The sound of water droplets kept ringing in the passage.

At the end of the passage is an iron door, and inside is a sprawling, well-equipped laboratory.

The bottle was filled with animal limbs, neatly placed all around. There are many low, long tables arranged vertically and horizontally, on which are placed test tubes, distillation flasks and other utensils.

There are also cables in the aisles, and the lights are a little white and shiny, and raising your head makes people squint unnaturally.

In front of a table, a slender figure stood there, holding a notebook full of words, thinking about something.

She has long black hair that is silky, and her skin is as transparent as a candle.

He opened his fang-like mouth and let out a magnetic, hoarse laugh that made his body shudder.

"It's not close...... It's almost done......"

What exactly was about to be done, no one knew except himself.

"However, I would also like to thank that guy from Danzo for providing me with so many test subjects...... It's a pity ......"

He took the notebook, his mind was no longer on it, and sighed softly.

"Mr. Ape Fei seems to be a little wary of me, and there are still things that I haven't arrived...... Should you have to wait a little longer? But...... There are not enough test subjects on hand. ”

It is simply stupid to cling to such things as human ethics.

But...... Can you really be ruthless? The man began to ask himself.

Sarutobi sensei, Jiraiya, Tsunade...... This village that gave birth to him and raised him......

An incomparably complex color appeared in the man's eyes.

In the end, he just sighed and didn't say anything.

It was at this moment that the door to the laboratory was opened.

A small head poked its head out of the crack in the door, looking for something in the laboratory with a curious gaze.

Seeing the man doing research work in the laboratory, she walked in from outside.

"Orochimaru-sensei, you're really here."

The man was accosted by an eleven or twelve-year-old girl with a hearty smile on her face, looking very familiar with a man.

"It's Hongdou, have you done the homework assigned to you?"

Orochimaru turned around and saw the girl, and a smile appeared on her pale face.

The girl is his student, and her name is Mitarai Red Bean, and she is a lively and cute child.

"Homework, I'm done with it, Orochimaru-sensei."

The girl replied with a smile.

"Then what's the matter with coming to me? I still have work to do. ”

Orochimaru put down the notebook in his hand and said.

"Orochimaru-sensei, aren't you tired of staying here all day?"

Red Bean asked curiously.

"It's not tiresome at all, it's something that you have to experience in the search for the truth. If you can't bear this boredom, you won't be able to pursue the truth. ”

"Truth?"

"I want to become an immortal ninja and learn all the ninjutsu in this world, so I have to do all kinds of experiments."

Orochimaru said without concealment.

There's actually nothing to hide about this matter, because his teacher Sarutobi Hiza, as well as his friends Jiraiya and Tsunade, all know about his ideal.

It's just that they all think of it as an unrealistic fantasy of his childhood. But Orochimaru knew that he was serious.

In their cognition, there is no one who is immortal, and it is nonsense to learn all the ninjutsu in the world.

"Orochimaru-sensei, why do you have to do such a thing? In my opinion, Orochimaru-sensei, you are already very powerful. ”

Red Bean said.

Orochimaru shook his head and patiently answered Red Bean's question: "No, this bit of strength is not enough. There is no limit to the pursuit of truth. ”

"Really? I still don't quite understand. ”

Red Bean tilted her head, looking incomprehensible.

Orochimaru didn't care, then remembered something, looked at the red bean and said, "Speaking of which, you are now a middle ninja, do you have any gifts you want?" ”

"Gifts?"

"That's right, as a gift for you to become a shinobi."

Orochimaru laughed as he touched the red bean's head.

"Is anything okay?"

Azuki asked.

Orochimaru nodded: "As long as I can do it, I will try my best to fulfill your wishes." ”

"I have only one wish, and that is to go on a trip with Orochimaru-sensei."

Red Bean's eyes were full of anticipation as he looked at Orochimaru.

"Tourist?"

Orochimaru frowned slightly.

