Your God Is

Hui Youling jolted awake, looking around in a panic. It was the same infirmary, only Qingsi was nowhere to be seen. It seemed she was safe.

Hui let out a long sigh of relief and raised her hand to touch her shoulder, which was already wrapped in bandages. The wounds on her body had already healed; such was the recovery power of the Uzumaki Clan.

After looking around, Hui threw on a coat, still intending to find Orochimaru. Just as she stepped out of the infirmary, she encountered several people working there.

They looked at Hui Youling with indifferent eyes, devoid of flattery or contempt. They simply nodded at her and passed by.

Hui Youling had never seen these people before. The previous base had been sparsely populated; she had only ever seen Orochimaru as a researcher. Which base had she been brought to?

Hui quickly turned back and called out to them, "Excuse me... where is Master Orochimaru right now?"

The group stopped and exchanged glances before turning to look at the petite Hui Youling. Surprise flashed in their eyes—this girl had actually called Orochimaru... "Master"...

They paused for a moment, and one of them regained his composure, saying slowly, "Lord Orochimaru is in the laboratory. What business do you have with him?"

Another person in a white lab coat seemed to recall something and said in astonishment, "Could you be that Mitarashi Anko?"

Hui frowned at the speaker and shook her head slowly. "No, my name is Hui Youling."

"Hui Youling... I've never heard your name before. But since you are that lord's student, you must be quite talented." The boy in the white coat spoke with pure adoration for Orochimaru, as if Orochimaru were his ultimate pursuit.

The first man withdrew his gaze from his companion and looked at Hui Youling. "If you want to find Lord Orochimaru, go straight down this path, turn left at the second intersection, then turn right at the next three intersections..."

"I'll take you there, I'm not doing anything anyway." The boy in the white coat interrupted his companion, volunteering eagerly with a sunny smile that made him seem approachable.

His companion frowned slightly at his words, then finally sighed. "Do as you please."

Hui's gaze darted between the two, filled with confusion. Where was this place? What was up with these researchers? Didn't Orochimaru conduct all his various experiments alone?

The boy in the white coat smiled and looked at his companion. "Sen, don't worry, I'll get her there." So, this refined-looking man was named Sen.

As the boy in the white coat said this, he turned to Hui Youling and introduced himself in a friendly manner. "My name is Kain. Let me take you to Lord Orochimaru."

Hui Youling pulled at the corners of her mouth in a smile, her expression stiff. She wasn't used to his over-familiarity, and after observing him for a moment, she realized this guy was a hardcore Orochimaru worshiper, which gave her a deeply unsettling feeling.

Kain waved to his companion and led Hui Youling toward a different path. Hui followed slowly behind him, maintaining a distance of half a step.

After walking for a short while, Kain suddenly spoke up. "I didn't expect that lord to take on another disciple. He rarely teaches students. If you can receive his guidance, you'll surely become very strong."

Hui Youling looked up at Kain, her brow furrowing slightly. She felt that his tone was filled with envy toward her. Thinking of Orochimaru's various experiments, Hui lowered her head in silence.

Kain didn't hear a response from Hui, so he looked back at her, only to find a sense of hidden loss in her expression. "Your name is... Hui Youling, right?"

Hui looked up at Kain, her brow still tightly knit. Hearing his question, she nodded.

Kain smiled, his eyes burning with the light of dawn and hope. He said slowly, "In my view, Lord Orochimaru is the greatest ninja of this era. The experiments he conducts are pioneering feats for the world, and they might even bring change to the ninja world."

"And—in this world, only Lord Orochimaru can bestow extraordinary power upon ordinary people!"

At this point, Kain turned back to look at Hui Youling. His worshipful gaze seemed to look through her at something else, so intense that it even held a hint of jealousy. "Hui Youling, I actually envy you and Anko. Being taught personally by Lord Orochimaru, your strength must be far greater than your peers. If only I could..."

Hui didn't need to hear any more to guess what Kain wanted to say. Looking at the somewhat pathological worship in his eyes, a feeling of resistance flooded her entire body. She suddenly grew annoyed with this chattering person and blurted out, "If you want to learn from him, go ask to be his apprentice!"

Yes, Orochimaru's personal instruction—that hellish abuse, the combat that constantly ground away her edges, those orders that violated her morals. She could only accept them, then fall into self-doubt and guilt.

She felt she was no longer the person she once was. She had lost her own persistence and opinions, even her own pursuits, just like those pathetic wretches who clung to Orochimaru. Yet, when the next time came, she would still do exactly as he wished.

Something was wrong, but she couldn't break free at all.

Kain frowned as he looked at Hui Youling. He sensed the hostility and gloom radiating from her, giving off a dangerous and oppressive feeling.

But in his eyes, Hui Youling was like those people dragged into the operating room—internally fearful and lost.

However, after those people left the operating room, they seemed to be reborn, gaining unparalleled power. This was a power they could never attain in their entire lives.

They would cheer and be grateful for no longer being weak. Lord Orochimaru was a true god, allowing ordinary people to obtain what they dreamed of. What he worshipped was this very ability of the lord, and he wanted to spend his entire life pursuing it.

Kain's smiling face turned into one of pathological excitement. Hearing Hui Youling's outburst, he looked at her with confused and even angry eyes, his voice low and gloomy. "But Lord Orochimaru gave you extraordinary power. If it weren't for him, you'd just be an ordinary person, wouldn't you?"

"And this time, it was Lord Orochimaru who saved you when you were nearly dead. You're not grateful, so what are you resenting?!"

Hearing these words from Kain, Hui Youling's eyes widened abruptly. She opened her mouth to refute him, but her brain seemed to lose the ability to think, and two voices appeared in her heart.

One voice was saying, This is not what I seek, not the goal I am chasing!

But another voice kept repeating, He gave you power and taught you personally. You're not grateful, so what are you resenting?!

Seeing that Hui Youling remained silent, Kain lowered his body and brought his face right in front of hers. His wide, staring eyes fixed on hers like a soul-devouring ghost.

Hui Youling's mind was already in chaos, and startled by his movement, her hand acted faster than her brain, striking him and sending him flying.

The physically frail Kain slammed hard into the wall, spat out a mouthful of blood, and slid clumsily to the floor. He lay there with his arms dangling at his sides in a twisted posture, yet his eyes became even more excited and fanatical.

Hui Youling came to her senses and realized she had lashed out. She frowned at Kain, intending to apologize, but saw him start to laugh. "Hahaha, you really are different from those trash test subjects. Lord Orochimaru's disciple truly possesses greater power. Lord Orochimaru... Lord Orochimaru..."

As Kain spoke, he looked up at the ceiling with a look of adoration, as if praying to a deity, and his god was—Orochimaru.

Hui furrowed her brow, her head splitting with pain as she looked at Kain. So strange, so strange. What is going on? This isn't right, it shouldn't be like this. She hadn't meant to strike him, and this person shouldn't be like this either.

Everything... had become so strange.

Hui suddenly felt afraid to look at Kain. Regardless of the fact that she had injured him, she hurried away.

She had completely fled in a panic...

Kain watched Hui Youling run off. He stared intently at her retreating back, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward, the excitement in his eyes not yet fading. "Hui Youling... Hui Youling..."

"Uzumaki—Hui Youling!" Kain spat her full name through his teeth, a bizarre smile on his face. He actually knew her surname.