If you count it by a normal person's age, Orochimaru spent the first half of his life either at war or chasing eternal life. In his free time, he also focused on himself. He rarely looked at others.
Although he had taken on students and discovered people like Yakushi Kabuto, it was hard to call it training. It was more like wandering around in the wild and occasionally bringing back any rare flowers or strange plants he found.
Training people isn't just about the person; you also have to create the right kind of soil to grow them.
This is a very annoying thing, and it doesn't produce results quickly, but Orochimaru now has to put it on the schedule.
Eternal life is a huge topic.
The Ootsuki family might be able to achieve it easily with their talent, but for a normal person like himself to chase eternal life, he has to overcome unbelievably difficult obstacles.
Learning Sage Arts is only one part of it. Today, with so many things and ideas, Orochimaru finds it harder and harder to handle everything himself. He sees how hard it is to walk this path alone, unless he chooses to settle for less and achieve a lower level of eternal life with the 'Impure World Reincarnation' trick.
This isn't impossible, but it's clearly a bad first choice and should only be used as a last resort.
Now, the ninja world situation is slowly becoming stable. Even the ambitious Cloud Village, after suffering several setbacks, won't be thinking about causing trouble again anytime soon.
And after his own soul wounds heal, he needs to keep learning Sage Arts and use breathing techniques to sense nature.
This takes a lot of time. Doing experiments day and night would be inappropriate, so he might as well use his free time to focus on growing his own crops.
The next stage of the plan is to completely take over the Root organization and use the resources that were originally used to satisfy Danzo's selfish desires for the topics he wants to research.
Currently, research into sealing techniques, medical ninja skills... are gradually being put on the schedule. Other things, like the First Hokage's cells and exploring the secrets of the human body, should also attract related talent.
Digging at the Root's foundation is one of the fastest ways.
This time, Kabuto half-destroyed the Root base, killed most of the Root ninja, and Danzo lost his greatest support. The old man will definitely try to stop the Root from rising again.
And Danzo wants to turn things around by playing the victim, using the fact that Kabuto was his subordinate to attack him.
Ha... this is exactly what he wants.
Orochimaru licked his lips, a dark light flashing in his eyes.
Kabuto is now a bomb; he might hurt himself, or he might destroy all of Danzo's power. The effect depends on who uses the weapon better.
Just as Orochimaru was calculating how to give Danzo a fatal blow, Kakashi, who had finished his shift, suddenly jumped up to the treetop where he was.
Orochimaru turned to look. Kakashi bowed slightly and said seriously, "Orochimaru-sama, I have some questions and I hope you can answer them for me."
What questions need to be asked at this time?
Orochimaru saw the request in Kakashi's eyes and suddenly understood something. He stood up and said slowly,
"This isn't the place to talk. Come with me."
After speaking, he flew directly into the darkness of the forest. Kakashi glanced back at his companions and followed after him.
...
Landing in a clearing in the forest, Orochimaru turned around, wearing a faint smile, and said slowly,
"What's the problem? Just ask. I'm not your teacher, but as Sakumo's friend, it doesn't hurt to guide his son a little."
Kakashi bowed and then looked up. Although he was wearing a mask, it was clear from his eyes that he had been worried for a long time.
"Putting personal interests before the village's, you suppressed the Cloud Village and solved the problem perfectly, but in essence, it's the same as what my father did back then. I want to know, is this right or wrong?"
"Did my father get the result he did because he was wrong, or because he didn't stick to his decision?"
"So that's the question. It's been so long, and you're still worried about it."
Orochimaru suddenly remembered the figure wandering around Sanzu River and suddenly felt emotional. It's not just the living who worry; if you can't figure things out, you won't find peace after death either.
He patted Kakashi's shoulder and smiled, "If you want a definite answer from me, you've come to the wrong person. These things can only be judged on a case-by-case basis; you can't apply one rule to everything."
Kakashi frowned slightly. He wasn't happy with this answer. It was too broad and seemed like he was just trying to avoid answering.
But this was a request, and he couldn't exactly grab Orochimaru's head and force him to answer.
"Thank you for your explanation, Orochimaru-sama..."
Kakashi bowed slightly, but was very disappointed. Just as he was thinking about ending the questioning, Orochimaru continued,
"Uchiha Obito, do you remember that name?"
Kakashi's eyes widened. He didn't understand why he was bringing up that name.
"So you remember it."
Orochimaru's lips curved slightly. "Don't worry. I have a good relationship with Sakumo; I wouldn't bother trying to fool his son."
Kakashi was silent for a moment, then asked, "Why did you suddenly bring up Obito?"
What does Obito have to do with what we were talking about earlier?
Orochimaru shook his head and didn't answer directly. Instead, he continued, "During the Kannabi Bridge battle, Uchiha Obito abandoned the mission and chose to save his teammate Nohara Rin, who had been kidnapped by the enemy. He then died in that action, right?"
Kakashi's expression darkened and he nodded slightly.
"Uchiha Obito wasn't a good ninja, but he was definitely a good teammate."
This touched Kakashi's feelings, but Orochimaru changed the subject and asked,
"But the question is, you and Obito carried out many missions during the Third Ninja War. Aside from the Kannabi Bridge incident, you must have faced many choices between your teammates and completing the mission..."
Orochimaru looked at Kakashi, his smiling face suddenly turning dark,
"So, what choices did you make at other times? Were you also a good teammate then?"
Kakashi's face changed when he heard this.
"You don't have to answer; I know. You must have made the 'right' choice, or you wouldn't have lived to see the Kannabi Bridge."
Orochimaru smiled. "But here's the question: why the contradiction? Why didn't you always stick to the right choice?"
"The answer is simple: because the people who were going to die before were other people, but this time it was Nohara Rin."
"The good teammate in your heart is nothing more than double standards."
"Teammates, ninja from the village, villagers, family, teachers... these are all different people with different importance."
"Giving up something that's not important for the sake of someone who is, is only natural, right?"
Kakashi's eyes kept changing. After a long time, he sighed.
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