Orochimaru, You're Thinking Too Small

"Oh?" Orochimaru found this interesting. "You're the only one who came back alive?"

"No, he didn't do anything. He said he was... visiting a friend..." the Sound Ninja said cautiously.

"A friend?" Orochimaru smiled.

Uchiha Shingen Orochimaru wasn't himself.

Doesn't he know what kind of people he's hired?

Uchiha Shingen had very few friends, and they were all in Leaf Village.

As for Orochimaru, he was certainly not a friend, but he wasn't exactly an enemy either.

They share a connection as descendants of the Ryūchi Cave sect.

However, in the eyes of the White Snake Sage, Uchiha Shingen, who had learned the Dragon Cave Sage Technique, was probably a true member of Ryūchi Cave.

But he didn't learn it.

"Understood." Orochimaru turned to pack his things. "Bring him here. You can handle the situation yourselves, but don't give him an excuse to kill someone."

Blood shouldn't be seen in the bridal chamber, and Orochimaru was a man of principle.

As for making tea and such.

He's already shown Uchiha Shingen around his newest lab, does he still need tea?

Okay, actually no. In this underground base, only the laboratory is finished; the other rooms are still in a bare state, let alone furnished.

At most, they set up a cafeteria.

Orochimaru wasn't ignorant of proper greeting etiquette, but wasn't there absolutely nothing there?

Anyway, it was Uchiha Shingen who came to find him himself, so the conditions are simple and he'll just have to make do.

The Sound Ninja at the entrance have disappeared.

Orochimaru ignored him and continued cleaning.

He meticulously organized and cleaned the equipment using specialized tools.

These are all his treasures.

Footsteps sounded again. Orochimaru didn't turn around. He calmly tidied up his tools before turning to look at the door.

Uchiha Shingen stood there, looking at him with a strange expression.

The two living descendants of Ryūchi Cave looked at each other.

The Sound Ninja who brought Uchiha Shingen lowered his head, carefully took a few steps back, and seeing that no one was paying attention to him, ran away with peace of mind.

The big shot is playing a staring contest game; he's under too much pressure.

After a while, Orochimaru spoke first.

"You were looking for me?"

"Look how Lord Orochimaru is doing," said Uchiha Shingen, glancing around. "Your lab is no worse than the one in Leaf Village."

The construction details of this laboratory are not very good.

Of the five great ninja villages, Hidden Leaf Village has the best biotechnology, but its foundation wasn't laid by Orochimaru.

"Are you mocking me?" Orochimaru said. "Isn't this getting a bit boring?"

"No, actually I took some cold medicine before I left home, and my mouth tastes bitter." Uchiha Shingen certainly didn't have the time to mock Orochimaru.

The premise of sarcasm is invalid.

After Orochimaru defected, the Hokage Building had been searching for his whereabouts, mainly because Orochimaru knew Leaf Village too well. If he joined another ninja village, he would become the biggest threat to Hidden Leaf Village.

But Uchiha Shingen knew this was impossible.

Joining another ninja village? Impossible.

Leaf Village couldn't give him what he wanted, so what's the point of joining another ninja village?

As for the Orochimaru harbored resentment because he didn't become Hokage and would take revenge on Leaf Village, that's even more ridiculous.

Orochimaru doesn't have that kind of free time.

This Legendary Sannin was already a tech-obsessed geek.

If no one supervises him, he can play in the lab by himself forever.

Leaf Village still holds in his heart are the bonds between the Legendary Sannin and the memories of his master and students.

This kind of thing can't disappear.

Of course, the word "bond" isn't exactly a positive term, but it's quite fitting when applied to the Legendary Sannin.

This thing isn't necessarily a harmonious and friendly style; being strange and complicated is the norm.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade met as children, cooperated, argued, were impetuous in their youth, and fought together.

When he risked his life to save the other person, it was out of genuine affection; when he severed ties with the enemy, his actions were also genuine, and there was no holding back.

At least Orochimaru is like that.

You already know the color of my underwear, so why would I need to tell you?

Uchiha Shingen always believed that true friendship meant neither kneeling down to beg the other to stay, nor one person making unilateral sacrifices.

Orochimaru truly lived up to his reputation, remaining steadfast in his chosen path despite the incomprehension of his friends and teachers, even when their positions became irreconcilable. Yet, he could nonchalantly remark, "Then grandpa's going to play by himself."

Orochimaru's greatest strength is his ability to endure loneliness.

"Shingen- kun, what brings you here?" Orochimaru asked.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Since we're already here, how about we do an experiment together? I can trade."

"No need," Uchiha Shingen waved his hand. "I don't use a knife on myself."

"Of course, we must be careful." Orochimaru nodded in agreement. "If we act rashly without testing enough samples, we cannot succeed."

As he looked around the lab, he sighed and said, "It's a pity we didn't bring any of the previous samples out."

Isn't that obvious? Would you even be allowed to bring it out?

"Who gave you permission to experiment on your own people? If you hadn't done it this way, none of this would have happened," Uchiha Shingen sighed. "What were you thinking back then? Was it intentional?"

"No, it's just that I find it really boring." Orochimaru waved his hand. "Let's not talk about the past. You still haven't told me why you wanted to see me."

Chapter 42 Orochimaru, your vision is too narrow.

Could you send me a copy of your Cursed Seal technique?

You definitely can't say that, right?

There still needs to be some groundwork laid.

"Have you ever thought about going back?" Uchiha Shingen asked.

He thought this setup was good, and besides, he was also curious about the issue himself.

In the original timeline, Orochimaru ended up helping Uchiha Sasuke. Although he gave some reasons, they weren't very convincing.

"Danzo quite decisively." Orochimaru chuckled. "The Wood Release experiment couldn't have succeeded. Just tell the Third Hokage that the child's Wood Release wasn't the kind Leaf Village wanted."

"I'm not here to deliver a message to the Third," Uchiha Shingen said.

"Oh, never mind then. Let's change the subject." Orochimaru's expression was strange. "Does Shingen- kun want the Wood Release experiments to continue, or not?"

Uchiha Shingen looked at him.

"You didn't go dig up the First's grave again, did you?"

"Of course, this research direction is wrong," Orochimaru said. "The First Hokage possessed an exceptionally strong vitality, even stronger than the Uzumaki Clan. The secret lies in his Chakra, but unfortunately, I have no clue about that."

After thinking for a moment, he added:

"From Leaf Village's current perspective, the most practical and effective method is still the power of the Uzumaki Clan and your Uchiha Clan."

Uchiha Shingen nodded.

Orochimaru was telling the truth.

Uchiha Shingen never had a high opinion of the Wood Release experiment.

My first timeline focused on researching Chakra, but even with the best resources, Ashura's Chakra was truly impossible to replicate.

Of course, no one but him knew the real reason why Senju Hashirama's Chakra was so unique.

By the time of the Third, the Wood Release experiments had actually been compromised—it didn't require Chakra; having Wood Release was sufficient.

From that time onward, the Wood Release experiments became a pure waste of human lives.

Just look at Yamato's behavior after being controlled by White Zetsu in the original timeline to see that without sufficient Yang Release power, the Wood Release he gained was completely not worth the sacrifices he made.

However, this completely pointless research also failed after Orochimaru's defection.

There is no one left in Leaf Village who can conduct Wood Release experiments.

"So, Lord Shingen, you came to see me because the Uzumaki Clan is going to rebuild?"

Orochimaru watched Uchiha Shingen with great interest.

As a student on whom Sarutobi Hiruzen had placed high hopes, he was naturally well aware of the Hokage Building and the Uchiha Clan's dirty secrets, making him one of the people in Konoha who knew the most about all of this.

The Hokage Building and the Uchiha Clan seem incredibly impressive now, but Orochimaru sees them as nothing special.

People all pursue wealth.

But wealth comes from peace, and peace comes from force.

The decisive factor was the outrageously outstanding martial prowess of this generation of the Uchiha Clan, which almost recreated the glory of the village's founding.

Now, the clan and the lineage are on par. As for the most sensitive issue, the Tailed Beasts, Uchiha Shingen suppressed the Nine-Tails first and then subdued the Two-Tails, becoming the third person in Hidden Leaf Village's history to completely control the power of the Tailed Beasts.

The two sides are now completely evenly matched.

Therefore, the Hokage Building now has an extremely good relationship with the Uchiha Clan.

Previously, when he suppressed the Uchiha Clan, even if they turned against him, he would only complain of growing pains.

Orochimaru believed that this honeymoon was unlikely to last forever, as the human heart is never satisfied.

If Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha could turn against each other, what's the point of their meager friendship?

As long as no one from the Uchiha Clan becomes Hokage, it's only a matter of time before they revert to a facade of harmony masking underlying discord.

Even if it ends, the alliance between the Hyuga Clan and Uchiha Clan will probably not disappear. The Hyuga Clan benefited the most from the alliance with the Uchiha Clan and were the most deeply bound to it, so there's no way they can turn back.

To be honest, Orochimaru was very surprised. He knew that the Uchiha Clan could be incredibly powerful when they got strong, but he didn't expect them to be this strong.

Putting aside the two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan, he had never seen Three-Tomoe Sharingan as strong as Uchiha Shingen's.

No wonder the Hokage Building also hopes to use this opportunity to revive the Uzumaki Clan.

It's definitely another strategy employed by the old man and those two.

Thinking about this, Orochimaru felt that his decision to leave Leaf Village was absolutely right; with these people around, he could forget about doing any proper research.

I waste my time Tenten on these trivial matters.

"Rebuild it then." Uchiha Shingen pretended not to notice the sarcasm in Orochimaru's tone. "I actually came to tell you about Anko's situation. I took her to Ryūchi Cave."

"That child went to Ryūchi Cave," Orochimaru said calmly. "What, you're going to train her?"

"I also tricked her a bit, so consider this compensation. We're from the same village."

"Heh..." Orochimaru sneered, "You're recruiting disciples everywhere, but be careful you don't get bitten before you even have a chance to use them."

He said something that Uchiha Shingen found extremely out of place.

"Don't underestimate the Will of Fire."

"Then don't underestimate Jiraiya," Uchiha Shingen said. "You've already entered his book, do you want me to bring you a set next time?"

So what if it annoys people? Who's afraid of who?

The effect was quite good; Orochimaru was clearly annoyed.

Although he still maintained a cool expression, Uchiha Shingen's keen eyesight, honed over three playthroughs, wouldn't be wrong.

As for Orochimaru's suggestion, it was even worse.