At night, Orochimaru sat deep in thought within his base. Had he been completely betrayed?
Over the past few days, he had tried summoning Manda, yet had not received even the slightest response.
At that moment, a voice sounded from outside the door. "Lord Orochimaru, I'm here."
"Setsuna, come in."
Orochimaru examined the visitor. "The Chunin Ninja Exams seem to be starting soon. Does Setsuna still have time to visit me? Shouldn't you be making more preparations for yourself?"
Setsuna said calmly, "They're only the Chunin Ninja Exams. There's nothing to prepare for."
"Hehe, with Setsuna's strength, there is naturally no need to care about the Chunin Ninja Exams. But what about the changes that might occur during them?" Orochimaru said sinisterly. "Holding the Joint Chunin Exams at such a sensitive time makes it hard not to question Hidden Sand Village's intentions."
"I'm merely a lowly Genin. Such matters aren't for me to consider yet," Setsuna said modestly.
"A lowly Genin?" Orochimaru could not help laughing. "By the way, Setsuna, have you summoned Manda recently?"
"No." Setsuna answered openly. It had been a year since he summoned Manda, so of course it had not been recently.
"I see. Snake Summoned Beasts truly are untrustworthy." Seeing that Setsuna did not seem to be lying, Orochimaru could not help sighing.
Setsuna's eyes flickered. "Speaking of snake Summoned Beasts, Lord Orochimaru, I heard from Senior Minato Namikaze that Mount Myōboku has a Sage Art inheritance. Does Ryūchi Cave have one as well?"
Although Minato Namikaze had never said that, it did not matter. He only needed to serve as a convenient backdrop.
"Oh? Is Setsuna interested in Sage Art?" Orochimaru asked.
"I'm just a little curious," Setsuna answered truthfully.
He truly was not interested in Sage Art itself. What interested him were the