The night was as thick as ink that could not be melted.
Senju Chen stood in the yard of his house, holding the scroll with three forbidden spells sealed in his hand. The moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadow on the ground, like some kind of ominous omen.
He had not been in a hurry to leave before.
It's because he knows that at this moment, Konoha and Anbu are searching the village like mad dogs for traces of their teacher Orochimaru. Every corner, every secret passage, and even the sewers have been turned upside down.
But they couldn't find it.
He understood the character of his teacher. As early as when he established the research institute, he had left more than one escape route for him. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi might not know all the locations of those secret passages.
"Really, the teacher is playing a little too hard this time." Senju Chen murmured in a low voice, but there was no worry in his tone, but a hint of watching the fun.
He turned around, his figure blending into the night and heading toward the outskirts of the village.
The tiles underfoot made no sound, and the flow of Chakra was suppressed to a minimum.
After passing through several deserted alleys and avoiding the two patrolling teams of Anbu, Senju Chen soon arrived at the edge of the outer barrier of Konoha.
The defense here is at least three times tighter than usual.
But for him, this is not a problem.
As the successor of the Senju Clan, he may have a deeper understanding of the village's enchantment than those responsible for maintaining the enchantment. After all, their Senju Clan ancestors participated in the design of this enchantment, and these are recorded in the secret room of the family's library.
Senju Chen took out a special charm from his arms and attached it to a certain node of the barrier.
Chakra injection.
Silently, a gap appeared in the barrier that could only accommodate one person.
He squeezed in sideways, and the spell burned out automatically behind him, and the barrier closed again, as if it had never been opened.
After leaving the village, Senju Chen's speed suddenly increased.
He jumped among the trees, looking like a ghost, heading towards one of the most likely hiding places in his memory for Orochimaru.
It was an abandoned mine located deep in the mountains on the border of Land of Fire.
In the original work, Orochimaru established a temporary base in a similar place in the early days after his defection. His teacher had a morbid preference for dark and humid environments, as if only in that kind of place could he safely conduct his shady research.
The moonlight was blocked by the tree crowns, and the forest was pitch black.
Occasionally, nocturnal beasts would roar, but they would soon be frightened and flee by some sense of oppression coming from deeper places.
Senju Chen stopped.
He felt it.
That familiar, cold, cold Chakra wave with the unique coldness of snakes.
"Found it."
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth and he walked towards the source of Chakra.
The entrance to the mine was covered by vines and weeds, and it looked like it had been abandoned for many years. But Senju Chen could clearly see that the fractures of the vines were still fresh, and they had obviously been cleaned up recently.
He did not enter rashly, but stood at the entrance of the cave and spoke softly:
"Teacher, I know you are inside. Come out and have a chat?"
The sound was not loud, but it was clearly transmitted deep into the mine.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Just when Senju Chen thought he had guessed the wrong place and was about to turn around and leave--
"Hehehe...Little Chen, you really surprised me."
A hoarse and magnetic voice came from the darkness.
Immediately afterwards, a slender figure slowly walked out from the depths of the mine.
Orochimaru.
His face was paler than usual, and his clothes were a little damaged. He had obviously experienced a lot of fighting during his escape. But those golden snake eyes were still bright, even brighter than they were in Konoha.
"How did you find this place?" Orochimaru licked his lips, with a hint of curiosity in his tone, "I have never told anyone about this place."
"Guess." Senju Chen shrugged, as if it were a matter of course, "Teacher, I still understand your preference for dark and humid environments. In addition, this place is not far or close to Konoha, so it is convenient for you to observe the movements of the village without being easily discovered."
"Interesting..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and looked at his student up and down, "So, you came here in the middle of the night to persuade me to go back and surrender? Or... you want to take me back with your own hands in exchange for your Senju Clan favor in front of the new Hokage?"
His tone was calm, but the probing meaning in his words was too strong to escape.
"Neither."
Senju Chen shook his head, took out the seal scroll from his arms, and threw it directly to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru subconsciously caught it, looked down at the Sealing Jutsu style on the scroll, and his pupils shrank suddenly.
"This is..."
"Spirit Transformation Technique, Eight Branches Technique, and Impure World Reincarnation. They are all some things in my library." Senju Chen's voice was very soft, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting Orochimaru's heart.
Orochimaru was immediately stunned.
His face, which always had a playful smile, now showed a rare trace of confusion.
"Why... why did you give me these?"
For the first time, there was a trace of uncertainty in his voice.
Senju Chen did not answer immediately, but looked up at the night sky.
The moon was mostly covered by dark clouds, with only a corner showing, like some kind of incomplete metaphor.
"Just think of it as a gift to the teacher. In fact, I have always felt that it is a waste for you to stay at Konoha, teacher."
His tone was calm, as if he was stating an obvious fact.
"Konoha is too small, too small to accommodate your ambitions and ideals. Those rotten rules, those self-righteous high-level officials, they will never understand what you are pursuing."
"Rather than being restrained, monitored, and treated as a dangerous object that could lose control at any time in that cage, it's better..."
Senju Chen turned his head and looked at Orochimaru, his eyes as clear as an innocent child.
"It's better to go to a wider place and do what you really want to do."
Orochimaru was silent for a long time.
He looked down at the scroll in his hand, and the light flickered in his golden snake eyes.
After a long time, he suddenly smiled.
The laughter was deep and joyful, as if he had finally found a soulmate.
"Little Chen, do you know? From the day you became my student, I felt that you were different from others."
He raised his head, his snake eyes staring straight at Senju Chen.
"You are so smart, so smart... that sometimes I can't tell whether you are my student or my kind."
Senju Chen smiled but said nothing.
Orochimaru put the scroll away and turned around to return to the depths of the mine.
But after walking a few steps, he stopped again.
"Little Chen, won't you come with me?"
There was a hint of temptation in his voice, and also a hint of... expectation.
"With your talent, if you stay at Konoha, sooner or later the edges will be smoothed by those rules. Follow me, you can see a broader world, and we can pursue higher truths together."
Senju Chen shook his head.
"No, teacher. I still have my reasons, I must stay at Konoha."
"Reason?" Orochimaru raised his eyebrows, "Tsunade?"
"That's right." Senju Chen did not deny it, "Sister... she still needs me. Moreover, although Konoha is corrupt, it is not without its merits. At least, there are people here that I want to protect."
"Protect..." Orochimaru chewed the word, with a sarcastic smile on his face, "What a ridiculous obsession. Everyone is mortal, and those people you protect will sooner or later turn into dust."
"That will happen in the future." Senju Chen shrugged, "At least for now, I still want to accompany them."