It was a fragile thing..."
Walking down the street, looking at the villagers coming and going and the stars above, Orochimaru unconsciously murmured those words.
Tsunade's departure had deepened that feeling.
Born in a time of turmoil and raised amid war, he should have grown accustomed to the loss of human life. But he hadn't.
Tsunade's departure had made him feel it even more. Nawaki and Dan were both people he'd known fairly well. Nawaki especially—Orochimaru had watched him die in an explosion with his own eyes.
He thought it over and suddenly realized that fewer and fewer familiar faces remained around him. Aside from the Third Hokage, who was growing older by the day; Jiraiya, who was as talkative as ever but never annoyed him; and Tsunade, who had already left, there were hardly any old acquaintances left.
Even Sakumo was dead. He'd left behind a son, who was only a genius kid, but so what? He could die at any moment, too...
It was unsettling... Could he, too, suddenly die one day? No matter how powerful someone was, once they died, what meaning did the glory they'd earned in life have? The Hokage stone faces carved into the cliff could be destroyed easily with a single jutsu.
The air around Orochimaru suddenly turned colder, and a trace of longing flashed in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Orochimaru?"
A hand landed on Orochimaru's shoulder, and a loud voice rang beside his ear, practically deafening him.
He didn't even have to think about it. The only person in all of Konoha who dared to clap him on the shoulder was that idiot Jiraiya. The Third Hokage wouldn't pat his shoulder; he'd pat him on the head instead. Thankfully, he'd stopped doing that now...
"Jiraiya..."
His yellow-brown snake eyes glanced to the side. Because of those strange pupils, most enemies felt a chill before they even made a move.
It wasn't any kind of ocular jutsu. It was simply his unusual appearance, which, combined with his hoarse voice, gave him an air of mystery—or perhaps intimidation...
But that sort of thing had no effect at all on the guy beside him. His nerves were thick enough to use as a club.
"You're as noisy as ever..."
Even so, he actually enjoyed it. After all, he was human, too, and needed someone to care about him.
"Don't be like that!"
Jiraiya reached out and casually hooked an arm around Orochimaru's neck. By the way, he was holding a long string of squid in his other hand...
The two of them were walking through the shopping district. The night market had a charm all its own, different from the daytime. Even during wartime, Konoha's villagers kept their businesses running, which helped ease the tension.
"Look at you, all serious and brooding. Don't tell me... you like Tsunade? Do you miss her now that she's gone? Wahahaha..."
"That joke isn't funny at all. If Tsunade were here, she'd probably beat you up..."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.
From childhood onward, he'd always worn a smile with a distinctly scornful edge. It was also why ordinary people hardly dared approach him. His whole demeanor might as well have had the words "Do Not Disturb" written on his face. The sinister air around him was enough to make every child in Konoha cry.
But when he was with Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the others, he was clearly a little different. At the very least, he seemed warmer than usual.
"Let's talk about something else..."
Jiraiya glanced around awkwardly, then his eyes lit up.
"Oh, that place has great sake! Come on, come on, it's my treat tonight!"
With that, Jiraiya dashed off toward the shop.
Orochimaru gave a small smile. He didn't want to spoil Jiraiya's enthusiasm, so he headed for the shop as well.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Just then, a Konoha Ninja appeared at the end of the street and ran toward them.
"Not again... Another mission? I haven't even had a few days to rest..."
Seeing the ninja rushing over, Jiraiya immediately pulled a long face. He cast a regretful glance at the hostess inside the shop.
"Didn't you hear? He's here to see me. You can stay."
Orochimaru replied calmly.
"If he's here for you, then he's here for me, too. We're teammates!"
Jiraiya replied shamelessly.
"Your business is my business, Lord Jiraiya's!"
"You are you, and I am me. That will never change."
After delivering the double-edged remark, Orochimaru went to meet the ninja. By then, he'd returned to his usual self.
"What do you need?"
"Lord Hokage asked me to inform you that he's waiting for you in his office."
Looking at Orochimaru's cold expression, the Konoha Ninja couldn't help swallowing nervously.
"Understood. I'll go right away."
Orochimaru nodded, then turned to Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, do whatever you like. I'm leaving."
With that, he set off without a backward glance, ignoring Jiraiya's shouts behind him.
