"Tch!"
"You bastard!"
Hearing his hard-won trophy dismissed as 'junk,' Sasuke gritted his teeth, letting out a low growl like an angry lion.
And here he'd actually considered giving it to this guy.
As expected.
No matter how many years passed, this guy remained just as infuriating as ever!
Sasuke was older now.
He no longer expressed his emotions as openly as before, nor would he outright call Kaito 'annoying' to his face. Instead, he silently noted this grudge in his heart and decided to freeload dinner here too.
As for his teammates...
Sasuke figured a meal wouldn't delay things too much.
Besides, he had a vague but terrible premonition...
That bridge they'd blown up earlier... seemed to have been crowdfunded by the very village their mission was supposed to protect.
Not only had they failed to escort the client back safely, but they'd also demolished the nearly completed bridge in the process...
This was the first time he'd caused such a huge mess. To avoid Kakashi's lectures and that blonde idiot's nagging, Sasuke had no intention of returning anytime soon.
"We're sorry, we're sorry..."
"Lord Orochimaru, we shouldn't have been so picky."
Meanwhile, Kaito and Nagato stood at the doorstep, apologizing profusely to Orochimaru, but no matter how much they pleaded, there was no response from inside.
This was the first time Sasuke had seen Kaito show such deference to anyone.
The food was objectively terrible...
Yet Kaito was standing there apologizing?
Just how inflated was this Orochimaru's ego?
Fueled by this thought, Sasuke gripped the sword's hilt and dragged the blade toward the entrance.
Seeing the boy's aggressive posture, Runtu panicked. Though he didn't know who this Orochimaru was...
That elixir he'd eaten earlier...
Was potent!
"Stop! You can't offend an Alchemist!"
Runtu leaped to intercept Sasuke and calm him down, but Sasuke—already aware the dog had been bribed by those elixirs—simply swung the flat of his blade, batting Runtu away like a baseball.The efforts of the two standing at the door to apologize weren't in vain, as Orochimaru's cold voice finally came from inside.
"This isn't a cafeteria."
Orochimaru truly couldn't stand these two. Coming once or twice to freeload meals was one thing, but Tenten kept using the excuse of checking on alchemy progress to eat and drink for free—even going so far as to critique the food.
Who wouldn't be angry at that?
"I'll give you the pill report tomorrow. Now, don't disturb my work."
Hearing Orochimaru's voice, Kaito and Nagato exchanged glances. After three seconds of silent communication, they secretly decided not to come back this week.
They'd revisit the idea next week.
"Kaito, why waste words on him?"
"Let's just take action!"
Before Sasuke even finished speaking, he was already at the front gate, raising the Executioner's Blade high, ready to bring it down.
"Fool!!"
Fortunately, Kaito reacted quickly, grabbing Sasuke by the back of his neck and yanking him backward. Before the blade could even descend, Sasuke and the sword both crashed to the ground.
In his past life, Kaito had often heard people say that two of the Sannin—Tsunade and Jiraiya—had each taken on a disciple, while Orochimaru had essentially adopted a father for himself.
But such things were best laughed off.
If taken seriously…
Kaito was certain Sasuke would get a beating from Orochimaru.
Especially since, from the moment they met today, Sasuke had been bossing Orochimaru around like a father.
First demanding he cook a few dishes, then suggesting he make octopus-flavored dumplings…
If it were Kaito or Nagato in that position, they would've thrown hands already.
And now the kid was shouting about fighting?
Nagato frowned, a trace of displeasure on his face.
"Make your brother calm down."
"Also, Orochimaru is our Sect's alchemist."
"Show some respect."
Clearly, even someone as proud as Nagato felt that Uchiha Sasuke's behavior would only escalate tensions.
Creak—
However, what neither of them expected was…
The door swung open.
Orochimaru stood with his head lowered, his face shrouded in shadow, his entire presence exuding a chill that seemed to drop the temperature in the area.
"You've never heard of me?"
Logically, every child in Konoha grew up hearing horror stories about Orochimaru.
There really weren't many in the Shinobi World who dared speak to him like this.
And since Uchiha Kaito knew him, there was no reason his younger brother wouldn't.
"?"
Orochimaru's words made Sasuke pause. Thinking he'd encountered some ancient monster, his confidence wavered. He instinctively glanced at Kaito, then pointed a small finger at Orochimaru's nose and whispered:
"Is our Ancestor stronger, or this guy?"
"Ancestor Hikari is invincible, in heaven and on earth."
Kaito answered truthfully—only for Sasuke to suddenly flip three times in place. On the final flip, using the momentum, he kicked Orochimaru far away.
Then, raising the Executioner's Blade to point at his opponent, he arrogantly shouted:
"What kind of nobody are you?!"
"Daring to act so insolently before an Uchiha Heaven's Chosen?"
"Has our Uchiha clan been too lenient with you?"
With the Sect's Ancestor backing him, Sasuke wasn't the least bit afraid. If his usual arrogance was at 70%, with the Ancestor's support, it skyrocketed to 700%.
Watching his younger brother's brazen display, Kaito couldn't help but think he resembled those obnoxious young masters from cultivation novels—the kind who flaunt their lineage and pick fights.The scene opens with the protagonist having no notable background, immediately pointing a finger and starting to rap...
But Sasuke was still somewhat different from those villains.
After finishing his verbal tirade, the young man turned to him with righteous indignation and declared:
"Kaito, go back and call the ancestors! We must make this guy understand the might of the Uchiha clan!"
"Don't look at me like that... It's not that I can't beat him!"
Noticing Kaito's strange gaze, Sasuke raised his voice several decibels to prove his strength, insisting that taking on Orochimaru alone wouldn't be a problem at all.
"Go ahead." Kaito pointed toward Orochimaru's direction. "The ancestor is busy right now."
"You..."
Hearing this, Sasuke hesitated mid-step, but seeing the doubt in Kaito's eyes, his body immediately erupted with blue lightning arcs. Dragging a trail of blue light, he appeared right in front of Orochimaru.
Kaito watched the interaction between Sasuke and Orochimaru, clicking his tongue a few times.
Sasuke...
Could he really be Orochimaru's father??
He's being this arrogant... How come Orochimaru hasn't exploded yet?
"Aren't you going to stop them?"
Nagato, watching the two fighting in the distance, asked worriedly.
He was seriously concerned Orochimaru might just quit on the spot.
"Probably not necessary..."
Kaito glanced at Sasuke, who was essentially giving Orochimaru a light scratch, pursed his lips, and added, "I think I might have found Orochimaru's dad."
Hearing this, Nagato pressed a finger to his forehead, entering deep thought to see if he could follow Kaito's logic...
However, three minutes later, he gave up.
"What do you mean?"
"Your brother is Orochimaru's father??"
"No... That can't be right?"