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"Mission failed?"
As if he had heard something incredible, Orochimaru, who was bent over his desk, looked up at the young man in front of him.
"Yes! I am very sorry, Lord Orochimaru."
Sawara Kiri stood before him, his still somewhat childish face revealing a hint of genuine remorse, his eyes even a little red.
Only his voice was very loud, sounding quite energetic.
If it weren't for his sensitive nose, which allowed Orochimaru to keenly detect the garlic clove hidden in his palm, he might have actually been fooled by him.
But why?
If only a very small number of people in the Village understood the strength of the young man in front of him, then Orochimaru considered himself to be one of those 'very few'.
As early as when Kiri-kun first revealed his strength in the Hokage Building, he was sitting beside Lord Third as one of the witnesses, and he knew very well that this seemingly still young man possessed strength capable of crushing Jonin-level powerhouses.
After the incident with Shimura Danzo, he became even more certain that the other party had firmly established himself at the 'Kage' level of strength.
Even Namikaze Minato, who was taken as a disciple by Jiraiya, was completely incomparable to him.
It was precisely for this reason that Orochimaru deployed Sawara Kiri as the ultimate trump card of that search party to conduct a search deep within the territory.
He could still fail?
Could it be that the long-hidden Third Kazekage personally made a move?
"We truly encountered an irresistible enemy."
Upon hearing this, Sawara Kiri let out a long, helpless sigh, gesturing towards the report in Orochimaru's hand: "Just being able to escape back can already be considered fortunate."
Noticing his gesture, Orochimaru remembered that the mission report was still in his hand, and immediately lowered his head to read it, skimming ten lines at a glance.
The content of the report was also very simple, largely describing how cruel the Sand Ninja were, how numerous they were, and how barbaric their actions were.
The three powerhouses, Monzaemon, Rasa, and Pakura, jointly attacked, leading a hundred fierce and powerful Sand Ninja who chased them with no way to escape, either to the heavens or the earth, and it took a great deal of effort to finally inflict heavy damage through sneak attacks.
It was just a pity that the monster in the seal had already been released.
Judging only by its appearance, it was not some demon, but merely a rather dull-looking little girl, who later disappeared without a trace.
"..."
Orochimaru stared at this report for at least three minutes before looking up and speaking to Sawara Kiri in a low voice:
"Kiri-kun, military reports cannot be faked."
Sawara Kiri's expression remained self-righteous: "Lord Orochimaru, every word of this is from the bottom of my heart, absolutely no falsehood."
Then, Orochimaru's fingertip first pointed to a section in the middle, "were chased with no way to escape, either to the heavens or the earth," and then slowly pointed to the last line of the report's conclusion—
"Rasa confirmed dead, Monzaemon's condition unknown, Pakura escaped."
This mission report was equivalent to: 'The Sannin led a large force to fully pursue the enemy's small team, and then, in a flash, Jiraiya died on the spot, Orochimaru's life or death was uncertain, and the remaining Tsunade barely escaped.'
This was even more tragic than his own 'Sannin' fame battle back then.
"Does this make sense?"
Upon hearing this, Sawara Kiri, instead, looked at him with an 'I don't understand' expression: "Of course, it's because of the 'sneak attack'!"
His answer was very firm.
Are you kidding? What kind of person is Sawara-kun?
The night before they returned, they had already coordinated their stories.
Looking at his unreasonable yet self-righteous demeanor, Orochimaru knew that he probably wouldn't be able to extract anything more from him—this young man was very tight-lipped.
In any case, severely damaging the enemy's combat power was a good thing, right?
Orochimaru had no intention of probing into the little secrets that this boy downplayed in the report; he even enjoyed cooperating with this young man, non-actively accompanying him in 'deceiving his superiors and subordinates'—he also wanted to see what this boy was planning.
As for the woman released from the seal...
Orochimaru thought for a moment, not wanting to waste the precious military strength on the front line, and casually issued an S-rank search warrant. After filing it, he no longer managed it.
"Then, Lord Orochimaru, I'll head back first?"
