A Little Show-Off

Genkawa Uchiha did not answer the question directly. Instead, he said, "Did Lord Orochimaru come here just to ask me that?"

Orochimaru licked his lips, his long tongue looking somewhat grotesque.

"Of course not. I simply came to see you, Genkawa-kun."

Genkawa Uchiha said nothing and merely stared quietly at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru smiled as he met his gaze.

Neither of them spoke again, and the silence gradually turned heavy.

Genkawa Uchiha's expression remained unchanged. He stood there casually, looking completely at ease.

After all, he had only been at the training ground for a short while. The little practice he had done earlier did not even count as a warm-up.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, wore a smile.

Time passed, second by second...

"Heh."

At last, Orochimaru was the first to lose patience and let out a soft chuckle.

"It seems you were not surprised by my arrival, Genkawa-kun."

Genkawa Uchiha's expression remained indifferent. Hearing that, he sneered instead. "Did you come here to amuse yourself at my expense?"

"How could that be?"

Orochimaru's smile did not change. His long tongue slipped out again and licked his chin.

"I saw what you did that night. As expected of someone born with a Sage Body—you could even suppress the Nine-Tails. Truly impressive."

Faced with Orochimaru's praise, Genkawa Uchiha merely raised an eyebrow.

Sure enough, someone like him could not possibly remain unmoved by the appearance of the Nine-Tails.

Genkawa Uchiha even suspected that Orochimaru had been hiding in the shadows that night. If the Nine-Tails had appeared somewhere other than the village, this man might already have made his move.

After all, how could someone like Orochimaru possibly pass up Tailed Beasts as research material?

"So, what is it that Lord Orochimaru wants from me?" Genkawa Uchiha asked in return.

"Hehehe, naturally, I came to invite you, Genkawa-kun."

Genkawa Uchiha tilted his head slightly without responding, signaling for him to continue.

Orochimaru did not mind his attitude. Instead, he stepped toward him as he spoke.

"What do you think of Konoha as it is now, Genkawa-kun?"

Genkawa Uchiha thought for a moment and gave an objective assessment. "Not bad. The situation is stable, and the villagers are far happier than those in other villages."

Orochimaru paused, apparently not expecting that answer.

"Do you truly think so, Genkawa-kun?"

Genkawa Uchiha nodded. It was his genuine opinion. "I do. This is a world where everything is relative, after all. Compared with the other ninja villages, Konoha is indeed much better."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "You cannot say the village is bad simply because I am an Uchiha and the higher-ups have been secretly targeting the Uchiha. Compared with the ramshackle operations of the other ninja villages, Konoha really does count as decent."

That completely threw Orochimaru off.

Wait.

If you put it that way, what am I supposed to say?

I can't even continue with my script now.

Seeing his reaction, Genkawa Uchiha smiled instead.

"What? Does Lord Orochimaru not agree?"

He turned to face Orochimaru, propping his chin on one hand and lightly tapping his fingers as though deep in thought.

"Let me think. Could it be that Lord Orochimaru feels the village has been targeting you? No, no. During the Third Shinobi World War a few years ago, Lord Orochimaru was the commander of the western front in the early stages. But after Lord Fourth Hokage began to distinguish himself, Lord Orochimaru seemed to have withdrawn from the front lines."

Genkawa Uchiha paced slightly, seeming to mutter to himself.

"That's right. After that, Senior Namikaze Minato completely rose to prominence and earned the title of Yellow Flash. He directly drove back Iwagakure and Kumogakure, firmly establishing his reputation. When the war ended, he naturally became the Fourth Hokage. But I remember that before then, Lord Orochimaru had been the leading candidate to become the Fourth Hokage."

Genkawa Uchiha nodded, confirming the point. "It seems Lord Orochimaru saw the potential in Namikaze Minato, his junior, and deliberately stepped aside for him. How... noble."

Orochimaru stopped where he stood. Though he still wore a smile, it looked somewhat stiff no matter how one viewed it.

At that moment, Genkawa Uchiha lifted his head, looked straight at Orochimaru, and asked, "Lord Orochimaru, was my guess correct?"

"Hehehehe..."

Orochimaru's laughter was hoarse. The smile he had been wearing shattered with it, replaced by an inexplicable air of eeriness.

"You truly are extraordinary, Genkawa-kun. Are you trying to anger me this way?"

Genkawa Uchiha shook his head, his smile unchanged. "How could I? Lord Orochimaru, you are one of the Three Sannin, renowned throughout the Ninja World. I am merely an ordinary Uchiha. How would I dare provoke you?"

As he spoke, his smile grew even brighter. "I am only curious. Why did Lord Orochimaru not become the Fourth Hokage? Was it because you did not want the position?"

Orochimaru's smile faded.

"Genkawa-kun, you seem rather hostile toward me."

Genkawa Uchiha shook his head. "Hostility would be an overstatement. It is simply that Lord Orochimaru seems to harbor ill intentions toward me."

Genkawa Uchiha could not guess exactly why Orochimaru had come, but he could figure out with his ass that it had something to do with his innate Sage Body.

After all, in the original story, this guy had developed something like the Cursed Seal based on the Sage Body. There was no way he would remain unmoved after learning that the village had someone born with a Sage Body.

The only reason Orochimaru had not acted was probably because he had not yet defected, and the village could still provide him with conveniences.

Now that Shimura Danzō would most likely be punished, the support the village higher-ups could offer Orochimaru would surely decrease as well. That was not good for his research.

"So, are you planning to defect from the village?"

Genkawa Uchiha did not give Orochimaru another chance to waste words. He asked what was on his mind directly, genuinely curious about it.

This time, Orochimaru could no longer smile.

His originally narrowed, slitted eyes widened involuntarily.

"Looks like I guessed right."

Genkawa Uchiha nodded to himself and spoke again as though talking to himself.

"Although I do not know why you came here now, I know a little about you. From what I understand, you seem afraid of death and seek eternity. Is that right?"

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue again. This time, it extended even farther, looking rather disgusting.

"Genkawa-kun truly knows me well."

With the answer practically handed to him, Genkawa Uchiha naturally understood Orochimaru's mindset. "In other words, you have set your sights on me."

Orochimaru appeared to have no intention of pretending any longer. He stepped forward again, moving closer to Genkawa Uchiha.

"So, are you not afraid, Genkawa-kun?"

Genkawa Uchiha did not answer directly, appearing utterly unmoved by Orochimaru's approach.

"I would not say I am afraid. I just find it disgusting to be targeted by you. So, do you want my body?"

"Hehehe..."

Orochimaru did not respond directly, but his meaning was already obvious.

"I understand."

Genkawa Uchiha sighed. "What a headache. I only wanted to live peacefully, so why does trouble always come looking for me?"

A snake shot out from the shadows at his side and lunged for his neck.

At the same time, Orochimaru's figure suddenly vanished.

Genkawa Uchiha's eyes instantly turned scarlet. His figure vanished at the same moment, evading the venomous snake's jaws and reappearing on a tree more than ten meters away.

Orochimaru had just landed where he had been standing.

"Genkawa-kun, what a fast Body Flicker Technique."

Orochimaru did not seem surprised that his sneak attack had failed. He looked up at Genkawa Uchiha.