraid of me?" Orochimaru tilted his head, his interest growing.

Toneri had done a good job of hiding the fear in his eyes, but Orochimaru had still keenly noticed it.

At that moment, Toneri would have liked nothing more than to die.

He would rather not know so much about Orochimaru. Maybe then he wouldn't be so terrified in his presence.

The muscles in his stiff face twitched. He forced down the jumble of emotions within him and managed a smile more painful than crying. "L-Lord Snake A— I mean, Lord Orochimaru."

He'd almost called him the wrong thing, but thankfully he'd caught himself in time. Otherwise, he'd probably be fed to the snakes tomorrow.

At that, a smile appeared on Orochimaru's face as well. "Hmm? Just as the old man said, you're a very quick-witted little fellow. The Two-Tails Jinchūriki?"

Toneri was about to cry.

He finally understood what the problem was.

He'd been wondering why Hiruzen Sarutobi had been so nonchalant about letting him stay with the Nara Clan, allowing him to move freely around Konoha and attend the Ninja Academy. The old man hadn't seemed at all worried that Toneri might do something to harm Konoha, or that he might lose control.

It turned out he'd been waiting all along.

Waiting for Orochimaru, the big shot, to return so he could have someone "keep an eye" on Toneri.

But why Orochimaru? Wasn't Tsunade a better choice?

Did Hiruzen Sarutobi not know that cats and milk went best together on a rainy day?

What was this about cats and snakes?

Was this a zoo?

Toneri was ranting wildly in his head, but he didn't dare let it show on his face.

I'll keep a straight face on the outside, while I throw punches in my mind. That was Toneri's state of mind right now.

"Lord Orochimaru, what do you want with me?"

Toneri suppressed his fear and asked the one question that might possibly change the situation.

Orochimaru watched as Toneri gradually calmed down and licked his lips again.

Everyone knew that when Orochimaru licked his lips, it meant he was getting interested.

"It's nothing. The old man insists I take on a student." Orochimaru's unnaturally pale hand lightly toyed with his hair as he casually explained why he had come.

Toneri: "..."

In truth, although the Orochimaru of this era was calculating and ruthless, he was still far from the man Toneri remembered from the future.

At this point, he was still a Konoha Ninja who respected his teacher, was willing to protect his comrades, Konoha, and his students.

But in the recently concluded Second Shinobi World War, Orochimaru's student Nawaki—his friend Tsunade's younger brother—had died on the battlefield. It had given him a much clearer understanding of how fragile human life was.

So, no matter how unwilling he was to take on a student, Orochimaru still didn't want to disobey Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders.

Orochimaru was now a strong contender for the Fourth Hokage Position. The only person who could compete with him was Hatake Sakumo, the Konoha White Fang, who had made a great name for himself in the Second Shinobi World War.

If Toneri became Orochimaru's student, the significance of that status would be far from simple.

It would practically mean being pulled straight onto the Hokage faction's bandwagon!

At the same time, Toneri understood something else: a Hokage successor forming a bond with a Jinchūriki—whether as siblings, spouses, or teacher and student—served the same purpose.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was paving the way for Orochimaru!

Hey, your hair or clothes look great today!

All right, everyone who saw that sentence is getting claimed by me. You're all mine now!

After all, we're all readers, so we have something in common. And I complimented and flirted with you. If I don't claim you, wouldn't that be letting you down? Wouldn't it be poisoning you? Otherwise, there'd be too many toxic points.

This logic... tsk, nothing wrong with it! I, Jin Mu, really am a generous soul!