[Konoha Village, Orochimaru Residence, Living Room]
Orochimaru wore a pale green kimono, his shoulder-length hair loose; his sallow skin, set off by the color of the clothes, looked even more sallow.
He held a cup of tea, savoring the taste just now, and for some reason suddenly thought of a line.
Life is fleeting, a person is like tea gone cold.
At that moment, Anko came over eating a plate of snacks, her small mouth pouting, looking somewhat displeased.
"Orochimaru-sensei, you've been busy with junior brother Kabuto recently and haven't paid attention to me. I finally found a chance to see you."
Orochimaru gave a "hehe" laugh, "You don't understand experiments anyway, your theoretical knowledge back in the Academy was subpar. If you don't read more now and spend all day goofing off with Uchiha Shisui, is that my fault?"
Anko immediately felt dejected, "I do want to read, but those characters are really dry and boring, they're not fun at all."
Orochimaru put down his teacup and said, "Are you here to see me, or to eat the snacks at my house? You know the answer yourself…"
Anko forced a smile, quickly grabbed a snack and ate it, meanwhile hiding the plate behind her back.
"Orochimaru-sensei, your house snacks are really tasty, haha. I don't mean to eat too much, but I can't help it. Where do you buy these snacks?"
Orochimaru said, "You really want to know?"
Anko nodded like a little pecking chick, "Of course. Since I can be your disciple, my parents have given me more pocket money, and because I usually play with Shisui I don't have to spend money, I've saved up quite a bit now."
"Having money means spending; when there are tasty little snacks, of course you buy-buy-buy."
Orochimaru chuckled, "These snacks are made specifically for your tastes, using some of the materials from my lab, you could call it turning waste into use."
Anko's expression changed. She had visited Orochimaru's lab before and seen many of the "materials" there: various human organs, and lots of strange things. In short, not a single normal item.
She couldn't help but say, "O-Orochimaru-sensei, are these really made from materials from the lab?"
Orochimaru nodded with a smile.
Anko involuntarily stepped back; the plate in her hand seemed to become some terrifying monster. She immediately set it down, then dashed to the bathroom and retched.
At that moment, Orochimaru's voice came, "That's only your psychological reaction. In fact, all the materials in my lab have been strictly sterilized, they're much cleaner than the stuff sold outside."
Yet as soon as he said this, Anko vomited even more violently.
Suddenly, Orochimaru seemed to sense something. He stood up and said, "It's unusually lively today. Looks like there are guests. I haven't had this much company at home in a long time."
Saying that, he walked to the door, opened it, and saw Uchiha Obito and Sato Yuki standing outside.
Orochimaru showed a somewhat dark smile. His gaze lingered on Obito for a second, then shifted to Sato Yuki.
He saw Sato Yuki's half body wrapped in bandages, an eye patch over one eye, and felt a flicker of curiosity.
"Isn't this Obito? You actually came to visit me, how very honorific for me."
"And… who is this?"
Uchiha Obito introduced, "Orochimaru-sama, this is the student I recommended to you. Orochimaru-sama, I believe you'll be very interested in her. We can go in and talk slowly."
Sato Yuki bowed very politely, "Orochimaru-sama, excuse my presumptuous visit, please forgive me."
Orochimaru's eyes showed even greater curiosity. He stepped aside and led Obito and Sato Yuki into the house.
Obito looked around the surprisingly bright room and felt a bit moved inside.
For someone as cold as Orochimaru, the house being so warm created a very strong contrast.
Orochimaru brought the two into the reception room, and found an excuse to send the still slightly pale-faced Anko away, saying, "Speak then, what exactly is the situation? I have high standards for taking disciples. Even the Black Fang, or talents recommended by the future Fourth Hokage, I might not accept."
Obito gave Sato Yuki a look and said, "Take off your bandages and eye patch."
Sato Yuki nodded, removed the coverings that hid her face, revealing half a white Zetsu-like face and a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.
Even Orochimaru showed a trace of surprise at the sight.
He couldn't help saying, "Interesting, very interesting. Sharingan that can't open or close, that was directly transplanted. But as far as I know, without Uchiha blood, a three-tomoe Sharingan would be an enormous burden, not something an ordinary ninja could bear."
"So…"
Orochimaru looked at Obito, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.
"Besides the Sharingan, were Hashirama cells also transplanted? That white substance is very similar to a material I obtained not long ago…"
Obito said calmly, "Orochimaru-sama, since we came to see you, we didn't plan to hide anything. That's right, the white skin on Sato Yuki is made from Zetsu tissue, or to be more precise, it's Zetsu tissue carrying Hashirama cells."
Orochimaru's expression turned grave.
"You told me such a secret? So that mysterious masked man, Madara Uchiha, is connected to you, or rather, to Minato Namikaze?"
"Heh! Heh! Konoha's Black Fang and Yellow Flash really gave me a huge surprise. I didn't expect the future Fourth Hokage to already be colluding with Akatsuki. Does that mean your previous battle with Madara was just an act?"
Obito smiled slightly, "Orochimaru-sama, you truly are very clever. From a few pieces of information you've already restored the whole picture."
Orochimaru said, "So, you and Minato felt your strength was exceptional and thus fearless, deciding to expose these things to me?"
"Or do you have some deeper purpose?"
Obito revealed a brilliant smile, "First, I came to thank you, Orochimaru-sama. I heard that you voluntarily withdrew from the competition for Fourth Hokage and gave your votes to Teacher Minato, otherwise, there would have been a lot of trouble for Teacher Minato to succeed."
Orochimaru sneered, "No need to thank me. Even if I hadn't withdrawn, I wouldn't have had any chance of winning. Jonin Minato has close relations with the young heirs of the great clans, behind him stands the Senju clan, and most importantly, he has Sarutobi's support. Tell me, what could I do if I didn't withdraw?"
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