The Uchiha Clan's Blind Swordsman

The farce had finally come to an end.

The little white snake felt no surprise at the final result.

From start to finish, Asuma Sarutobi had done nothing but bring humiliation upon himself.

Those who fail to read the situation always meet such an end.

The little white snake continued to observe Chiba.

At this moment, he sensed something was wrong.

As someone who had crawled his way through the fires of war, Orochimaru would never misperceive the feeling of being watched.

The instant the little white snake reacted, its head had already been severed.

Although Orochimaru had always been confident in his stealth abilities, he now had to admit a fact.

He seemed to have been exposed.

The decapitated little white snake did not collapse; instead, multiple massive snake heads erupted from the severed neck.

They could no longer be called snakes; they were pythons.

Connected to the base of these python heads, somehow, was an arm.

The python heads struck at Chiba with lightning speed.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

However, before these pythons could even get close to Chiba, they were hacked into pieces.

"Since you just watched my spar with Itachi, you should understand that things like this cannot cross my blade! Orochimaru!"

Not only had he been discovered, but his identity had been seen through as well.

He was supposed to be the observer, yet the roles seemed to have reversed.

However, Orochimaru was not angry; instead, he licked his lips, a strange excitement appearing on his pale face.

"I see. Chiba-kun, you discovered me long ago, didn't you?"

"That makes sense. You were able to suppress that genius Itachi Uchiha in battle despite being unable to see!"

"If you didn't possess that level of perception, it would be a disservice to your talent."

Orochimaru retracted the severed pythons and walked up to Chiba with ease.

This was the first time Orochimaru had observed Chiba from such close range.

And this time, he confirmed it.

Chiba was truly blind.

Consequently, he became even more convinced that Chiba's secret must be hidden within those sightless Sharingan.

"Furthermore, you sent Itachi away just now—it wasn't because of Asuma, was it?"

At that time, Orochimaru had also found it strange.

Chiba dealing with Asuma was a matter of one or two moves, and the facts proved as much.

Asuma hadn't even lasted a single exchange.

So, did Itachi's departure really matter?

Don't talk about Asuma being the Hokage's son; Itachi might represent the Uchiha, but a piece of trash like Asuma couldn't represent Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Under such circumstances, there was only one explanation for Chiba sending Itachi away.

Chiba did not want him to come into contact with Itachi.

Even when facing him alone, the only reason Chiba would want Itachi gone that Orochimaru could think of was one thing.

Something Itachi possessed that Chiba did not.

The Sharingan.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru smiled.

"Chiba-kun, you seem to know me quite well!"

"I always pay extra attention to those who might potentially become my enemies!"

Hearing this, Orochimaru actually withdrew his hostility.

At this moment, facing Chiba, he felt more appreciation than anything else.

Although he viewed Chiba as a research subject, that did not negate Chiba's personal charisma at this moment.

"Is that so? But... in fact, I don't consider myself your enemy!"

Hearing this, Chiba smiled.

"Indeed, but I can hardly call someone who monitors me from the shadows a friend!"

"You should be taking advantage of the dark of night to kidnap a few playful children as test subjects where the Third Hokage can't see you! Instead of wasting time on a blind man like me."

"Oh, right, it must have been Danzo who sent you to watch me... After all, without the Sharingan, I shouldn't have caught your attention in the first place!"

Everything Chiba said struck at Orochimaru's weak points.

This string of secrets, which absolutely could not be made public, could be considered leverage against Orochimaru.

This was also the reason Chiba had exposed Orochimaru right from the start.

Once targeted by Orochimaru, regardless of the initial reason, it was impossible to shake him off.

Rather than passively accepting Orochimaru's observation, it was better to play his own cards immediately.

Look, I hold your secrets in my hand; if you want to move against me, just wait for your own exposure.

Orochimaru might not necessarily take words carrying such a threatening tone to heart.

However—

His research into [immortality] was, after all, not yet complete.

He still needed to remain in Konoha to continue his experiments.

"Chiba-kun, you... are truly cruel!"

"Cruel? I don't think so. Trouble has already knocked on my door; there's no reason to keep my trump cards hidden!"

"Just like Asuma; he came to my door to fight, so do you think there's any possibility I would show mercy?"

Chiba spread his hands, everything appearing quite natural.

"Is that so? But you let Asuma go in the end... That can hardly be called showing no mercy!"

"Mr. Orochimaru, do you know? There are two types of killing!"

"One is ending a person's life, and the other is called breaking their spirit!"

"Crushing him mentally, making him shudder at the sight of himself later, making him take a detour when he sees me—this is not called showing mercy!"

Asuma Sarutobi was, after all, the son of the Hokage.

It was impossible for Chiba to actually kill him.

Furthermore, such minor friction had not yet reached the point of needing to kill.

Although Asuma was angry, Chiba's Observation Haki had not captured any clear killing intent.

It was just a twelve-year-old boy acting out of jealousy in front of the woman he liked; where would all this killing come from?

Speaking of killing intent.

The flash that had just emanated from Orochimaru was the real deal.

However, Orochimaru could not possibly make a move.

Chiba was, after all, someone Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to recruit, and Orochimaru was also deeply intrigued by Chiba's secrets.

"It seems your preparations... are very thorough!"

"In that case, I have a proposal!"

The moment Chiba sensed Orochimaru by his side, he knew this slippery snake would not be easily shaken off.

That was Orochimaru, the number one research fanatic in the ninja world.

A man obsessed with the Sharingan.

A blinded Sharingan, and talent pushed to the limit.

How could he possibly give up so easily?

And at this moment, Orochimaru stated his proposal.

"Then, I have a proposal."

"Become my research subject, and I will help you restore your sight!"

After coming into contact with Chiba, Orochimaru was almost certain that the reason for Chiba's blindness was that his body could not withstand the ocular power of the Sharingan.

Only this could explain Chiba's heaven-defying talent.

This was highly worth researching and would be beneficial for uncovering the deeper secrets of the Sharingan.

Unfortunately, everyone was wrong.

Chiba's talent had never come from his Sharingan.

It was his system.

Not to mention that the secrets within his own body could never be made public.

Even if Orochimaru could truly restore his sight, Chiba would never agree to his terms.

"Mr. Orochimaru, I think you've misunderstood; I... do not yearn for the light!"

"To be unable to see is a blessing of sorts. After all, this world is filled with far too many filthy, wretched wretches that one cannot bear to look upon."

"I cannot deny that!"

Orochimaru spread his hands.

"However, it is often those very filthy, wretched wretches who make it to the very end!"

"Even if you don't agree, I have already set my sights on you! Uchiha Chiba... I am, after all, Orochimaru!"

In the eyes of the Orochimaru of this era, there was only scientific research.

He craved eternal life, and he craved the Sharingan.

These had become his obsessions.

He had barely achieved eternal life through the [Living Corpse Reincarnation].

Yet, the Sharingan remained Orochimaru's eternal regret.

In the original story, he failed to obtain Itachi, and he failed to obtain Sasuke.

The deviation in the world line had caused Orochimaru to turn his sights toward Chiba instead.

"Is that so? In that case, Mr. Orochimaru... I, for one, welcome it at any time!"