Chapter 171: Orochimaru's Mockery
"Heh heh, we meet again, Naruto-kun."
Orochimaru's voice carried a slimy pleasure. His golden snake-like pupils were locked onto Naruto below, his gaze full of scrutiny, evaluation, and an almost pathological "satisfaction."
In his view, the more suffering and rejection this child endured in the "hotbed" of Hidden Leaf Village, the more twisted and intense his longing for recognition, care, and "belonging" would become.
Like a bent bamboo stalk, he was accumulating the power to spring back, making him easier to lead... in the direction Orochimaru desired.
"I have some good news for you!"
Orochimaru's tone was full of temptation, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue in its prey's ear.
"News... about your lineage!"
He deliberately dragged out his words, observing Naruto's reaction.
"I know who your parents are!"
Naruto didn't react much, but the others' reactions were quite significant.
"Orochimaru, shut your mouth!"
An angry shout exploded like a clap of thunder!
A figure carrying powerful fluctuations of nature energy landed beside Naruto.
It was Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's appearance had changed drastically.
Red markings appeared on his face, his pupils became horizontal like a toad's, and small bumps appeared on the sides of his nose.
On his shoulders stood two old toads, Fukasaku and Shima Sage.
Clearly, to deal with the crisis before him, Jiraiya had activated Sage Mode without hesitation!
This was currently his strongest combat form.
Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
He could never let Orochimaru throw that cruel truth at Naruto at such a time and in such a manner.
That would be nothing less than the most malicious devastation!
However, facing the aggressive Jiraiya in Sage Mode, Orochimaru showed no fear.
Instead, he stuck out his unusually long tongue and slowly licked his cheek, as if cleaning it or perhaps savoring something.
He looked at the wary Jiraiya below with great interest, malicious light flickering in his golden vertical pupils, his voice carrying playful and sharp irony:
"What's the matter, Jiraiya? Are you in a hurry?"
"You're in such a hurry..."
Orochimaru's tone suddenly shifted, becoming incredibly sharp and biting. Every word was like a poison-tipped ice pick, stabbing hard at Jiraiya, the silent Naruto, and the complex-looking Hiruzen Sarutobi on the roof:
"You're in such a hurry, yet in all these years, why haven't you come back to see this child even once?"
Jiraiya's body suddenly stiffened.
Orochimaru's voice continued to echo, carrying a cruel pleasure as if tearing open a wound and rubbing salt into it:
"If you had... visited this child even once, with your title and influence as one of the Sannin, and shown even a little concern..."
His gaze swept over Naruto, then Jiraiya, and finally landed on the Third Hokage, his tone full of mockery:
"His situation in the Village when he was little... wouldn't have been so terrible, would it?"
"After all, these Hidden Leaf Village villagers fear power but do not appreciate virtue. What use are the words of a weak Old Man?"
"Hated, cursed, and isolated by the people in the Village... treated by everyone as the 'Demon Fox' and 'Monster' that brings disaster..."
Orochimaru spoke slowly, as if to brand those cold words into everyone's heart:
"Eating expired, high-priced food sold to him by others, living in a dilapidated apartment covered in red paint with words like 'Die, Demon Fox' and 'Get out, Monster,' having no friends and no relatives... walking on the street, even people near him would hurry away as if avoiding a plague, casting only undisguised disgust and deep-seated fear..."
Orochimaru's voice was like the most malicious curse, describing cold and biting scenes in minute detail. Every sentence felt like it was slicing through the hearts of those who knew the truth.
"In the end... what could he do?"
He could only wait until night when everyone was asleep, like a thief who couldn't stand the light.
Sneaking into the shops that had verbally abused him during the day, carefully taking just a few daily necessities..."
Orochimaru paused here, with a twisted sense of "admiration":
"And... he even left money! What a... principled child, isn't he?"
"Then, during the day, he might carry a small bucket of even cheaper paint and, bit by bit, silently cover up those glaring red insults and curses on the apartment walls. Either by covering them directly or painting them into other patterns.
