Only things that move possess life; things that don't move are nothing more than lifeless objects.
They may appear exquisite on the surface, but inside, they are rotting, festering, and stinking.
To Orochimaru, the village he had grown up in was exactly like that.
On the surface, Konoha remained the strongest ninja village in the shinobi world.
But to him, this decaying village was like a cage, tightly bound his potential.
Fortunately, these boring days were finally coming to an end.
A white snake slithered out from the corner and smoothly entered Orochimaru's sleeve.
A moment later, Orochimaru opened his eyes.
"Hmph, so I've been discovered after all..."
Orochimaru let out a soft chuckle, seemingly not too surprised by this outcome.
He knew it was only a matter of time before his secrets were uncovered.
He just hadn't expected it to happen so soon...
"But this is fine too."
Orochimaru seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
With his pale hand, he slowly removed the forehead protector from his head and gently placed it on the table beside him.
"This way, I won't have to hesitate anymore."
Orochimaru said softly.
Originally, he had been somewhat hesitant about the masked man's invitation.
After all, no matter how rotten this village was, it was still the place where he had grown up.
Even someone as cold-blooded as Orochimaru found it difficult to completely sever such emotional ties.
But now, he had no choice.
The next second, the door to the secret base exploded.
Several figures rushed in from outside, surrounding Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, I never thought you would actually do something like this!"
Standing in the center was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. As he looked around at the laboratory, his face was filled with disbelief.
Just as the intelligence had reported, the scenery around them were filled with human bodies and organs!
Hiruzen even recognized a few of them as villagers who had recently gone missing!
"Hmph, I didn't expect you to be the one to come, old man."
Orochimaru didn't seem the least bit embarrassed or afraid of being caught red-handed. Instead, he said with interest:
"I thought it would be Minato who showed up."
Unfortunately, Hiruzen wasn't in the mood to discuss this with Orochimaru.
His lips trembled as he asked:
"Why did you do this?"
To be honest, Hiruzen couldn't understand his disciple's actions at all.
In his eyes, Orochimaru was talented, powerful, and could have contributed to the village in an honest and upright manner.
Moreover, Danzō had already promised to hand over the leadership of the Root to him in the future. Why would he do something like this?
Faced with Hiruzen's question, Orochimaru maintained a faint smile.
"I'm simply seeking the truth of this world. As for these corpse, they are nothing more than a... number on my path to uncovering the truth."
Orochimaru's voice was cold and emotionless as he spoke these heartless words.
To him, the lives before him were nothing more than numbers.
These words struck Hiruzen's soul like a heavy hammer.
Only now did he realize that he had never truly understood this disciple of his.
"What exactly..."
"Do you think life is?!"
Hiruzen roared.
His fists clenched so tightly that they started bleeding.
But such question meant nothing to Orochimaru.
In fact, it only elicited a mocking laugh from him.
"My kind teacher, sacrifices are inevitable on the path to seeking the truth."
Orochimaru spread his arms, his smile both mocking and sinister.
"To sacrifice under my hands is the final meaning of their pitiful lives."
Hearing this, Hiruzen knew there was no saving his disciple.
His face darkened, as if it could drip water, and he said coldly:
"You've gone too far, Orochimaru!"
"As your teacher, I must correct you!"
With that, Hiruzen didn't hesitate to perform the Summoning Technique.
With a burst of smoke, the tall, white-furred Enma appeared before him.
"Hiruzen, have you encountered another troublesome enemy?"
Enma, wearing a tiger-patterned vest, asked curiously.
After all, Hiruzen wouldn't normally summon him for just any enemy.
But when Enma saw Orochimaru standing opposite Hiruzen, his expression turned grave.
"Hiruzen, I told you long ago that this disciple of yours had a twisted mind and would eventually cause a disaster. Now it's come true!"
Seeing the experiments around them, Enma's tone was heavy.
Hearing Enma's words, Hiruzen's heart trembled.
"There's no use talking now. Please help me capture this rebelious disciple."
Orochimaru laughed mockingly again.
A disdain appeared on his lips.
"Teacher Hiruzen, can you really bring yourself to do it?"
These words struck a chord in Hiruzen's heart, causing him to freeze for a moment.
Seizing this opening, Orochimaru immediately formed hand seals.
As he opened his mouth, an invisible yet incredibly piercing sound wave burst forth!
This jutsu, created and hidden by Orochimaru for years, now displayed its unparalleled power.
The intense sound wave attack reverberated throughout the base, shattering all the incubation tanks in an instant.
The piercing sound wave tore through everyone's eardrums.
The sudden rupture of their eardrums caused all of Hiruzen's trusted subordinates to fall unconscious immediately.
Even Enma, known for his [Bronze Skin and Iron Bones], couldn't withstand this special attack.
Though he maintained basic consciousness, he had lost the ability to continue fighting.
This was the way of the ninja world.
Information was everything.
Having been by Hiruzen's side for so many years, Orochimaru knew his techniques and even the weaknesses of his summoning creatures like the back of his hand.
As for Hiruzen?
He had no idea what Orochimaru was doing, thinking, or what jutsus and trump cards he possessed.
Summoning Enma right off the bat? How could he possibly win?
It was clear that Orochimaru had developed this jutsu precisely for this moment!
Seeing that he had achieved the desired effect, Orochimaru didn't hesitate and fled at top speed.
The only one left with any fighting ability was Hiruzen himself!
Orochimaru wasn't worried in the slightest.
Because he knew his 'kind' teacher all too well.
He simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
As it turned out, Hiruzen's heart was indeed filled with hesitation.
Perhaps sensing his old friend's indecision, Enma urgently shouted:
"Kill him, Hiruzen!"
"This is your only chance!"
Unfortunately, Enma's words didn't reach Hiruzen's ears.
His mind kept flashing through memories of Orochimaru growing up.
He had grown step by step, learning Hiruzen's techniques at an astonishing speed, earning the title of genius in Konoha, and then being hailed as one of the[Sannin]during the Second Shinobi World War...
Those had been Hiruzen's happiest days.
But soon, after Nawaki's death, Orochimaru's personality changed drastically.
He began researching technique that could bring the dead back to life, ways to reedeming himself for his disciple.
In the end, he went too far and reached this point.
Just thinking about it filled Hiruzen with hesitation!
In this state, he simply couldn't bring himself to attack Orochimaru.
He could only watch with the corner of his eye as Orochimaru reached the base's entrance.
"Teacher, you really are as 'kind' as ever."
Orochimaru didn't look back. After saying these words with a soft smile, he disappeared.
Witnessing all of this, Enma looked at Hiruzen in disbelief and said:
"Do you have any idea what you've just done, Hiruzen?"
He simply couldn't understand his old friend's actions.
To this, Hiruzen could only bow his head and apologize:
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't..."
He didn't finish his sentence as the entire base fell into silence.
————————
Orochimaru, having left the base, ran at full speed toward the village's outskirts.
Over the years, he had meticulously planned several escape routes out of the village.
One of them involved traversing the Forest of Death and exiting through a hidden tunnel.
Unfortunately, shortly after entering the forest, a figure blocked his path.
"I never thought that coward Hiruzen would actually let you go."
Danzō, leaning on his cane, stood on a thick tree branch, looking down at Orochimaru from above.
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