"Isn't that okay, Orochimaru-sensei?"

"It's not impossible, but I can't leave the village for too long, and I may be back in less than a week when I go out to accompany you."

"It's enough. I'll be looking forward to this trip, Orochimaru-sensei. ”

"Since you don't object, it's settled. We'll leave the day after tomorrow, and until then, it's up to you to choose the right place. ”

Orochimaru said.

"yes, I see. I won't disturb Orochimaru-sensei's work, and we'll meet at the village gate the morning after tomorrow. ”

Azuki smiled and nodded, and then left the lab.

"What an acute ......"

Orochimaru shook his head with a smirk.

Then he turned around and looked at the notebook that had just been placed on the table, his snake-like vertical pupils deepened.

But how long can such peaceful days last? It's really exciting...... Immortal ......"

◎

When night comes, the streets are brightly lit and people come and go, and it seems to be lively.

"I didn't expect you to go back to the village first, something so big happened, and that guy didn't come back."

At the barbecue restaurant in the center of Konoha, Orochimaru who accepted Jiraiya's invitation to treat him to dinner here accompanies Jiraiya.

"You know, that woman doesn't know where to go crazy, I haven't contacted her for a long time. If it weren't for her regular contact with the village, I would have thought she was missing. ”

Jiraiya sighed helplessly, complaining a little about Tsunade's behavior of not returning to the village.

"I guess I don't want to see the village look like this now."

Orochimaru said.

Slowly poured himself a cup of hot tea and drank it, without moving the roast on the shelf.

An intriguing smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, as if he knew something inside.

"It's true that the village has been changing very fast lately. Nothing seemed to have changed, but I always had a sense of foreboding, and I always felt that something else was going to happen. ”

"What do you mean? Is the Nine-Tails behind the incident? ”

Orochimaru played with the teacup and looked at Jiraiya.

With the occurrence of the Nine-Tails Incident, it is an indisputable fact that Konoha's overall strength has declined.

If it weren't for the death of the fourth generation Hokage Wave Feng Shui Gate, Yun Yin would not dare to restart the battle with Konoha at this time.

On the surface, this matter has passed, but as a high-level ninja of Konoha, Orochimaru is well aware that the follow-up effects of this matter are not over.

The Hokage is directly under the Shadow Department and has been secretly investigating this incident.

It is said that the Uchiha clan is also involved, and the scope of the spread is too wide.

"That's right. It is rumored that the three disciples of Shuo Mao did it, but I think there is something else behind this matter, and it is not as simple as we thought. ”

Jiraiya's face is serious.

Seeing that Orochimaru was silent, he naturally changed the topic in a timely manner:

"Speaking of which, Mr. Sarufei said that your behavior has been a bit strange lately. Are you in conflict with Mr. Ape Fei? ”

"Nope. I've been doing research in the lab lately, but I don't have the time to do anything else. ”

Orochimaru replied with the same expression.

"No wonder you're looking gloomy and gloomy now, barely recognizable. I said you, don't do that research. ”

Jiraiya watched Orochimaru's more and more eerie temperament, with that candle-like transparent skin and snake-like vertical pupils, he was simply a dangerous person who was alive and well.

"Jiraiya, even if it's you, don't try to interfere with my decision. It's a lifelong dream of mine. ”

Orochimaru snorted lightly, expressing his displeasure.

"In other words, haven't you given up on your unrealistic dreams of immortality?"

I also remembered something.

In the past, Orochimaru had revealed this ultimate ideal to him and Tsunade more than once.

"On the path of pursuing the truth, I will not give up easily."

Orochimaru said firmly.

"How can a man live forever. Passing on our will to the next generation and allowing them to accomplish what we have left unfinished is what ninja is. ”

Jiraiya shook his head boringly, always feeling that the big snake pill that he hadn't seen for a long time had become nervous.

In the familiarity, there is a hint of strangeness that is difficult to hide.

