Are You My Master?

Beneath the dim chandelier, a gaunt figure mechanically parted flesh with a scalpel. Half of his face was hidden in shadow.

"Phew..."

Orochimaru's eyes were dull with fatigue as he softly let out a breath.

A precious body with a Kekkei Genkai had gone to waste. Unless something unexpected happened, tonight would bring him nothing once again.

Rumble, rumble...

The underground laboratory at the Root Base suddenly shook violently.

Orochimaru's body jolted. The scalpel carved a deep gash into the beating heart of the cadaver on the table, and blood gushed out.

A chorus of serpents hissed in the shadows, roused by the rich scent of blood. Yet in the next instant, they fell silent.

Just as Orochimaru was about to focus on correcting his mistake, an unusual atmosphere spread through the laboratory.

"Hm?!"

Orochimaru set down the scalpel and swept his narrow, serpent-like eyes across the room. He quickly located the source of the disturbance.

On the square table beside the bed, a golden, long-spouted wine flask had appeared out of thin air. Wedged among the experimental equipment, it glowed softly.

Orochimaru recognized it at a glance: it was a lamp, called the Aladdin Lamp, said to grant its owner's wishes.

It wasn't that he was especially well-read. Above the lamp floated a line of bold, golden text:

"I am the Aladdin Lamp. Touch the lamp, and you can awaken the Genie and have your wish granted!!!"

It was a very straightforward—and tempting—trap.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly.

He was certain the object hadn't been on the table before, and confident that nobody in the Shinobi World could have placed it there under his nose without being noticed...

The Aladdin Lamp had appeared out of thin air.

The Shinobi World had no shortage of ninja tools with special abilities. There was the Sword of Totsuka, which could seal its enemies within a dreamlike world of illusion, and the Amber Purifying Pot and Sword of Nunoboko said to have been wielded by the Sage of Six Paths... So the appearance of another wish-granting flask—the Aladdin Lamp—didn't seem all that strange.

Orochimaru was intrigued by the lamp.

There was no such thing as a free lunch. But if he could uncover the conditions and limitations on the Aladdin Lamp's wish-granting, perhaps he could make some kind of equivalent exchange with this so-called Genie.

Orochimaru wasn't averse to paying a price, especially since he had become increasingly aware of his own limitations in recent years.

Kekkei Genkai, dōjutsu... Bound by bloodline, he was no different from an ordinary ninja.

As Orochimaru was thinking this over, a knock suddenly sounded at the door. The visitor was a Root ninja directly under Danzo.

These vermin lurking in Konoha's shadows, these ghosts no one would care about if they died, made excellent lab rats.

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Come in!"

A Root ninja swiftly entered the laboratory and dropped to one knee, looking anxious. "Lord Orochimaru, the Nine-Tails suddenly appeared in the village and is causing widespread destruction. Lord Danzo has summoned you to a meeting."

Remembering the inexplicable shaking in the laboratory, Orochimaru frowned. "The Nine-Tails?"

The Nine-Tails' current Jinchuriki was Uzumaki Kushina. She wasn't a Perfect Jinchuriki, but her bloodline advantage and the Uzumaki Clan's Fūinjutsu kept the Nine-Tails firmly under control. With the Fourth Hokage watching over her, there was no way the Nine-Tails could break free of its seal under normal circumstances.

Something must have gone wrong while Kushina was giving birth.

Orochimaru smiled with a touch of schadenfreude. "So even Minato can make a mistake."

He couldn't say he didn't mind Jiraiya's student surpassing him to become the Fourth Hokage. In fact, he resented it deeply.

Hearing that Minato had hit a snag put Orochimaru in a very good mood.

As for Danzo's so-called meeting, Orochimaru didn't care in the least. He knew Namikaze Minato's abilities better than anyone. The Nine-Tails was no match for Minato, and it couldn't overcome the Uzumaki Clan's Fūinjutsu. He had no interest in accompanying Danzo to watch the Fourth Hokage put on a show.

Orochimaru looked at the Root ninja. "Go pick up that lamp."

"This..."

The Root ninja raised his head, which he'd kept bowed until now, and seemed about to say something. But when he met Orochimaru's icy gaze, he swallowed his words. Beneath his mask, his face was a picture of misery.

He knew very well that he had no choice.

The moment the Aladdin Lamp was picked up, a cloud of translucent smoke burst from its spout and swiftly coalesced into a humanoid shape in midair.

Its features were indistinct, but a clear voice came from its mouth. "Hahaha! I am the Aladdin Lamp, Genie on duty. Tell me, are you my master?"

Orochimaru frowned slightly.

He wasn't sure what this "master" meant, but it probably referred to an owner or a contractor. In this situation, "victim" might be more appropriate.

What made Orochimaru vaguely uneasy, however, was that the Genie emerging from the Aladdin Lamp didn't seem to be speaking to the Root ninja.

Its eyes, hidden beneath the mist, were clearly fixed on him. And its greeting hadn't been phrased as a question at all—it was plainly teasing him.

Strangest of all, the Root ninja stood there dumbfounded, waiting for his next instructions, apparently unable to see the Genie.

Orochimaru suppressed his doubts and pointed at the Root ninja. "Genie of the Aladdin Lamp, I wasn't the one who awakened you. He was."

"Oh? Then who was it that awakened me?"

The humanoid cloud of smoke laughed, its voice full of mockery. "Was it the person who awakened me, or the person who ordered him to awaken me?"

Orochimaru's expression darkened. The Genie's intelligence far exceeded his expectations. It was nothing like the Shinigami or the Evil God, which merely responded mechanically.

That was bad. This Genie might not play fair, and it wouldn't be easy to fool.

Orochimaru looked as if he were facing a formidable enemy. The humanoid cloud of smoke noticed, then spoke unhurriedly.

"Wariness, suspicion, confusion... You have ample reason to be wary of my existence."

"But... that's really unnecessary."

"Because..."

"You can't resist me."

The humanoid cloud of smoke surged toward Orochimaru like a tide. In a flash, it poured into his body.

The next moment, the body vanished with a bang.

Orochimaru appeared at the side of the laboratory. Before he could feel relieved at having dodged the attack with a substitution, a voice sounded in his mind.

"You can't escape by dodging. What connects us is a contract—a rule."

The voice spoke leisurely. "I can take control of your body at any time."

"L-Lord Orochimaru..."

The Root ninja had witnessed Orochimaru's strange behavior. Holding the Aladdin Lamp, he looked unsure of what to do.

"Get out!"

The command came from Orochimaru's mouth, but not from his own will.

"Yes."

The Root ninja put the Aladdin Lamp back where it had been, opened the door, slipped out, and closed it. His movements were smooth and practiced.

In the blink of an eye, the laboratory was once again occupied by Orochimaru alone... and the Genie.

"Now, do you understand the reality of your situation?"

Orochimaru was at the Genie's mercy. After a brief silence, he spoke in his mind. "Genie, what do you want?"

"As a Genie, I have only ever come here for one thing..."

"To grant your wish for immortality!"