After having his physical abilities strengthened by Nine-Tails Chakra, traveling was not as exhausting as he had imagined.
Uchiha Yuan had originally thought he might even be late, but when he reached the vicinity of the Fire Temple, he was a full two hours early.
Only when there were fifteen minutes left until the agreed time did Uchiha Yuan approach Lin Yue Pavilion.
Although his teacher Orochimaru was obsessed with research, he was extremely precise about time. He disliked making others wait, and he also disliked waiting for others.
Of course, those had been Orochimaru's habits while he was still in Konoha Hidden Village. Once he escaped Konoha in the future, Uchiha Yuan had no idea what he would become.
With fifteen minutes to spare, Orochimaru was indeed nowhere to be seen in Lin Yue Pavilion. Instead, three smiling young women chatting softly brightened considerably the moment they saw Uchiha Yuan.
"Yuan, as expected, you were the last one from our Orochimaru Squad to arrive."
Uchiha Yuan spread his hands. The gentle girl who had taken the initiative to speak to him was several years older than him, and her name was Kurama Shion.
She was a member of the famed Kurama Clan of Konoha Hidden Village, possessors of the Genjutsu Bloodline, and a former student of Orochimaru Squad.
During the Third Shinobi World War, Orochimaru had temporarily served as their jonin instructor.
"Hey, you bastard, you're actually still alive!"
The blunt, unrestrained one was Mitaraishi Anko. She was the youngest of the four, yet because she had earned Orochimaru's greatest favor, her words and conduct were eccentric and arrogant.
Uchiha Yuan smiled and exchanged a few words with Kurama Shion, then waved at Mitaraishi Anko as a greeting.
"Yuan-kun, you actually arrived even later than I did. That's far too much."
The last to speak to Uchiha Yuan was Hyuga Ryo, a branch-family ninja of the Hyuga Clan.
Though she usually appeared as gentle and quiet as Kurama Shion, Uchiha Yuan knew that if this black-haired, white-eyed girl were cut open, she could supply the Ninja World with oil for centuries.
Sure enough, while the other two were not paying attention, Hyuga Ryo walked over in small steps and tugged on Uchiha Yuan's sleeve.
"Yuan-kun, do you have a moment? There are some things I've always wanted to tell you."
Uchiha Yuan was surprised, then nodded.
During this period of gathering medicinal herbs, he had supposedly been unaware of what had happened in Konoha Hidden Village. This was the perfect chance to ask Hyuga Ryo about it, so he would not accidentally reveal any flaws later.
"Yuan-kun, after you left the village, I happened to see ninjas wearing animal masks come to your home and take your grandmother out of the village."
"I don't know what they intended to do, but after the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox rampaged through the village all night, I went to take another look out of curiosity and unexpectedly discovered that your grandmother had returned to the village."
Hyuga Ryo lowered her voice, seemingly afraid the others might hear. Yet Uchiha Yuan was utterly shocked.
First of all, his grandmother had died long ago, and he had no direct blood relatives within the Uchiha Clan.
The grandmother Ling referred to was Uchiha Obito's grandmother. In order to play the latter's role properly, Uchiha Yuan had specifically gone to the old woman's home to take care of her.
Clearly, Hyuga Ryo had mistaken him for someone else.
But the ninjas wearing animal masks were ANBU. Why would ANBU take away Obito's "grandmother"?
And why had Hyuga Ryo specifically told him about this? Could this girl have noticed his secret activities?
Just as Uchiha Yuan was bewildered and shocked, Hyuga Ryo narrowed her sparkling eyes and added.
"Orochimaru-sensei specifically told me to tell Yuan-kun these things."
Uchiha Yuan stiffened as though struck by lightning. His thoughts raced as he anxiously grabbed Hyuga Ryo's arm.
"What happened with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox? And was that grandmother connected to it? Ling, you'd better explain it clearly."
"I should be the one to tell Yuan-kun the rest."
From the shadow outlined by the sunlight overhead, Orochimaru silently emerged.
As always, he was pale all over, radiating an inhuman chill.
Just as I thought. This mad snake arrived long ago and has been hiding in the shadows, watching.
As for the ANBU taking away Obito's grandmother, whom he had been caring for—
That had likely been ordered by Orochimaru as well.
Those had not been ANBU at all, but Root under Danzo's command.
Orochimaru had clearly misunderstood something and wanted to use Obito's grandmother to make him awaken the Sharingan!
The instant that thought arose, Uchiha Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.
Orochimaru had chosen the location for gathering herbs. As long as he calculated the timing correctly, he could have ordered Root personnel to kill Obito's grandmother right in front of him.
After suffering such mental trauma, he might very well awaken the Sharingan on the spot.
Uchiha Yuan did not believe Orochimaru had done this out of kindness.
Although Orochimaru of this era had not yet become madly obsessed with Uchiha bodies, he had most likely already developed an intense interest in Kekkei Genkai.
Setting aside the Senju Clan, Uchiha Clan, Hyuga Clan, and Kurama Clan, Orochimaru Squad encompassed three of Konoha's four great Kekkei Genkai clans.
Kurama Shion and Hyuga Ryo's Kekkei Genkai were both developing normally. How could he overlook Uchiha Yuan, an Uchiha?
Mad snake!
While cursing wildly in his heart, Uchiha Yuan looked blankly at the smiling Orochimaru.
"Sensei, what exactly is going on with what Ling said? Could something enormous have happened in the village over the past few days?"
Before Orochimaru could explain, Mitaraishi Anko jumped out and said excitedly.
"Uchiha Yuan, you guessed right this time! The Uchiha Clan controlled the Nine-Tails and nearly destroyed Konoha!"
Uchiha Yuan raised an eyebrow. His junior sister's words were clearly "unreliable."
"Anko, you may eat recklessly, but you cannot speak recklessly. The Nine-Tails incident was indeed related to the Sharingan, but it may not have been related to the Uchiha Clan within the village. Yuan-kun, there is no need for you to worry."
"Exactly! The Nine-Tails had such huge Three-Tomoe Sharingan eyes, so it definitely wasn't Uchiha Yuan. He hasn't even awakened the Sharingan yet."
Mitaraishi Anko made a face at Uchiha Yuan and stuck out her tongue before happily running off to admire the scenery.
Her interruption eased the previously intangible tension considerably.
Orochimaru looked helpless. He had raised Anko like his own daughter, and it seemed he had raised her wrong.
Uchiha Yuan looked at Orochimaru. He always felt that his teacher's personality was somewhat fractured.
"All right, Yuan-kun. Don't listen to Anko's nonsense. This is what happened."
As Orochimaru recounted the events without the slightest emotion, Uchiha Yuan began to "learn" about Nine-Tails Night.
In truth, Uchiha Yuan knew more than Orochimaru did. He had even taken the opportunity to rob the home of Obito, the true culprit.
However, Orochimaru's account was remarkably detailed. It appeared that he had been in Konoha Hidden Village at the time and had witnessed the entire process.
Uchiha Yuan was not surprised that Orochimaru had not stepped forward to help resolve the Nine-Tails Attack.
At this point in time, his teacher's mindset was simply on a completely different wavelength from that of other ninjas.
"The Fourth Hokage and the previous Jinchuriki were killed by the Nine-Tails... In other words, Sensei! Are you going to become the Fifth Hokage?"
Feeling that Orochimaru was in a fairly good mood, Uchiha Yuan dared to ask this "presumptuous" question immediately after he finished speaking.
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