In a remote district of Konoha, a figure moved soundlessly between rooftops and dark alleyways.
Sasuke's Sharingan was activated, resembling two burning will-o'-the-wisps in the darkness.
His objective was clear: find Orochimaru.
After their brief clash during the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru had transformed into a swarm of snakes and fled, seemingly without a trace.
But he had deliberately left one small snake behind. It hadn't dispersed with the swarm. Instead, it hid itself in an extremely covert manner, slithering toward a specific, deeper part of the village.
It made no attempt to conceal its path.
Sasuke knew it was likely a trap, but his heart remained utterly calm.
He followed anyway.
'An invitation?'
Sasuke sneered inwardly, his form melting back into the shadows.
If it concerned Itachi, he had to go.
The small snake eventually slipped into the ruins of an old, abandoned mansion, disappearing through a crack in the collapsed foundation.
Sasuke's figure landed silently in the mansion's courtyard. Without hesitation, he too descended into the dark depths below.
What greeted him was an underground facility reeking of decay and pungent chemicals.
The walls were stained with rust. Enormous glass incubation tanks stood in a row, their murky nutrient solutions holding twisted, lifeless failed experiments.
They curled silently, as if bearing witness to the forbidden experiments once conducted here.
Sasuke's gaze swept over the monstrous creations, finally settling on a large anatomical diagram hanging on the far wall.
It depicted the face of the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama, alongside some incomprehensible cellular structure charts.
Walking among them, Sasuke could sense the same madness emanating from these failed experiments that radiated from Orochimaru himself.
It reminded him of that equally mad scientist from the Soul Society, Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
Though their pursuits seemed entirely different.
In the deepest part of the lab, in a relatively clean room, Orochimaru sat on a chair resembling an operating table, seemingly having waited for a long time.
Seeing Sasuke emerge from the dark passage, a sickly smile immediately spread across his pale face.
"Hehehe... I've been waiting for you, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke didn't respond immediately. His gaze locked onto Orochimaru, those snake-like pupils gleaming strangely under the light.
"These games are tedious."
"Hehe, such a clever child. I'm growing fonder of you by the minute." Orochimaru's smile widened, his serpentine eyes burning with undisguised fervor, "Indeed, I specifically lured you here."
"Ever since we parted ways in the Forest of Death, I've been thinking of you day and night, Sasuke-kun."
He slowly rose from his chair, speaking in a tone that was nauseatingly saccharine, "Your unique and powerful strength... it's truly marvelous."
"Originally, I merely wanted you as my next vessel for reincarnation..."
Orochimaru paused, his gaze sweeping over Sasuke's entire body like he was appraising a work of art.
"But now, I've changed my mind."
"A mere vessel is unworthy of such a perfect specimen as yourself."
"Sasuke-kun, you are a 'perfect existence' worthy of being studied. What I crave is all the secrets your body holds."
Faced with Orochimaru's insane ramblings, Sasuke's expression remained utterly impassive.
He cut straight to the point, stating the purpose of his visit.
"You mentioned my brother before. Tell me, what do you know about him?"
"Hehe." Orochimaru didn't answer directly, a sly glint flashing in his snake-like eyes.
He slowly stood up, circling Sasuke once, and chuckled hoarsely before countering with a question, "Before I answer that, I'm more curious, Sasuke-kun. Why do you think Itachi slaughtered the clan?"
The question made Sasuke's eyes narrow instantly.
"A genius hailed as the Uchiha Clan's once-in-a-century prodigy... a boy who became an Anbu xCcaptain at the age of thirteen..."
Orochimaru stopped in front of Sasuke, leaning forward slightly, "What reason could possibly drive him to raise his blade and personally bury his parents, his clansmen, everything he held dear?"
He slowly straightened up, took a step back, and spread his hands, a sickly smile on his face.
"Don't you find that... strange in itself?"
Sasuke's gaze sharpened.
'Yes, why?'
'To test his 'capacity'?'
'After all I had experienced, this reason seemed pale and ridiculous.'
Seeing Sasuke lost in thought, Orochimaru knew the time was ripe.
He extended a pale hand, gesturing to the experimental equipment around them.
"Do you know what this place is, Sasuke-kun?"
Orochimaru's voice was hoarse, yet tinged with a hint of pride, echoing through the empty underground lab, "This... was once the darkest corner of Konoha."
"The ruins left behind by an organization willing to delve deep underground to carry out any dirty task to protect the 'tree trunk's' light."
His words pulled Sasuke from his contemplation.
"Organization?"
"Hehehe..." Orochimaru slowly walked to a large glass incubation tank, gently tapping the cold glass.
"In pursuit of the Shodaime Hokage's legendary 'Wood Release', I conducted countless human experiments here."
He pointed at a human arm inside the tank that had even sprouted fresh green buds, "And the man who oversaw all this... was someone even more desperate for power, and more adept at utilizing darkness, than I."
Sasuke's eyes followed his finger. A wave of visceral disgust rose within him.
"That organization was called 'Root'."
Orochimaru finally turned around, his snake-like pupils fixed intently on Sasuke in the dim light, "No emotions, no past, no self. They existed only to draw nutrients from the dark soil for the village, this great tree."
"Its leader was Sandaime Hokage's closest friend, and also the deepest shadow beneath his light."
He paused deliberately, savoring the growing coldness in Sasuke's eyes.
"Shimura Danzo."
This name was not unfamiliar to Sasuke.
In his father's study, he had heard this name more than once. Each time, it was accompanied by his father's grave expression and suppressed sighs.
Orochimaru's voice was full of malicious glee, "He believed the existence of the Uchiha Clan threatened the Konoha he 'protected'. So, he used every means at his disposal to suppress the Uchiha Clan."
These words pierced through the fog of Sasuke's memory.
The order that deliberately diverted the Military Police Force during the Kyubi Attack...
The humiliation of the entire Uchiha Clan's compound being forcibly relocated to the edge of the village after the war...
And his father's always-restrained anger whenever he mentioned the village's higher-ups...
"Years of injustice and oppression..."
Orochimaru's voice grew louder in his ears, piecing together those ignored fragments one by one.
"With the Uchiha Clan's deeply ingrained pride, do you think they would endure it forever?"
"Tell me…" Orochimaru's voice dropped to a whisper, "Would they be plotting something in the shadows? Something that could overturn the village's existing order?"
"Something like a..."
"Coup d'état?"
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