But Jiraiya clearly had no intention of doing whatever he liked. He'd asked Orochimaru out to help him unwind, and now that Orochimaru was gone, wandering around alone wouldn't be any fun. So he completely ignored Orochimaru's refusal, followed him anyway, and kept following him all the way to the Third Hokage's office...
"Jiraiya, why are you here, too?"
The Third Hokage looked at Jiraiya, who was swaying around in his usual disheveled manner, with some surprise.
"I didn't call you..."
"I just came to take a look."
Jiraiya grinned.
"Never mind... Orochimaru, of everyone here, you have the fewest students. That doesn't seem quite right."
"Are you blaming me?"
Orochimaru gave a sinister smile.
"People want power, but they also want an easy time. It doesn't work that way."
He was talking about the children from the clans. As one of the Sannin, he was sought after by many clans who wanted their children to train under them. But children from the great clans tended to be a little too "delicate," and none of the Sannin were gentle when training their students.
Jiraiya was a little more lenient. Those assigned to Tsunade would all be crying for their mothers before long, while Orochimaru was frightening enough on his own. There weren't many who could last under his tutelage, either.
Jiraiya's student Minato had become one of Konoha's new generation of top shinobi. Tsunade didn't have a single student, while Orochimaru had only Anko, and she was still just a little kid.
In terms of being a teacher, Jiraiya had finally managed to beat Orochimaru at something.
"Didn't you have an ulterior motive when you assigned those people to me?"
After his sinister laugh, Orochimaru said something that made the Third Hokage cough repeatedly.
"Cough, cough... Let's not get into that. But take a look at this person..."
Konoha's efficiency was impressive. In such a short time, the Third Hokage already had some preliminary personal information on Qi in his hands.
"Kagetsu Qi?"
Orochimaru took the file and read the name softly.
Even without the Third Hokage saying anything, he already knew why he'd been summoned. Was the old man planning to make him this child's teacher? But none of Konoha's influential clans seemed to have a surname like Kagetsu.
He continued reading...
"A bloodline ability user? An outsider still under review!?"
He raised his voice at the last line, an unusual show of surprise.
Konoha's screening process was strict. And the review hadn't even been completed, yet they were already finding him a teacher? That was a little too much special treatment.
And the teacher they'd found was one of the Sannin! Plenty of clans in Konoha wanted to place their descendants under powerful teachers like the Sannin or the Yellow Flash, but how many succeeded?
The Sannin's standards for choosing students were frighteningly high. Even Jiraiya, who had taken on the most students, had never accepted any of those clan heirs. The reason was simple: he wasn't interested.
Clan influence couldn't sway someone at the Sannin's level...
"Teacher Sarutobi, I assume you're going to give me an explanation."
Orochimaru quickly let go of his doubts. What was he worrying about? The Third Hokage had summoned him, so clearly he intended to explain. Otherwise, he could've just assigned the child as usual and waited for him to give up and leave.
"You both know what kind of thing Wood Release is, don't you?"
The Third Hokage nodded. There were no outsiders present, so he spoke plainly.
"Old man, you're not saying this kid can use Wood Release, are you?"
Jiraiya leaned over, squinting hard at the file in Orochimaru's hands. Eventually, Orochimaru couldn't take it anymore and simply shoved the file into his hands.
Jiraiya seemed delighted. He accepted it without a word and waved it around.
"That's a jutsu unique to the First. If anyone else could use it, wouldn't it be Tsunade or one of her relatives?"
"I never said he could use Wood Release."
The Third Hokage gave Jiraiya a look as if he were an idiot.
Why was this foolish student so slow on the uptake? And would he stop interrupting his old teacher?
"Wood Release was among the most powerful abilities in an era full of strong shinobi. You both know that..."
"Because it could even capture Tailed Beasts..."
Orochimaru interjected.
"Though the Uchiha played a part in that, too."
"More or less... In any case, after the First passed away, that jutsu disappeared. But the various countries and clans never stopped trying to develop similar combined releases. The Yuki clan was the most successful."
"The Yuki clan?"
Neither Jiraiya nor Orochimaru was familiar with the name.
It was the same old story: the Yuki had risen too recently, so recently that they hadn't had time to make a name for themselves in the Shinobi World...
Fortunately, the Third Hokage lived up to his title as the Professor. At least he knew a little about them.