Seeing that he couldn't ask anything more, Sawara Kiri smiled ingratiatingly, ready to slip away.
However, what kind of person was Orochimaru?
"Kiri-kun."
Orochimaru said, patting another tall stack of battle documents on his desk, and gave him a 'gentle' smile.
"Your team's Namikaze Minato is currently on injury leave, so you should have no more missions to go on."
"Right?"
One thing at a time. His willingness to cooperate with this young man was Orochimaru's own idea.
But Orochimaru still remembered the grudge of Sawara-kun treating him, Orochimaru, like a fool in this report.
"..."
"Lord Orochimaru, wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Sawara Kiri forced a smile.
Orochimaru's smile was instead very sincere: "You are already a 'mature' Jonin, Kiri-kun."
"It is only right to share more with your superiors... This is also a form of progress."
"But I don't want to progress, Lord Orochimaru."
"No, you do."
Snakes are quite vengeful.
Thus, for the better part of the morning, Sawara Kiri was miserably buried in paperwork, as if he had returned to his days as an undercover agent in the Hokage Building's intelligence department.
However, the unwilling expression on his face was, of course, also a self-disguise he had honed during his time as an undercover agent.
If Orochimaru was interested in him, why wouldn't Sawara Kiri be interested in the Ninja World's foremost scientist?
After learning that his wish was to 'explore all Ninjutsu in the world,' Sawara Kiri had to try to get some insights from him.
However, unlike the subtle probing Sawara Kiri had imagined might occur during their time together, Throughout the entire morning, Orochimaru remained at his desk, busy with various battle arrangements. Large amounts of documents were signed, adjusted, and sent back, and occasionally he would call a few people to assign tasks.
According to the impression Sawara Kiri had formed based on the original work, Orochimaru in his mind was actually no different from the 'mad scientists' often seen in various films and television shows—people who would stop at nothing for their research.
However, during the short morning they spent together today, Sawara Kiri saw another side of Orochimaru.
Now thirty years old, Orochimaru was a Ninja who had been called a genius since childhood, rising to fame in the Sannin Battle. In the eyes of both his colleagues and subordinates, he was highly trustworthy, rational in thought, exceptionally intelligent, and occasionally appeared somewhat cold—an excellent Ninja.
An excellent leader.
In fact, judging solely by the authority and adoration he displayed in Kikyo Castle right now, if someone were to say, 'Lord Orochimaru will probably be the next Hokage, won't he?' it would likely be difficult to hear any dissenting voices.
Truly incredible.
What did he go through later to become a psychological deviant beyond human comprehension?
Sawara Kiri thought to himself.
"Have you observed anything?"
When lunchtime arrived, the two of them left the military tent and walked along the road, when Orochimaru suddenly asked him a question.
Sawara Kiri's expression remained unchanged: "Lord Orochimaru is highly trusted by everyone; he is an excellent Commander."
"Besides that?"
Orochimaru asked with interest.
Sawara Kiri suddenly smiled: "You have little interest in power; instead... you're very much like how I was forced to wake up early to work when I was in the Hokage Building."
"How perceptive."
Orochimaru shook his head slightly, standing in line among the crowd, just handing his metal lunchbox forward, watching the cook in front of him straighten his upper body, sitting upright and filling his lunchbox with the same meat and vegetable stew and rice as the other combat personnel.
Many people around him cast respectful glances, and occasionally someone would greet him intimately.
Orochimaru responded to each of them.
However, his emotions were clearly not fluctuating much.
Just as Sawara Kiri had said, he used power as a tool to achieve his desires, and had no interest in the prestige itself—because it was meaningless.
The two casually found an empty spot under a canopy, not caring about the bloodstains left under the canopy after the wounded had lain there, and independently broke off two twigs to eat their meal.
"It's not just a lack of interest in power." Sawara Kiri continued the previous topic, "If I had to say..."
He seemed to 'just happen' to remember something, rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a thumb-sized capsule, pressed the clasp, and casually threw it on the ground.
"Bang."
A large basket of wild apples, picked from who knows where, appeared before the two of them, with several water bottles also placed on the basket.
