"Sasuke, do you desire power?"
The voice was hoarse — belonging to a grown man.
That was Sasuke's first impression. He suddenly flicked his wrist, hurling a kunai toward the direction behind him. His Sharingan activated.
When he finally saw the person, Sasuke stiffened for a split second before narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
It was a boy about the same age as him.
"Who are you? I've never seen you in Konoha before."
Through the Sharingan, Sasuke not only saw the stranger's movements clearly but also sensed the enormous amount of chakra within him. The only other person he had ever seen with such vast chakra was Naruto.
"I am Orochimaru. Sasuke, long time no see," Orochimaru introduced himself with his trademark snake-like smile, flicking his tongue out.
"So it's you!"
That familiar gesture confirmed it for Sasuke. He frowned. "Why are you looking for me?"
"I already asked, Sasuke — do you want power?" Orochimaru replied smoothly.
Power?
Sasuke's crimson Sharingan locked on Orochimaru. Judging by the sheer amount of chakra surging through him, Orochimaru was far stronger than before.
And his arms... the injuries from before seemed to be gone. Had he already found a way to heal them?
"You mean the kind of power that can defeat Uchiha Itachi?" Sasuke asked quietly.
"Of course. You can see the chakra in my body with your Sharingan, can't you? While a large chakra pool doesn't always mean strength, the strong usually have no shortage of it. The Uchiha's Sharingan is impressive, but your chakra merely exceeds that of an ordinary shinobi. If you wish to defeat Itachi, you must surpass him in every way — especially in this regard."
"Besides chakra, the cursed seal I gave you last time can grant you the power of senjutsu. I can guide you in taijutsu, ninjutsu — everything. I guarantee your strength will grow many times faster than if you stay in Konoha."
Present-day Konoha was different from before. Orochimaru didn't want to test the waters with his subordinates this time, so he had come personally.
A show of sincerity — from Orochimaru's perspective.
Sasuke remained silent.
He knew Orochimaru's name and reputation well. The man had surpassed Kakashi. Sasuke also knew what Orochimaru wanted — but to make his body worth taking, Orochimaru would have to make him stronger first.
"I want to know... between you and Hikari-senpai, who's stronger?"
As soon as Sasuke spoke, a faint breeze passed through. Orochimaru involuntarily took a step back.
Within that gentle wind, he felt a terrifying chill descend upon him.
It was the feeling of death.
As someone who toyed with death yet feared it more than anyone, Orochimaru was especially sensitive to it. He could tell — one wrong word, and death would claim him instantly.
"Why aren't you answering?" Sasuke asked, puzzled. Seeing Orochimaru step back so suddenly, he instinctively took a few steps back himself, putting more distance between them.
"If you're referring to Kamizuki Hikari... I can't say for sure that I'm his match. But rest assured, it wouldn't be so easy for him to kill me either," Orochimaru said arrogantly.
He knew full well — someone like Kamizuki Hikari, who could take on members of the Akatsuki alone, wasn't someone he could easily defeat.
If Orochimaru were that strong, he wouldn't need to flee from the organization; he could simply face them head-on.
The fact that he still ran proved he wasn't strong enough — one mistake and the Akatsuki would kill him.
"I see," Sasuke muttered, lost in thought.
To him, Orochimaru's answer sounded honest enough.
And that made Sasuke want to learn even more from Kamizuki Hikari — the real deal.
But when he thought of Team Ino–Shika–Chō, who had only learned basic taijutsu so far, and remembered how Hikari seemed to dislike him, he realized his chances of learning advanced techniques from him were slim.
Especially after Naruto said that even his last training session was only because Kamizuki Hikari did him a favor... that thought stung Sasuke's pride.
"I'll need to think about your offer. Go back for now. When I've made up my mind, I'll find you." Without waiting for Orochimaru's response, Sasuke turned and walked into his house, as if dismissing Orochimaru entirely.
Orochimaru wanted to follow, but then —
a suffocating wave of killing intent washed over him.
Move, and you die.
That was the warning.
So Orochimaru froze, standing still as he waited for the source to appear.
Once Sasuke had gone inside, Kamizuki Hikari emerged before him.
"I didn't expect you to have the guts to come back to Konoha. Aren't you afraid Tsunade will kill you if she sees you?" Hikari found it peculiar that Orochimaru would dare to come to Konoha.
Knowing Hikari was here, yet still showing up—did he not take him seriously?
"Of course I'm afraid," Orochimaru admitted, staring at the unassuming young man before him.
Despite Hikari's calm, ordinary appearance, Orochimaru didn't dare move a muscle — only his tongue flicked in and out, disgustingly serpentine.
"But sometimes... certain risks are worth taking."
His hunger for the Sharingan made him ignore Hikari's threat.
"If you're that brave, then I won't say much more. As long as Sasuke chooses to go with you of his own will, I won't interfere. But if you try to force him..." Hikari's eyes narrowed. "Don't blame me for what happens next."
Hearing this, Orochimaru breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Kamizuki Hikari didn't attack, it was fine.
"Naturally. I've never liked forcing people. After all, a melon that's twisted off by force isn't sweet," Orochimaru said with a faint smile.
Hikari took Orochimaru's words as empty noise.
Not forcing others? With those who had strength or value, perhaps he wouldn't. But ordinary people—were they truly willing to follow Orochimaru?
Hardly.
Most were likely abducted, experimented on, and only after gaining power did they stay by his side.
But Hikari wasn't some saint. He had no interest in meddling in such matters.
"Now that we've finished talking about Sasuke... I'm quite curious. You actually dared to use the Three-Tails to enhance your body, creating such massive chakra within yourself. Aren't you afraid the Akatsuki will come after you?"
To Hikari, Orochimaru's chakra now resembled that of a partial tailed beast — like the future Obito using the Gold and Silver Brothers to mimic the Nine-Tails' chakra.
To revive the Ten-Tails, one didn't need every single Tailed Beast — only their essence. Even fragments could serve as "seeds" for the revival, though an incomplete Ten-Tails would never reach full strength.
Orochimaru grinned, flicking his tongue again, ignoring Hikari's disgusted expression. "The Akatsuki can't catch me. Unless their leader personally makes a move, none of the others are a threat."
Seeing his arrogance, Hikari didn't bother replying. He simply turned and vanished soundlessly before Orochimaru — like a mirage fading or a clone dispersing.
Orochimaru's serpentine eyes narrowed slightly before he sank back into the ground.
The Uchiha compound once again returned to silence.
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