Orochimaru: You go deal with the Fourth Raikage!

Orochimaru set down his scalpel, turned around, and looked at Yamanaka Chujiu with a serious expression.

"Chujiu, do you know how many students I have taken on?"

Yamanaka Chujiu replied, "I know. Senior Brother Nawaki, myself, and Anko Mitarashi."

Orochimaru nodded. "The three of you are my official students, just as Namikaze Minato is a student of Jiraiya."

"Beyond the three of you, I have taught several other children, but I never formally took them as students..."

Yamanaka Chujiu smiled. "Is Kabuto Yakushi one of them?"

Orochimaru remarked, "Tsk, your mysterious intelligence network... it is accurate to the point of being eerie."

"In any case, I have taught many students, but not a single one has truly satisfied me."

"Nawaki is impulsive and hot-headed; he is just a miniature version of Jiraiya."

"Anko is obsessed with sweets; she is essentially a miniature version of Tsunade."

"Kabuto is still too young, his personality has yet to set, and his talent has yet to fully manifest."

"Only you, Yamanaka Chujiu, are the most intelligent—no, 'intelligent' is not the word. You possess a profound wisdom, a wisdom that even I must regard with extra caution."

"You should believe in the importance I, Orochimaru, place upon you."

Yamanaka Chujiu feigned a shivering posture. "Teacher Orochimaru, the gentler your voice and the more sincere your emotions appear, the more terrified I become."

"Please, stop trying to scare me. Just tell me directly: what kind of life-threatening task do you want me to do?"

Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction. "Good, you are worthy of being my wisest student!"

"Yamanaka Chujiu, I want you to deal with the Fourth Raikage!"

Yamanaka Chujiu asked, "Me?"

Orochimaru replied, "Yes!"

Yamanaka Chujiu stood silent for a moment.

"I am only fourteen years old and merely a Special Jōnin. You want me to go up against the Fourth Raikage, A?"

"I can't do it. Absolutely not."

Orochimaru's neck stretched out unnaturally; while his body stood in front of Yamanaka Chujiu, his head leaned over from behind to rest on his shoulder.

"Don't be so afraid. Your teacher isn't asking you to duel that brute one-on-one."

"There is no need to put on an act in front of me. I have long since discovered that you excel at command; even a ninja army of ten thousand could be organized perfectly under your direction."

"Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to provide me with the most appropriate advice at every critical moment."

Yamanaka Chujiu stammered, "I, I..."

Orochimaru hissed a laugh. "Did you think I didn't know it was you?"

"I am Orochimaru, after all!"

Yamanaka Chujiu wiped his face, clicked his tongue, and said, "I knew I couldn't keep it hidden from you forever, Teacher."

"Since Teacher Orochimaru insists, I will reluctantly agree to help you stall the Fourth Raikage and his Cloud Village army."

"In return, you must look after the children of the Rising Sun Organization for me."

Orochimaru flicked his tongue to lick his eye, tilted his head, and asked, "You even guessed that?"

Yamanaka Chujiu said nothing. What reader out there doesn't know that you, Orochimaru, are the greatest child-snatcher in the multiverse?

There is no one else like you!

When Yamanaka Chujiu first named the Rising Sun Organization, he had already muttered about this to himself.

With so many children gathered together to form an organization, not only had he developed several of their exceptional talents, but he had also educated them to be remarkably outstanding.

Orochimaru could smell the scent of the Rising Sun on instinct alone; it was impossible for him not to be interested in this organization.

Among the children of the Rising Sun Organization, there were undoubtedly already people loyal to Orochimaru, simply there to listen with their ears and watch with their eyes.

Yamanaka Chujiu shook his head. "I accept this mission, but the Fourth Raikage is not a man to be trifled with. The amount of time I can hold him off will not be long."

"No matter what plan you have, Teacher Orochimaru, you must hurry and come to my support as soon as possible."

Orochimaru promised with a smile, "Rest assured, I won't let you fall into real danger."

He had absolute confidence in Yamanaka Chujiu, even though Chujiu felt he was only a Special Jōnin who wasn't even sure he could kill Shimura Danzō.

But in Orochimaru's perception, Yamanaka Chujiu was a terrifying monster!

The boy's surface-level strength was only that of a Chūnin, yet whether he encountered Sand Village ninjas or Stone Village ninjas, whether he faced Chūnin or Jōnin, and whether he fought puppet masters or explosive-style ninjas, he always managed to withdraw from the battlefield unscathed.

What made Orochimaru feel even more terrified was that Yamanaka Chujiu could lock onto his location at any time!

In ninja combat, intelligence is king!

Orochimaru's greatest strength was not his Orochimaru-style ninjutsu, nor his Ryūchi Cave summoning techniques, and certainly not his endless array of life-saving jutsu; it was his mysterious ability to retreat whenever he pleased and appear whenever he chose.

Even the Byakugan, capable of seeing through anything, would have its vision disrupted by the Orochimaru-style Substitution Technique, unable to lock onto Orochimaru's true movements.

Coming without a shadow and leaving without a trace—this was the aspect of Orochimaru that gave everyone the most headaches.

But in front of Yamanaka Chujiu, Orochimaru had never been able to conceal himself.

No matter what kind of Substitution Technique Orochimaru used, and no matter how many clones he split into, Yamanaka Chujiu could always detect and lock onto him in advance.

Even when the two were over a thousand meters apart, Orochimaru was discovered as a matter of course.

Orochimaru's confidence was severely damaged as a result; his spirits were low for a long time, and he felt insecure at every moment.

Orochimaru was no saint, and after confirming that only Yamanaka Chujiu could lock onto him, he had wanted to kill Yamanaka Chujiu more than once to eliminate the future threat.

Yet, every time he failed to act, he suffered a shameful defeat simply because he could not lock onto Yamanaka Chujiu.

Because he could not resolve the problem of Yamanaka Chujiu through violence, Orochimaru had gone to great lengths to take him as a student; one's own student wouldn't threaten one's life...

Right?

(Obito Uchiha quietly gave a like!)

Yamanaka Chujiu did not know that he was so terrifying in Orochimaru's heart.

If he had known, not only would his tail be wagging in the sky, but he would also have solved a great mystery in his heart.

Yamanaka Chujiu knew that Orochimaru liked to abduct children and was skilled at grooming disciples, capable of making geniuses soar and helping ordinary people grow to their limits.

But he knew even better that Orochimaru did not like taking on students.

His first student, Nawaki, was the eldest grandson of the First Hokage and the younger brother of his classmate Tsunade; his second student, Anko Mitarashi, was entrusted to him by a comrade. Both of these students were debts of gratitude he could not refuse.

Only his third student, Sasuke Uchiha, had gained Orochimaru's favor through talent and was taken on as a student in the proper sense.

As for why Orochimaru favored Sasuke's talent, and why his motives for teaching Sasuke were not pure...

Don't worry about that!

Just ask yourself: did Orochimaru officially take him as a disciple?

Did he pour his heart and soul into teaching him?

Yamanaka Chujiu felt he lacked Sasuke's talent and did not possess the Kekkei Genkai that Orochimaru craved; he could not fathom why Orochimaru would want to take him as a student.

But as a Konoha ninja who still had requests of Orochimaru, he had no room to refuse the man's goodwill.

He could only feign joy as he accepted, then remain on guard with trepidation.

The thoughts of Orochimaru and Yamanaka Chujiu were in perfect alignment:

If I get along well with this monster, he won't kill me.