"You still have such naïve thoughts. Now that Watergate has died for the village, where is the child of prophecy you are talking about? ”

Orochimaru asked rhetorically.

Jirai didn't answer, just eating barbecue depressedly, probably unable to find the words to refute Orochimaru.

"Compared to my dreams, the child of prophecy in your mouth is the real unattainable existence."

Orochimaru stood up from his seat and looked at Jiraiya, who continued to bury his head there.

He knew that the death of Watergate had made the current Jilai very painful and annoyed.

When he regretted why the Nine-Tails rioted, he was not in the village.

"It's nothing, I'll go first. In addition, I would like to remind you that if the three disciples of Shuo Mao were really behind the Nine-Tails incident, don't rush over without regard for anything as soon as your head is hot, you will definitely die. ”

After saying words of advice, Orochimaru got up from his seat and walked out of the private room.

◎

After separating from Jiraiya, Orochimaru's mood was very irritable.

Instead of choosing to return to the laboratory, he wandered aimlessly around Konoha Village and dissipated the irritability in his heart.

Far away from the hustle and bustle of the night market in the center of the village, the edge of the village seemed extremely peaceful, and Orochimaru felt that his heart had become quiet with this peaceful environment.

Just as he was about to turn back, he suddenly heard the sound of metal clashing in the depths of the woods.

It was the characteristic sound of the shuriken after they collided with each other.

Orochimaru quickly stopped, looking at the source of the sound deep in the woods.

Over a dense jungle, which has not yet been artificially mined.

The shade of the tree obscured Orochimaru's figure, and as one of the three shinobi, even the upper shinobi couldn't detect his presence as long as he didn't want to expose his breath.

With the help of the shade of the tree, the boy who was cultivating in the open space in front of him naturally couldn't detect the breath of the Great Snake Pill.

The boys were around five or six years old, and wore long sleeves and trousers embroidered with the logo of a fan.

The Uchiha? And, this kid, I seem to have seen it somewhere. Orochimaru said secretly in his heart.

In the moonlit woods, the boy's face looked extremely calm, not at all like the expression of a child.

The cultivation ground that was simply made in the open space, a large number of kunai and shuriken were scattered there, with countless gaps and remnants, and every kunai and each shuriken experienced a strong impact, and then was shot to the ground.

On the trees around the boy, criss-crossing steel wires are arranged, connecting countless traps.

The boy was holding his breath with a calm face at this time, and a kunai appeared in each of his hands, and it was self-evident what he wanted to do.

He threw the kunai out at lightning speed, severing the tightrope and triggering a chain of traps.

In the dark depths of the woods, dense kunai and shuriken rained down on the boy.

The boy seemed to be dumbfounded, and stood still.

Seeing this scene, Orochimaru's face changed slightly, to this extent, there was naturally no danger to him.

But for a child of five or six years old, it is already seriously out of the norm.

However, before Orochimaru could come to the rescue, the boy had already disappeared from the spot, dodging the first round of kunai and shuriken.

The boy jumped into the air, his body flipped, his fingers pressed towards the ninja bag at his waist, and a kunai was drawn from it, and it swiped gorgeously in front of his eyes.

Every step is just right to dodge the kunai and shuriken, and every blow is just the right force to knock down the kunai and shuriken that flew towards him.

All the kunai and shuriken and attack trajectory induced by the trap were basically seen through by the boy in an instant.

A few seconds later, there were once more splintered and chipped-out kunai and shuriken on the ground.

The boy fell to the ground lightly and silently, panting slightly.

There were also a few cuts on his clothes, which were cut by kunai and shuriken without noticing.

The boy frowned slightly, couldn't he avoid all of this?

In other words, there is still room for growth, and it is far from the limit.

So, he began to rearrange the traps and continued to hone his dodge and counter skills.

Orochimaru, who peeked at this scene in the shade of the tree, was a little dumbfounded.

