"Teacher Orochimaru."
After bowing and saluting, the bond of teacher and student was set. This made Orochimaru—who already had gains among the Uchiha—even more pleased.
These days, finding a good teacher was difficult, but for teachers, finding a fitting student was just as hard.
For example, the ones Orochimaru had seen before, like Guy, Kakashi, and Yamato, were all quite talented.
But Guy's talent was focused in Taijutsu, and Yamato's in his Kekkei Genkai. Other than general training, there was almost nothing he could really teach them.
Most importantly, the two of them were emotion-driven ninja.
The closer they got to a certain emotion, the more fully their strength and potential would show.
Chakra is a mix of mental and physical energy, and when an emotion-driven ninja explodes with it, they're terrifying.
So, to bring out Yamato's full potential, Orochimaru handed him over to Jiraiya for training.
It was easy to imagine—once Jiraiya taught him about friendship, comrades, and protecting others, and once Yamato walked out of his confused stage, his power would grow by leaps and bounds.
Orochimaru admitted Jiraiya's strength and also admitted this way of getting stronger. His mind was far broader than most people's, but he had to admit—this type of genius didn't match well with him.
Orochimaru preferred ninja like Kakashi.
Those who suppressed emotions, suppressed desire, kept a clear picture in their mind of their goal and the steps to achieve it, and had both the ability and determination to carry it out step by step.
If he had met him earlier, Orochimaru might have taken Kakashi as a student.
But sadly, Kakashi was already Minato's student, and after losing his goal, he had fallen apart.
Still, now Orochimaru had found an even better student.
His gaze swept over to Itachi, who was holding a child, and the corners of his mouth curved into a faint, dangerous smile.
Passing on his teachings was one reason, but Orochimaru also wanted to study how the Sharingan suppressed the power of the First Hokage's cells.
Itachi sensed Orochimaru's stare and felt a bit of pressure, making him unconsciously take a step back.
Out of nowhere, he had gained another teacher, but for now, his life didn't really change—he still had to go to the ninja academy as usual.
As for that low-level education, Orochimaru had no interest in guiding him, and he also believed that with Itachi's talent, he would finish his schooling quickly, just like Kakashi had.
"Whoosh…"
With the sound of air being split, a figure landed in front of the three of them.
"Clan leader, everyone's been gathered."
"Let's go."
Fugaku kept a stern face and gave a small nod, then glanced at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru looked at Itachi and smiled. "Why don't you come too? This is a good chance to see how ninja fight."
Itachi, holding little Sasuke in his arms, hesitated, but under his father's gaze, he could only nod in agreement.
…
"Why did the clan leader call us here?"
"You didn't get any word either?"
"Maybe he's taking us to protest. The rumors in the village have been getting worse lately…"
"…."
At a training ground far from the clan's land, people were chattering away.
These cold-faced men, who usually gave outsiders the silent treatment, turned into chatterboxes within their own circle.
"Captain Jinsuke, don't you know something?"
One clansman noticed Uchiha Jinsuke had stayed quiet and thought he had some inside news, so he asked.
"No, I don't. But…"
Jinsuke paused, recalling when he had seen Orochimaru.
At this timing, for the clan leader to suddenly gather most of the clan's elites, there was probably no reason other than this Sannin.
"What exactly does Orochimaru want to do?"
Jinsuke wondered.
That clansman, not getting the answer he wanted, went back to join the noisy discussions.
The training ground stayed loud until the clan leader Fugaku showed up, and only then did the voices settle down.
Fugaku raised his hand to quiet everyone, then slowly spoke. "This gathering is for a practice drill."
He briefly explained that during the Nine-Tails attack, the police force hadn't responded quickly enough, and as an organized unit, they lacked experience in dealing with a tailed beast. To win back the trust of the Third Hokage and the other village leaders, he had invited Orochimaru of the Sannin to help train them.
"A tailed beast? Training?"
Everyone looked at each other. How exactly were they supposed to train against a tailed beast—catch one and let it loose?
Konoha doesn't even have a perfect jinchuriki. Without full control over a tailed beast, how could they safely train for such a fight?
Besides, is there really a need to train against a tailed beast?
The Nine-Tails already has a new jinchuriki. Could the Third Hokage really make the same mistake twice?
As the Uchiha raised doubts, Orochimaru spoke up at the right moment, mocking them. "So short-sighted. No sense of danger. If this is the level of the Uchiha Police Force, I'm disappointed."
Hearing their Police Force belittled, the Uchiha elites glared at Orochimaru, their angry eyes fixed on him, not caring about his rank or status.
Being stared down by so many strong ninjas would pressure anyone, but Orochimaru ignored it completely. He spoke calmly, word by word,
"Three years ago, before Minato Namikaze became Fourth Hokage, a kunoichi from his team named Rin Nohara had the Three-Tails sealed inside her by Mist ninja. Their plan was to release it inside the Leaf. If not for Minato's student Kakashi, you would have already seen a tailed beast attack this village back then."
The training field fell silent. The Uchiha elites looked at each other in shock, their faces uneasy.
The story of Rin being forced into becoming the Three-Tails' jinchuriki, then being stopped by Kakashi, wasn't top secret. But only those with higher standing in the village would know it, and most Uchiha present didn't have that access.
Still, they trusted that Orochimaru wouldn't make up something like this.
"Besides, the one behind the Nine-Tails' attack hasn't been caught. Putting aside the chance that he might try to take the Nine-Tails again—what if he uses tailed beasts from other villages to attack us?"
As he spoke, Orochimaru's gaze turned sharp, his voice suddenly rising. "What will you do then? Hide in the back again like last time?"
That shout made most of the Uchiha elites flush red, as if their blood was boiling. It was both shame and anger.
These days, they had heard too many similar criticisms.
And they had no way to deny it—because the core duty of the Uchiha Police Force was to guard the Leaf Village.
No matter the reason, they had failed their job. That was the truth.
But truth didn't mean they would accept it. Lying down and doing nothing was impossible.
Each of them carried silent rage inside, swearing they would not fail the next time.
The crowd's spirit rose, united in anger.
Seeing their burning eyes, Orochimaru nodded to himself, his lips curling into a cold smile again. "You don't need to worry about the tailed beast problem. I'll handle that. But before then…"
"Who is 'Shisui of the Body Flicker'?"
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