In the process, he and I struck up a conversation about the use of hand seals in the new ninjutsu and how we could reduce the original chains by replacing the standard ones with ones not on the "official" list used by the vast majority of shinobi.
Orochimaru was much more experienced in this area than I was, thanks to his age and more time spent experimenting in this area, but I had something to surprise him with, especially by demonstrating a couple of hand seals made from basic Fuin symbols back when Mito-chan had just taken over my training after the war.
We chatted with the Hokage's apprentice for most of the evening, and it was only as the sky began to darken that I was forced to remember the time and reluctantly postpone the conversation until a couple of days later, when I had decided on the ninjutsu I wanted to exchange.
Warmly bidding the jonin farewell, I jumped onto the nearest rooftop and galloped toward the clan quarter, wondering if the women would argue - I'd promised to be back by lunchtime, and it wouldn't be long before dinner.
But it's so rare to get the chance to talk to someone who is intelligent and shares my interests, even if that person is Orochimaru.
In fact, the snake sannin is a very pleasant person in this respect, and with the exception of laughter and rare "trademark" smiles, to which in the process you just stop paying attention, a very interesting interlocutor, perhaps too fond sometimes....
As I stopped at another rooftop, I once again ran the last few thoughts through my head, and then felt a chill run down my spine and a cold sweat break out on my back.
Orochimaru, who in just a couple of years would be slaughtering his own children for dubious experiments, which was completely unacceptable even to me, and who also had no problem feeding hundreds of people his appeals for the sake of better relations, was a pleasant and intelligent conversationalist?
Yes, under him will be organized whole concentration camps, where people will be tortured and killed under the guise of experiments, not to mention a whole cohort of unencumbered scientists engaged in the same thing as the big boss! I shuddered and rubbed my temples, trying to regain my shaken worldview.
It seems that the snake sannin's personal charisma was much stronger than one might have guessed. At the very least, it is now clear why he has a fairly solid support among Konoha's armed forces and no small fan club, despite his obvious creepiness when observed from the outside.
Snakes as a summoner doesn't inspire confidence either, actually, but that's all very quickly put aside when you get up close and personal.
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