Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to Shindai's request and promised to deliver the transmitter into Pakura's hands.
With this transmitter, as long as Pakura sends him a special signal, he'll be able to locate her position and go directly there.
That way, things should be more or less under control.
Pakura's matter was temporarily settled. Now it was time to handle his own affairs.
Soon he would finally have some alone time with Orochimaru—how could anyone possibly resist that!
Hiruzen said to Orochimaru, "Alright, Orochimaru, you and Shindai prepare yourselves and set off afterward. Remember what I told you."
Orochimaru nodded, rose from his seat, and left the office with Shindai.
Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the pipe he had just set down, took a deep puff, and sighed.
He had already sensed something unusual about Orochimaru recently.
Lately, Orochimaru's personality had become colder and colder. Moreover, strange incidents had occurred in the area where Orochimaru was stationed.
For instance, enemy corpses kept disappearing mysteriously.
Back then, when Danzo came to him wanting Orochimaru to join Root, he probably shouldn't have refused.
Danzo himself was an extremist who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Hiruzen feared Orochimaru might be influenced by Danzo and grow increasingly extreme.
Hiruzen really didn't want his most beloved apprentice to go down the wrong path.
Originally, Hiruzen had planned for Orochimaru to take Anko Mitarashi as his disciple.
Since Anko was cheerful and outgoing, Hiruzen hoped her positive personality could positively influence Orochimaru.
However, now a better option had emerged.
Minato Namikaze had mentioned to Hiruzen how thanks to Shindai's help, Kakashi had managed to emerge from darkness. Therefore, Hiruzen hoped that Shindai could also bring about a change in Orochimaru's character.
...
Shindai followed Orochimaru out of the Hokage Building.
Suddenly, Orochimaru stopped walking. Shindai was lost in thought and accidentally bumped right into Orochimaru's backside.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry, Orochimaru-sama!"
Orochimaru turned around... then looked down at Shindai and said, "You have one hour. Gather your things and wait for me at the village gates."
"Yes, I understand, Orochimaru-sama!"
Orochimaru turned back and continued walking forward.
Shindai muttered under his breath, "Didn't expect his butt to be so tight and springy..."
Orochimaru abruptly halted again, turning his head to stare emotionlessly at Shindai.
Instantly, Shindai panicked. He didn't know what had come over him, but he actually gave Orochimaru a thumbs-up, blurting out, "Sexy butt, every guy's dream! No wonder Orochimaru-sama is one of the legendary Sages—his rear's got bounce that nearly knocked me off my feet!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed so hard tears nearly sprang to his eyes: "That expression on Orochimaru's face—I haven't seen that look in forever! When was the last time anyway? Seems like it was long ago... Probably back when Jiraiya used to make Orochimaru wear that speechless expression. I really miss those days.
Just what was going through that boy Shindai's head anyway—'Sexy butt, essential for every man...'"
Sarutobi patted his own rear end and immediately stopped laughing.
He was only in his early fifties, yet his butt was already showing signs of slacking! No way! As the Hokage, he should remain the sexiest man in all Konoha. From now on, he needed to focus more on butt exercises.
Sarutobi looked up at the sky with a smile. At this moment, he felt more convinced than ever that recommending Shindai to become Orochimaru's apprentice had been the right decision.
Already provoking such expressions from Orochimaru right from the start—Orochimaru was going to have his hands full from now on.
...
Shindai returned to his home.
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara were all already waiting inside.
As soon as they saw Shindai return, they practically pounced on him, bombarding him with questions about what had happened.
Seeing the three of them made Shindai instantly annoyed: "Is this my house or yours? Why does it feel like my place has become public property where you three can just walk in whenever?! Privacy—do you even know the first thing about personal privacy?"
Obito pressed impatiently: "Never mind that! What matters is how it went! Did Orochimaru-sama accept you as his apprentice?"
Shindai snapped back: "Don't you think that's important? Of course it is! Whatever—you three clearly don't have any manners. Obviously, you wouldn't know the first thing about personal privacy.
Orochimaru-sama hasn't officially accepted me as his disciple yet, but he didn't reject me either. He wants to test me first. Right now, I'll serve as Orochimaru-sama's subordinate and accompany him to guard the border between the Land of Fire and the Grass Country!"
Obito sighed disappointedly: "Huh? That's it? Shindai, you're so useless! Even the Hokage helped you set this up, and you still failed!"
Shindai immediately became red-faced and furious: "You're so capable, why don't you go then!"
"It's easy for you to talk like this! I'd love to rip your eyes out and have my fun with them!"
Obito immediately covered his eyes, "How could you be so cruel, Shindai!"
Kakashi interjected, "Come on, Obito. Didn't Shindai just say he's on probation? That means if Shindai passes Orochimaru-sama's evaluation, there's still a chance for him to become Orochimaru-sama's apprentice."
Rin Nohara encouraged, "Shindai, you need to work hard! Be sure to become Orochimaru-sama's apprentice!"
Shindai suddenly felt something was off and suspiciously asked, "Why are you three so invested in this matter? You're far too concerned. Could becoming Orochimaru-sama's apprentice actually benefit any of you three?"
"Ha! How would that ever be possible!"
"We care because you're our comrade, Shindai. Isn't that only natural!"
"Don't overthink, Shindai. You've always wanted to learn Orochimaru-sama's ninja tech, right? This is a great opportunity!"
Shindai narrowed his eyes at the three people before him. A voice in his mind kept telling him these guys must have some conspiracy, but he had no evidence.
"Oh! I only have one hour to pack my stuff, and half an hour has already passed! I need to hurry up! No time to chat with you anymore!"
Shindai quickly packed his belongings into his gear bag, hastily stuffed everything inside, bid farewell to Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara, asking them to let Kushina Uzumaki know what happened, then hurried away in a fluster. He didn't dare make Orochimaru wait.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>