Haseo was a very enigmatic person.
Perhaps even Orochimaru himself hadn't realized the extent of Haseo's influence on his thought patterns and behavioral tendencies, yet this influence was objectively present… Simply put, Orochimaru was generally someone who took Haseo's words seriously.
At least so far, Orochimaru had never openly opposed Haseo. He probably understood one thing clearly—those methods tended to get people killed easily enough.
It had to be said that the period when Haseo and Orochimaru interacted was especially unique. Back then, Orochimaru was still just a little kid with a runny nose.
In truth, individuals like Haseo—who were significantly older than him but not as much as figures like the Third Hokage—were most capable of influencing Orochimaru. The ones who most easily influenced children weren't "fathers," but rather "big brothers."
Fundamentally, Orochimaru remained the same Orochimaru; even his thinking still leaned toward madness. However, at certain times he knew how to restrain himself and didn't display extreme behavior.
Therefore, despite committing many evil deeds, compared to what he potentially could have become, Orochimaru now was actually considered a "good kid"... Comparisons were pointless—or at least, disappointments stemmed from them.
When Orochimaru left Konoha, naturally he was pursued forcefully by the village, yet he still managed to escape smoothly... This 'snake's' intelligence, escape skills, and survival instincts were all top-tier.
Even his information-gathering and tracking capabilities were quite impressive.
One month after leaving Konoha, Orochimaru appeared in the southern part of the Land of Fire. Following the southern coast eastward, he traveled until eventually crossing the border into foreign territory.
Soon afterward, he saw a solitary house nestled between hills and sea—an isolated residence surrounded by an environment deep with charm and unique elegance. The courtyard attached to the house overflowed with flowers of various colors, while from its front entrance extended a small cobblestone path, leading continuously to a wooden pier stretching out above the ocean surface.
From the outside, it looked like a perfectly normal everyday life.
That someone like Haseo could completely settle down into tranquility was something Orochimaru hadn't anticipated. When he learned that Haseo had left Konoha, Orochimaru had immediately assumed some major news would soon emerge somewhere in the world. Yet unexpectedly, Haseo truly disappeared without a trace.
Family life? To Orochimaru now, it was a meaningless concept—one he'd once understood as a child, but had long since forgotten. Eventually, humans couldn't return to their former selves.
Orochimaru's eyes drifted across the scenery until they settled on a small figure at the end of the pier—probably about five or six years old.
Possibly merely out of curiosity, Orochimaru didn't approach the house directly. Instead, he made his way toward the pier.
As he moved slightly closer, he discovered beside that child a very familiar black cat.
Black Cat heard footsteps from behind. It glanced back briefly, recognized the approaching figure, and turned its head away again, resuming its lazy pretense of dozing off. At this moment, Orochimaru couldn't help but think—how great it would be if those Anbu ninjas in Konoha could pretend not to see him the way this cat just had.
Most people didn't live nearly as freely as this one cat did.
The girl ahead had long black hair and wore a small black coat over a white silk floor-length dress, its hem covering her slender ankles.
She wore red shoes. Sitting there, one foot swung continuously back and forth, disturbing the stillness of the shallow sea below. The water reflected tiny sparkling lights while forming gentle ripples across its surface.
Orochimaru, being a ninja, usually walked without a sound, yet even so, the child noticed him rather quickly and turned her head toward him.
Thus, Orochimaru saw a small face with delicate features.
You wouldn't want to ask Orochimaru whether a child looked pretty or not—his sense of aesthetics was, at best, unconventional.
So when the girl turned around, Orochimaru offered what passed as an objective assessment of her appearance—it felt vaguely familiar.
Then… she blinked, and turned her head away again.
Hmm. First ignored by a cat, then by a little kid—Orochimaru began doubting himself. Was his presence really that weak?
In her hand, the girl was peeling something—some bits went into her mouth, some were placed before the cat, and the shells were tossed aside to the other side of her body.
She played on her own, clearly enjoying herself.
Don't you get scared seeing a stranger like me?
Thinking it through, Orochimaru took another step forward and spoke up—not boasting, but he usually had quite the talent for scaring kids into tears.
Still, his voice softened slightly without even realizing it. Hmm, maybe it was because they both had long, straight black hair—he might've even caught himself feeling a bit of unexpected maternal warmth.
Scared? Not really. But... Mister, you look like someone who's terrible with kids, so I thought staying quiet might be kinder to you.
...
Bullseye. Orochimaru felt like his weak spot had just been gently tapped.
That's exactly what pointing out someone's flaws must feel like.
Of course, Orochimaru wasn't good with children—you can't exactly expect a snake to be a child's best friend, can you?
Judging by normal standards, this little girl was undeniably adorable: in looks and attire alike, she resembled a carefully crafted doll. Yet from just one glance, one sentence—her very first words—Orochimaru already sensed "the vibe."
What she had just said... it was hard to tell if she was really mature or not. If she were mature, she wouldn't have exposed herself like that; but if she were truly immature, then those insightful words wouldn't make sense.
This seemed like a miniature version...
One of the child's feet playfully swung back and forth while the other remained still. From Orochimaru's perspective looking down, he could see a bruise on her left ankle with a tiny bead of blood seeping through broken skin.
"Did you scrape your foot?"
See what I mean? Who talks like that to a kid? Orochimaru's social charm only really kicked in for anyone twelve or older.
"Oh, this? No need to worry about it. Just got slightly scraped..."
As she spoke, she stood up and fully turned to face Orochimaru. "Uncle, are you a friend of Father's or Onee-san Tsunade's?"
"I suppose… you could say I'm familiar with both sides."
Growing up together with Tsunade since childhood and constantly tormented by Haseo from an early age, there was no doubt his connection went far beyond mere acquaintance.
The little girl blinked her lively eyes and stretched out her right hand toward him.
Of course, that wasn't an invitation to hold hands.
Orochimaru, somewhat confused and unresponsive, stayed motionless until half a minute passed. Then she quietly retracted her own hand.
"Uncle, you've lived such a long life, yet you don't even know what that means?
Did you forget to bring me a gift, or just couldn't find the right one?
Just imagine—your whole life must've been pretty empty."
Looking at Orochimaru with sympathy, the child's pity might have been the most sincere kind there was.
Orochimaru: "..."
Make him prepare an appropriate gift for a little girl? Wasn't that asking too much?
And objectively speaking, Orochimaru's life indeed was rather empty—apart from ninjutsu, what else did he have?
Those innocent words nearly made Orochimaru flush. Could someone like him actually still feel embarrassment?
"In that case… you must truly be Haseo's daughter."
After struggling silently for so long, Orochimaru finally managed to mutter just that sentence.
Hmph! This wasn't fair at all. Why would they immediately start manipulating snakes like that right from the beginning? Both father and daughter doing the same thing—was there any room left for others to live?
So her identity…
Exactly, without a doubt.
The little girl nodded and said:
"Uncle, my name is…
Haseo Yu."
Now, as for the term "Yu,"
It means sunlight, atmospheric water veils in a ring,
[A reversed rainbow —]
[Yu no ko.]
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