Just as Minato Namikaze was marveling at the spaceship, the room's door opened.
A man in a white lab coat walked in. When he saw Orochimaru and Minato, he froze.
"Lord Orochimaru, what brings you here?
And this child is?"
"This is my newly accepted disciple, Minato Namikaze..."
Orochimaru introduced him.
Upon hearing that, Hiruko's eyes widened as he stared at Minato Namikaze in disbelief.
Over the past few years, if not a thousand, then at least eight hundred people had wanted to become Orochimaru's disciple.
Yet neither the geniuses of the Hyuga Clan nor those of the Uchiha Clan had caught this man's eye.
And now he had actually taken in a child like this on his own initiative?!
He moved closer to Minato and sized him up from head to toe.
His gaze made it seem as though he were examining some rare oddity...
Minato's skin crawled under the scrutiny, and he shrank back half a step.
"You're one lucky kid."
Hiruko curled his lip, sounding rather wistful.
Minato scratched the back of his head and gave a dry laugh.
He did not know what to say.
After all, he was a civilian orphan who had suddenly been accepted as the Naruto's disciple. It felt far too unreal.
"Arrange an identity for him. For now, he'll stay in the lab and learn some basics from you."
Seeing this, Orochimaru instructed Hiruko.
"Easy enough. Just fill out a form."
Hiruko shrugged and pulled open a drawer, searching for the paperwork.
"You won't need to go to school for a while."
Orochimaru turned to Minato.
"Ordinary classes would be nothing but a waste of time for you.
Study here under Hiruko for now. After some time, I'll test you personally."
"Yes, Teacher Orochimaru!"
Minato nodded vigorously.
He had to seize