This Is the Truth

"Uchiha Kei?"

Orochimaru was certain he had never heard that name before.

"As one of the Sannin, Lord Orochimaru, you've certainly never heard of me. After all, I was still a baby when you left the village."

Orochimaru didn't reply. His snake-like eyes fixed intently on him.

An eight- or nine-year-old with the Three Tomoe. That talent was enough to rival Itachi's.

What an alluring body.

"Lord Orochimaru, let's not beat around the bush. Are you sure you want to talk to me in this form?"

Orochimaru's pupils narrowed. He stared at Kei with suspicion and uncertainty.

He couldn't tell whether the child before him was bluffing.

But when he met those confident eyes, Orochimaru understood.

The snake's mouth opened wide, and a pair of pale hands emerged from it.

The sight was terrifying, no matter how you looked at it.

First came the arms, then long black hair, a head, a body...

Once Orochimaru had fully emerged from the snake's mouth, he finally matched the image Uchiha Kei had in mind.

Pale skin, a gaunt face, reddish markings stretching from the corners of his eyes to his nostrils, and a long tongue unconsciously licking the mucus at the corners of his mouth.

"You went to all this trouble to bring me here just to talk?"

Orochimaru looked at him dangerously, his snake-like eyes filled with greed.

This body was even more alluring than Itachi's.

Unparalleled talent, a future full of endless possibilities.

This was the body he had dreamed of.

"Of course not."

Uchiha Kei shook his head.

"I came to discuss the truth with you, Lord Orochimaru."

"The truth? You?"

Orochimaru looked surprised.

If there was anything in this world he still pursued, it was immortality.

And immortality was the truth he sought.

"Lord Orochimaru, how do you define life?"

Uchiha Kei ignored Orochimaru's surprised expression and asked his question without a care.

A glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.

"Life means being alive! Only when you're alive can life have meaning!"

Orochimaru had a rather obsessive understanding of life.

Perhaps it had something to do with all the losses he had experienced growing up.

Only the living could seek the meaning of life.

"That's not exactly wrong."

Uchiha Kei nodded in understanding. He'd expected that answer.

"But it's somewhat narrow-minded."

At that, Orochimaru raised his head and looked at him as if examining him.

Narrow-minded?

An eight- or nine-year-old brat was calling the truth he pursued narrow-minded?

For a moment, Orochimaru felt a little offended, but also somewhat curious about what Uchiha Kei would say next.

"A person's life is limited. Even if that person is immortal, the influence they can have is still extremely limited."

Uchiha Kei tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle.

"I don't agree with Lord Orochimaru's definition of life."

"Even someone as powerful as the Sage of Six Paths reached the end of his life and vanished from this world completely."

"But the influence he left behind has reached every corner of the Shinobi World."

Orochimaru extended his long tongue and licked the corner of his mouth.

"So you believe immortality isn't the truth of life?"

"Yes, and no."

Uchiha Kei stepped closer to Orochimaru, examining his pale skin at close range.

"Immortality is the truth for one person, but not for everyone."

The truth of life had been debated endlessly even back in his era of information overload.

Some, like Orochimaru, believed immortality was the true meaning of life.

Others believed that immortality was merely the meaning of an individual life—a false proposition.

"Truth is truth. What does it matter whether it's for one person or for everyone?"

Orochimaru remained unconvinced.

The child's words were a little strange, but to him, they were just sophistry.

If one person could become immortal, then everyone in the Shinobi World could become immortal.

The two things weren't in conflict.

"Fine. Let's say everyone in the Shinobi World becomes immortal, free from illness and from birth, aging, sickness, and death."

Hearing this, Orochimaru pictured the world Kei described, and a rapturous smile spread across his face.

How wonderful such a world would be.

"Then, Lord Orochimaru, have you considered one crucial question?"

Orochimaru looked up, puzzled.

"Resources."

"The resources in this world are limited. Food is limited, and so is land."

"If people no longer age or die, the population will only grow, without anything to reduce it. Food and land will become scarce resources. Have you considered what that would lead to, Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru's smile gradually froze.

He knew better than anyone what that would lead to.

After all, he had lived through that era.

"War!"

"Endless war!"

Uchiha Kei spoke with absolute certainty, his gaze sharp as a blade.

Orochimaru lowered his head, unable to meet those eyes.

He had to admit it.

The child was completely right.

Once everyone became immortal, the resources needed to survive would become scarce.

When all was said and done, humans were just another kind of animal.

To put it plainly, humans were even more terrifying than beasts!

For the sake of eternal life, endless war would break out!

"Could my truth be wrong?"

Orochimaru murmured. It sounded like a whisper, or perhaps a question.

"How could truth be wrong?"

Uchiha Kei smiled freely.

"There's only what is suitable and what isn't. Clearly, Lord Orochimaru's truth isn't suitable."

"Then tell me, what is a suitable truth?"

Orochimaru was lost.

He had come of age during a time of war, and no one longed for peace more than he did.

He'd carried out all kinds of experiments with near-mad fervor for no other reason than to pursue his truth and bring everlasting peace to the Shinobi World.

But today, his world had been shattered.

"A suitable truth?"

A look of reminiscence flashed across Uchiha Kei's eyes.

"To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth."

"To secure life and destiny for the people."

"To carry on the lost teachings of the sages of old."

"To bring peace to all generations!"

His words rang out with conviction, and a vast presence swirled around Uchiha Kei.

Orochimaru stared blankly at the child before him.

"To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth... to secure life and destiny for the people... to carry on the lost teachings of the sages of old... to bring peace to all generations..."

Orochimaru repeated the words again and again, his voice low.

But the confusion in his eyes gradually faded.

In its place, a light slowly began to shine in his heart!

This child...

He seemed to make a good point.

Only when life reached beyond the limits of a single person could this truth apply to everyone.

"What do you call this kind of truth?"

"I call it..."

"Legacy!"

"Only through an unbroken legacy can the Shinobi World continue to progress."

Orochimaru felt as if he had entered an entirely new field. Problems that had puzzled him for years suddenly became clear.

The child was right.

One person's immortality brought nothing but self-indulgence.

A group's immortality brought endless war!

But legacy meant generations of people striving, bringing peace to the generations that followed!

This was the truth!

The truth suited to the Shinobi World!