Again and again... as if trying to cover up the invisible infamy on himself."
"Then, hearing that a friend was bullied by other children for being close to him, he might cover his face one night and use his unrefined Taijutsu to quietly beat up those bullies, warning them not to bully his friend... using this clumsy and dangerous method to try and protect that tiny, pitiful bit of 'warmth'."
Orochimaru's gaze was like an ice pick, stabbing at Jiraiya, whose face was growing increasingly pale:
"All of this... Jiraiya, did you know? Did you care? Even once?"
He shook his head, his voice suddenly rising, full of extreme irony and contempt:
"No, you didn't. You're just a... coward who, to escape Hidden Leaf Village, calls himself a Gallant traveling the world in search of the 'Child of Prophecy', but in reality, you're a complete coward!"
He emphasized the word "coward" very heavily.
Then, Orochimaru's attack turned in another direction, even more pungent and direct:
"You've chased Tsunade for so many years, from your youth until you're over fifty. Did you catch her?"
No.
"On the other hand, that fellow Kato Dan... how many days did he know Tsunade?"
He won her heart. Do you know why?
A malicious smile spread across Orochimaru's lips:
"Because when people needed you most, you were never there!"
"During the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade witnessed countless comrades die miserably because they didn't receive timely medical treatment, and she was heartbroken."
"She proposed to the Old Man that every three-man squad should be equipped with at least one Medical Ninja, even if only with basic training!"
"That was her ideal, her persistence, and the time she needed support most!"
Orochimaru's voice carried the coldness of history repeating:
"And you? Jiraiya? What were you doing then?"
"You had just been pulled back from the brink of death by Tsunade two days prior because of a serious injury."
"You clearly knew the importance of Medical Ninjas better than anyone!"
"But when Tsunade argued her case at the meeting, facing numerous doubts and opposition, did you stand by her side?"
"Did you speak up to support her?"
"And what about Kato Dan?"
Orochimaru's tone was full of malicious contrast.
"He chose to support Tsunade without hesitation."
"Not only did he support her at the meeting, but when Tsunade felt lonely and pressured because her ideas weren't understood, he stayed by her side, listening to her, understanding her, and supporting her... and then, naturally, he won the beauty's heart."
"See, what a simple truth?"
"Unfortunately, you didn't understand, or rather, you couldn't do it."
Orochimaru's offensive didn't stop, continuing to tear open wounds:
"The Fourth Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Kushina, was about to give birth."
"That is when a Jinchuriki is at her weakest and the Seal is most unstable."
"Yet Hidden Leaf Village suffered a long-planned invasion at that very moment, with the enemy coming directly for the Nine-Tails!"
"As one of the Village's top combatants, and someone with extensive experience dealing with giant summoned beasts and powerful enemies..."
Jiraiya, where were you then?
"Were you in the Village? Did you rush back? That was the birth of your proudest student's child!"
His gaze swept over the grim-faced Third Hokage and landed back on Jiraiya:
"The answer is still — you weren't there!"
"And what was the final result?"
"Our master's wife, Biwako Sarutobi, died in battle to protect Kushina during childbirth."
The Fourth Hokage and his wife both sacrificed themselves to protect the Village and Seal the rampaging Nine-Tails. Hidden Leaf Village's Origin Qi was greatly damaged, and countless families were broken.
"And you, the great Gallant Jiraiya, once again, were absent at the critical moment."
Finally, Orochimaru pointed his spear at the most recent and "comical" scene:
"And then, there's this child, Uzumaki Naruto, who has grown up a bit."
"A few days ago, you, Jiraiya, probably finally had a pang of conscience and went to find this child, excitedly carrying ramen..."
An undisguised mockery appeared on Orochimaru's face:
"I was watching nearby; it was quite a show!"
"You were blocked outside the door by two little girls as if you were a thief. You didn't even get inside."
"That ramen you so carefully prepared... you probably ended up eating it yourself, didn't you?"
"How... pathetic, Lord Gallant Jiraiya?"
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