Within Orochimaru's Village Hidden in Sound, Otogakure.
"ROOOAR!!!" In the underground laboratory, the horrifying shrieks of Hollows, laden with negative emotions, echoed. Genin and Chunin with insufficient strength couldn't help but feel their legs go weak upon hearing it. The cries of a Hollow could awaken the deepest fears within a person's soul.
"Truly astonishing, these monsters transformed from souls," Orochimaru commented, his face impassive as he watched the Hollows fight below from behind a floor-to-ceiling window on the upper level of the laboratory.
The original twenty-odd Hollows had, after a period of brutal infighting, dwindled to just three. They were the cream of the crop among these Gillians. After a fierce struggle, they had formed a delicate balance, each occupying a distinct area, not encroaching on the others. But this balance would soon be broken, for devouring their own kind was an instinct etched into their very bones. To survive, they needed to continuously consume their brethren.
Theoretically, a Gillian needed to devour hundreds of its own kind to have a chance of evolving into an Adjuchas. However, after undergoing mutation through the fusion of chakra and Reiatsu, the evolutionary conditions for these Gillians were not as stringent as before. These Gillians, having already devoured dozens of their kind, had shown significant strengthening. It was believed that they would only need to consume less than a hundred Gillians to complete their evolution.
Vwom. The sole gate leading to this laboratory slowly rose, revealing three tigers hidden behind it. These creatures, normally at the apex of the animal kingdom's food chain, were now huddled in a corner like terrified cats, trembling and whimpering in abject fear.
The cage holding the three tigers was pushed into the arena, and then the laboratory gate closed.
"ROAR!" The next moment, the three Hollows, which had been momentarily still, suddenly charged towards the cage.
Amidst the tortured roars of the tigers and the grotesque, horrific sounds of tearing flesh, the laboratory once again descended into an eerie silence.
"Hollows, possessing both Reiatsu and chakra, exhibit a desire to kill any living creature. They feel no fatigue and will exhaust all means to devour their own kind and any beings possessing chakra. They show no interest in consuming ordinary creatures, merely killing them," Orochimaru stated from behind the window, a smile on his face, his voice somewhat muffled.
Behind him, several researchers were writing furiously.
Minato leaned against a corner of the wall, his expression blank. He had been assisting with these inhumane experiments for a month now and had grown accustomed to them. As the former Fourth Hokage of Konoha, he had long since shed his naivety. Konoha itself had a history of conducting similarly cruel experiments. Thus, such sights were nothing new to him. Without these ethically questionable experiments, there would be no new breakthroughs. In the past, the Second Hokage had created ninjutsu through extensive experimentation. Now, Danzo and Orochimaru were walking a similar path.
"The number of experiments is still insufficient. I wish to personally witness the birth of an Adjuchas. I'll have to trouble you further for that, Minato," Orochimaru said, looking at Minato with a smile, his scarlet tongue darting out to lick his lips.
"I understand," Minato nodded impassively. He followed Orochimaru's subordinate to another laboratory to infuse Reiatsu into fresh souls. Soon, several new Gillians were born.
Orochimaru calmly watched these new Gillians get torn apart, a hint of worry in his eyes.
"The experimental materials are running a bit low. It seems the deal with Danzo needs to be expedited," he murmured. The strongest Gillians currently possessed power stably exceeding that of a Tokubetsu Jonin. He believed that after evolving into Adjuchas, they might even break through to Kage-level. For any ninja village, even an unstable Kage-level power was an immense treasure. But the resources required for this were unimaginable. At least, Otogakure's current reserves couldn't bear such a cost.
Moreover, these Hollows rioted daily, and maintaining the facility was also a considerable expense. Ever since the experiments began, Otogakure's financial situation had been deteriorating day by day. This greatly troubled Orochimaru and had forced his trusted subordinates to take on more missions to earn commissions to support the village.
Just then, a subordinate entered the laboratory and said respectfully, "Lord Orochimaru, two men accompanied by two children have entered Otogakure, saying they are looking for you." The subordinate relayed the detailed information to Orochimaru.
"Naruto-kun has actually brought a ninja here with him? It seems his freedom within Root is quite considerable."
Orochimaru's eyes lit up. With his intellect, he had already guessed that Naruto intended to station his subordinate in Otogakure—and that subordinate might even be a Shinigami! It looked like he might be gaining another helper. Naruto moved quickly indeed; it hadn't been long, and he already had another Shinigami. It appeared his autonomy in Root was far greater than Orochimaru had imagined.
He chuckled sinisterly. "I will go see them now."
Within Otogakure.
Compared to Konoha, Otogakure was undoubtedly a village so small it couldn't be smaller. Yet, its internal prosperity was not much inferior to Konoha's. Its villagers engaged in farming and weaving, while ninja patrolled the streets, ensuring the safety of the populace. Orochimaru had established an extremely meticulous intelligence and scout network within Otogakure. Ordinary villagers focused on agriculture, forming a healthy internal economic cycle for the village. Core ninja would take on missions, and a portion of their earned commissions would be taken by the village to fund its operations. There was almost no discrimination by ninja against villagers; everyone coexisted in relative harmony.
