The conversation ends here.
Senju Chen knows very well that any further persuasion will only arouse the resentment of Orochimaru. This teacher himself is essentially an extremely egoistic and proud idealist, but his "ideal" is distorted and crazy in the eyes of the world.
He has already planned a broad road to "truth" for himself, and any words that try to bring him back to the "right path" will sound to him like the noise of ordinary people.
"Teacher, regarding Kabuto Yakushi..." Senju Chen mentioned casually before leaving, "Do you know his origins?"
"It's just an interesting material fished out of the 'root'." Orochimaru didn't look back, his eyes were still glued to the huge culture tank obsessively, and his tone was as indifferent as if he was evaluating a tool, "His Medical Ninjutsu and intelligence processing capabilities are quite useful, and it can save me a lot of trouble. As for the past... Who doesn't have a past that they don't want to be known about?"
The implication is that he doesn't care about Kabuto Yakushi's past, he only cares about the current value of Kabuto Yakushi.
"I understand." Senju Chen bowed slightly, turned around and left this core area full of madness and creative desire.
When the heavy alloy door slowly closed behind him, the majestic pressure and hot atmosphere were completely isolated. The solemnity on Senju Chen's face instantly dissipated, and he put on that gentle smile again.
In the area outside the laboratory, Mitaraishi Anko was poking at an experimental report with his fingers boredly, muttering something in his mouth. On the other side, Kabuto Yakushi was meticulously rearranging the categorized scrolls and information on the shelves, moving gently, as if he was handling some treasure.
When they heard the door opening, they both stopped what they were doing and looked over.
"Have you finished chatting with the teacher?" Anko saw Senju Chen coming out, his eyes lit up, he immediately dropped the report in his hand and hurried to greet him.
"Yeah." Senju Chen nodded.
"Then what's next? Let's go eat meatballs! I know there's a new store that's delicious!" Anko shook his arm expectantly, as if the girl who was still complaining that he never came back just now was not her.
Senju Chen smiled and shook his head, looking past her and landing on the silver-haired boy not far away who was so quiet that he had almost no presence.
"Before going to eat, I would like to visit Bro Minato and Sister Kushina."
"Ah? Going to Senior Minato's house?" Anko was stunned for a moment, and then became excited, "Okay, okay! I haven't seen Sister Kushina for a long time, so we just want to go together! She said she wanted to teach me how to make a new Sealing Jutsu last time!"
Senju Chen agreed with a smile, and then pulled Anko, who couldn't wait, to Kabuto Yakushi.
He looked at the young man in front of him who always maintained a humble attitude, and took the initiative to say, "I just heard the teacher mention you. From now on, we will be brothers. Please give me your advice."
When Kabuto Yakushi heard this, his body visibly stiffened, and he quickly waved his hands, almost unable to hold on to the standardized and humble smile on his face, "No, I dare not take it seriously! Senior, you are serious! I am just a subordinate of Lord Orochimaru, responsible for handling some chores, unlike a direct disciple like you!"
"I'm often away from the village, and my teacher's temperament is... immersed in research, and he is often alone." Senju Chen's eyes are gentle, like a senior who cares about his teachers and supports his juniors.
"Now that you can assist the teacher, I can feel more at ease. Don't worry about what others say, since the teacher recognizes you, you are my senior brother here."
These words caused thousands of ripples in Kabuto Yakushi's heart.
Brother...
From the moment he can remember, he was trained by Sunagakure to specialize in intelligence work. His name was given to him by Konoha Orphanage and dean Yakushi Nonō. After going to the "root", he became a spy who walked in the darkness and could be abandoned at any time. Everything he owned, including the name "Kabuto Yakushi", was given and was a "setting" that existed for the mission.
Until he personally killed Yakushi Nonō, the adoptive mother who gave him his name and identity, he was completely lost.
It was Lord Orochimaru who found him and gave him the new identity of "Orochimaru's subordinate", allowing him to find a coordinate to cling to from the endless self-denial. He willingly became Orochimaru's tool, because tools are at least valuable.
But Senju Chen, the genius whom Lord Orochimaru praised highly and was hailed as Senju Clan's hope, told him that they were "senior brothers".
This is not an order from a superior to a subordinate, nor an approval of a tool by a master, but an equal and humane acceptance.
Kabuto Yakushi's fingers holding his glasses tightened slightly. His eyes behind the lenses flickered violently, and he could even feel the uncontrolled, chaotic beating of his heart. This feeling... was very similar to when Lord Orochimaru said to him, "You stay with me and become my right-hand man," but it was a little different.
If what Orochimaru gives is "the meaning of existence", then what Senju Chen gives at this moment is a kind of... "identity recognition".
"Hey hey hey! What do you mean the teacher is alone!"
Mitaraishi Anko, who had been standing next to her for a long time, finally couldn't help it anymore. She puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction, put her hands on her hips, and forced her way between the two of them, "Am I not the disciple of the teacher? Chen, when you are not around, I am always the one accompanying the teacher, okay?"
The girl's clear and dissatisfied voice instantly dispersed the subtle atmosphere in the air.
"Yes, yes, Anko is the most powerful." Senju Chen smiled and ruffled her hair, pulling her around and walking out, "Let's go, if it's a little later, Bro Minato's family might have finished dinner."
"Ah! Hurry up!" As soon as he mentioned eating, Anko's attention was immediately diverted. He pulled Senju Chen and ran outside, still muttering, "Let me tell you, the food Sister Kushina cooks now is super delicious. Although it's not as good as what you cook... but it's still delicious!"
Senju Chen was pulled by her and looked back.
I saw Kabuto Yakushi still standing in place, maintaining a slightly bowed posture, like a quiet sculpture.
After leaving the gloomy underground research institute and returning to the surface, the noisy atmosphere of the city and the warm sunshine hit our faces.
People were coming and going on the streets. Compared with when Senju Chen first returned to the village, the tense and restless atmosphere seemed to have dissipated a lot, and was replaced by a more complicated wait-and-see and expectation.
The candidate of Fourth Hokage, this topic hanging over the heads of all Konoha people, has become the only focus in the streets and after dinner.
"Go this way, go this way!" Anko pulled Senju Chen into the commercial street with familiarity, "You can't go to Senior Minato's house empty-handed, right? Sister Kushina likes sweets the most, so let's go to 'Amaguriama' to buy the limited edition chestnut yokan!"
"Okay." Senju Chen follows goodness like a stream.
The two walked side by side in the crowd, Anko was like a cheerful bird, chirping about interesting things happening in the village, such as which ninja shop launched a new Kunai style, and which barbecue restaurant owner gave a customer an extra plate of meat because he had a quarrel with his wife.
Senju Chen listened with a smile, but his eyes swept around from time to time.
He could clearly feel that many eyes were falling on him, either overtly or covertly.
His return itself is a strong political signal.
As the competition for Hokage Position enters a fierce stage, every move he makes as the "Senju orphan", the biological brother of Tsunade, and the proud disciple of Orochimaru will be infinitely magnified and interpreted.
Coupled with previous rumors, many people even speculated that Senju Chen would come back just because Third was about to abdicate.
This also confirmed the news from the side that Third Hokage forced Senju Clan to leave the village.