Drawing a Tube of Blood

Chapter 39: Let's Draw Some Blood [Seeking Recommendation Tickets]

Becoming Hiruzen Sarutobi's grand-disciple made Toneri very happy, as it meant he had become a member of the Hokage faction, pure and upright.

According to the succession method for the Hokage position, he might even get a chance to touch the position of Hokage.

Of course, it would only be a touch.

Especially now, with the Konoha Sannin having just risen to fame, he was likely one of the earliest disciples they had taken.

In terms of seniority, Minato, who was older than him, might have to call him senior brother if they met in the future.

Tsk...

While Toneri would be overjoyed to meet Jiraiya or Tsunade, Orochimaru...

As for the current Orochimaru, setting aside everything else, his strength was likely the strongest among the three, and he was currently Hiruzen Sarutobi's most favored candidate for the Hokage position.

"Orochimaru... Master?" Toneri knew he had no room to resist.

Of course, it wasn't as if following Orochimaru was entirely disadvantageous.

In fact, to be perfectly honest, Toneri might gain the most benefits from Orochimaru, far more than he could from Jiraiya and Tsunade combined.

But rewards often came with risks.

As long as he maintained the right attitude and satisfied Orochimaru's curiosity, making him feel that he was special but not too special, his personal safety wouldn't be an issue.

Orochimaru taught his disciples wholeheartedly. Although Nawaki's death had a significant impact on him, he later meticulously taught his subsequent disciples, such as Mitarashi Anko and Uchiha Sasuke, passing on some of his signature techniques to them.

However, at that time, Orochimaru's ideology had already become completely extreme, and he acted without emotion. But now, it was just the beginning.

After realizing this, Toneri wasn't as nervous anymore.

This was a golden opportunity!

At this moment in Konoha, besides the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the leader of Root, Shimura Danzō, the next most prominent figures were the Sannin and Hatake Sakumo, known as the Konoha White Fang.

With the title of Hokage's grand-disciple, his actions within Konoha would become much more convenient.

Hearing Toneri's address, Orochimaru reined in his expression and nodded coldly.

To be honest, Nawaki's death made him feel guilty, and because of that, he didn't think much of weak individuals.

If they were weak, they should obediently stay in the rear, not harbor any heroic dreams.

The only reason he agreed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's request was because Hiruzen mentioned Toneri was the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and he hadn't yet deeply understood the existence of Jinchuriki.

"Let's go, come with me for a physical examination," Orochimaru said indifferently, his voice carrying a magnetic quality, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Toneri: "..."

It was exactly as he feared.

Orochimaru walked a few steps and noticed Toneri still standing in place. He tilted his head slightly, a curve forming at the corner of his lips, but his eyes held no hint of a smile.

Toneri shivered and, with his head drooping, silently followed behind Orochimaru.

At this time, Orochimaru was still wearing Konoha's standard ninja attire, indicating he had recently returned from the battlefield.

They walked in silence, Toneri racking his brain on how to interact with Orochimaru, how to appear somewhat valuable in Orochimaru's eyes at this moment, and even how to learn something useful from him.

The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the Shinobi World Professor, said to have mastered over ten thousand Ninjutsu. His most favored disciple, Orochimaru, was no less capable, having mastered over a thousand different Ninjutsu, including many he had developed himself.

For example, the ever-changing Snake Taijutsu.

They walked out of a secluded grove and arrived at Konoha's bustling streets.

Orochimaru was quite famous in Konoha; almost everyone who saw him would smile and greet him respectfully, calling him "Lord Orochimaru."

While Orochimaru didn't acknowledge everyone individually, he would occasionally nod.

Seeing this, Toneri became even more certain that Orochimaru hadn't yet descended into extremism and hadn't even collaborated with Danzō. Becoming his disciple for now shouldn't be too worrisome.

A sliver of the weight on his heart lifted again.

Orochimaru seemed to sense something and looked back at the somewhat obedient Toneri with a meaningful gaze.

The two went from silence to bustle, and then from bustle back to silence.

Orochimaru's mansion was not located in Konoha's busy district.

It was a large house, but besides Orochimaru, there was no one else. The spacious yard was unkempt and looked somewhat desolate.

Although the house didn't have many items or furniture, it was arranged relatively neatly, with no dust residue. However, this only made it feel colder and emptier.

Toneri suddenly began to understand Orochimaru's reclusive personality.

Walking towards the depths of the house, Orochimaru gently tapped the wall twice, and a tunnel appeared before them.

Candles lining the tunnel walls lit up one after another, illuminating the dark passage and leading into the unknown depths.

Drip... drip...

Orochimaru walked directly into the tunnel. After a slight hesitation, Toneri obediently followed.

Perhaps Orochimaru's personality was somewhat serpentine, as many of his secret bases were built underground.

After walking through the long tunnel, Orochimaru and Toneri arrived at a huge laboratory. The lighting here was much brighter than in the tunnel outside.

The laboratory was filled with various experimental benches, and on them were more bottles and jars than Toneri could count.

A pungent and complex odor assaulted him the moment he stepped into the laboratory.

Yet, Toneri felt a strange sense of familiarity with this smell.

After scanning the entire laboratory and finding no traces of human experimentation, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Moreover, this laboratory was much larger and more spacious than he had imagined.

"Toneri-kun, I need to collect some of your blood. Just a small sample."

Orochimaru's voice sounded again from behind Toneri.

He saw Orochimaru lick his lips with his long tongue.

Without Toneri noticing, Orochimaru had already changed his clothes, and Toneri hadn't realized when it happened.

Don't ask, just assume it was Orochimaru's costume change, have you ever seen anything like it?

But Toneri clearly couldn't focus on that right now.

Collecting blood!

This was the world of the Hokage, after all. One shouldn't underestimate the power of blood; Hidan of the Akatsuki Organization could kill people with blood in the future.

Although Orochimaru's methods were different from Hidan's, he didn't want to end up with a Toneri the First, Toneri the Second...

"Teacher Orochimaru, I'm very healthy, so there's no need for... a check-up, right?" Toneri said.

Hearing this, Orochimaru put the syringe he was holding back on the table.

Toneri was stunned by this.

He's really not taking it anymore?

Was the current Orochimaru this easy to talk to?

But immediately after, Toneri's body stiffened in place, the only parts of him that could move being his eyeballs and mouth.

He could feel a very thick, cold object, like a rope, slowly coiling up his body from his feet.

It was a snake!

A python as thick as his arm, flicking its tongue, tightly bound him.

Two cold fangs were only a few millimeters away from his skin.

"Tea... Teacher Orochimaru, you like playing with restraints?"

Orochimaru: "..."

He didn't respond. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and the python's fangs directly bit towards the artery in Toneri's arm.

BOOM!!!

You might not believe this, but starting today, for the next 3-7 days, Jin Mu will be fasting. I'm asking you all, aren't you impressed? I won't have anything to eat...

Please give me some recommendation tickets for comfort. I'm good at whining.

Thanks to Dream Come True for the generous reward.

Thanks to Banxia Senmi, Nan Ba, Chen Feng Jia Dao, Shayu Ya, and other esteemed patrons for their rewards.