"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Orochimaru formed hand seals and created three Shadow Clones. Each carried one of the boys on their back and returned to Dadan's house, where they simultaneously washed and treated their injuries, waiting for the three to wake up.
An hour later, the three boys gradually regained consciousness, their faces filled with resentment and expressions as if looking at a traitor. Orochimaru ignored them.
"If you're awake, go back to sleep. Garp is waiting for us tomorrow."
The three boys stealthily crept closer to Orochimaru.
Ace: "If this continues, Grandpa will kill us tomorrow."
Sabo: "Even if we're lucky enough to survive, as long as we don't give up on being pirates, the result will be the same."
Luffy: "I don't want to die!!!!!"
Ace: "There's only one path! Let's go out and be independent!"
Orochimaru sighed, "Speaking of which, I'm not against independence, but I think Garp's training is very necessary. Although his punches certainly hurt, Garp is one of the few strong individuals on this vast sea. He doesn't come back often, so having someone teach us is much better than figuring things out ourselves, right?"
"Moreover, as far as I know, the Marine has many powerful physical techniques. Luffy and I are Devil Fruit users, and there are many, many more on the sea. If you encounter a Logia-type user someday, how will you fight them? You won't even be able to touch them. With Garp's guidance, we will at least avoid many detours. You wouldn't want to be defeated by others and sent to the Marine right after setting sail, would you? I guarantee that at that time, Garp will definitely visit Impel Down every day to bring you food."
The three boys looked terrified, "No way!"
Orochimaru said solemnly, "Yes! You can't even beat me, and it wouldn't take Garp long to beat me to death. Is it better to be beaten now and become stronger later, or to hide now and then have Garp bring you food in Impel Down every day?"
The three boys shook their heads frantically. It was too terrifying. Indeed, it was better to face Grandpa now. The four reached an agreement: they would become independent after Garp left.
For the next month, the four of them teetered on the brink of life and death every day, even Orochimaru was no exception. It was as if because Garp couldn't usually catch Orochimaru making mistakes, he beat him extra hard during training. The exhausting daily training made the four visibly stronger.
Finally, the day Garp left arrived. "Everyone" waved goodbye to Garp with tears in their eyes.
The four hugged each other and cried bitterly. Luffy sobbed, "Wah... Grandpa is so scary, he's finally gone. I feel like I died many times this month." The other three nodded in agreement. It could truly be called a nightmare.
After dinner, the four of them soaked in the bathtub, discussing their independence. Orochimaru spoke, "We should still tell Dadan. She's actually very worried about us. We've been under her care for over a year, especially Ace. She'll be sad if you leave."
The others thought about it and nodded. The next day, Orochimaru proactively approached Dadan and spoke about their independence. After all, they would eventually be independent when they set sail, so sooner was better than later. Although Dadan was tough-mouthed, she was still very worried, feeling that it was too dangerous for the four children to go out on their own. They made an agreement to return twice a month and promised to bring back game on time.
Luffy, Ace, Sabo, and Orochimaru went to a forest near the Gray Terminal to find a suitable location for a secret base. They discovered a very tall tree and decided to make it their secret base.
Sabo excitedly took out a paintbrush and began to sketch the shape of the secret base on a cloth. He drew the outline of a ship, and everyone thought it was great and approved the design. Just as they were about to head to the Gray Terminal to collect wood to build the secret base, Orochimaru suddenly stopped them.
Orochimaru, for once, put his hands on his hips and proudly looked up ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧
"Leave the rest to me. Let me show you some amazing Ninjutsu."
Orochimaru had studied Hashirama cells for many years and cultivated so many test subjects; it was impossible for him not to inject himself, though he wasn't proficient in it, not even comparable to Yamato. So he never used it. But this was another world, who knew? A small house would be easy.
"Wood Release! One Room, One Living Room Jutsu!"
The prototype of a ship suddenly appeared on the tree.
Luffy's eyes lit up, "So amazing! It's exactly like the blueprint!"
Orochimaru tilted his head proudly, "It's nothing. Now that we have the prototype, let's decorate the rest ourselves. After all, it's our base. I have all the daily necessities here, so there's no need to scavenge."
The four happily began to decorate their secret base, hanging up their flag. They gazed at the sea, imagining their time together on a ship, even Orochimaru couldn't help but childishly get into it.
When they were tired from playing, they lay together, looking at the sky and giggling. This kind of life wasn't bad either.
Every day was filled with fighting training, playing, wilderness survival, and regular check-ins with Dadan. Over a year passed in the blink of an eye. When they arrived at the Gray Terminal once again, they were ambushed by a group of people, but the target was Sabo. Sabo's father had paid a hefty sum for these people to keep an eye on him.
After realizing he was the target, Sabo still decided to go home and resolve the problem.
Upon returning home, Sabo met his adopted younger brother and learned that the Celestial Dragons would arrive in the Goa Kingdom in three days. To prevent the Celestial Dragons from seeing the country's flaws, the royalty decided to burn down the Gray Terminal, including the vagrants within. Sabo couldn't believe it and kept asking questions, confirming that everyone in the kingdom knew about this but could live with smiles on their faces as if nothing was wrong. Sabo ran frantically; such a place made him feel disgusted.
He was even more worried about Orochimaru and the others being affected. He desperately tried to escape but was beaten down by a group of people and locked in a basement. However, Sabo didn't give up. He was injured during the pursuit and escaped, collapsing weakly on the ground where he met a man in a green cloak. He cried, saying he was disgusted by being a noble.
Meanwhile, the other three learned the truth from the Bluejam Pirate Crew and wanted to rescue Sabo. With Garp's training and Orochimaru's involvement, by the time Dadan's family arrived, the three had already defeated the Bluejam Pirate Crew, but they had also sustained some injuries. Although Orochimaru was much stronger than Luffy and Ace, being confined in a child's body meant he wasn't invincible; two fists are no match for four hands, and Ninjutsu also requires stamina... The three sat on the ground, watching the burning Gray Terminal. The raging inferno made Water Release particularly powerless. In the end, an unknown wind saved a group of people, and Orochimaru and the other two were taken back by Dadan to recover from their injuries.
Orochimaru clutched his head, feeling like he had forgotten something. He tried hard to explore the memories left by that Blue Star person deep in his soul. Sabo... Sabo... He found it. Sabo would take the opportunity to escape today, steal a fishing boat, and then be heavily injured when it was sunk by a Celestial Dragon.
Without bothering to explain, Orochimaru ran towards the port at top speed. The sky was gradually darkening. Orochimaru only found fragments of a boat at the port. Orochimaru knew that Sabo would be rescued by Luffy's father, but what if he wasn't?
Orochimaru continuously ran across the sea. How many years had it been since he had acted so selflessly for a companion? If he didn't find him, he would die too once his stamina ran out and he fell into the water, right?
Finally, Orochimaru found the ship. Hearing voices on board talking about having rescued a child and calling for a doctor, Orochimaru climbed aboard, his voice hoarse.
"I can save him." After saying that, he stumbled over, continuously channeling Chakra and using the Mystical Palm Technique. Finally, he collapsed from exhaustion, fainting alongside the others.