"Tsunade, what exactly do you want to say..."
"Nothing much, just wanted to say... I never expected that our Konoha's cold guy actually has a side that's not so cold. Tsk tsk, that's rare."
Tsunade wasn't afraid of Orochimaru at all, grinning as she looked at him. His expression remained just as indifferent as before.
Hearing that, he didn't say a single word and simply turned to leave.
But as he turned, a cold voice sounded faintly:
"If your hemophobia is cured, then spend more time studying medical ninjutsu. Don't go around looking for trouble."
"Hmph."
At the mention of hemophobia, a trace of surprise flashed across Tsunade's face, but it was quickly suppressed. Looking at the already-departed Orochimaru, she couldn't help but curl her lips.
These days, Tsunade's hemophobia had indeed been well under control. She thought she had hidden it well, but it turned out Orochimaru had noticed.
...
Orochimaru left the conference room but didn't return to his laboratory. Instead, he turned and headed for the Ninja Academy.
As always, standing on the high platform of the academy, Orochimaru's gaze was fixed below.
It was on a little kid barely a meter tall.
A similar face, though a bit pale—this was Gekko Chizan's younger brother, Gekko Hayate.
At this time, he had already started studying at the Ninja Academy, and his teacher was none other than Pakura.
"What? Just watching? Why not go down and train him yourself?"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind Orochimaru. Even with his strength, Orochimaru hadn't sensed it immediately.
But he wasn't surprised at all, because he was very familiar with this person. In the whole of Konoha, those who could approach him like this without being detected were very few.
Aside from the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, there were only three others.
One was the rising star of the village, Namikaze Minato, who, relying on his Flying Thunder God, had killed countless enemies on the battlefield and earned the name "Yellow Flash."
The second was his disciple, Konoha's ghost, Gekko Chizan.
And the last one was the man now standing behind him—the principal of the Konoha Ninja Academy, known as Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.
"With Pakura teaching him, that's enough. I'm just here to take a look."
"Still no news about Chizan?"
"...."
Gekko Chizan had been missing for several months. People were sent out wave after wave to look for information, but there was nothing.
Orochimaru's mood grew heavier and heavier.
Still without a word, he disappeared from the spot with a Body Flicker Technique.
Hatake Sakumo watched Orochimaru's departing figure and couldn't help but shake his head.
He understood Orochimaru's attitude. After all, his own son was silent all the time—and wasn't that also because of Gekko Chizan?
...
In the forests of Konoha, Orochimaru was on his way back to his laboratory.
Suddenly, he felt someone approaching.
In a flash, he stood steadily on a tree trunk, arms hanging down as two snakes slithered out from his sleeves, hissing and coiling around him.
"Sensei, is this how you welcome me?"
A familiar voice, a familiar tone—Orochimaru's eyes instantly widened, and a trace of delight flashed deep within them.
The snakes he had released instantly retreated. Gekko Chizan chuckled and slowly revealed himself on the branch where Orochimaru stood.
"Months without seeing each other, sensei, seems like you really missed me."
"But this doesn't seem like the right place to talk, does it? Should we change locations, sensei?"
Looking at his disciple finally standing before him again, the tension that had held Orochimaru for months finally loosened, and for once, a faint smile appeared on his cold face.
"Follow me."
Leaving only those two words, Orochimaru shot toward his laboratory, his speed more than doubling.
Gekko Chizan activated Transparent Release again, moving gracefully as he followed.
One behind the other, the two quickly reached Orochimaru's laboratory.
But when Gekko Chizan saw the laboratory, he couldn't help but look puzzled.
Not because of anything else—this laboratory was just too simple.
"Wait, sensei, you can't be serious. Did you run out of money?"
"That can't be right. You're one of Konoha's Sannin. Just the S-rank missions alone should have been enough to fund multiple sets of research facilities."
"So why is it so bare-bones?"
Orochimaru shot him a glare, clearly annoyed at Chizan's criticism.
"Don't give me that look. Just look at this place!"
"Compared to before, heaven and earth—it used to be high-tech, now it's a ramshackle setup."
"How do you even stand it?"
Chizan wasn't exaggerating—the lab really was too simple.
Orochimaru pulled out two chairs, sat down himself, and pushed the other one toward Chizan, who sat down without needing to be told.
"I've broken ties with Danzo. Though Yamato is still here, Danzo has sent people multiple times to try and take him back."
"And my research has reached a critical point, with expenses skyrocketing."
"Without Danzo's support, I had to abandon part of the equipment."
Chizan frowned slightly at that.
He hadn't expected Orochimaru to break with Danzo so soon.
What exactly had happened between them? Could it have had anything to do with him?
But now that things had split, so be it. After all, someone as rotten to the core as Danzo wasn't worth dealing with.
If Orochimaru wanted to do research, he could do it himself—he didn't need Danzo's support at all.
"So, Chizan-kun, where have you been all these months?"
"Back then, after you teleported the One-Tail away, what exactly happened?"
Chizan could feel Orochimaru's concern, and it touched him. Ever since he had followed Orochimaru, he had gained plenty of benefits.
And Orochimaru had taken good care of him, shattering his old impression of the man.
Without turning fully dark, Orochimaru was just a bit sharp-tongued.
"Sensei, I want to know—why did the war stop?"
"With Sunagakure and Kumogakure, I understand. But what about Iwagakure?"
"I trust you. You must know what happened there."
Chizan didn't answer Orochimaru's question. Instead, he posed his own.
After all, he had completely lost track of the war's direction. He needed to sort out his thoughts and then plan his next steps.
Orochimaru chuckled. When it came to the war, he indeed knew quite a bit.
After all, his research required communication with underground organizations, so he knew about Iwagakure's situation. Some of the information even came from the Root division.
"Something happened in the Land of Earth near Iwagakure."
"And supposedly, a legendary ninja suddenly appeared, putting great pressure on the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki."
"This ninja's name is: Uchiha Madara."
"The strongest Uchiha, rival of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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