"Orochimaru-sama!"
Seeing Orochimaru appear, Habu Sora immediately straightened and greeted him respectfully.
But deep inside, he was feeling a bit nervous.
Did he… hear me cursing him all those times over the past two weeks?
And what about the Gate-Gate Fruit? I've tried not to use it unless I had to, but still… did he notice anyway?
"Call me sensei from now on," Orochimaru said calmly.
Sora blinked in surprise.
Was that… acknowledgment?
Did this mean Orochimaru had officially accepted him as a disciple?
Initially, Sora had wanted nothing more than to stay far away from this man with such a terrifying reputation.
But after going through the past half month of hellish training, feeling his strength skyrocket under extreme pressure… he had to admit, having Orochimaru as a teacher might not be such a bad thing after all.
After all, Orochimaru had trained more than a few geniuses.
And Sora couldn't help but drool over the Ryūchi Cave inheritance, the only other place besides the three great summoning realms that offered true Sage Mode training.
"…Sensei."
Sora bowed respectfully and called out.
"Mm." Orochimaru gave a faint nod and pulled out a syringe from his robes.
"Give me a vial of your blood."
"…Huh?"
Wait, are you taking in a disciple or a lab rat? I just called you teacher, and now you want my blood for your research?!
Sora instantly regretted saying the word sensei… but he didn't dare say no. He silently drew blood from his arm and handed it over.
Once he sealed the sample away, Orochimaru led Sora out of the Forest of Death.
Back in the bustling streets of Konoha, Sora felt an overwhelming sense of relief, like returning from a nightmare.
This time, Orochimaru really did treat him to a proper meal, a full, sizzling feast of grilled meat.
Afterward, he took Sora straight to the hospital.
Sora's body was covered in injuries, none of them life-threatening, but cuts, bruises, and claw marks were everywhere.
Once on the hospital bed, with the stress finally lifting from his mind, Sora fell into a deep sleep the moment his body relaxed.
When he woke again, he had no idea how long he'd been out.
The first thing he saw was a white ceiling.
"Sora, you're finally awake!"
He turned toward the voice.
Thick eyebrows. Bowl-cut hair.
Might Guy.
He was lying on the bed beside him, wrapped in so many bandages he looked like a walking cast. His right leg was even suspended above the bed.
"Sora, where the heck did you go these past two weeks? We were all worried sick! We even filed a missing person report with the police!"
"I went for special training."
"Yo! That's youth!" Guy's eyes sparkled with tears. "Everyone at school thought you ran off 'cause you were scared of fighting Uchiha Shū. But I knew you wouldn't back down!"
"Yo! That's right, Guy! Youth never retreats!"
A booming voice rang out as a man in a tight green jumpsuit, thick brows, parted black hair, and a scruffy beard leapt into the room.
"Dad!"
"Guy!"
"YOUTH!"
The two of them launched into a passionate, tearful hug.
Sora watched the dramatic father-son embrace with a look of speechless awe, and a hint of second-hand embarrassment.
"…By the way, Guy. What happened to you? Why are you so banged up?"
"Oh, I pulled a muscle while training!" Guy said proudly.
"Pulled a muscle? Your leg, arm, and back are all injured…?"
Sora couldn't believe it.
Who trained hard enough to injure half their body?
"If I can't do 2,000 squats, I'll do 3,000 side kicks! If I can't do 3,000 side kicks, I'll do 4,000 push-ups! The flames of youth never fear pain!"
Guy raised a thumbs-up, his dazzling white teeth shining like a beacon.
"…Still, you should take care of your body. Injuring yourself like this will only slow your training," Sora gently advised.
"You're right, Sora," Might Duy chimed in. "We should revise the training plan a bit. The march of youth mustn't be delayed by injury."
"Yes, Dad!" Guy wiped away tears, and the two embraced again in emotional harmony.
Sora turned away from their dramatic display and began checking his own condition.
His wounds were mostly healed, it seemed a medical ninja had used healing techniques while he slept.
He rolled his shoulder and got out of bed.
"…Hm? What's this?"
A slip of paper fell from his clothes. He picked it up.
"Sora-kun, I've been sent on a mission. Continue training on your own in the meantime."
There was no signature, but Sora immediately recognized the handwriting, it was Orochimaru's.
As expected.
With Orochimaru's status, it was impossible for him to personally babysit a child full-time.
This kind of free-range training… yeah, that's probably going to be the norm going forward.
Sora looked over at the father and son duo, then suddenly had a thought.
"Uncle Duy, Guy… can I train with you two?"
Right now, his body was still his greatest limitation, the bottleneck preventing his chakra capacity from growing.
If he wanted to fix that, training under the Might duo, the kings of taijutsu, was the best possible path.
Might Duy might be mocked as the Eternal Genin by others, but his taijutsu was legendarily terrifying.
In just a few years, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Duy would protect Guy by opening the final Gate of Death, unleashing strength beyond even Kage level.
He would go on to slay four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, forcing the Mist's elite to retreat in panic.
"What did you just say, Sora?"
"You… you want to join us in our youth training?!"
"That's right. I want to train my body with you two."
"Guy!"
"Dad! I knew youth was never meant to be lonely! More people will come to understand the meaning of our flames!"
"Absolutely not!"
A female doctor in a white coat and glasses stepped into the room. Her blonde hair gleamed under the light.
"The patient has multiple muscle strains and soft tissue injuries. He is not to do intense physical activity!"
"Sorry, doctor!"
The two green-clad men wilted obediently.
The doctor walked over to Guy's bed and patted his head gently.
"I only just finished healing your muscle tears this morning. Please don't push yourself again, okay? Be good~"
"O-Okay, doctor." Guy blushed bright red.
"Also, the reason your body keeps getting injured is because your training intensity is too high and your nutrition can't keep up. You need to eat more meat, understand?"
"Eat… meat?"
Duy stiffened.
Their family was poor, so poor they lived in a leaky wooden shack.
Meat was a luxury. Eating it daily? Practically impossible.
The doctor immediately understood the problem from their expressions.
"If money's the issue, I can lend you some."
She pulled out her wallet and handed over ten thousand ryo to Duy.
"Here, take this for now. If it's not enough, just come find me, I'm usually at the hospital during the day."
"This…"
Duy was stunned. He never imagined someone would offer money so freely, without any hesitation.
"…Thank you. Truly, thank you."
Tears welled up as he bowed deeply to her, clutching the envelope of bills.
He didn't turn it down. Because… they truly needed it.
"I've still got some money too, Uncle Duy," Sora offered. "If you need more, just take it from me."
He'd made plenty from his books. Financial hardship was no longer an issue.
"No, I can't do that, Sora." Duy refused without hesitation.
"You live alone. You don't have any regular income. I can't take your money."
"Yeah," Guy added. "When we visited your place last time, you were eating that weird fruit that tasted like poop!"
That was a Devil Fruit, you fool…
Sora broke into a cold sweat and quickly said, "That was just a joke fruit. I was messing around. I actually have a lot of savings, don't worry about it!"
But the Might father and son still refused to accept.
"You're Habu Sora, right? Looks like you're finally awake. You're a kind kid," the doctor said with a warm smile.
"You're the kind one, sis. Lending money to total strangers the first time you meet them? That's real kindness."
Sora stared at her, his eyes thoughtful.
He remembered now.
Yakushi Nono.
<150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter>