Western suburbs, old estate.
Shuji led Anko through the somewhat spacious courtyard.
"Grandmother," Shuji said to Senju Momoka, who sat beneath the veranda seemingly appreciating the evening's lingering twilight, "Anko will be staying here temporarily for a few days."
Senju Momoka slowly turned her head, gaze gently settling on the somewhat nervous Anko before lightly nodding.
Then she rose, beckoning to Anko. "Come with me, child. I will arrange a room for you."
"Um, Grandmother Momoka, I am very sorry to trouble you," Anko hurriedly bowed, her tone carrying obvious tension.
Grandmother Momoka's face showed a faint smile. "No need for such formality. Having more young people's presence in this old estate is a good thing."
"Previously, Shuji always went to your place for gatherings. He must have caused you considerable trouble, right?"
Anko immediately waved her hands vigorously, her cheeks flushing slightly. "No, absolutely not! Not troublesome at all!"
Strange. This was not her first time visiting this old estate, nor her first time meeting this grandmother, yet today Anko felt unprecedented constraint.
The old estate's evening meal consisted of simple home cooking. Three people ate quietly. Only the light clinking of bowls and chopsticks and Grandmother Momoka's occasional concerned inquiries broke the silence.
After the meal, Anko returned to her room. Night completely blanketed the estate. She tried calming herself, closing her eyes, yet constantly felt restless. Her heart disobediently pounded within her chest.
She had stayed elsewhere before. Somehow, this time proved extraordinarily different.
Shuji sat quietly on the main house's veranda edge, not lighting lamps. Only faint moonlight fell upon him. He felt no sleepiness. His senses spread like an open net, filtering every trace of sound in the night.
Suddenly, an extremely faint rustling different from natural wind sounds came from the veranda's shadows below.
The next moment, a brilliantly colored venomous snake shot forth, mouth gaping wide as it bit toward Shuji's neck.
However, just as the venomous snake became airborne, the wooden veranda boards beneath it seemed to gain life. Several tough vines grew, coiling around the snake's body from below, swiftly sweeping and wrapping it before violently dragging it into the veranda's shadows.
Muffled sounds and struggling writhing came from beneath the soil layer before everything returned to calm.
Shuji's brow furrowed slightly. It actually came for him? Moreover, this time, Anko in the adjacent room seemed to have no reaction whatsoever.
In his perception, though the young woman tossed and turned somewhat, it differed completely from the abnormality when the curse seal was triggered.
Thus Shuji made his judgment. This resembled more a personally targeted invitation carrying probing intent.
If possible, he truly wanted to directly ignore it, even immediately raise an alarm summoning support. However, this was the western suburbs' old estate. Grandmother Momoka lived here. This house also had some history, about as large as Konoha generally.
Should he remain here without going out? What if the opponent truly broke in? Should they fight inside the house? Did they still want this house or not?
Village reinforcements, however fast, still required time.
Tch...
Carrying some unwillingness, Shuji slowly stood, opened the estate gate, and walked out.
"That just now was Wood Release technique, correct?"
A hoarse voice carrying unique magnetism came from darkness at the old estate's outer forest edge.
Shuji raised his eyes. He saw Orochimaru slowly emerge from beside an ancient tree. Moonlight outlined his pale features and pupils flickering with ghostly light in the darkness.
He observed Shuji with great interest, his long tongue unconsciously licking his lips.
Shuji's brow furrowed tighter. Watching anime, he felt nothing. Seeing it with his own eyes in reality, he only felt this action carried somewhat discomforting stickiness and disgust.
"Pardon my boldness, Orochimaru-san." Shuji's tone remained flat, not wavering in the slightest due to encountering this Legendary Sannin turned rogue ninja.
"How do you normally put away such a long tongue?"
"Or does your tongue root lie in a lower position, so your oral cavity can accommodate such long tongue mass?"
Orochimaru's originally licking motion abruptly halted. His tongue even drooped somewhat comically.
He then released low, pleased laughter, seemingly finding this question quite interesting. "If you wish to know the answer, why not first satisfy my curiosity, Shuji-kun?"
"That just now, it was Wood Release, correct?"
"It was Wood Release," Shuji admitted frankly.
"Truly astonishing." Orochimaru's eyes flickered with investigative light. "This is also technique mastered through research. Through bodily modification, whether tongue or limbs, all can extend and twist at will according to intention. The mysteries within far exceed superficial appearances."
After conducting this round of bizarre Q&A, Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, reassessing the person before him.
"During academy days, you proved completely different from now, Shuji-kun. Whether this unexpectedly humorous sense or this extraordinarily calm composure facing me."
"I did not expect I also misjudged. If I could see more clearly, even knowing you are a child Lady Momoka cares for, I would have attempted bringing you under my wing."
"Together with Anko."
Shuji silently watched him, his moonlit face revealing no emotion. After a while, he finally asked, "Since you can control Anko's curse seal preventing her from sensing, at the Chūnin Exam venue, why did you allow it to activate?"
Orochimaru chuckled lightly. "I have not paid attention for so long. I did not expect she still cannot activate that curse seal's latent power."
"She possesses better physique than many experimental subjects, yet her heart lacks sufficiently intense desire and obsession to match it."
"Just like the current Senju clan, scattered everywhere, content with the status quo, no longer glimpsing half the glory once standing at the shinobi world's pinnacle."
He sighed. "The First Hokage's power resembled divine descent. Even after his passing, the life energy contained in his cells still surpasses reason, endlessly fascinating."
"Though the Second Hokage Tobirama-sama's power could not match his elder brother Hashirama-sama, he possessed wisdom and talent transcending the era. Each time I review ninjutsu he left behind, I am left awestruck."
"He... Tobirama-sama is someone I admire even more than Sarutobi-sensei."
"However, such a glorious clan, after actively disbanding, bloodline scattered, becoming so mediocre. Truly disappointing."
"Perhaps those two respected individuals made an incorrect choice."
"Originally... I thought thus."
Orochimaru's eyes flickered with increasingly intense interest. "Shuji-kun, you are different. Though hidden well, I can sense the power you now possess, the power you conceal."
"It should not be buried in this increasingly decaying, self-enclosed village, slowly rusting under endless missions and hypocritical rules."
"Join me, Shuji-kun." Orochimaru extended his invitation. "I can provide things Konoha can never give you."
"Completely unrestricted exploration freedom, shortcuts toward truth, and... methods to thoroughly awaken that great power originating from the First within your body."
"With me, you will become far stronger than staying in Konoha, far stronger than anyone imagines."
While he spoke, Shuji stood quietly in place, seemingly merely listening. However, surrounding air's invisible, immaterial natural forces brimming with energy were continuously converging toward him.
Sage technique chakra blending completed. Sage Mode activated.
Black markings slowly surfaced on his face.
Orochimaru watched this scene, his smile deepening. "So you even mastered this power?"
No wonder Danzo would list him alongside Tsunade. Not only Wood Release but also possessing sage technique power.
Danzo, when mentioning this person, you were anticipating I would attack him, correct?
"You bring me increasingly more surprises, Shuji-kun."
"You did not exceed my expectations, Orochimaru-san." Shuji responded calmly. "If I refuse, must we fight?"
"If fighting proves unavoidable, could you please slightly consider my family's house?"
"This estate has several decades of history. Counting its value as the Senju clan's initial home in Konoha, the comprehensive worth proves considerable."
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild