Kabuto Yakushi nodded. "Yes, Sasuke's doing quite well."
"He's deeply favored by Lord Orochimaru."
"Oh, right. Before I came, he asked me to send you his regards."
Hinata smiled and shook her head. "That sounds obviously fake. I'm guessing he's been wearing that bitter face of his the whole time, like the whole world owes him a million."
Kabuto Yakushi replied, "Is it really appropriate to expose him like that?"
Hinata smiled as well. "It wasn't hard to guess."
Then she said, "All right, welcome here as well. Oh, and if the conditions are right, I think I can meet with Orochimaru."
"After all, he's one of the Sannin. I'm his fan."
Hearing this, Kabuto Yakushi suddenly became rather secretive. "Hey! I shouldn't say this, but I'll quietly tell you a secret!"
"Lord Orochimaru might not have much time left, ever since the Konoha Crush Plan."
"After the Third Naruto, Hiruzen Sarutobi, used the S-rank Reaper Death Seal to seal the souls of Lord Orochimaru's arms..."
"Then, during that conflict with the other two Sannin, his injuries worsened even further. On top of that, he still had his usual research to deal with, as well as exhausting troubles like training Sasuke Uchiha."
"His body has now been completely worn down."
"And Sasuke is truly like a newborn venomous snake, capable of dealing Lord Orochimaru a fatal blow at any moment."
As he said this, he looked somewhat sorrowful, as though he was deeply distressed by it all.
Hinata seemed somewhat surprised as well. "That bad?"
Kabuto Yakushi forced himself to lift his head again and said with a bit more spirit, "Actually, Lord Orochimaru is quite decent. At least, he's a little better than other people."
Hinata did not agree with that.
Still, no matter what, Orochimaru truly possessed a