From this, Orochimaru's talent in management was evident.
This peaceful and prosperous scene had initially shocked Minato as well. If he were to put himself in the position of Otogakure's leader, he wasn't sure he could do a better job than Orochimaru. This couldn't help but make him sigh. Orochimaru was ruthless, his word was law, and he wouldn't tolerate any other internal factions affecting his authority. At the same time, he was engrossed in research and disdained becoming an extremist politician. If Orochimaru had become the Fourth Hokage, Konoha might have been a more beautiful place than it was during the Third's tenure.
But what Minato didn't know was that in Orochimaru's heart, experiments always came first. In the future, his negligence in managing Otogakure due to his experiments would ultimately lead to its destruction.
Naruto's clone and Haku stood with the two children at the entrance of Otogakure, their gazes passing over the guards to the village within. Watching the smiling villagers come and go, Haku wore a gentle smile. The two children hid behind Haku, peeking out with small heads, curiously observing Otogakure.
"This village is managed quite well," Naruto's clone chuckled. As a Root ninja, he had naturally seen many small towns and ninja villages in cruel, harsh realities. Otogakure could already be considered very good.
It seems Orochimaru has talent not only in research but also in management, Naruto's clone nodded inwardly.
"Is he the ninja who came to see Lord Orochimaru?" Not far away, a white-haired, gaunt ninja eyed Naruto's clone coldly.
"Kimimaro, so you were here. Hm? Do we have guests?" A surprised voice sounded from behind Kimimaro. Jirobo stopped, his gaze passing over Kimimaro's shoulder to land on Naruto's clone.
Noticing the unfamiliar gazes, Naruto's clone looked over, met their eyes, and offered a gentle, refined smile. When in Konoha, he needed to constantly hide his strength, but after leaving Konoha, he could unabashedly display his aura and surging Reiatsu. Even in his normal state, he was not to be underestimated.
"This man… he's strong," Jirobo's eyes showed shock, and he took a step back. He could feel the terrifying, undisguised Reiatsu contained within Naruto's clone. He had only felt such a sensation from the Hollows in the laboratory.
Could this person be the… Uzumaki Naruto that Lord Orochimaru spoke of?
Kimimaro glanced coolly at Jirobo, then turned and walked away.
"Hey, wait for me!" Jirobo hurriedly followed.
"Those two are quite interesting," Naruto's clone remarked upon seeing this, an unreadable smile on his face. He could sense decent chakra fluctuations from both Kimimaro and Jirobo, though Kimimaro's was stronger. However, for some reason, Kimimaro's body seemed to be in a state of extreme fatigue. If he wasn't mistaken, Kimimaro was likely seriously injured or gravely ill.
Naruto's clone withdrew his gaze, not dwelling on it further.
Soon, Orochimaru arrived, smiling as he greeted Naruto. Such courtesy clearly showed the importance he placed on Naruto. Minato and Kimimaro followed closely behind Orochimaru.
"Naruto-kun, I've missed you dearly since we last parted in Konoha," Orochimaru said with a sinister smile, his gaze sweeping over Haku and the two children, a peculiar curve forming on his lips. "And these three are…?"
"A former missing-nin from Kirigakure, Haku. These two little ones are his family."
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you."
A Shinigami possessing Reiatsu, and two small children. This was a combination Orochimaru was very fond of. As everyone knew, Orochimaru was a renowned connoisseur—and abductor—of talent. For these innocent, malleable children, Orochimaru had countless educational philosophies he could implement. Though Orochimaru appeared sinister to others, in the eyes of children, he could be a charming, gentle uncle.
After a simple exchange of pleasantries, Orochimaru led Naruto's group towards the laboratory. Before that, however, Naruto had Haku take the children to find an empty house in the village to stay in. The Hollow experiments were extremely cruel, so it was best to keep Haku and the children away. Haku also guessed Naruto's intentions and didn't refuse. With Kimimaro's help, he settled down in a relatively central part of the village.
During this time, Haku's gentleness and kindness somewhat moved Kimimaro, a man who was outwardly cool but inwardly warm. Kimimaro found himself unconsciously sharing some of his feelings about the village.
"To me, Lord Orochimaru is everything. I am willing to give everything for him."
Haku could sense the deep admiration and loyalty in Kimimaro's words. He smiled faintly and said, "For me, Naruto-sama is the one who gave me a second life. I want to strive for the peace he speaks of, hoping that the kindness in this world will not be betrayed."
Under the morning sun, Haku smiled faintly. The beautiful sight momentarily caused Kimimaro to lose himself. He quickly turned his head away, a fleeting panic in his expression.
Peace? He repeatedly mulled over this word that countless people yearned for, a flicker of anticipation rising in his own heart.