Sarutobi recognized the figure standing before the operating table at a glance. He could not help but roar, "Orochimaru!"
Hearing the shout, Orochimaru finally paused and stopped what he was doing. He set down his tools and turned around.
His pale cheeks were smeared with blood, and a sinister grin hung on his face, making him look utterly deranged. The Anbu present shuddered at his grotesque appearance, goosebumps rising all over their bodies.
"Teacher Sarutobi, you're here?" Orochimaru spoke naturally, like an ordinary homeowner welcoming visitors. Noticing the strange looks from the others, he said apologetically, "My apologies. It's quite improper of me to let you see me like this!"
Orochimaru picked up a white towel from the operating table and slowly wiped the blood from his face.
Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru with deeply complicated eyes—anger, remorse, guilt, and pity all mingled within them. In the end, he said only one thing: "Orochimaru, you have disappointed me greatly!"
"Oh?" Orochimaru tossed the towel to the floor and asked with a puzzled expression, "May I ask why you say that, Teacher?"
Sarutobi pointed at the various items in the laboratory with a grim expression. "You still don't know what you did wrong? Why would you do something like this?"
"You mean these test subjects?" Orochimaru said casually. "Teacher, you should know what I seek. I believe I told you long ago."
"Immortality?" Sarutobi's gaze grew even more furious. "For something so illusory, you committed such crimes! Orochimaru! How did you fall so low?!"
"Hehe..." Orochimaru continued smiling. "My purpose has never changed from the very beginning! What I have done is not degradation, but a great ascension! And immortality is not illusory. In fact, I am only one step away from success!"
"What?! That technique is nearly complete?" Sarutobi could not