Subconsciously, Orochimaru stretched out his tongue and licked it lightly on the side of his mouth, revealing an evil light in his eyes.

Uchiha ......

The boy who was cultivating there shuddered violently.

Without hesitation, he turned around and shot out the kunai in his hand.

In the middle of nowhere, two leaves fell.

Delusion? The boy saw that only two leaves were falling, but there was no human figure, and he was slightly puzzled.

The feeling of being spied on was very disgusting to him. It's as if a snake licks his tongue at him, making him feel physically repulsed and disgusted.

- Orochimaru has left the woods.

He stood outside the woods, staring into the woods, a meaningful smile on his lips.

"Interesting, I didn't expect to be able to do this without opening the writing wheel. If you wake up in the future, what if you wake up to the Sharingan...... I'm really looking forward to the future of this child. Maybe you can ......."

The evil light in Orochimaru's eyes grew stronger and stronger.

As he was thinking, a shuriken suddenly flew through the air, carrying a sharp wind.

Orochimaru didn't want to stagger his body, but the breath of wind wrapped around the shuriken still cut a wound on his face, bleeding out.

Orochimaru stared at a place with a gloomy face, where two figures stood at some point.

Both of them were dressed in black coats and looked at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru sneered and said, "Oh, who do I think, isn't this our beloved Danzang-sama?" Why did you suddenly come here when you had time? ”

The leader of the two is naturally the leader of the roots, Shimura Danzang, and standing beside him meticulously is the deputy commander of the roots, the oil girl Ryoma, the right-hand man of the group, and the best combat power in the roots.

"You are. Not in your lab, what are you doing in this kind of place, Orochimaru? ”

Tuan Zang's face was flat, and he couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Don't get me wrong, it's just a walk once in a while...... But I didn't expect to find such an interesting child. I remember his name was Uchiha Itachi, right? ”

Orochimaru smiled.

Oil Girl Ryoma's eyes narrowed, and her eyes glared at Orochimaru with murderous aura.

"What do you want to say?"

Danzang asked with a deep breath.

"You two can't be here to follow me, so the purpose of appearing here is obvious. That child, for you...... No, it must be important for the roots. ”

Orochimaru seemed to have guessed something.

Tuan Zang was still unmoved, just took a step forward and said to Orochimaru: "Don't forget our agreement, exposing everything will not benefit either of us. ”

"Of course I know that. It's just that the way you want to kill people is really scary. ”

"Hmph, there are some things that you can't meddle in."

"So, are you still planning to disobey Sarutobi-sensei's orders and handle the Uchiha's affairs according to your own ideas? That kid was indeed very good, but he was not qualified enough to deal with the powerful Uchiha clan. Beware of playing with fire and setting yourself on fire. ”

"That's not something you need to worry about. If nothing else, just go back to your base and continue your research. ”

Tuan Zang issued an eviction order.

"As you wish. But forgive me for talking too much, it's impossible to sit in the Hokage position if you keep hiding in the shadows. ”

Orochimaru seemed to be advising Danzo.

"After you failed to compete for the fourth generation of Hokage, do you feel about the loser?"

Hearing Tuan Zang's words, Orochimaru also laughed and didn't laugh.

Without saying anything, Orochimaru disappeared from the spot.

"Orochimaru's courage is getting bigger and bigger, and he seems to have forgotten who is behind his research. Without the help of the roots, none of his research could have been completed. ”

The oil girl Ryoma snorted dissatisfiedly.

"Don't say that, at least his mind is worthy of recognition, as long as he can keep studying for us, a little contradiction is nothing."

"That Uchiha Itachi thing ......"

"It's not the best time to reach out to him for a while."

Tuan Zang shook his head, and after saying only one sentence, he turned and left.

◎

Rainbow no Kuni, an abandoned wooden house in the middle of the mountain forest, surrounded by dense trees and covered with snow.

