"Who am I?"
His voice was as hoarse as ever, but beneath the cover of night, it sounded even more sinister than usual, giving Qi goosebumps...
"Then who do you think I should be?"
Orochimaru watched Qi with keen interest. His snake-like eyes gleamed with a look of "amusement"...
In his view, a ninja had to be devious and cunning, willing to use any means necessary. If they just went straight at things and did whatever everyone else did, what kind of ninja would that make them?
That was also why he looked down on certain clan scions. Those people had something wrong with their heads; they had strayed so far from the very concept of being a ninja. In their eyes, all a ninja needed to do was learn flashy, powerful jutsu.
But if being a ninja were that easy, why would anyone need combat experience? Why not just have both sides line up and blast each other?
So the more rigid and by-the-book someone was, the less he liked them. On the other hand, the more someone took advantage of openings, exploited loopholes, or simply refused to play nice, the more he favored them.
If Qi had followed Konoha's official rules to the letter and obediently stayed in his room, Orochimaru's first impression of him would have dropped by half. But so far, Qi didn't seem that stupid. At least he knew how to exploit a loophole.
"Are you from Konoha?"
Though he strongly suspected—and was practically certain—that the person before him was Orochimaru, Qi didn't dare say so.
What would he do if he did? Orochimaru was famous, but few people outside Konoha knew what he looked like. If an outsider like Qi recognized him at a glance and called him by name, he'd be drinking tea at the Interrogation Department for sure!
"Heh heh..."
Orochimaru let out a peculiar sound, one that was as much a snort as a laugh.
"From the look of you, it seems you're hiding something... But that's fine. Knowing how to hide things is what makes a ninja. You pass."
Pass? Pass what? Wait, was he taking on a disciple!?
Qi had barely spent a moment turning those words over in his mind when his expression suddenly changed.
He seemed to remember that during the Third Shinobi World War, Orochimaru had become consumed by the grand ambition of researching forbidden jutsu and pursuing immortality.
Was he going to use me as an experiment? Things couldn't get that unlucky! At least give me someone I had a chance of fighting! Damn it!
Qi didn't think that just because Orochimaru had called him a disciple, he really meant to make him one. Hadn't he seen what happened to Anko later on? Being Orochimaru's student was a good way to get yourself killed!
"Sir, what do you want from me? A master like you shouldn't need to play games with someone like me."
As he asked in fear, Qi began edging backward...
He just needed a chance to jump down to the street. There was no one on the rooftops, but the streets were still full of people. Surely Orochimaru wouldn't grab someone in the middle of the street...
"Heh heh... Silly child. Do you think you have any chance of escaping me? Since you're a ninja, you should know what to do in a situation like this."
Seeing Qi's movements, Orochimaru couldn't even be bothered to move. A trace of mockery flashed in his snake-like eyes, as if he found Qi's futile attempt laughable.
"A ninja's inability to accurately assess a situation is one of the leading causes of death. Since you think I'm joking, what are you going to do? Beg for mercy, or die here?"
He had clearly begun testing Qi. Orochimaru didn't care about any of those ridiculous rules. If someone interested him, he simply acted...
But Qi had no idea. After realizing he had arrived in the Naruto world, he had never imagined he'd get tangled up with freaks like Orochimaru or Uchiha Madara.
One was the strongest of the Sannin, with an immortal body. The other was once Konoha's Shura, a man who had possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan decades ago. What could men like that possibly have to do with him? He just wanted to live a quiet life. He had never planned to get involved in the world of monsters. Was he trying to get himself killed?
But fate was blind. One of those monsters had come right to his door! And wasn't this guy taking his job a little too seriously? It was already time to go to bed, and he still couldn't resist heading out to collect experimental material?
"Sir! Why are you hounding someone like me? Isn't this beneath you?"
Realizing he had no chance of escaping, Qi felt the ruthless side of his Kaguya blood stir within him.
Beg for mercy? Even if his opponent possessed the greatest power in this world, what he couldn't do, he simply couldn't do!
A glint of fury appeared in his eyes...
"So you'd rather die than submit, even temporarily? How disappointing. Once you're dead, you'll have nothing."
Orochimaru could see that Qi was ready to fight to the death, and he felt a little regretful.
In his opinion, the strongest ninjas were the ones with a powerful will to survive. First, you had to stay alive. Ninjas who were always ready to fight to the death might seem impressive, but they were the quickest to die.
"You're right, sir. But even so, I still want to live with dignity!"
It sounded as if Qi was trying to convince himself. His voice grew louder and louder. Because of his initial assumptions, he was convinced Orochimaru had come to capture him as experimental material! Now, he was just being toyed with for amusement.
"I can swallow food that tastes awful! If I have nowhere to live, I can sleep in the wilderness! If someone hunts me down, I'll hide and train first, then take revenge! But I'll never beg on my knees—not even if it kills me!"
No matter what pain or hardship he had to endure in this world, he could bear it. But he could never give up the most basic thing he had: his dignity!
It wasn't that he wasn't afraid of death. On the contrary, he was terrified of dying. But some things were even harder to endure than death.
"Ice Release! Six-Directional Sealing!"
Qi attacked, and he went straight for the kill. His opponent was Orochimaru; he had no choice but to fight for his life. He tried using a Mist Ninja chakra-sensing technique to determine whether the Orochimaru in front of him was the real one or a clone, but it was no use.
Orochimaru wasn't like Terumi Mei. Even when using a clone, his chakra was so solid that none leaked out. The clone was indistinguishable from the real thing, and Qi simply wasn't skilled enough to sense the difference.
Thud!
Six muffled impacts rang out as six walls of ice appeared out of nowhere around Orochimaru—in front of him, behind him, above him, and at his sides—encasing him in an instant. At the same time, dozens of sharp ice spikes burst from the inner surfaces of the walls, piercing Orochimaru through and through!
An ordinary person couldn't see what was happening inside the ice walls, but Qi, as the one who had cast the jutsu, was an exception. He could see everything within them.
"So this is Ice Release. Even at the initial stage, it can reach this level. No wonder it's held in such high regard. You're quite impressive, child..."
A cold hand touched Qi's neck, making him shudder. He suddenly realized that the Orochimaru inside the ice walls had vanished without a trace!
"Your life is in my hands now. Tell me, are you still unwilling to submit?"
Orochimaru was behind Qi, his hand resting on Qi's neck. Qi knew that Orochimaru could kill him in an instant if he wanted to, but...
"I told you already. I'd rather die than give up my dignity!"
A sharp whistle rang out. Without Qi noticing, several ice spikes had appeared above them, and they were now hurtling down toward where the two of them stood. One of the spikes was aimed at Qi himself!
"Dignity..."
Orochimaru didn't even move. Before the ice spikes could reach them, they all shattered at once, crumbling into shards of ice that rained to the ground.
"That was unexpected. You'd rather kill yourself than let me kill you... Is dignity really that important?"
"It's the only thing I have!"
Qi was desperate. He knew the vast difference between himself and a master like Orochimaru, but in reality, he couldn't even hinder his opponent in the slightest!
Die as experimental material? Not a chance!
Qi's eyes turned bloodred with madness. He ignored the hand Orochimaru still had on his neck, pulled out a kunai, and stabbed at it.
Clang!
The kunai struck Orochimaru's hand, but couldn't pierce it in the slightest...
There was nothing surprising about that. Orochimaru excelled at ninjutsu. He was a master of Wind Release and a first-rate Earth Release user. Strengthening his skin's defenses was child's play for him...
Damn it, you can't stop me from biting my tongue too, can you!?
Watching his techniques get countered one by one, Qi completely lost it. He opened his mouth to bite his tongue. If he couldn't live with dignity, then surely he could at least die with it! He'd already died once, so there was no way he could die again and end up back on Earth!
"Hmm?"
Orochimaru frowned. The moment Qi opened his mouth, he squeezed, and Qi passed out.
The fight had lasted only a few exchanges, yet the difference in their displayed abilities was already beyond description. It wasn't even a gap that could be compared...
In any case, the test was over. What was the point of testing someone who was unconscious?
Looking down at Qi, who had collapsed, Orochimaru let go of his aggressive manner. For Qi, he had seemed vicious, but to Orochimaru, it had been no more than a change in expression.
"This child has plenty of backbone, and he's ruthless too. Much more ruthless than Anko. That's a rare quality..."
His gaze flickered. At last, he broke into a smile that seemed fairly satisfied.
"Not bad, not bad at all. I'll train you for a while and see how far you can go. Heh heh..."
Qi might have plenty of flaws, but in the end, he had one quality that pleased Orochimaru: ruthlessness.
That ruthlessness would grow more and more deadly as Qi grew stronger. If he could keep getting stronger, then one day he would become a fearsome fighter!
Orochimaru was a ruthless man himself, so he only took on disciples who had enough ruthlessness. Anko was one such disciple—and, for now, his only one.
Picking Qi up with one hand, Orochimaru chuckled. With a few leaps, he was gone.
After he had vanished completely, another figure appeared on the scene. It was Ogata...
He simply watched in silence as Orochimaru left. He made no attempt to follow.
The Hokage really does think highly of you. He even sent one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, to teach you ninjutsu. I hope you'll make the most of it...
Ogata wasn't Qi. He didn't know what Orochimaru would become in the future, but he knew who Orochimaru was. He also knew that Orochimaru was one of Konoha's top experts.
In fact, after traveling with Qi for so long, he had already realized that his disciple was suited to ninjutsu, but had very limited talent in Taijutsu. With Ogata as his teacher, Qi would never become a true master.
Besides, Ogata himself could be considered a skilled Taijutsu user, but he was only an ordinary one. And Qi had an especially poor aptitude for Taijutsu...
Ogata had sensed Orochimaru as soon as he appeared, but he hadn't intervened, because he could tell Orochimaru was testing Qi's character!
In the Shinobi World, having a master who was a skilled fighter was already rare. Even having a Jonin systematically teach you combat skills was quite a stroke of luck. Jonin were important resources for their villages, and they had to train themselves. Where would they find the time to take on so many students?
People with a Jonin as their teacher either came from influential families with extensive connections, were being groomed by their village, or had been singled out by a Jonin who hoped to train them as an heir.
Whatever the reason, one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, was now willing to take Qi on as a disciple. That meant Qi had truly secured his place in Konoha. Any further screening was pointless.
Qi was now the Hokage's grand-disciple. The moment Orochimaru took him away, any so-called screening had already ended.
Ogata stood silently where he was. He didn't go back; he just stood there, staring blankly into space for a long time...
"Ogata, sir..."
An Anbu suddenly appeared on the rooftop.
"The Hokage has asked me to inform you that, starting today, you're a member of the village. Your restrictions are now lifted, and you're free to move about the village."
"Understood..."
Ogata offered no pleasantries, and the Anbu wouldn't have either. Sure enough, as soon as Ogata finished speaking, the Anbu vanished without a trace.
"So my restrictions are gone, huh? Heh heh... Konoha will probably assign me a mission soon. That's only natural, since we're at war..."
Rolling his neck, Ogata jumped off the rooftop and headed back to his old lodgings.
"Foolish disciple... It's all in your own hands now. Make the most of it."
Ogata left without a worry. Qi, who had been knocked unconscious, was taken straight back to Orochimaru's residence and handed over to the servants.
"Give this kid a room. Wake him up, have him take a bath, and we'll deal with the rest tomorrow!"
Orochimaru glanced at Qi and gave the servant a casual instruction.
"Tell him that if he doesn't want to die in training tomorrow from lack of energy, he'd better rest well and regain his strength."