"The difference between a combined release and a composite release is that the former often has a special ability. And as far as we know, the Yuki clan's Ice Release is the most powerful combined release after Wood Release."
"I see... A combined release like Wood Release. This is certainly interesting!"
Orochimaru licked his lips, a sign of his excitement.
But that was also one of the main reasons people feared him. He already had a deathly pale face and a pair of snake eyes, and then he went around licking his lips. It was too much of a visual shock...
Or, rather, it was terrifying. He wouldn't even need makeup to act in a horror movie...
"When do you want me to take him on?"
Although he was eager, Orochimaru still asked. He knew Konoha's procedures.
"I've already instructed them to prioritize the review, though there shouldn't be any problems. The Yuki have been wiped out by the daimyo of the Land of Water, and the Kaguya Clan is being watched by the Mist Ninja. Sooner or later, they'll meet the same fate as the Yuki."
Seeing that Orochimaru had no objections, the Third Hokage felt relieved.
"However, the review process will take too long. You can look after him for a while in the meantime. That'll be more convenient."
"Heh..."
Orochimaru smiled. He knew exactly what the Third Hokage meant by "convenient."
"In that case, I'll go see the kid first. There's someone called Ogata, too... He actually survived Sakumo. Impressive..."
After saying that, Orochimaru couldn't wait any longer. His intense interest in Ice Release and Ogata made him vanish from the room on the spot...
"Hey, hey, what about me...?"
Jiraiya looked unhappily at the spot where Orochimaru had disappeared.
How could he do that? Didn't that brat Orochimaru know how bored Jiraiya was right now?
"If you have too much free time, I don't mind assigning you a mission."
The Third Hokage looked at Jiraiya. The words "up to no good" were practically written on his face.
"Old man, if that's all, I'll be going..."
Jiraiya laughed nervously and quickly slunk away. Of course, he was going to find Orochimaru. With his skills, he'd find him soon enough unless Orochimaru went out of his way to avoid him.
"What an unfilial student. He doesn't even help ease this old man's burdens..."
Watching Jiraiya "flee," the Third Hokage rubbed his temples, looking troubled.
"Always lazing around, and he likes to peep, too... Honestly, where did that idiot learn all that...?"
Grumbling to himself, he sighed and took a puff of his pipe before turning his attention back to the other documents on his desk.
That was what it meant to be Hokage...
Compared to the Third Hokage, Qi was undoubtedly having a much easier time. He was so comfortable that he was starting to get bored.
Konoha had indeed treated them well. They'd arranged rooms for the two of them in a residential area, and their lodgings were very close to each other. Ordinarily, they wouldn't receive that kind of treatment until after their screening had been approved.
The only restriction was that they couldn't leave their respective rooms and wander around for the time being...
"Bored..."
Lying on the rooftop, Qi had counted the stars until his eyes were going blurry.
He hadn't left the building. He was only on the roof, after all. Besides, the restriction Konoha had set hadn't specified a three-dimensional area. It was a flat one.
"What should I do to pass the time? Exactly—I can't do anything right now..."
Thinking about the rules the Konoha personnel had given him with smiles on their faces gave Qi a headache. All he could do was wait for news. He wasn't even allowed to go out and buy food; someone delivered it to him.
There was only one consequence for breaking the rules: being sent to the Interrogation Department to have tea with those interrogators who seemed to think everyone was a criminal...
That left him with only one form of entertainment: watching the stars. Fortunately, unlike on Earth, there wasn't so much pollution here, so the night sky was incredibly clear.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Just as Qi was about to fall asleep, a hoarse voice, accompanied by a soft laugh, suddenly reached his ears from all directions...
"So you're Kagetsu Qi? You're not staying in your room—you've run up to the roof instead. Looks like you're not such a well-behaved person after all... That's good. That's exactly the kind of person who can become my student!"
A man suddenly appeared beside Qi, as if he were a ghost...
"Who are you?"
Qi was startled. The man had appeared so strangely that he hadn't sensed him at all!
He glanced at the man and froze...
The man wore a cold smile. Long black hair billowed in the wind, and his face was deathly pale, with strange snake-like eyes. He wore a white kimono, its wide collar and cuffs decorated with countless tomoe-shaped patterns...
This guy... Could he be Orochimaru!?