The woman with long red hair stood on the snowy branches, as if she were standing guard there, inspecting her surroundings to see if there was anything unusual.

On some of the trees next to her, there are also ninjas hiding in the shadows.

The aura is very well concealed, and it is clear that this aspect is rigorously trained.

They communicate with each other using the latest radio communicator in the Oni Country, and they can easily transmit information.

As time passed, the snow became heavier and heavier, and the sight was covered with a pale snowy scene.

In this terrible environment, everyone did not complain, but insisted on standing guard in their own position, scanning the surroundings without blinking.

The red, long-haired woman was clearly the leader of the group, and she sensed something, pressed the button, and the radio on her lips was turned on.

She whispered to the rest of the group:

"Beware, there are strangers intruding into the cordon. At three o'clock, two hundred and fifty meters, three people. At eleven o'clock, at three hundred and ten meters, six people. At seven o'clock, two hundred and sixty meters, four people. Finish the enemy as fast as you can, and don't let a single person go! ”

After the red-haired woman gave the order, three figures scattered from the three trees and rushed in the three directions that the woman was pointing.

The attackers did not yet know that their whereabouts had been revealed.

They used the wind and snow to hide their breath, and cautiously lurked on the snow.

"The goal is ahead, are you all set?"

The ninja, the leader of one of the squads, asked in a low voice.

"Yes."

"Alright, listen to my orders later, and attack at full speed. The target is the head of the fourth generation of Mizukage Goji Tachibana Yakura! ”

The lead ninja pulled out the ninja knife from behind his back, and his eyes showed a bloodthirsty light.

The subordinates are also ready to attack.

"It's now! The action begins! ”

Seeing that everything was ready, the lead ninja took the lead in charging forward, followed by three subordinates.

At this time, on the snowy road ahead, snowflakes were drifting wildly, and a figure appeared there silently, blocking their way.

"Shadows? Don't get in the way here! ”

The leading ninja's gaze froze, and the ninja knife slashed through the air like a full moon, and then crossed through the figure's body.

"W-What!?"

The physical touch of not slashing the flesh is as if it is slashing through the air without hindrance.

"What's going on? It's obvious that it's right, why don't you feel ...... reality?"

I don't know what happened, in the eyes of the lead ninja, it was almost a killing blow, but it didn't feel like it hit the flesh.

This strange feeling is the first time in my life that I have felt it.

Illusion? The lead ninja thought about it and rejected the idea. This sense of slashing without substance is more ethereal than illusion.

The figure across the road was just a teenage hedgehog-headed boy, and on his clothes, embroidered with the very iconic group fan badge.

"You're Uchiha's...... Why are the ninjas of Konoha here? ”

The leading ninja noticed something and looked at the boy in great surprise.

Their goal this time is obviously to assassinate the fourth generation of Mizukage Goji Yakura, why did the Konoha ninja appear here?

Could it be that their intelligence is wrong? Impossible, they made a lot of preparations in advance, and such low-level mistakes could not have happened.

The hedgehog-headed boy didn't care what these people were thinking, he stood there with his hands sealed, and immediately spat out a fireball from his mouth and rushed towards one of the enemies.

The man immediately jumped out of the way, dodging the fireball.

"Be careful, he's behind you!"

If you want to go over and support, it's too late, so you can only shout a reminder.

"What?"

The man turned around in astonishment, only to see the hedgehog-headed boy who was still on the snow, who appeared behind him at some point, mysterious and abnormal.

His right eye glowed red, and a wonderful black streak appeared in the eye.

Where the red eyes were staring at, the air was directly twisted into a whirlpool, and the space also produced an abnormal sense of distortion.

One of the attackers, as if by magic, magically erased the traces from the air and disappeared.

The other three attackers, including the leader, watched in disbelief as they watched this happen, completely unaware of what had happened.

The hedgehog-headed boy stared at the remaining three with his red right eye, and said to them:

"Solve one first, and then, it's the three of you'll be in turn."