A Gift Upon Meeting

Looking at the cave before him, with the gloomy forest all around, Jin felt deeply moved. "Mm. Very Uncle Snake."

With his heart full of nerves and unease, he smelled a thick stench of blood before he had even reached the deepest part...

"Hiss~"

The sound of a snake flicking its tongue echoed by Jin's ear. Jin activated his Sharingan, forcing down his discomfort while still staying on guard against the snakes around him that had been watching him the whole time, and slowly walked toward the innermost area.

At last, Jin saw the huge snake-head door up ahead. He swallowed, mustered his courage, and pushed the door open...

"Jin, you're here," Orochimaru said without even raising his head. "I really didn't expect the assistant Teacher Hiruzen assigned me to be you."

"Long time no see, Uncle Snake." Jin deliberately kept a certain distance from Orochimaru, guarding against him suddenly giving him a "snake bite"...

Orochimaru was clearly taken aback by the words "Uncle Snake," then smiled. "Jin, are you afraid of me?"

"No, I'm simply afraid of snakes." Jin stubbornly denied it. Although it was the truth, Orochimaru seemed even scarier than snakes...

"Heh heh. Sit wherever you like. Make your own tea, and pick your own cup." After Orochimaru finished speaking, he went back to studying the thing in the vessel.

Jin looked at the scrolls, notes, and test tubes scattered around. Aside from the sofa on the left... there really did not seem to be anywhere else to sit.

After taking off his mask, Jin still said very politely, "Thank you for saving me, Uncle Snake."

"Mm." Orochimaru casually tossed the scroll in his hand to Jin. "A meeting gift for you."

Jin caught the scroll with one hand, but did not hurry to open it. Orochimaru ignored him too and simply went on doing his own work.

Jin snuck a glance at Orochimaru. Only after discovering that the other man was not looking at him did he carefully place the scroll on the ground, then draw the ninja sword from his back and grip it in his hand.

As if defusing a time bomb, he stood far away and poked the rope open with the tip of his sword. The scroll came loose and unfurled, with "ninja tools" written in the center.

"You're very cautious, Jin," Orochimaru's voice sounded from behind him. Jin hurriedly turned his head, terrified that Orochimaru behind him had already stretched out his neck to give him a bite.

Thank goodness, he had not...

"Haha... well, being a little cautious doesn't hurt." Jin laughed awkwardly. Orochimaru walked around Jin to the front of the scroll and gently pressed his hand onto it. "Summoning Technique."

Bang~

As the white mist dispersed, Orochimaru tossed the sword in his hand to Jin. "Kusanagi Sword. A meeting gift."

"Ah, uh, this..." Jin looked at the sword in his hand, somewhat at a loss. Uncle Snake was way too generous...

"The assistant's work is very simple. Record experimental data and assist me with experiments, that's all," Orochimaru said indifferently. "That wall on the right is all ninjutsu. Read whatever you want."

"Ah..." Jin followed the direction Orochimaru pointed in and looked over. Sure enough... an entire wall was full of ninjutsu scrolls...

Immediately after, Orochimaru continued, "Just come here for a few hours every day. As for payment... we'll settle it according to S-rank mission rates. Jin, do you have any objections?"

"There should... probably... temporarily be none..." Jin muttered quietly. Orochimaru naturally heard him, then taught Jin to recognize all kinds of equipment...

For the entire afternoon, Jin followed behind Orochimaru, either helping him record experimental data or handing him experimental equipment... only Jin could hand over the wrong thing at any time.

In response, Uncle Snake merely said blandly, "Did you skip class every day at the Ninja Academy?"

It was only at dusk that Jin came out of the laboratory. Looking at the Kusanagi Sword and the three scrolls in his hands, he could not help sighing. "Uncle Snake is actually pretty nice..."

Jin, who had originally planned to go straight home, ran into Sakumo taking Kakashi out shopping halfway there. So Jin naturally mooched another meal... and, while he was at it, told Sakumo about Orochimaru giving him a Kusanagi Sword.

"Jin, come find me tomorrow. I can teach you swordsmanship now," Sakumo said after dinner.

"Got it, Master." Jin nodded. After saying goodbye, he went straight home to sleep...

Early the next morning.

After tidying up, Jin headed toward Sakumo's house. When he reached the outskirts, he saw wisps of cooking smoke already rising from the small courtyard not far away.

"Yo, Kakashi, you're up this early?" Jin flickered onto the courtyard wall and teased Kakashi, who was practicing shuriken.

Kakashi was also startled by Jin's sudden appearance, causing the shuriken in his hand to slip free and fly off.

"Can't you use the front door?" Kakashi looked at Jin resentfully. Jin chuckled and dropped down from the wall. "A pastry master never uses the front door."

"Childish." Kakashi rolled his eyes at Jin. Then, taking advantage of the time while Sakumo was making breakfast, Kakashi suddenly suggested, "Let's spar."

"Hm?" Jin blinked. "Are you sure? You and me? Sparring?"

"I'm sure," Kakashi answered firmly.

Ten seconds later, Kakashi, his face full of resentment, abandoned Jin and walked into the room alone. Jin, standing where he was, also sank into deep thought... Did I put too much force into One Thousand Years of Death?

"The basics of swordsmanship: chop, lift, tap, thrust, and deflect." Sakumo demonstrated for Jin while explaining, "And you must coordinate them with the corresponding footwork, or the effect will be greatly reduced."

Jin picked up a small wooden sword from the side and imitated Sakumo's movements. Kakashi sat nearby and complained, "Is that really necessary? You even have to open your Sharingan..."

"With the Sharingan, he can capture the details of the movements better." Sakumo smiled and explained to Kakashi, "This is Jin's innate talent."

"Dad, I want to learn ninjutsu!" Kakashi looked at Sakumo with a serious face. Hearing this, Sakumo pointed again at Jin, who was practicing swordsmanship. "Don't you have a ready-made teacher right there?"

"Him?" Kakashi was somewhat hesitant. "But I always feel like he's unreliable."

"Hahahaha." Hearing his own son's evaluation of his disciple, Sakumo could not help laughing. "If it's learning ninjutsu, Jin is still very reliable. After all, his attainments in ninjutsu have already surpassed the vast majority of jonin."

Hearing this, Kakashi only silently complained, Right, right, right. What decent person develops One Thousand Years of Death for no reason?

After noon, Jin rushed nonstop to the laboratory again. As soon as he entered, he saw Orochimaru wearing a white lab coat and earnestly conducting an experiment there, only the clothes were covered in bloodstains.

"There's a summoning contract scroll in the drawer. Go sign a summoning contract. Otherwise, the snakes issue warnings every time, and that distracts me," Orochimaru reminded him.

"Okay." Jin obediently took the scroll from a nearby drawer, gently bit his finger open with his mouth, and wrote his name on it. Immediately after, he hurriedly wrapped his finger in gauze.

Seeing this, Orochimaru could not help finding it a little funny. "Jin, are you very afraid of pain?"

"Of course." Jin nodded without hesitation, then moved closer to see what Orochimaru was doing.

"Urgh~" Just one glance made Jin remember it for ten thousand years. The operating table was covered in all kinds of human organs, and the eyes on that human face were empty...

"Get used to this smell. After all, you'll have to spend a very long time with them," Orochimaru kindly reminded him.