The Seed That Was Planted

After Jun Tianlin finished speaking, the atmosphere grew slightly awkward...

"Heh heh, kid, you're clever. But sometimes being too clever isn't a good thing!" Orochimaru chuckled, his eerie voice making their scalps tingle. A faint killing intent enveloped Jun Tianlin.

Jun Tianlin's face instantly turned pale. After all, in his previous life he'd been a shut-in, and in this life he was still just a boy. How could he withstand Orochimaru's blood-chilling killing intent?

"Put away your killing intent. I know you haven't shown your true strength. Besides, if you really wanted to kill me, you wouldn't waste time telling me all this, right?" Jun Tianlin slowly got to his feet, forcing himself through his discomfort as he walked over to Orochimaru, his eyes shining with intelligence.

Hearing Jun Tianlin's words, Orochimaru didn't get angry. Instead, he withdrew his killing intent, threw his mouth wide open, and laughed arrogantly.

"Ha ha ha! Very good. I'm growing more and more impressed with the two of you. Your powerful bodies, clever minds, and extraordinary talent—everything about you is the most perfect I've ever seen. Even the Uchiha's Sharingan can't compare. Are you two the ones who possess the Kaguya Clan's Kekkei Genkai, Shikotsumyaku?"

Orochimaru rarely wore a genuine smile. Though his laughter was still arrogant, at least it dispelled the oppressive atmosphere.

Quietly, Jun Tianlin turned away and walked over to the unconscious Kimimaro. He stood guard beside him again, waiting for him to wake.

A small gesture, made without thinking, could reveal a person's true nature.

Jun Tianlin didn't know it, but that one casual gesture had made Orochimaru value him even more. In fact, Orochimaru now valued him more than the unconscious Kimimaro...

The most important thing about a person was their heart!

The most important thing about a heart was what it chose to protect!

And the most important thing about protecting someone was the care revealed through an unthinking gesture!

Ever since his parents died, Orochimaru had stopped believing in affection and trusted only himself and his own strength. He had even embarked on the irreversible path toward "immortality."

But at that moment, watching Jun Tianlin silently protect Kimimaro, Orochimaru—who believed he had long since cast aside his emotions—unexpectedly found himself wanting to take on a disciple...

Unfortunately, the thought lasted only an instant before Orochimaru's greed took its place.

But once that thought had appeared, it wasn't so easy to erase. By then, Orochimaru had already begun his forbidden human experiments and set foot on a lonely road from which there was no return.

Even the two close friends he'd grown up with had been abandoned after he began his experiments.

Orochimaru hadn't left Konoha yet, but he was already lonely. He no longer had a single close friend or companion—not even a relative or teacher.

But people were social creatures, after all. Even if someone claimed not to fear loneliness, that didn't mean they enjoyed being alone, with no one to talk to.

No one could have known that Orochimaru's passing thought of taking on a disciple would one day become reality...

Three days passed in a flash.

With Orochimaru, the legendary Sannin, escorting them, Jun Tianlin and Kimimaro finally made it out of their first stop in life after three days on the road!

Over the next ten days or so, Orochimaru deliberately slowed their pace. Jun Tianlin and Kimimaro had spent so long imprisoned by the Kaguya Clan in a cave that they were malnourished and weak. They were supposedly traveling, but they might as well have been taking a leisurely stroll.

At the same time, Orochimaru spent his own money to buy them nutritious food. In his words, "You two are people I value, important pieces on my board. I'm not going to sit by and watch you starve to death!"

The trip from the Land of Water to Otogakure in the Land of Rice Fields should have taken only a few days. But with Jun Tianlin and Kimimaro slowing them down, it took more than ten. Orochimaru's remaining patience was all but exhausted.

Still, those ten-plus days brought great changes to Jun Tianlin and Kimimaro.

Good nutrition and proper exercise had put an end to their weakness and emaciation in Kirigakure. What's more, their superior physiques had revealed their remarkable ability to recover.

In just over ten days, the two had gone from sickly and gaunt to strong, healthy boys.

"How is it? Surprised? Otogakure is still in its early stages, but it's already quite large, isn't it?"

Orochimaru glanced at Jun Tianlin and Kimimaro beside him, his voice full of pride. And no wonder: as a Konoha Ninja, he had secretly built a ninja village through his own efforts. It was certainly something to be proud of.

"Hey, it really is. I never thought a people trafficker like you would have a village!"

Jun Tianlin's very first words nearly made Orochimaru keel over. When had he ever been a people trafficker?

Seeing the same look on both Jun Tianlin and Kimimaro's faces—the look of people who'd decided he was a trafficker—Orochimaru, one of the Sannin feared by most of the Ninja World, simply turned his head away.

"Heh heh, you two brats actually have the nerve to call me a people trafficker. Fine! I was going to let you rest for a few days before starting your training, but now that I think about it, you two seem to have far more energy than I expected. I've decided: starting tomorrow, you'll begin the hellish training I've planned for you!"

As he spoke, Orochimaru shot Jun Tianlin a vicious glare, then casually summoned someone to arrange rooms for the two of them before leaving with the Body Flicker Technique.