Teacher, I Choose to Leave With You

A moment later.

Ao's eyes snapped open, and he clutched his head as he slowly stood up.

"I survived..."

He fought through the dizziness in his mind to tend to his wounds; once the puncture wound was bound tightly with bandages, it was no longer a major issue.

He reached out to scavenge a ninja tool pouch from the enemy's body and discovered four explosive tags stuck to the man's chest, which he carefully removed.

There were also two short blades hidden at the waist and ankles.

These were all worth money.

A single explosive tag started at three hundred ryo; four of them were enough to cover his family's food expenses for a month.

He pried the corpse's mouth open and pulled out the tongue.

He saw a black cursed seal on it, spreading deep into the throat.

"It really is the Root... the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal!"

Even though he had guessed it in his heart, he was still shocked when it was confirmed.

Even though Orochimaru and Danzo were allies, they were still competing in the shadows.

After the Fourth Hokage died, Orochimaru became the biggest obstacle to Danzo's promotion to Hokage, and their partnership had likely already fallen apart.

After disposing of the body, Ao quietly slipped out of the bedroom.

He left the resting area.

He first headed to the warehouse where various materials were stored, finding that there was no chaos there and everything was intact.

He quietly placed all the First Hokage Cells into his ninja tool pouch; there were twelve vials... which likely accounted for Orochimaru's entire collection.

He then arrived at the living quarters for the test subjects.

Several of Orochimaru's subordinates were stationed here to guard the individuals who had successfully undergone experiments.

The two guards at the entrance had already fallen to the ground, blood flowing from their necks and staining the floor red.

"Are they here for the test subjects?"

Ao's expression shifted slightly, and he stopped in his tracks, hiding in the shadows of the corridor.

Before long, he saw three ninjas escorting a person out, moving quickly through the corridor and running toward the outside of the base.

Ao witnessed this scene but did not intervene; with his current strength, revealing himself would mean death.

He waited in place for a long time before slowly stepping out of the shadows.

He stepped over the corpses at the entrance and entered the secret room where the test subjects were held.

Upon entering.

What met his eyes were eight glass culture containers filled with azure liquid, each containing a pale corpse submerged inside.

"Teacher is truly a genius to be able to develop a solution specifically for preserving corpses under these technological conditions."

Ao stared at the scene before him, unable to help but sigh.

In this world, technology was still too backward; to be able to create these items, which could be called miracles, without many electrical devices was incredible.

With the help of ninjutsu, some of Orochimaru's biological research had already surpassed his previous life.

Past the corridor of culture tanks was a living area.

The surviving test subjects lived here.

Ao scanned the area and found a total of five rooms, two of which were empty.

There were signs of habitation in the other three rooms.

Only two rooms were occupied; one contained a bloated figure whose limbs and facial features were indistinguishable, the entire body covered in blister-like skin. At a glance, the person looked like an inflated balloon, with the capillaries and organ tissues beneath the skin clearly visible, and they lay on a white hospital bed, constantly groaning.

They were enduring the agony of their body.

The other room was occupied by a person with normal limbs but dull, vacant eyes, showing no reaction to external movements.

The intruders had not killed these two test subjects.

"Failures of the First Hokage Cells transplant?"

Ao noticed the state of these two and immediately realized what was happening.

A thick aura of First Hokage Cells emanated from both of them.

Ao unlocked the door, pushed it open, and walked in. He extracted a portion of cell fluid from the head of the catatonic test subject and another portion from the body of the obese one.

These two had been transplanted with First Hokage Cell tissues in different areas, causing varying degrees of damage to their bodies.

Purifying the First Hokage Cells from them would be of great help to future experiments.

Just as Uchiha Ao had finished placing the collected cell tissues into his ninja tool pouch, a familiar figure appeared in the corridor.

"Ao, why are you here?"

Orochimaru's voice, tinged with suspicion, rang out. Moments later, the entire passageway was swarming with snakes, their tongues hissing as they surrounded Uchiha Ao.

At the slightest sign of trouble, he would be buried in the bellies of those snakes.