Orochimaru instinctively raised an eyebrow, the snake-like pupils in his golden eyes instinctively contracting.
Sawara Kiri's calm voice sounded beside him: "It seems only they can pique your curiosity."
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru suddenly realized that this young man, whom he had originally intended to keep by his side to understand better, seemed to have seen through him in a very short amount of time.
This feeling was very subtle.
However, Orochimaru still couldn't help but ask, out of curiosity: "What was that capsule just now? A storage tool that doesn't require Sealing Technique and can be carried around?"
Apparently, this was the special item "Universal Capsule" that Sawara Kiri had obtained from Uchiha Hikari.
These capsules came from the world of Dragon Ball and are a common portable tool.
Sawara Kiri had a total of three boxes, each containing twelve capsules, with the Capsule Corp label from Bulma's family still affixed to them.
If used as a means of transport, it would clearly save Konoha a lot of manpower.
However, the first moment Orochimaru saw this item, what came to his mind was not how much it could contribute to the current battlefield, but rather how this thing actually worked.
"That's what I wanted to ask you about as well."
Sawara Kiri extended his hand in front of Orochimaru and touched the bamboo basket, and with a 'bang', the bamboo basket reverted to its capsule form.
As he handed it to Orochimaru, he explained with a pre-arranged excuse, "I found this ancient item in that Sealing Barrier. I briefly examined it and found that the metal capsule also contains Sealing Technique structures internally, but I couldn't analyze it alone."
"If possible, I'd like to establish a deeper cooperation with you after the war."
"You know the saying, economic base determines the superstructure. Whether it's research or anything else, money is essential."
Orochimaru looked at him, the interest in his golden snake eyes growing stronger, seemingly becoming more and more curious about him.
As for phrases like 'picked up in the Sealing Barrier'…
Heh.
However, this attitude didn't show the slightest bit. He put down his bento box, took the capsule from Kiri-kun's hand, and toyed with it, while subtly sensing its interior with Chakra, saying:
"Economic base determines the superstructure. A very interesting statement."
"There should be more to it, right?"
Sawara Kiri smiled at his words: "The superstructure, in turn, acts upon the economic base."
Orochimaru stopped toying with the capsule and looked at him quietly, as if a little surprised, and as if some inexplicable emotion had surfaced:
"Kiri-kun, you truly manage to display unexpected excellence from time to time."
"You flatter me, Lord."
Sawara Kiri shook his head, calmly stating, "This isn't a principle a young person like myself could summarize."
Orochimaru, however, still looked at him with that intrigued expression, paused for a moment, and then slowly sighed:
"The superstructure, huh…"
"Kiri-kun."
"So, you want Tsunade to become Hokage?"
Sawara Kiri didn't answer, instead asking, "Does Lord Orochimaru not wish to become Hokage?"
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment, and he didn't know what he thought of, as he shook his head helplessly, as if sighing a little:
"That's not a good position to be in."
"Even though you know it's not a good position to be in, Lord Orochimaru has always moved forward in that direction without hesitation…"
Sawara Kiri ate his bento, looking towards the infirmary not far ahead: "That also means that compared to the trivial matter of 'becoming Hokage,' what you truly care about is what happens 'after becoming Hokage,' isn't that right?"
"You also want to change it, right? This Village."
Orochimaru's expression faltered slightly. He turned his head to look at this overly young man.
Becoming Hokage is an extremely glorious thing for all the young people in Konoha, and even all Ninja. Many people have risked their lives on the battlefield for this goal.
However, in this young man's mouth, the position of Hokage seemed so trivial, and equally…
Meaningless?
Unconsciously, a subtle smile appeared on his face, and he murmured with emotion:
"I find moving things interesting, and still things boring… I've been like that for a very long time."
"It's true for life, and it's true for the Village as well—the current Konoha is like a giant windmill, gradually decaying, slowing down from its initial rotation to a gradual halt."
Orochimaru looked at the young man beside him and smiled gently: "Before today, I wanted to be the wind, to push the windmill—or rather, besides myself, I thought I couldn't find anyone else who could do this."
