Orochimaru: Slurp Slurp

Tap!

Tap!

Wooden sandals clicked against the mahogany floor.

Today, Orochimaru had uncharacteristically donned his Konoha forehead protector as he arrived within the Uchiha Clan compound.

If this were a few years ago, when he still cared about the position of Hokage, he would never have done something that would displease the Council of Elders or his teacher, but now, such things were of no consequence to him.

The man he was now was purer; he lived only for himself, only for his own ambitions.

Today, the ninjas from the Eastern Front had returned. Instead of going to the village gates to welcome them, he had chosen to come to the Uchiha compound to wait for Uchiha Chen.

Whoosh!

"This, there has to be a limit to how recklessly one trains!"

Orochimaru's expression shifted abruptly. His figure flickered, and he stood before a training room.

Inside the room, a small child threw two kunai, triggering a pre-set mechanism. Dozens of kunai shot toward him from all directions almost simultaneously.

Orochimaru knew this child: Itachi, the eldest son of the Uchiha Clan head, Fugaku. He was only seven years old this year.

He had already prepared to intervene and save him.

Clang, clang, clang!

A single red tomoe suddenly appeared in Uchiha Itachi's black pupils. He immediately threw several kunai in all directions, then danced through the air like a butterfly. After dodging every single kunai, he landed back in his original spot.

Even the position where his feet landed was exactly the same as where he had started.

"This is truly... this is truly..."

Orochimaru extended his long tongue to lick his lips, narrowing those golden, slit-pupiled eyes that were colder and more ruthless than a snake's. He gazed at the black-haired child in the training room with immense greed and longing.

"What stunning talent!"

Orochimaru himself was a genius among geniuses. He had seen many geniuses from other villages and his own, yet Uchiha Itachi's talent still left him breathless.

Perhaps, the Uchiha's long-standing claim that they were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths actually held some truth?

Otherwise, why would the Uchiha Clan be so favored by the gods? First there was Chen, then Shisui, and now this child?

"Itachi!"

Orochimaru sighed the name softly, then suddenly frowned slightly.

In the natural world, weasels were the natural predators of snakes. Haha, how could that be? He was still just a child!

Orochimaru shook his head, unable to help but chuckle, his gaze finally settling on Itachi's Sharingan.

He looked once, then looked again. The more he looked, the more he admired, and the more he desired.

If only he could apply the immortality technique he had been conceptualizing to this child...

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"

Orochimaru flicked his snake-like tongue repeatedly before finally tearing himself away from the training room with great reluctance.

"Was someone here just now?"

Having finished his training, Uchiha Itachi seemed to sense something. When he walked to the door, he found no one outside, only a few strange droplets of liquid on the ground.

April 6th, the main force of the Eastern Front returned to Konoha.

After enjoying the cheers of the villagers at the village gate, the ninjas returning this time naturally went their separate ways to find their families and return home.

On the way back to the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Inabi naturally gravitated toward Uchiha Chen and Shisui.

The three of us are all geniuses, and I am proud of it!

Glancing sideways at the unknown clansman named Hikari, Uchiha Inabi didn't make her step aside to give up the spot on Chen's left; instead, he squeezed directly onto Shisui's right.

"Isn't this Hyuga Clan going a bit too far? Hizashi-senpai returns and there's no one here to welcome him?"

Uchiha Inabi was somewhat indignant, his face full of mockery for the decaying Hyuga Clan:

"Is that Hyuga Hinata's hundred-day banquet more important than welcoming back the clansmen who returned in victory?"

"That's just how the Hyuga are!"

"So this bunch of grave-guarding..."

Uchiha Inabi looked around, finally lowering his voice slightly: "...grave-guarding dogs will never be better than us Uchiha. If you ask me..."

"Lord Orochimaru!" Shisui, with his sharp eyes, suddenly spoke up, interrupting Inabi's long-winded speech.

"Mr. Orochimaru!"

Uchiha Chen also nodded toward Orochimaru, who was standing quietly under a peach tree that had just begun to bloom not far away.

Orochimaru smiled gently.

Yet, such a smile always felt strange on his face, carrying a terrifying quality that made one's skin crawl and sent a chill down one's spine.

"Chen-kun, Shisui-kun, and... you two, thank you for your hard work!"

Orochimaru parted his lips and licked them, looking at Uchiha Chen and Shisui with eyes full of admiration.

Uchiha Chen, Shisui, Itachi—which one should I choose?

What a happy dilemma for a snake.

"Mr. Orochimaru?"

"It's nothing!" Orochimaru, who had been standing dazed, snapped back to reality and took a deep look at Uchiha Chen.

"Chen-kun, wait a moment."

Orochimaru suddenly elongated his neck and opened his mouth, from which a viper slithered out, spitting out a scroll covered in mucus.

"Chen-kun!" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, took the scroll, and handed it to Uchiha Chen with a sinister tone:

"A belated birthday gift. Your birthday is in February, right? It wasn't convenient while you were on the battlefield, so I had to wait until you returned to give it to you."

A birthday gift?

In this world, Uchiha Chen's parents died early, and he almost never celebrated his birthday; this might be the only birthday gift he had received in recent years.

Uchiha Chen took the scroll in a daze and thanked Orochimaru a few times.

Could a cold-blooded animal actually be this gentle?

Moreover, there was a line of vigorous, iron-willed calligraphy on the scroll: Introduction to Five Elements Ninjutsu · Annotated by Senju Tobirama.

Senju Tobirama, like Sarutobi Hiruzen and Orochimaru, was a ninja who had mastered all seven attributes; as for why he was most proficient in Water Style and famous for it, those who knew, knew.

This gift was incredibly valuable!

Uchiha Chen's internal alarm bells began to ring.

Uchiha Chen understood Orochimaru; this man was indifferent to human relationships and, aside from Jiraiya and three or four others, basically possessed no sentimentality. Beyond that, he was at most a bit of a 'sapiosexual' or had a 'genius fetish.'

He admired geniuses, liked talented people, and would give them preferential treatment; Uchiha Chen had previously fallen into this category.

But his relationship with Orochimaru had always been mostly 'exchange of interests' and 'exchange of knowledge.' Why show such unprovoked courtesy?

When a man is inexplicably good to you without conditions, you should know that he is after your body!

"Mr. Orochimaru, shall we go for a walk together?"

Uchiha Chen tucked the scroll into his robes and extended an invitation to his top benefactor.

Orochimaru certainly had plenty of good things in his possession.

If Sasuke could hook Orochimaru like a fish and make him want to worship him like a 'snake daddy,' then I, Uchiha Chen, can do it too.

Prepare to cough up the gold, you old geezer!

"Very well!"

A wicked smirk curled the corners of Orochimaru's mouth as he looked up at the sky and said:

"How about the forest behind the Hokage Rock? It's always very beautiful there in the spring."

The key was that the forest was large and dense, and there were very few people.

Although the technique he was conceptualizing wasn't finished yet, if he could plant his mark on Uchiha Chen first, that would be even better!

Uchiha Chen had no objections and turned to give instructions:

"Hikari, you can stay at my place for now. Shisui, take her to learn the way around; I'm going for a stroll with Mr. Orochimaru."

The two, each harboring their own ulterior motives, walked toward the Hokage Rock while chatting and laughing.

"Shisui!"

Seeing the two walk away, Uchiha Inabi, a nobody who had been ignored by Orochimaru the entire time, gazed at the tall and majestic Hokage Rock and suddenly said:

"You guys head back first. I just remembered something; I need to head outside the clan grounds."