Orochimaru must have anticipated this; he likely watched as Kinoe was taken away by Root.

Why would he do that?

Ao was deeply puzzled.

"The base was attacked. I killed the assailant and rushed over, but I didn't expect to be a step too late; the intruder had already left."

Ao spoke the truth, though he omitted a portion of his own actions.

The Chakra aura on Orochimaru's body became slightly volatile.

He scanned his surroundings, and his expression returned to calm.

His vertical pupils took a deep look at Ao.

The atmosphere in the air was oppressive.

Under this scrutiny, Ao remained calm and composed.

In the end, Orochimaru was the first to break the silence.

"I understand. It hasn't been peaceful around here lately; you shouldn't come to the base anymore..."

Orochimaru turned around, spoke those words, and his figure vanished at the end of the corridor.

He did not seem to care much about the intrusion into the base this time.

Perhaps he had already anticipated it.

The critical experimental materials had already been moved by him.

It seemed that Orochimaru had taken his warning to heart.

He had made preparations in advance.

If he were to defect in the future, he wouldn't have to flee in a panic, abandoning the vast majority of his belongings.

As long as Orochimaru's research data remained, the loss of a few subordinates was of no consequence to the base as a whole.

Ao watched Orochimaru's retreating back, calculating silently in his heart.

Danzo might be about to make his move soon.

This was clearly an intrusion by Root, yet Orochimaru had no intention of investigating further.

He had likely already made plans to defect.

He just didn't know if Orochimaru would take him along...

If he had a choice, Ao still wanted to leave with Orochimaru.

With his current identity as an Uchiha clansman and a disciple of Orochimaru, staying in Konoha would only make him a target for everyone.

Anko, that genius civilian ninja who became a Chunin at twelve, was originally a staunch supporter of the Third Hokage.

After Orochimaru defected, she was branded as a disciple of Orochimaru and did not meet a good end.

More than ten years passed.

By the time Naruto and the others were applying for the Chunin exams, she was still only a Special Jonin.

She hadn't even managed to be promoted to a full Jonin, completely removed from the core of the village.

She could only serve in peripheral roles for minor missions.

"Is Master Orochimaru planning to leave?"

Ao called out loudly toward the end of the corridor.

The figure in the distance suddenly paused.

He turned his head, revealing a gaze filled with deep meaning.

Orochimaru quietly observed Ao's face, noticed the look of anticipation in his eyes, felt a slight stir in his heart, and nodded gently.

"Yes, Konoha... is no longer a suitable place for peaceful research."

There were too many constraints.

His teacher would never violate the prohibitions set by the Second Hokage to allow him to conduct human experiments.

Seeing this, Ao immediately seized the opportunity!

With Danzo, his final ally, having betrayed him, there was no reason to linger here any longer.

"May I leave with you?"

With just a single sentence, Ao made his stance clear.

Orochimaru's pupils constricted; he clearly had not expected Uchiha Ao to abandon his bright future and choose to leave with him, a ninja on the verge of defecting.

"Are you certain? Once you leave the village, your status as an Uchiha will be worthless, and it may even bring you fatal danger."

"You will be hunted down by the full force of the Uchiha."

"You know better than I do just how terrifying the power of the Uchiha is."

Orochimaru turned around, his eyes darkening.

The status of the Uchiha in Konoha was beyond doubt; as one of the two clans that founded the village, as long as they stayed obediently within its walls, they would never face any danger.

They could live out their lives in peace and stability.

Even if they faced some criticism from the village, it would never shake their position.

Defection!

It meant a complete break from the village and the Uchiha clan.

The future would hold nothing but pursuit by the village and the Uchiha.

From ancient times until now, no one had ever survived being hunted by the Uchiha.

This was a choice with a vastly disproportionate risk-to-reward ratio.

No fool would ever make such a choice.

But Uchiha Ao was an exception.

He knew that staying in Konoha was nothing more than a slow death.

"Teacher, in the pursuit of immortality... I am willing to leave with you!"

This sentence struck a chord deep within Orochimaru's heart.

He had earned his approval.