"Hey! Why did you spit at me just now! Apologize immediately!" Luffy glared angrily at the person on the wild boar. If Orochimaru hadn't pulled him back, that spit would have landed on his face.
"Luffy, Orochimaru, that guy is Ace. He's three years older than you. From today on, you'll be living with him."
Luffy continued to glare at him.
"You two should get along well." A fist was about to land on Luffy's head but was caught by Orochimaru.
"Grandpa, you should say 'get along well' to this kid who spits everywhere."
"Is it really decided?" Dadan asked, unconvinced.
Garp, already fuming, turned and looked at Dadan's group with a dark expression.
"What's wrong? Do you have an opinion?"
Dadan's group bowed politely.
"Absolutely no problem."
Orochimaru looked at the lifeless Ace, resisting the urge to stick out his tongue, a gesture that would ruin his composure. He had to hold back; Garp was still here. Sure enough, children living in darkness always held a strange attraction for him. He wondered if Ace would be more delicious compared to Sasuke.
"That's all for today. I'll come again when I have time."
Dadan's family was still complaining about the lack of child support, but Garp ignored them.
After Garp left, Orochimaru finally twisted his stiff neck. Pretending to be good was exhausting.
He didn't pay attention to the group of people or their childish food-搶食 activities, nor did he help Luffy. Not everything required his help; Luffy also needed to grow. If he constantly protected him, it would be meaningless.
Eating the food in his bowl, he didn't object when Dadan said they would only provide one bowl of rice and water daily, and they had to fend for themselves for the rest. Survival of the fittest was normal.
Not just in the Ninja world, but even in this world, Garp had taught them the same way for the past two years.
Luffy agreed without a care, saying that his grandpa had taught him the same way before.
Dadan fell over in shock. The group helped Dadan up, and Orochimaru thoughtfully helped clean up. It was too dirty to eat. For a while, these people would be his new companions.
Watching Luffy run out, Orochimaru wasn't in a hurry. He unhurriedly organized his belongings, listening to Dadan's curses.
"Hey, where's the room to stay?" The air instantly froze.
After tidying up his living space, Orochimaru followed them out, just in time to see Luffy being knocked off the suspension bridge by Ace.
Orochimaru squatted on the ropes of the suspension bridge, looking at Ace's dark expression, his voice somewhat hoarse, "What an interesting soul."
Ace jolted and quickly retreated a few steps. He ignored him and turned to leave.
At night, Ace listened to Dadan's drunken words and left expressionlessly. Orochimaru, standing upside down on the shed roof, laughed mockingly.
"Oh dear… how pitiful."
Ace looked around warily, then looked up and discovered Orochimaru's presence. He was startled. What was this thing? He still didn't say anything and left.
From the memories of his returned clone, he knew Luffy was fine, just surviving in the forest, so he didn't worry. It was routine. During the day, he learned from Ace and hunted for Dadan's family, occasionally observing Ace.
A week passed, and Luffy returned in a sorry state. Orochimaru naturally washed Luffy and tucked him into bed.
Two months later, Luffy chased Ace regardless of wind or rain. Dadan's family was in a worried frenzy. Orochimaru would occasionally follow behind, holding a large bowl and slurping miso ramen. Hmm… his own cooking still tasted better. He missed Ichiraku Ramen a bit.
"Is Luffy chasing Ace again? He's been through so much, but he still doesn't learn, huh? Don't always make people worry." Dadan frowned, smoking a cigarette and sitting cross-legged.
"Hehehe… are you worried?" Dogura asked with a sly smile, holding a teacup.
"Ho-… how could I be… Don't talk nonsense." Dadan said stubbornly.
Orochimaru placed the ingredients into the pot over the fire in front of Dadan and lit it.
"Today we're having sukiyaki hotpot."
"Oh, oh, oh… good." Dadan quickly put out her cigarette and instinctively picked up a bowl. She hadn't expected this cold-faced guy to be the least troublesome.
"Σ(°ロ°) Ah!!!!!!!!" The group suddenly screamed when they saw a face swollen like a pumpkin. What in the world was that?
"(・｀ェ´・) The hornet's nest fell down," Luffy mumbled.
The bowl in Orochimaru's hand dropped… and rolled to the side with a gurgle.
In his mind, he once again accused the system. Why didn't it come earlier? He didn't want to admit this thing was his brother.
(Orochimaru only had a general idea of memory progression and important figures; he didn't know everything. He could have thoroughly checked the memories of that one-tenth of a soul, but he didn't want to. That would make the New World uninteresting. He had already let himself go when he transmigrated, so everything else was left to fate.)