Laboratory

Uchiha Obito, who had yet to endure the repeated beatings dealt by Kakashi Hatake graduating at five and becoming a chunin at six, was instantly stunned into silence.

He knew Yin Jie was a genius of their Uchiha Clan and had even awakened the Sharingan he had always dreamed of.

But no matter how talented someone was, there had to be some basic rules, right? He had only attended the Ninja Academy for a little over a year, yet he had already graduated and become a ninja?

This wasn't scientific at all!

Uchiha Obito, who lacked a clear enough understanding of the Sharingan, couldn't comprehend it, but he was deeply shaken nonetheless.

Seeing Uchiha Obito's stunned expression, Yin Jie stopped paying attention to him. After lightly patting him on the shoulder, he turned and left.

In the southeastern part of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Yin Jie leaped and darted through the forest, his footsteps echoing through the tranquil woods with a steady "tap, tap, tap."

Suddenly, just as Yin Jie leaped toward another towering tree ahead and landed on one of its branches—

A tall man wearing a hood and ANBU attire, with a demonic mask covering his face, appeared before Yin Jie in an instant and swept a cold gaze over him.

"Uchiha Yin Jie?"

A low, emotionless voice rang out. Though phrased as a question, its tone was certain. "Come with me. Lord Orochimaru is waiting for you ahead!"

The man's appearance confirmed Yin Jie's earlier suspicions about Orochimaru.

Although no members of the Uchiha Clan served in the ANBU, and the ANBU was not open to their clan, Yin Jie still knew this most basic intelligence.

The masks of the Hidden Leaf's ANBU were all styled after different animals. They would never feature a demon face like the one worn by the man before him.

Therefore, this man was not ANBU directly under the Hokage, but a member of Danzo Shimura's Root!

Orochimaru had indeed begun closely cooperating with Danzo Shimura. And judging from the respect on the Root ninja's face when he mentioned Orochimaru's name, it likely would not be long before Orochimaru formally joined Root.

Before long, led by the Root ninja, Yin Jie arrived before an enormous tree that would have taken roughly five people linking arms to encircle.

The Root ninja stopped, staring levelly into the empty air before him as his hands rapidly formed seals.

Then, he extended his right hand and pressed down in the air. With a low shout of "Open," a translucent curtain of light suddenly emerged from the void slightly ahead of the tree's roots, rippling in waves.

A concealed underground entrance appeared before Yin Jie. A faint light shone out from within, accompanied by waves of chilling aura.

"Go in. Lord Orochimaru is inside!"

The Root ninja pointed at the underground entrance as he spoke to Yin Jie, then turned and vanished in an instant. His task was complete.

This was a laboratory Danzo Shimura had specially prepared for Orochimaru's experiments. Given his standing in Root, he did not have the authority to enter. The task he had received was only to bring Yin Jie here for Orochimaru.

Even the hand seals for opening the barrier had only been temporarily granted to him by Orochimaru. After using them this once, once Yin Jie entered, they would lose their effect.

This place was also not far from Danzo's Root base, only a little over one kilometer away.

The empty underground passage was deathly silent, without the slightest sound, as though time itself had come to a halt here.

The lights on both sides were dim and faint, emitting a cold, profound glow. Grim and secluded, they flickered like ghosts, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Yin Jie proceeded down the passage. Before long, he entered the laboratory at the end.

The instant Yin Jie stepped into Orochimaru's laboratory, a rich, pungent odor assaulted his nostrils. It was likely the smell of chemical or biological reagents, similar to the strange formaldehyde-laced odor in hospitals he had visited in his previous life.

His brows furrowed deeply, only to relax again moments later.

He disliked this smell.

But he did not reject it, either.

Yin Jie looked around, carefully examining the laboratory.

Spacious. That was Yin Jie's first impression.

Then he noticed the bookshelves lining both walls of the laboratory, packed to the brim.

Orochimaru had sorted all kinds of books into categories and neatly arranged them on the shelves—history, folklore, ninjutsu, medicine, and more. Most, however, were scientific books related to various experiments.

Yin Jie's eyes immediately lit up. As expected, he had come to the right place!

Wasn't this exactly what he needed?

The Uchiha Clan lacked none of the ordinary books, and their collection of various ninjutsu was exceptionally rich. Yet they had virtually no books related to scientific research.

After all, the Uchiha Clan did not excel in such matters, and throughout their history, no clansman had ever possessed a talent for scientific research.

Therefore, although Yin Jie had no particular talent in this field either, he still needed to understand the relevant knowledge.

And Orochimaru was his best path and choice.

"Yin Jie-kun! It seems you're quite interested in these books!"

At that moment, accompanied by a hoarse voice, Orochimaru, who had just finished an experiment, walked out from the innermost area.

He saw the yearning and ambition blazing fiercely in Yin Jie's bright eyes.

"Yes, Teacher Orochimaru!"

Yin Jie answered with respectful movements and tone. This was the respect he should show to the man who could be considered the strongest scientist in the ninja world today.

"Interesting!"

Seeing Yin Jie's maturity, so unlike that of an ordinary seven-year-old child, Orochimaru extended his tongue to lick his lips and gave a sinister smile. "In that case, I'll teach you how to enter this place later. Whatever you wish to read, come by whenever you have time. If there's anything you don't understand, save it up and ask me when you come."

"Thank you, Teacher Orochimaru!"

Yin Jie thanked him again with complete sincerity. Orochimaru truly was an excellent teacher—he suited Yin Jie's tastes perfectly!

"Now then, come outside with me first. Let me see what you can do!"

Orochimaru considered it briefly before making his decision.

Since he had accepted Yin Jie as his disciple, he would teach him wholeheartedly.

And first, he needed to personally understand his disciple's abilities, rather than relying on the superficial intelligence given to him by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura.

After all, intelligence was not omnipotent, nor could it represent everything.