Orochimaru's Thoughts

Deep beneath Konoha, in the base of Root.

The air was cold and damp. A pale, slender figure moved through it without a sound, like a ghost merged with the shadows.

Beneath his hooded cloak lay skin of a sickly pallor and a pair of golden, slit-pupiled eyes that shimmered in the gloom.

It was Orochimaru.

He pushed open the heavy stone door at the end of the corridor, the hinges letting out a dull groan.

Inside the room, Shimura Danzō sat upright at his desk.

"The mission is complete, Danzō-sama." Orochimaru's voice, with its characteristic raspy magnetism, echoed through the empty stone chamber, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Danzō did not even lift his eyelids.

"Speak," he uttered, his voice gravelly.

"Yes!" Orochimaru bowed elegantly, the shadow of his hood obscuring most of his expression, revealing only a pale jawline and a faint, elusive smile.

"Uzumaki Kushina, just as expected," Orochimaru began his report, his phrasing precise and objective, as if reading from an experimental log, "her chakra reserves are vast and brimming with astonishing vitality; she is the perfect vessel for the Nine-Tails."

This was useless, perfunctory talk, merely repeating what was already in the reports from Root and Anbu.

Danzō looked up, his single eye not covered by bandages fixed upon Orochimaru. "Get to the point."

"Ah..." Orochimaru paused for a moment and nodded. "Yes, she is stronger and more talented than I anticipated."

Danzō nodded slightly.

But the next moment, Orochimaru's words took a turn that caught Danzō off guard.

"But that is all. She is a very ordinary genius; she has almost no development of her Kekkei Genkai and merely attempted to attack me using the basic Three Basic Jutsu, trying to defeat me the same way she defeated Jiraiya."

"She is only averagely excellent. She cannot be called a replacement for the Uchiha."

Danzō listened in silence, his fingers tapping rhythmically and unconsciously against the tabletop.

He was thinking, weighing the truthfulness of Orochimaru's words. Based on the intelligence Danzō possessed, Orochimaru's report didn't seem to contain anything special.

But... there was something wrong with the way Orochimaru was speaking; he had never before used such a "praise-then-belittle" tactic. He was resisting the expression of his true opinion.

"I attempted to use genjutsu to attack him," Orochimaru continued. "At first, he was able to detect the genjutsu quickly, but afterward, he performed quite poorly. Faced with high-intensity genjutsu, he had almost no ability to resist, even resorting to various non-textbook methods."

"And the result?" Danzō countered, staring at Orochimaru.

As for what Orochimaru said, he didn't believe a single word.

"He did not dispel the genjutsu according to the textbooks, but relied solely on his Kekkei Genkai; naturally, he was controlled on the spot and unable to move," Orochimaru answered softly.

Silence.

Inside the stone chamber, a long stillness fell. There was only the "crackling" of the torches and the monotonous sound of dripping water.

Danzō stared at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru met Danzō's gaze without fear.

Danzō did not speak.

Orochimaru did not open his mouth either.

Just like that, the two stared at each other.

Until...

Danzō gave up on trying to glean any valuable information from Orochimaru's eyes.

Danzō turned away, not wanting to let Orochimaru see his expression, and suddenly asked, "Then do you think he passed?"

"...I suppose so," Orochimaru replied in a low voice.

Danzō let out a scoff.

Suppose so?

What kind of answer was that? Passing was passing, failing was failing.

"Suppose so"—did that mean he passed, or did he not?

"You seem to be holding something back, Orochimaru." Danzō suddenly turned his head to look back at Orochimaru, his single eye like a blade, piercing straight into Orochimaru's heart. "But do not be so obvious with your pretense."

"Everyone has their own selfish motives; that is precisely why we have gathered in this place."

"Do you wish to betray Konoha?" Danzō asked in a low voice.

"Of course not," Orochimaru replied softly, smiling, then licked his lips, meeting Danzō's gaze without fear.

"That is good." Danzō nodded, not at all surprised by this result.

After all, Orochimaru was a child he and Sarutobi had watched grow up, and he had truly experienced the end of the Warring States period and the early days of the village's founding.

No one would want to return to that era of warring clans.

"Your curiosity, your research—those are your own affairs. I give you the authority, I give you the resources, and I can even tacitly allow some of your... excessive behaviors."

"How much his talent surprised you, how much stronger he is than I imagined, how much potential he truly has... I do not care about any of that."

"I only want one result."

"Turn him into a blade. A blade that is sharp enough, tough enough, and obedient enough."

"As long as he can ultimately be used by Konoha and dedicate everything he has to Konoha, then he is a good blade."

Orochimaru bowed deeply, the shadow of his hood completely obscuring the expression on his face, leaving only a soft and submissive reply.

"As you wish, Lord Danzo."

Having said that, his figure once again turned into an intangible shadow, silently retreating from the stone chamber.

Danzo did not move. He remained where he was, watching the spot where Orochimaru had departed.

This was the first time Orochimaru had disobeyed him.

But since Orochimaru was being groomed as the next leader of Root and his successor, he could naturally tolerate Orochimaru's disobedience.

It was just that Danzo had originally thought Hiroki possessed only a bloodline limit for copying and reading memories, which was already of sufficient strategic value...

But looking at it now, it seemed there was more to it than that?

Then... what kind of talent could possibly make Orochimaru defy him so blatantly?

Danzo could not imagine it.

After much thought, perhaps he could only find a faint shadow of it in his own teacher, the Second Hokage.

On the other hand, Hiroki finally returned to his small cabin.

The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the window lattice, casting long shadows across the old wooden floor.

He let out a long sigh, exhaling all the mental exhaustion brought on by the assessment. Although Kushina had run off inexplicably at the end, Hiroki did not pay it much mind.

A child's thoughts are always hard to fathom.

Besides, after the Cloud Village incident, he had never heard of Uzumaki Kushina going missing again.

As his tense nerves began to relax, a comfortable soreness spread through his limbs and bones.

He pushed the door open, intending to pour himself a glass of water first, and then properly review today's "Data Defense and Offense War" with Orochimaru. This was a rare experience of working overtime to rush programs and write code since restarting in the ninja world.

Moreover, there were several points in today's battle that were worth noting.

Especially that forcibly established "WiFi Connection"; there must be a key hidden within it that he had yet to understand.

However, the moment he stepped into the room, his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

An indescribable chill shot straight up his spine to the top of his head.

A pale and slender figure was smiling at him, standing quietly in front of his laboratory bench, toying with a muscular rat in his hand.

It was Orochimaru!????