Has This Kid Always Been This Arrogant?

Jin threw up off to the side for a while before he braced himself against the wall and slowly walked back in, griping, "That's way too disgusting... did you dig this out of a pile of corpses?"

"I don't know. Danzo gave it to me." Orochimaru shrugged and set the scalpel in his hand aside. "We've been at it all morning. Jin, let's go out and get some air."

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing." Jin hurriedly agreed. After following Orochimaru to the mountaintop, Orochimaru suddenly said, "Jin, won't you try your newly acquired summon?"

"This..." Jin hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he unwrapped his bandaged finger, endured the pain, squeezed out blood again, and smeared it over the palm of his other hand. "Summoning Technique!"

"Bang~"

A small, snow-white snake appeared before them. Jin's eyes widened in disbelief. "No way, right? Last time I summoned a toad, it was a tadpole, and this time it's another little snake that hasn't even grown up?"

"If you're weak, just say you're weak. Don't blame others." The white snake flicked her tongue, displeased. "With your spiritual power, if you released even one-tenth of me, your body would explode and you'd die on the spot."

"?? And it's female?" Jin looked at Orochimaru in confusion.

"Haha, White Scale's personality is still the same." Orochimaru smiled off to the side. White Scale twisted her snake head and looked at Orochimaru in dissatisfaction. "Lord Orochimaru, how could you casually let an outsider sign a Dragon Cave contract?"

"Ah... fate, I suppose... Jin randomly summoned you. It has nothing to do with me. That means you and Jin are fated, I'd say." Orochimaru shrugged.

The man and the snake looked at each other, then said in unison, "Hmph! Who's fated with this guy!"

"I'm going back! Detestable human!" White Scale glared viciously at Jin as she spoke, then took the initiative to release the summoning technique.

"Uncle Snake, what kind of summon is that?" Jin sighed.

The two of them looked at the forest ahead, and for a while, neither spoke... As time ticked by, Orochimaru said softly, "Jin, where do you think the meaning of life lies?"

"The meaning of life... lies in having time to do the things you want to do, I guess." Jin answered softly as well.

"Oh? Is that your view on the meaning of life, Jin?" Orochimaru looked with interest at Jin, who was much shorter than him.

Jin nodded slightly. "Yeah. But if you can't control your own circumstances, how can your circumstances ever be controlled by you? Isn't that right?"

Orochimaru froze for a moment, then smiled calmly. "Haha, Jin, you really are interesting."

The two fell silent again. After about ten minutes, Orochimaru suddenly said mysteriously, "No experiments today. I'm taking you somewhere."

"Hm? Sure." Jin nodded. He was not afraid Orochimaru would try to kill him; at least for now, he could be certain of that.

"I'll give you a set of clothes first." Orochimaru took another scroll from his pocket and handed it to Jin. "A young man should wear clothes in different styles more often."

"Sure." Jin accepted the scroll without the slightest politeness. When he opened it, he saw a white robe, with the Uchiha Clan crest embroidered on the back and two snake patterns on each cuff.

Jin touched the clothes and thought to himself, Damn, this fabric is pretty nice~ it feels so comfortable. Uncle Snake actually put this much thought into it?

After Jin changed, he set off together with Orochimaru. This time, though, the two of them walked as leisurely as if they were taking a stroll.

As they moved through the streets, Jin suddenly said, "Uncle Snake, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"Mm, I haven't." Orochimaru also realized he seemed to have been busy all morning. Jin grabbed Orochimaru and began sprinting toward a ramen shop. "Come on, Uncle Snake, I'll treat you to ramen."

"Eh..."

Orochimaru looked at Jin, who was running while tugging on his sleeve, and suddenly felt that this boy was quite like Jiraiya... At least, he was pretty neurotic. The only difference was that Jiraiya had been dead last when he was young, while this kid was a genuine genius...

Ichiraku Ramen

"Two bowls of super-duper unbeatable mega miso ramen!" The moment Jin entered the ramen shop, he could not wait to shout.

"Coming right up, you two customers, please have a seat! It'll be ready in no time!" Uncle Ichiraku greeted them warmly.

Orochimaru sat on a stool and asked curiously, "Do you come here often?"

"No, first time." Jin's face was full of anticipation. He had been craving this bite for a very long time...

"Here it is! Two bowls of super-duper unbeatable mega miso ramen!" Uncle Ichiraku carried over two steaming bowls of ramen and placed them in front of the two.

"I'm digging in!" Jin paid no mind to the scalding ramen and wolfed it down. Seeing this, Orochimaru was very curious inside. Why did Jin sometimes give him the feeling of an adult, yet at other times seem like a child?

The two of them looked like they belonged to two completely different styles. Orochimaru chewed slowly and carefully, while Jin tore through his food like a storm, gulping it down ravenously...

"Burp~ Uncle, how much?" Jin sprawled on the chair, burping. "One hundred yen." Uncle Ichiraku said cheerfully.

"Buurp~ Got it!" Jin nodded very generously. "Uncle Snake, pay the bill."

Orochimaru, who was drinking soup, choked on those sudden words and could not help coughing twice. "Weren't you treating me?"

"Well, you see, the reward from my previous mission was confiscated by Sister Kushina. She said she was saving it for me to marry a wife." Jin said it with complete confidence.

In the end, Lord Orochimaru silently bore a price he should never have had to bear, though to him, it was hardly worth mentioning...

Root

Danzo acted quite ordinarily toward Orochimaru's sudden visit, but the child beside Orochimaru surprised Danzo a little... especially that clan crest on his back.

"Orochimaru, aren't you going to introduce this little friend?" Danzo said cheerfully.

Before Orochimaru could speak, Jin answered first, "Danzo, even if you haven't met me, you should know who I am, right? I don't believe for a second you haven't investigated me."

"??"

Danzo looked at Orochimaru in utter astonishment, as if saying, Has this child always been this bold? Orochimaru merely shrugged, as if to say, Beats me.

And Jin, as if he had returned to his own home, sat down on the sofa without the slightest courtesy and crossed his legs. "Lord Danzo, if you want to make a move against the Uchiha Clan, I don't really have any objections."

"However, don't make a move against Brother Fugaku and Sister Mikoto. But I do have to remind you, after all, I'm from the Uchiha Clan. If you truly have some improper ideas, I suggest you think twice."

"Brat! Do you know where you are?!" Danzo, having been talked back to, could no longer suppress the rage in his heart. Even Hiruzen had never spoken to him like this. How did this little brat in front of him dare!

Orochimaru looked at Jin, extremely curious how the boy would handle this situation he had provoked himself. Danzo was clearly enraged, but no matter what the final outcome was, he would definitely protect Jin... Orochimaru was perfectly clear on that point.

Jin withstood the pressure coming from Danzo. His scarlet Sharingan emerged as he stared straight at Danzo and said coldly, "After all, back then, the one who hesitated in his heart was you, wasn't it, Lord Danzo?"

Seeing that Danzo did not understand, Jin kindly reminded him again, "That incident before the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, sacrificed himself. Isn't that Lord Danzo's lifelong knot in his heart?"

"You!" Danzo shot to his feet and glared furiously at Jin. "How do you know that!!"

Jin silently said in his heart, Don't ask. If you ask, it's because I read the script.