An Unexpected Encounter with Orochimaru!

The next day, inside a restaurant.

"Big Brother Roy, even though we haven't been eating or sleeping well out there, it doesn't have to be like this, right?"

"Your health is important. We can eat slowly; don't we have a three-day break?"

"Yeah, Big Brother Roy, we can even pool our bonuses together to treat you..."

Xiu, Naishiro, and Yoichi looked at Roy with worried expressions.

Good grief, ever since the patrol duty ended, it was as if he had been possessed by a starving ghost.

This was already four portions of food, and Roy was still eating.

"I'm fine."

"My body needs energy; we can't exactly deny it, can we?"

Roy smiled and continued to shovel a plate of meat into his mouth.

More than two hours later, the four of them finally walked out of the restaurant.

Not only was Roy's bonus gone, but the bonuses of the other three had been spent as well.

"Boss, you aren't going to eat this much at every meal from now on, are you?"

Naishiro stared at Roy with some concern.

It wasn't that he was worried about his own wallet, but rather that eating alone would become a daily problem for Roy.

"Not for now. If I ate like this every meal, my body wouldn't be able to handle it."

"We have three days off. What are you all planning to do?"

Roy changed the subject.

His body was in this state mainly because after using the Lightning Style Improvement Card yesterday, he had gained another Devil Fruit ability.

The physical toll had been quite significant.

That was why he had an urgent need to replenish his body with a large amount of food.

"I plan to get some good rest at home and spend time with my family."

"Same here, though I won't be skipping my daily training, of course."

"Big Brother Roy, do you have any special plans?"

As the three spoke, they turned their gazes toward Roy.

To be honest, they had all joined the Konoha Military Police Force together.

Their strength should have been roughly the same.

But as fellow members of the Uchiha clan, the three of them had a very keen sense for these things.

Roy was definitely stronger than the three of them now!

He might even be able to hold his own against the three of them combined.

"I'm just going to train, then go find Captain Natsume for some sparring."

"Extracting chakra at night to replace sleep—a pretty dull schedule, right?"

Roy thought for a moment and said casually.

After all, as of now, Roy didn't really have any friends of his own.

Natsume and the others could only be considered teammates.

As for his family, they had already become heroes during the Third Shinobi World War.

"Boss, you're training even while you sleep?"

"Don't they say that extracting chakra while sleeping is half the work for twice the result?"

Naishiro was a bit confused.

"It still provides an improvement; it's better than not training at all."

"Besides, while extracting chakra, your sleep quality and your perception of the surrounding environment are greatly enhanced."

The four of them talked as they walked toward the clan grounds.

A few minutes later, a familiar figure appeared in Roy's line of sight.

Roy even saw him raise his hand and wave at him.

"You guys head back first. I'm going to buy some things to keep at home."

"If you want to train later, just come find me."

After saying a few words to the three of them, Roy headed off to the right.

He quickly disappeared into an alleyway.

"Are you looking for me?"

Uchiha Roy stood in the shadows, his face calm.

"Truly impressive. The Uchiha clan really does produce many geniuses!"

"Uchiha Roy, Konoha Chunin, member of the Military Police Force."

"Why did you conclude that I was looking for you?"

At this moment, a sinister figure appeared within Roy's line of sight.

The person who had arrived was none other than Orochimaru.

"I wasn't certain, but now that you've appeared here, I am."

"Lord Orochimaru, may I ask what business you have with me?"

Roy still felt a sense of wariness toward Orochimaru.

The reason he had come was that Roy was certain Orochimaru would not easily make a move against him.

At the very least, not right now.

Of course, there was even less need to worry about the future.

Once Roy had more time to increase his physical strength and chakra capacity, Orochimaru would no longer be a threat.

"Nothing at all."

"I simply wanted to see what kind of existence this ninja is, the one who has left both the Third Hokage and Danzo in such a state of distress."

As Orochimaru spoke, he licked his tongue.

A pair of cold, sinister eyes scanned Roy from head to toe.

"It seems your list of targets is about to grow by one."

"Are you preparing to give up on Itachi's eyes?"

Roy leaned against the wall and said with a playful tone.

Upon hearing Roy's words, Orochimaru's expression faltered.

The eyes he desired most were, naturally, those of Uchiha Itachi.

But hindered by a lack of opportunity, he had always suppressed the desires in his heart.

Why would this Uchiha brat before him know his thoughts?

"Lord Orochimaru."

"If you are planning to leave, you had better be quick about it."

"Otherwise, you might end up being killed."

"The Uchiha have many methods at their disposal to kill you."

Roy said this, then walked straight toward the exit.

"Of course, you can take that as a piece of well-intentioned advice."

As he brushed past Orochimaru, Roy spoke once more.

"Sss..."

Immediately, a swarm of long snakes surged out, binding Roy tightly.

The terrifying force even made Roy's bones creak.

"Confidence is a good thing, but sometimes..."

"Sizzle..."

With a hiss and a wisp of blue smoke rising, those long snakes instantly turned to charred remains and fell to the ground.

"Lord Orochimaru, I have no intention of attacking you."

"In fact, if you ever need help, you can come to me."

"I imagine there are certain things you are already planning, aren't there?"

"The destruction of Konoha..."

After Roy finished speaking, he ignored the look of shock on Orochimaru's face and turned to leave.

The reason Roy could say these things was that he knew Orochimaru would not spread this information.

He might even use some special means to turn Roy into his own ally.

Snake Master was very clever, after all; there were some things he couldn't possibly fail to see.

"What a terrifying brat..."

It was only after Roy's figure had disappeared that Orochimaru realized a bead of cold sweat had formed on his face.

At the same time, a strange glint returned to those cold, sinister eyes.

"Uchiha Roy... Uchiha..."

"It seems the plan will have to change slightly."

"We cannot fully trust those guys."

After Orochimaru finished speaking, the ground opened up like a giant mouth and swallowed him whole.

Returning to the Uchiha Compound, Roy headed straight for the training grounds.

"Nagasawa-aniki?"

"Captain Natsume?"

Seeing both of them there, Roy was taken aback.

Hadn't he only arranged to meet Uchiha Natsume?

"Roy, I came over because I wanted to see how you conduct your special training."

"Am I not welcome?"

Uchiha Nagasawa said with a smile.

"No, no, no, you're joking, Nagasawa-aniki."

"Then, let's begin."

As Roy spoke, he walked directly to the center of the training ground.