"But today, I suddenly feel that waiting quietly for the wind to come is actually not bad."
"…"
Sawara Kiri did not reply.
Orochimaru continued, still toying with the capsule:
"However, I'm still very curious."
"If it were you, Kiri-kun, what changes would you bring to this Village?"
They no longer mentioned the Hokage. This topic seemed to be unrelated to whether Tsunade or Orochimaru might become Hokage; instead, it existed only between the two of them.
"First, build schools, right?"
Sawara Kiri said casually while eating his meal: "The Ninja Academy's teaching is too perfunctory, and most of the Ninja it produces are useless—if it's just for working with civilians, it's enough."
"But isn't that how this Ninja World is? Fall back if you don't advance."
"So, we must first cultivate talent. On the foundation of the Ninja Academy, establish a Ninja High School with differentiated specializations. Combat, medical, research, and production are all very important. Self-sufficiency is the bottom line for a Hidden Village."
"A technology development bureau is also necessary, to share achievements, standardize norms, and jointly develop Ninjutsu."
"Once we have people and technology, forming a unilateral crushing advantage, then we can proceed with the next step of work…"
He didn't elaborate on what the next step of work was.
At this moment, Sawara Kiri looked like a child with no sense of Concealment, casually saying things that would be extraordinary if others heard them.
However, neither Orochimaru nor Sawara Kiri paid attention to this point.
"It seems Kiri-kun is also very dissatisfied."
Orochimaru couldn't help but smile, then shook his head: "You really don't like Lord Third… Is it because of something from your childhood?"
When Sawara Kiri recounted his childhood misfortunes in the Hokage Building, Orochimaru was also present and had a very deep impression.
"Partially."
"But more importantly, it's something else."
The young man calmly stated, "I don't mean to criticize Lord Third. He is an excellent Ninja, a skilled politician, but he is not a qualified 'Hokage' who can continue to lead Konoha forward like the Second Hokage."
"It's not his fault."
"Rather, the very idea that 'anyone recognized by everyone' can become Hokage—that in itself is too absurd."
"No grassroots work experience, no large-scale management with responsible progressive advancement, no lifelong work responsibility system…"
"Furthermore, the so-called One-Country-One-Village system itself has problems."
"…"
Orochimaru listened to his words quietly, staring at him in a daze, silent for a long time.
"Hahaha…"
He suddenly burst out laughing heartily.
At this moment, Orochimaru suddenly understood how Lord Third felt when he heard his own immature opinions.
That feeling of headache and joy, yet also worry for his future…
"This is… young and fierce wind."
Orohimaru sighed slightly, picked up the empty bento box, and gently patted his shoulder.
"Kiri-kun, I look forward to it."
"As for your cooperation, I accept it—however, the matter of jointly establishing a commercial company will have to wait until after the war."
Orochimaru turned to look at him, mimicking his earlier words: "After all, the superstructure acts upon the economic base, right?"
"Yes."
"Also, you can have this capsule."
"I want to go back and study it."
"Yes."
With that, he stood up and walked towards the direction of the tent without looking back.
But after only a few steps, Orochimaru seemed to remember something, suddenly stopped, and turned back to say:
"Also, Kiri-kun."
"Remember to finish processing all your documents before you leave."
Orochimaru's golden snake eyes looked at him, his smile serene.
This kid had been scheming against him from the moment he took out the Universal Capsule. While he was indeed very interested, that didn't mean he didn't care about being schemed against.
Let me say it again.
Snakes hold grudges.
Sawara Kiri's expression immediately froze.
After a long time, he finally accepted helplessly:
"…"
"Yes."
Watching his retreating figure, Sawara Kiri sat under the awning, a slow smile spreading across his face.
Talking about ideals with men and talking about the present with women is often a good strategy to strengthen relationships. The ancients truly did not deceive me.
"Sawara's Book of Friends: Character 'Orochimaru' added."
"Bond Level Increased ↑"
"Orochimaru Bond Level: Zero → One"
"As expected of you, you really have a knack for handling men!"
Only Sister Tsubaki's noise was a bit of an eyesore.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter