Orochimaru

Kirito looked at the Giant Snake that had suddenly appeared before him. He did not panic, immediately forming a hand seal as he said softly, "Release."

The next moment, the Giant Snake vanished, and the scene before him returned to normal.

The moment the Genjutsu was dispelled, Kirito quickly retreated several steps, pulled a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch, and stared vigilantly at the man before him, who made him deeply uncomfortable.

Orochimaru!

Kirito had never expected to encounter this guy here. He had sensed a powerful chakra presence near the stairs earlier, but he had not expected it to be Orochimaru.

Shouldn't he still be on the battlefield in the Land of Rain?

Could the war between Konoha and the Rain ninja already be over?

And why had he used Genjutsu on him just now?

Kirito was filled with uncertainty and suspicion. Then, he quietly set up a Sealing Jutsu, preparing to counterattack immediately if the man before him made another move against him.

As Orochimaru watched the wary Kirito, appreciation flashed through his eyes.

He admitted it—he was excited. Unable to resist, he stuck out his long tongue, then slowly drew it back in.

He had truly not expected an eight-year-old brat to dispel his Genjutsu so effortlessly.

He had only intended to play a little joke on this brat with decent chakra.

Yet the other party had broken it so cleanly and decisively.

How interesting.

Having hurried back this time, he had actually encountered such an interesting genius brat.

When Kirito saw Orochimaru stick out his tongue, his stomach immediately churned. He nearly could not stop himself from activating the Sealing Jutsu he had successfully laid down, binding this disgusting fellow before delivering a hard Gentle Fist strike to his face.

"Brat, what's your name?"

Orochimaru swallowed his tongue back in and spoke to Kirito in a somewhat hoarse voice, revealing a smile that would frighten any child.

Please, stop smiling.

Kirito complained inwardly, then asked coldly, "Who are you? Why did you use Genjutsu on me just now?"

"Ah, that? My apologies. Consider this my gift of apology."

Seeing that Kirito was a little upset, Orochimaru smiled.

After saying that, he opened his mouth. A snake crawled out from within, opened its mouth, and spat out a scroll covered in slime.

Orochimaru took the scroll and tossed it toward Kirito.

At once, a Chakra Thread grew from a chakra point on Kirito's shoulder. It precisely wrapped around the incoming scroll, held it suspended in midair, then slowly lowered it before Kirito.

When Orochimaru saw Kirito use a Chakra Thread to catch the scroll, the vertical pupils in his golden eyes instantly shrank to pinpoints.

He could not take it anymore. He was excited again, and his tongue slipped out once more.

"Wonderful. At such a young age, he can freely open the chakra points in his body and possesses such exceptional chakra control. This child is so much like me when I was young."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and looked at Kirito as though he were a priceless treasure.

At the same time, undisguised admiration and a trace of greed appeared in his eyes.

He suddenly had the urge to take on a disciple.

Being watched by Orochimaru like that made Kirito feel awful. If he had not already discovered several Jonin-level chakra signatures nearby, one of them belonging to the familiar Senju Ciyun, he would have wanted to turn around and run.

The person in front of him was far too perverse.

He was reaching the end of his tolerance.

"My lord, I'll accept your apology gift. My name is Kirito Tonsaka. By the order of my teacher, Senju Ciyun, I am going to clean the Records Room, so I'll be taking my leave."

Without even looking at the scroll's contents, Kirito held it with his Chakra Thread and spoke indifferently before boldly continuing forward.

"Kirito Tonsaka, I'll remember you. If you ever need anything in the future, you can come find me. My name is Orochimaru."

As Kirito passed by Orochimaru, Orochimaru's hoarse voice sounded beside his ear.

Kirito did not respond. He quickened his pace, fleeing as he widened the distance between himself and Orochimaru.

Only after Kirito disappeared at the stairway did Orochimaru slowly withdraw his gaze and turn toward a female medical ninja standing before him with a frosty expression.

The newcomer was none other than Senju Ciyun.

"Orochimaru, don't set your sights on Kirito. He is Mito-sama's disciple."

Ciyun warned Orochimaru in an icy tone.

She did not like this fellow Konoha ninja, who was also Tsunade's teammate, in the slightest. Those golden eyes of his, filled with contempt and malice, disgusted her.

This man was extremely dangerous. Letting him come into contact with Kirito would definitely not be a good thing.

"So that's how it is. That child, huh? I heard Tsunade mention him before. He really is an exceptionally outstanding child. And he has indeed learned quite an impressive Sealing Jutsu from Mito-sama. No wonder Mito-sama favors him so much."

Hearing this, Orochimaru lowered his head to look at the ground beneath his feet and spoke thoughtfully.

Kirito's little actions earlier naturally had not escaped him, another person proficient in Sealing Jutsu. One of the modified snakes on his body, which possessed exceptionally strong chakra perception, had long since noticed Kirito secretly using chakra. He simply had not exposed him.

However, since Kirito had not activated the Sealing Jutsu he had secretly set up, Orochimaru did not know exactly what kind of Sealing Jutsu Kirito had used.

"It's good that you understand. Kirito will become Lady Tsunade's important right-hand man in the future. You'd better not interfere with his growth."

Ciyun warned him again.

Although Orochimaru had spoken quietly just now, she had still heard him. She needed to make her position clear now and deny Orochimaru any chance to cause trouble.

If she were certain that she could defeat Orochimaru, she would actually like to get rid of this source of trouble.

Beat him until he no longer dared to set his sights on her precious person.

Unfortunately, she could not do it alone. Orochimaru was extremely powerful. On the battlefield in the Land of Rain, he had already earned the title of one of Konoha's Sannin alongside Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya, becoming a renowned ninja throughout the Shinobi World.

However, just because she could not do it alone did not mean the Senju Clan could not. So long as Mito-sama and Lady Tsunade were still alive, she doubted Orochimaru would dare lay a hand on Kirito, Mito-sama's disciple.

"Since he's Tsunade's right-hand man, I won't touch him. Goodbye."

Orochimaru met Ciyun Liu's dangerous gaze directly and sneered, then passed by Ciyun and slowly headed toward the hospital exit.

Ciyun turned around and watched Orochimaru's gradually receding figure, puzzled. "Why did that disgusting fellow come back at a time like this?"

A few minutes later, Orochimaru walked out of the hospital. He raised his head and shielded his eyes from the somewhat glaring sunlight outside.

When he lowered his hand, an Anbu ninja wearing a Cat Mask had already appeared ahead of him.

"Danzo's man, huh? Go on, what is it?"

Orochimaru instantly recognized the newcomer's identity and looked at him with interest.

"Orochimaru, Lord Danzo requests your presence."

The Root ninja replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.