The Cowherd Student, Orochimaru

Listening to the sobbing from inside the room, Zhengyi felt deeply tormented. Was he ultimately in the right, or was he wrong?

However, the scene inside the laboratory differed from what he had imagined.

To Orochimaru's left were several baskets of hard-boiled eggs, and to his right were the sweets that Konoha villagers loved to eat in the afternoons.

What he intended to do was to have these people consume these foods daily to observe their changes over a period of time.

"Eat!"

Just like feeding pigs, Orochimaru dumped several baskets of eggs directly in front of a group of men and women.

Then, he poured all the sweets in front of another group.

Is this a final meal before execution?

Those who couldn't speak assumed this was the last meal of their lives, so they stuffed themselves regardless of their image.

Wuwuwu~~

Before being captured, they had been bullied by local wealthy families and were buried in debt; eggs were the kind of luxury they only ate on their birthdays.

Those eating the sweets were even happier, not daring to hesitate for a second, fearing that a moment's pause would mean one less bite.

Some wept with happiness as they ate, but Zhengyi, standing outside, was unaware of this; the moral angel and the devil on his shoulders were currently locked in a brawl.

While these people gorged themselves, Orochimaru used specialized instruments to conduct in-depth research on the "power" contained within the food.

"Teacher! My conscience will not allow you to conduct human experimentation!"

"Either you kill me to continue, or you use lab mice for my sake."

"I am doing this all for your own good, Teacher..."

Zhengyi had not yet lost his humanity; he closed his eyes and charged into the laboratory. Thinking of the ruthless and cold-blooded Orochimaru he would face, he had started off firm, but gradually softened, preparing to play the emotional card.

However, seeing Orochimaru in the lab acting like a farmer feeding pigs, heroically splashing buckets of "slop" in front of the villagers, he felt a bit awkward. It seemed he had misunderstood.

"Oh~"

"Oh~ I see, I see, so that's how it is."

Orochimaru remained in the posture of splashing the food, feeling quite awkward himself. To be so crude in front of his student—he was usually so tall and elegant.

"Get out."

"Yes!"

"Close the door!"

"Yes, yes!!"

The Third Shinobi World War began due to the disappearance of the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure.

A group of dark-skinned barbarians from Kumogakure realized this was a prime opportunity for territorial expansion and chose to declare war on the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind.

Konoha occupied the most fertile land and was one of only two shinobi villages whose jinchuriki could not be fully utilized; unlike the poor Sunagakure, they were naturally coveted by the entire shinobi world.

At the Jonin meeting.

"What is Orochimaru doing?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting in the main seat, had been feeling overwhelmed lately.

Just like in the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, Konoha's opponents remained the entire potential shinobi world.

The great nations were 100% at war with Konoha.

And as for the small nations, every now and then, one would pop up out of nowhere, wanting to take a bite out of the Land of Fire.

The front lines were stretched thin, and every able-bodied shinobi in the village had been sent out.

At a time when manpower was scarce everywhere, news arrived that Orochimaru was currently running a chicken farm, raising chickens, ducks, and cattle.

Even for the Jonin meeting, he had sent his student to attend in his place.

With such a major combat force missing from the front, the Konoha lines had been pushed back quite a distance.

Shimaru Danzō, one of Konoha's current F4, had gone to the front lines to oversee the battle, while the remaining three—Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura—stared at Zhengyi in the meeting room.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt incredibly frustrated; his most valued student had run off to herd cattle.

Back when they were young, he used to scold Jiraiya for being a slacker, fearing that he would end up herding cattle in the future.

Now, the roles had reversed: the slacker Jiraiya was leading Minato to a grand slam on the battlefield, while Orochimaru was renting land outside Konoha to graze livestock.

He laughed in anger, feeling a sense of disappointment: "Why didn't your teacher come himself?"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also rubbed their brows in helplessness.

Zhengyi knew that in the original timeline, Orochimaru had never researched in the direction of food.

This was quite absurd.

If they lacked Orochimaru, a top-tier combatant and strategic genius, and the Third Shinobi World War deviated from its course, what would happen if Konoha lost?

Seeing all the jonin remaining in Konoha to recuperate looking at him with anxiety, Zhengyi had no idea how to explain it.

Was he supposed to explain to everyone that his teacher was currently researching the "energy" contained within food?

Would Konoha even understand? Did Konoha know what nutritional therapy was?

He feared the jonin would just give him a look of utter confusion before dragging him off to haul his teacher to the front lines.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood his student's eccentric temperament and did not make things difficult for Zhengyi.

He only felt a sense of regret in his heart.

Orochimaru... did not possess that Will of Fire to sacrifice himself for Konoha.

Zhengyi did not know if his teacher would defect in this lifetime.

Regardless, if his teacher defected, he would defect to follow him.

Teacher, are you moved?

When Madara left back then, not a single person followed him.

Yet you have me.

"Back already? What did the Third Hokage say?"

When Zhengyi returned, Orochimaru was shaking something in a water cup, while a shadow clone beside him was checking the physical condition of the "consumables" on schedule.

"The Third Hokage said you must go to the Kumogakure front lines in two days to deal with the A and B Brothers..."

Orochimaru maintained his usual style of reading without replying, simply nodding without saying whether he would go or not.

Zhengyi knew it.

Right now, his teacher clearly had a greater advantage compared to Minato.

But Minato could be called a model worker; he heard that his tracks could be found on several of Konoha's battlefields.

"The group that ate eggs saw their weight decrease, but what they lost was fat; despite the drop in weight, their physical strength and stamina actually improved."

"The group that only ate snacks saw their weight rise significantly, with the greatest increase being body fat, while their physical strength and stamina decreased slightly."

"..."

Orochimaru continued shaking the water cup, discussing with his shadow clone, his eyes filled with a desire for discovery.

The human body was truly too marvelous.

Why did the group that ate eggs lose weight while their strength increased?

"Teacher, at today's jonin meeting, the Third Hokage was somewhat dissatisfied with you." Zhengyi sat before a table filled with experimental data, analyzing the situation for Orochimaru with a thoughtful expression.

"I heard from a classmate of mine, Obito, that Minato has thoughts of competing for the position of Hokage, and Jiraiya holds an encouraging attitude toward Minato's candidacy. I don't know if that was just Obito bragging to his classmates."

"It's infuriating. The war hasn't even ended yet, and those two master and student are already thinking about what happens after; they aren't truly thinking of Konoha at all."

Zhengyi complained.

"So that's how it is."

Orochimaru's eyes shone, "The human body is composed of lean muscle, fat, bone, and water."

"Teacher, you are the one with seniority and battle achievements. What right does that wet-behind-the-ears brat Minato have to compete with you for Hokage?" Zhengyi said indignantly.

Of course, Zhengyi was only twelve years old this year, much younger than Minato.

Orochimaru muttered to himself:

"There is a substance in eggs that can be absorbed by the human body and converted into lean muscle, while there is a substance in desserts that is similarly absorbed and converted into fat."

"For us ninjas, the functionality of lean muscle is far greater than that of fat!!"

"Zhengyi! Your suggestion was excellent; it really helped your teacher a great deal."

Orochimaru cast an approving gaze his way.

"Oh? Is that so?" Zhengyi scratched his head in embarrassment. He had merely been analyzing that their Orochimaru faction would inevitably have a battle against Jiraiya's faction in the future.

He wasn't worthy of such high praise!