Chapter 42: Northern Stronghold
The journey was a painful one for Orochimaru. His current strength was a shadow of what it once was, and with Takahashi acting as both his guard and his jailer, he felt completely depressed.
He kept thinking about the past. Not long ago, he was a powerful Sannin, full of ambition. He had even wanted to take over Takahashi's body. Now, he was completely dependent on this same person, forced to follow his every order. The thought made him deeply uncomfortable.
Takahashi had not returned directly to Konoha this time. Instead, he sent Hinata and Sakura back first. He told them he had found important clues and needed to investigate alone. He was sure the Third Hokage would not be too suspicious of this story.
In truth, he was taking Orochimaru to the Northern Stronghold. His plan was to get Orochimaru's hands restored first, and then force him to teach the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu. Takahashi was determined to master that technique himself.
During their travels, Orochimaru noticed some interesting things about his captor. For example, Takahashi never seemed to train, yet his power was immense. It was unnatural. He also had some views that Orochimaru found strangely soft.
For instance, when they encountered a group of bandits, Takahashi only seriously wounded one of them as a warning. He didn't kill a single person.
Or when they met some local bullies, Takahashi's first instinct was not to fight, but to avoid them. Any other ninja in his position would have lost their temper and killed the bullies without a second thought.
At night, the two shared a room to prevent Orochimaru from escaping. Takahashi made it clear that if he tried to run, he wouldn't hesitate to use his sword, the Kusanagi, to chop off his leg.
One night, Orochimaru couldn't sleep. Lying in the dark, he thought about everything that had happened over the last few days. He finally broke the silence.
"I used to think you were a qualified ninja," Orochimaru said, his voice a low hiss. "You were so decisive in battle. But after these past few days, I see I was wrong. You are indecisive. You have a kindness in you. That kindness will get you killed one day."
Hearing this evaluation, Takahashi let out a light laugh.
"You're right about one thing," Takahashi replied. "I don't let my enemies go. But that doesn't mean I enjoy killing. I only kill when it serves a purpose, when it gets me the maximum result. Killing without a reason is pointless. It just warps your mind. But if your goal is big enough... you wouldn't hesitate to pile up mountains of bodies to achieve it. Even if the goal is the entire shinobi world. What do you think?"
Orochimaru was confused. But for some reason, the words "the entire shinobi world" sent a shiver down his spine. Takahashi had said it so gently, yet it left him with a feeling of dread.
Orochimaru tried to shake off the feeling. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became, so he tried to treat it as a joke.
"Your jokes aren't very funny," Orochimaru said.
Takahashi's voice was calm in the darkness. "Do you think I'm joking?"
In that moment, Orochimaru felt he could no longer see through the young man in front of him. In terms of pure power, Takahashi was strong. But in Orochimaru's eyes, a man decades old, Takahashi was still just a child. Orochimaru had always felt a sense of superiority, born from his vast experience and grand ambitions.
But now, he suddenly felt a little inferior. As someone who also had lofty goals, he realized that Takahashi's plot was on a scale he hadn't imagined. It was vast and terrifying. He could think of such things, but it was an animal instinct. Takahashi spoke of it with calm purpose.
Seeing the serious look on Orochimaru's face in the dim light, Takahashi just smiled.
"Look at you. I was only joking," Takahashi said lightly. "Go to sleep. We have work to do when we reach the Northern Stronghold."
With that, Takahashi closed his eyes and said no more. Within half an hour, his breathing became slow and steady.
But Orochimaru lay awake, unable to sleep. He felt there was something wrong with him. How could a mere kid's joke make him tremble like this? He finally forced himself to drift into a restless sleep.
He didn't know how old Takahashi's soul truly was. He couldn't understand the sparks that flew when a modern mind merged with this world. To him, it was illogical and distorted. He just wanted to calm the unease he felt.
After a few more days of travel, they finally arrived at the Northern Stronghold. Seeing the familiar place, Orochimaru couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He was finally back.
As they entered, a large group of cursed seal creatures rushed toward them. But they did not attack. Instead, they knelt down devoutly beside the path like obedient dogs, their serious eyes fixed on Orochimaru.
To them, Orochimaru was their master, a noble figure they could never hope to equal. Even though some of them were strong, with power close to a Chunin or even a Jonin, Orochimaru was still a sacred and untouchable god in their eyes.
They moved deeper into the stronghold, heading for the innermost laboratory. But Orochimaru frowned as they entered. There were signs of recent life here. The place was spotless. The men he had trained did not have cleaning habits. The only one who was relatively tidy was Kimimaro, and that was only when he was with Jugo.
Just then, a surprised voice came from the side.
"Lord Orochimaru? Why have you returned so suddenly?"
The voice was familiar. Both of them turned to see Jugo standing there, holding a tray with two cups of freshly poured tea.
It turned out that after his talk with Takahashi, Jugo had been left confused. The words of both Orochimaru and Takahashi pulled at his heart. He had finally decided to come to the Northern Stronghold to find Kimimaro and calm his mind.
He had stayed for several days. He never expected that they would come here, too. Orochimaru was also very surprised. He could see that the wild, unstable power within Jugo had decreased greatly. More importantly, he had lost his sickly look.
It was hard to believe, but what Takahashi had said was true. He had really cured Jugo's terminal illness—an illness that even Orochimaru himself couldn't fix. It was a pity that his own arms were now gone, making any plan to capture Takahashi very difficult. He let out a silent sigh. Some things were truly beyond his control now.
Jugo was even more shocked to see Takahashi standing beside Orochimaru. Weren't they mortal enemies? Why were they traveling together?
The situation was too much for him to process.
Takahashi, however, was relatively relaxed. Since they weren't enemies here, there was no need to act fierce.
"A lot has happened," Takahashi explained. "It's too complicated to explain here. For now, just know that I'm not an enemy."
(End of this chapter)