Sound Four

Two months later, on a hillside outside Otogakure, the savory scent of roasting meat drifted through the air.

"Kidomaru, I can already smell the barbecue; your grilling skills have improved again." A red-haired girl with a carefree attitude sat by the charcoal fire alongside a youth with six arms, her eyes fixed intently on the meat roasting above the embers.

It was an entire wild boar, caught by the six-armed youth using traps made from his own spider silk. Even after removing the internal organs and offal, the hundred-pound boar was enough to feed over a dozen adults.

"Tayuya, how is the seasoning coming along? If you mess up the ratio of spices again, watch out—Lord Shisui will forbid you from eating."

The six-armed youth used his various limbs to laboriously turn the boar, ensuring every side of the meat was roasted to a perfect, crispy brown. With his other hands, he used chakra-infused silk to slice through the thick meat, allowing the inner layers to cook through as well.

This six-armed youth was Kidomaru, and the red-haired girl was Tayuya; both were orphans adopted by Orochimaru.

"Tayuya, Lord Shisui will be coming over from the laboratory soon, so don't you dare make him unhappy."

"That's right. If Lord Shisui is unhappy, the two of us brothers won't be so polite to you."

Not far away, two youths who looked nearly identical walked over; they were twins.

"Sakon, Ukon, where is Jirobo? That fat pig eats the most every time, yet he's nowhere to be found when there's work to be done."

The one called Ukon was the older twin, and Sakon was the younger.

Usually, the older brother Ukon often hid within the younger brother Sakon's body, so they appeared as one person when merged. However, ever since Shisui arrived, he had demanded that Ukon detach from Sakon's body, citing that staying hidden inside was detrimental to their healthy physical and mental development.

"Don't talk about it. That guy delayed a task assigned by Lord Shisui because of his gluttony, so he was dragged to the laboratory to serve as a test subject."

The man named Sakon replied, shivering as he recalled something terrifying.

"...Poor Jirobo." Kidomaru sighed, focusing his attention back on the roasting meat.

"You should worry about yourself first, you shut-in." Faced with the provocation from Sakon and Ukon, Tayuya, who had a personality just as boyish, did not show weakness, immediately attacking them by targeting Ukon's peculiar habit.

"How dare you insult me?"

"Don't you dare bully my brother!"

Just as the three were about to come to blows, a voice suddenly rang out beside them, and the previously tense Tayuya, Sakon, and Ukon all froze in their tracks.

"I smelled the barbecue from far away. Is Kidomaru on grill duty today?" While they were still bickering, Shisui had already arrived silently behind them.

"Lord Shisui, your Body Flicker Technique is truly becoming more impressive; we didn't notice you at all." Tayuya knew that Shisui did not like them to be as overly deferential as they were toward Orochimaru. In fact, Shisui was only two or three years older than them, but the vast gap in their strength established a clear hierarchy.

"What, want to learn? Finish preparing the seasoning I taught you first." Shisui had gathered ingredients on the spot, finding wild chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns near Otogakure, and taught them to grind them into powder in specific ratios to enhance the flavor of the meat.

"Lord Shisui, don't listen to Tayuya's nonsense; it's a miracle she can even mix the seasoning right." The meticulous Kidomaru realized the potential impropriety and quickly covered for Tayuya, as stealing others' techniques was a taboo in the ninja world.

Shisui saw through it all, but he truly did not mind if Kidomaru and the others learned skills from him. For Shisui, his vision had long since moved beyond so-called "exclusive secret techniques."

"The meat is ready." Seeing the fat sizzling on the charcoal, Shisui took a small knife from Tayuya, sliced off a piece, and tasted it carefully.

A moment later, Shisui patted Kidomaru on the shoulder and praised, "Your grilling technique has improved again."

"It's all thanks to Lord Shisui's teaching; I only did as you instructed."

Among them, Kidomaru was the most meticulous and mature for his age, acting with caution and care in every interaction—nothing like the Kidomaru who would later enjoy taunting his opponents and facing life and death with such nonchalance.

"You have more than just extra arms; you have more schemes than the rest of them, too," Shisui joked while eating the meat with the seasoning Tayuya had just prepared.

During his time in Otogakure, spending time with these "Sound Four" members who had yet to grow into their power was the most relaxing part of Shisui's life. The rest of his time was spent buried in the high-security laboratory, assisting Orochimaru with various experiments.

At this time, Kidomaru and the others had only recently been adopted by Orochimaru and lacked the sharp, aggressive aura they would possess when they later attacked Konoha.

"Rest assured, Jirobo was only sent to clean the laboratory. Once he finishes the assigned work, he will be released." Although they didn't say it, Shisui knew of their mutual reliance. Despite their daily squabbling, because they were all war orphans, huddling together for warmth was their primary survival skill; they were colleagues, but also close companions.

"Thank you, Lord Shisui, for your magnanimity." This time, even Sakon and Ukon, who had remained silent, bowed together to express their gratitude.

"Alright, alright, you lot are truly acting like old souls in young bodies." Shisui waved his hand, popped a piece of meat into his mouth, and prepared to head back to the laboratory.

His time was extremely tight; he had to resolve the issue of the Hashirama Cells transplantation as soon as possible.

When Shisui returned to the laboratory, Orochimaru and his assistants had already prepared the equipment for the next experiment.

"It seems Shisui-kun gets along quite well with the five orphans I recently took in. Such charisma really doesn't seem like something an Uchiha would have." The keen-nosed Orochimaru clearly smelled the scent of barbecue on Shisui.

The longer he spent with Shisui, the more Orochimaru realized that Shisui's ability to interact with others was nothing like an Uchiha, but rather more like the Uchiha's old rivals, the Senju Clan.

If other Uchiha could be like Shisui, let alone the position of Fourth Hokage, even Hiruzen Sarutobi would likely have found his seat as Third Hokage quite unstable.

"Lord Orochimaru, strictly speaking, I am currently only eight years old. Isn't it natural to get along well with my peers? Compared to your age, I am still just a baby." After two months of interaction, Shisui had gradually become more familiar with Orochimaru.

Orochimaru: "???"

Shisui found that Orochimaru's personal charisma was actually no less than Minato Namikaze's; it was just that their ultimate goals differed, leading to the divergence in their styles of conduct.

Of course, at this stage, Orochimaru had not yet begun to tamper with his own fragile soul.