To be honest, Kabuto Yakushi was curious and puzzled. He had always thought Orochimaru was a cold-blooded man with little emotion, yet Orochimaru treated Sasuke remarkably well. Kabuto Yakushi had rarely seen even a father care so deeply for his own child.
Orochimaru's concern for Sasuke went far beyond a teacher's affection for his student, even beyond the bond between an ordinary father and son. Kabuto Yakushi found it baffling. If he had not been at Orochimaru's side all along, he might have thought this Orochimaru was an impostor.
As though he had seen through Kabuto Yakushi's confusion, Orochimaru smiled. "Kabuto, do you think I care more about Sasuke than I do about most people?"
After a moment of silence, Kabuto Yakushi nodded. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru. I really am curious."
Orochimaru smiled. "Heh, perhaps something about him drew me in. I see my former self in him. He is much like I was when I was young: youthful, competitive, confident, and impossibly gifted. He also has a rival, a companion, someone who considers him a brother and has always watched over him. I want to see what will happen if he takes a completely different path from mine. That intrigues me, so I set him on the opposite path. I also want to see what happens when two people with similar personalities and talents choose different roads."
Kabuto Yakushi had not expected that to be the reason Orochimaru treated Sasuke so well, but this was the Orochimaru he knew. He breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's why." Kabuto Yakushi felt as though something in his heart had been preserved. Nothing had changed, and that filled him with happiness and delight.
Orochimaru turned to look at Kabuto Yakushi and smiled. "Heh, you seem rather happy."
At Orochimaru's words, Kabuto Yakushi