Orochimaru set down the scalpel, turned around, and looked at Yamanaka Chujiu seriously.
"Chujiu, do you know how many students I've taken on?"
Yamanaka Chujiu said, "I do. My senior, Nawaki; me; and Mitaraishi Anko."
Orochimaru nodded. "You three are my official students, just as Namikaze Minato is Jiraiya's student."
"Besides you three, I've taught a few other children, but I never took them on as students..."
Yamanaka Chujiu smiled. "Was one of them Kabuto Yakushi?"
Orochimaru said, "Tsk, that mysterious information channel of yours... It's eerily accurate."
"Anyway, I've taught quite a few students, but not one of them has been satisfactory."
"Nawaki is a big, clumsy kid, basically a miniature Jiraiya."
"Anko has nothing but sweets on her mind, so she's basically a miniature Tsunade."
"Kabuto's still too young. His personality hasn't settled, and it's hard to see his talent."
"Only you, Yamanaka Chujiu, are truly clever. No, clever isn't the right word. You're wise—wise enough that even I have to take you seriously."
"You should believe just how much I value you, Orochimaru."
Yamanaka Chujiu put on a trembling expression. "Teacher Orochimaru, the gentler your voice and the more sincere your feelings sound, the more scared I get."
"Please stop trying to frighten me and just tell me what deadly task you want me to handle."
Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction. "Good. You really are my wisest student!"
"Yamanaka Chujiu, I want you to go deal with the Fourth Raikage!"
Yamanaka Chujiu said, "Me?"
Orochimaru said, "That's right!"
Yamanaka Chujiu said, "..."
"I'm only fourteen and just a Special Jōnin. You want me to deal with the Fourth Raikage, A?"
"I can't do it. There's no way."
At some point, Orochimaru's neck had grown longer. His body stood in front of Yamanaka Chujiu, while his head rested on Chujiu's shoulder from behind.
"Don't be so scared. I'm not asking you to fight that brute one-on-one."
"You don't need to put on an act in front of me, either. I figured out long ago that you're good at giving orders. You can keep even a ninja army of tens of thousands organized."
"Otherwise, you wouldn't always give me the most fitting advice at the most critical moments."
Yamanaka Chujiu was at a loss for words. "I, I..."
Orochimaru gave a hissing laugh. "Did you think I didn't know you were behind it?"
"I'm Orochimaru!"
Yamanaka Chujiu wiped the expression off his face and clicked his tongue. "Tsk. I knew I couldn't keep it from you forever, Teacher."
"If that's what you want, Teacher Orochimaru, I'll do you the favor of holding off the Fourth Raikage and his Cloud Village army."
"And you can keep an eye on the children in the Rising Sun Organization for me."
Orochimaru licked his eyes with his tongue and tilted his head. "You even figured that out?"
Yamanaka Chujiu didn't say anything. What reader didn't know that Orochimaru was the greatest child-snatcher in all the worlds?
Without a doubt!
When Yamanaka Chujiu named the Rising Sun Organization, he'd already wondered about it.
So many children had gathered to form an organization. He'd not only brought several outstanding talents out of them, but had also raised them to be exceptionally capable.
Orochimaru could smell the Rising Sun's potential on instinct. There was no way he wouldn't be interested in the organization.
There was already someone working for Orochimaru among the children in the Rising Sun Organization, absolutely. They were just listening with their ears and watching with their eyes.
Yamanaka Chujiu shook his head. "I'll take the mission, but the Fourth Raikage is no pushover. I won't be able to hold him off for long."
"Whatever plans you have, Teacher Orochimaru, you'll need to hurry and come support me."
Orochimaru promised with a smile, "Don't worry. I won't really let you get into danger."
He had absolute confidence in Yamanaka Chujiu. Chujiu thought of himself as a Special Jōnin and wasn't even sure he could kill Shimura Danzō.
But in Orochimaru's eyes, Yamanaka Chujiu was a terrifying monster!
The kid's apparent strength was only that of a Chunin. Yet whether he faced Sand Village or Iwagakure ninjas, whether he encountered Chunin or Jōnin, puppet masters or demolition experts, he always managed to leave the battlefield completely unscathed.
What terrified Orochimaru even more was that Yamanaka Chujiu could pinpoint his location at any moment!
In a ninja battle, information was everything!
Orochimaru's greatest strength wasn't Orochimaru-style ninjutsu, the Summoning Technique of Ryūchi Cave, or even his endless array of life-saving techniques. It was his elusive presence: he could retreat whenever he wanted and appear whenever he chose to attack.
Even the Byakugan, which could see through things, was thrown off by the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique and couldn't track his movements.
Coming and going without a trace—that was the side of Orochimaru that gave everyone the biggest headache.
But in front of Yamanaka Chujiu, Orochimaru had never managed to hide.
No matter what kind of Substitution Technique Orochimaru used or how many clones he made, Yamanaka Chujiu could spot and track him in advance.
He could even detect Orochimaru as a matter of course when they were more than a kilometer apart.
Orochimaru's confidence had taken a devastating blow. His spirits had been low for a long time, and he constantly felt unsafe.
Orochimaru wasn't a good person. Once he realized that only Yamanaka Chujiu could track him, he'd tried more than once to kill Chujiu and eliminate the threat.
But each time, he'd failed miserably because he couldn't track Yamanaka Chujiu.
Since he couldn't deal with Chujiu through force, Orochimaru had gone to great lengths to take him on as a student. His own student wouldn't threaten his life...
Right?
(Obito Uchiha quietly gave that a like!)
Yamanaka Chujiu had no idea he seemed so terrifying to Orochimaru.
If he'd known, his tail would have shot straight up in the air, and he would have solved the great mystery that had been bothering him.
Yamanaka Chujiu knew that Orochimaru liked kidnapping children and was good at training students. He could help geniuses soar and bring ordinary people to the limits of their potential.
But he also knew that Orochimaru didn't like taking on students.
His first student, Nawaki, was the First's eldest grandson and his classmate Tsunade's younger brother. His second, Mitaraishi Anko, had been entrusted to him by a comrade. Both students were favors he couldn't refuse.
Only his third student, Sasuke Uchiha, had earned Orochimaru's favor through his talent and been taken on as a proper student.
As for why Orochimaru had taken a liking to Sasuke's talent, and why his reasons for teaching Sasuke weren't entirely innocent...
That was beside the point!
The question was, had Orochimaru officially taken him on as a student?
Had he devoted himself to teaching him?
Yamanaka Chujiu didn't think he had Sasuke's talent or the Kekkei Genkai Orochimaru craved. He couldn't imagine why Orochimaru would want him as a student.
But as a Konoha Ninja, he still had need of Orochimaru, and he couldn't refuse Orochimaru's goodwill.
All he could do was accept as though he were delighted, then stay on guard with his heart pounding.
Orochimaru and Yamanaka Chujiu shared the exact same thought:
If I get along with this monster, he won't kill me.
Before you continue