"This new body… doesn't compare to Sasuke."
Under the moonlight, a pair of vertical, snake-like pupils surfaced, steady and cold as they took everything in.
A faucet hadn't been shut all the way.Drip after drip each drop landed in a sink piled with dirty plates.
The stovetop hadn't been wiped after cooking, so it was slick with old grease. The wall above it was stained dark from smoke and heat, and together they made the whole place look even filthier.
So…
I'm in a kitchen?
Orochimaru rolled his neck, then, out of habit, flicked out his tongue.
Pain tore through the corner of his mouth.
The scab there split open. Blood welled immediately.
He curled his tongue, tasting it.
This blood…
Fresh.
Warm enough, too. A healthy thirty-six degrees.
"At least the new body's in decent condition."
While he assessed it, he continued studying the small kitchen.
No traps. No traces of jutsu. If anything, it felt like a civilian home.
Orochimaru reached out and casually picked up the chef's knife from the counter, turning it once between his fingers.
"Not as convenient as a kunai, but it'll do."
He slid it behind his waist, then sank into the corner like a snake settling in to hunt.
He was being cautious for a reason.
His Immortality Jutsu had gone wrong.
He didn't know exactly why yet. If he had to guess, it was fallout from the Third Hokage's Reaper Death Seal.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. His focus snapped tight.
It was the kind of instinct only a veteran of endless battle developed, the reflex that forced him to stay calm and cut the situation apart piece by piece.
First: he wasn't inside a genjutsu. That sharp pain at his mouth should've broken most illusions on its own.
Second: this body wasn't Gen'yūmaru's. There was a foreign kind of power inside it, something abnormal, maybe an unknown Kekkei Genkai.
And last…
This body was awful.
It had never refined Chakra even once. Its physical strength was so weak it wouldn't even measure up to a brand-new ninja academy student.
Which meant he couldn't afford a single careless mistake.
He listened to every faint sound around him while forcing Chakra to form inside his body, squeezing out every second he could.
He didn't need much. Just an academy student's worth would be enough to use Substitution Jutsu and buy himself a moment of safety.
He was counting the amount he'd managed to gather when a sound suddenly came from somewhere farther off.
A hiccup.
Then another.
A chain of drunken belches, along with an alcohol stench so thick it felt like it had weight.
A trap meant to lower my guard? Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, and a thin, unpleasant smile tugged at his mouth.
He liked enemies who thought they were clever.
He made himself smaller, tighter, until he might as well have been part of the shadow itself.
And the footsteps drew closer.
"Slake! Your mom's a monster, and you're a little monster too!" A man kicked the kitchen door open and bellowed into the room. "I'm gonna beat you to death and knock that freak power right out of you!"
Orochimaru listened, calm and almost bored, like he was watching a windmill spin in the distance.
He already had a strong guess where he was.
The Land of Water.
Only Kirigakure hated Kekkei Genkai with that kind of stupidity.
So this new body must belong to the child of a Kekkei Genkai kunoichi who'd been living under a false name, running and hiding.
She'd been exposed by her husband, forced to flee, leaving behind a child who'd never been trained as a ninja… a child whose Kekkei Genkai hadn't even awakened yet.
Orochimaru felt certain he'd pieced it together.
But certainty wasn't enough. He needed confirmation.
He checked the Chakra he'd managed to refine.
Still not much. The unknown Kekkei Genkai seemed to interfere, slowing the process. But it was enough for one jutsu.
That thought made his smile sharpen, anticipation flickering in his slit pupils.
Then, in a high, frantic voice, he screamed:
"Dad, don't sell me out, please! I'm begging you!"
"Little freak! Who said you're allowed to call me Dad?" The man outside roared and charged in.
Orochimaru took a single, habitual glance at him.
Big build, broad and heavy. Like someone from the Akimichi Clan. But the man's hair color was strange, bright blond, and he had a massive bald patch.
And judging by his footsteps and breathing…
A civilian.
Orochimaru didn't like civilians. They weren't worth studying.
Battlefields were the exception, because civilians died quickly.
Conclusion: no threat.
Move.
His hands flashed.
Eight hand seals, completed in an instant.
To make sure the technique hit hard, he even murmured the name under his breath.
"Genjutsu: Demonic Snake Abyss Jutsu."
The Demonic Snake Abyss was something he'd developed recently, built off the Headhunter Jutsu and Demonic Illusion: Death Mirage Jutsu, blended with a touch of his Snake Clone Jutsu.
Once you were caught, you'd find that…
"Snakes! Why are there snakes biting me? Bastard, what did you do to me!"
The man who'd rushed in screamed immediately, twisting in agony.
There was nothing around him but scattered trash, yet blood seeped from his skin as if real snakes were sinking their fangs into him.
And there was more.
His entire body had been dragged down into the kitchen tiles. Only his head remained above the floor.
Orochimaru still didn't step fully into view.
He stayed in the shadows and watched for a moment, then clicked his tongue and shook his head, disappointed.
No sign of Mist Ninja Chakra anywhere nearby.
In other words…
His trap hadn't caught what he wanted.
Still, he glided out from the corner like a snake uncoiling, sliding up beside the man.
A heartbeat later, the cold tip of the kitchen knife rested against the man's face.
"I'm not a patient ninja," Orochimaru said softly. "So I'd prefer it if you answered my questions honestly. Don't make this difficult for me."
Before the man could even respond, Orochimaru drew the blade once across his cheek.
Not a wide cut. Just deep.
Blood spilled out at once, steady, like a tiny spring.
Orochimaru smiled, thin and ugly, and decided to press harder.
He licked the blood from the blade.
As expected, the man started shaking in terror.
"Almost forgot," Orochimaru added, voice mild. "I don't like the blood of someone who's drunk. Next time, don't drink so much, all right?"
"What kind of ninja are you?" the man howled. "You're just like your mom! You're both crazy, you're both crazy!"
So this place was remote enough that nobody had even heard of ninja.
That was good.
He could hide here for a while… and take his time studying this body's Kekkei Genkai.
He'd never seen one like it before.
Thinking that, Orochimaru gently scraped the knife along the man's face, shaving off every bit of his beard.
In seconds, the man's chin was smooth as an egg, like it would be easier for Orochimaru to cut into him now.
At least, that's what the man thought.
It made him stop shaking altogether. He didn't even dare.
"My dear father," Orochimaru said, almost sweet, "could you tell me where we are?"
"You lunatic! You little monster…"
"Dad," Orochimaru said, voice still light, "say something useful. I'm not very patient."
"Privet Drive! This is your house!"
It was a place name he'd never heard before.
Not the answer he needed.
Fine. He'd be more specific.
"Which of the Five Great Nations does Privet Drive belong to?" Orochimaru asked. "Which village governs it, and how far is it from the five great hidden villages?"
He leaned in slightly, pupils narrowing to slits.
"And, my dear father, I still believe there's no such thing as someone who's never heard of ninja."
"So think carefully. Get it right. Then tell me."
His snake-like eyes gleamed, cold and polite.