Snakes are cold-blooded creatures, but even they long for warmth.
That truth was perfectly embodied in Orochimaru.
Usually, Orochimaru carried himself with a calm and composed demeanor. But tonight, that image was gone. In its place was a boyishness no one had ever seen from him.
His face was lit up with a radiant smile as he spoke fondly with his parents, as if he wanted to tell them everything that had happened recently.
In the original timeline, Orochimaru's change had begun with the death of his parents during the war.
At their grave, he had found the shed skin of a rare white snake.
Back then, the Third Hokage had tried to comfort him by saying, "Your parents have been reborn somewhere."
That moment—his parents' deaths and the white snake's shedding—had left a deep impression on Orochimaru.
From then on, he considered shed white snake skins a symbol of luck, and they became the foundation of his future snake-style jutsu.
It was also the beginning of his descent into darkness. But deep down, he had never lost his love for life or his hope for the future.
Then came Nawaki's death and Danzo's influence—pushing him into true darkness.
But now, none of that had happened.
Orochimaru's parents hadn't died in the war. He was walking a completely different path.
Uchiha Hikaru couldn't help but feel a bit dazed. He hadn't even realized how much he'd already changed the world.
Right from the start, Uchiha Hikaru had eliminated two major threats, breathing new life into the village.
Even without him, given time to grow, Konoha could probably take on the other four villages alone.
But just then, Hikaru noticed a shadow cloud Orochimaru's expression. His face had turned ugly.
That was strange.
Orochimaru rarely lost his composure. He was always calm and poised—never this shaken.
What surprised Hikaru even more was that Orochimaru's parents were the ones trying to comfort him.
But the comfort didn't seem to work. Orochimaru's face only darkened further.
He looked around, as if searching for someone.
The moment his gaze landed on Uchiha Hikaru, his eyes lit up. He jogged straight toward him.
He looked at Hikaru like a drowning man spotting a lifeline. His voice trembled with hope as he said:
"Hikaru-kun, I need your help. Whatever it is—whatever the price—I'll agree to it if you help me."
Hikaru blinked, puzzled.
He glanced toward Orochimaru's parents.
They were standing with the injured, forcing smiles toward him. That explained Orochimaru's distress.
Sure enough, Orochimaru quickly explained the situation.
His parents hadn't died in the war, but they had been poisoned by a new type of toxin developed by the Hidden Sand Village.
They were lucky to survive, but the toxin had drastically shortened their cells' lifespans.
In other words, they didn't have many years left.
Orochimaru's request was for Hikaru to ask the Senju clan if they had a way to solve the problem.
Hikaru understood what he was asking—and he also knew the likely answer.
If the Senju truly had a way to fix cell degradation, then only two outcomes would be possible: world domination or complete annihilation.
Because solving that problem was tantamount to immortality. Once known, the whole world would turn against them.
And yet, the Senju had neither been wiped out nor taken over the world—so it stood to reason they didn't possess such a technique.
But Hikaru himself... actually did have a solution.
He could seal Orochimaru's parents in stasis, halting their biological clock.
It wouldn't cure them—but it would buy time. A frozen life was still life.
He figured Orochimaru deserved to hear it.
Looking into Orochimaru's anxious, helpless eyes, Hikaru felt a twinge of sympathy.
He knew Orochimaru needed something, even a temporary fix, just to stop spiraling.
So Hikaru spoke.
"I do have a method that might help."
Orochimaru's eyes shot up, full of hope.
"It involves sealing them," Hikaru continued. "Putting them in a suspended state—basically a false death. That way, their remaining life won't drain away."
Orochimaru fell into deep thought.
He stared at Hikaru with a conflicted look. It wasn't perfect, but it was something.
At last, he bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Hikaru-kun. But… I can't give you an answer just yet."
He shook his head with a wry smile. "I need to talk with my parents first."
Hikaru waved a hand dismissively. "No rush. It's your call whether to use it or not."
He watched Orochimaru's retreating figure and felt a strange sensation in his chest.
Even though Orochimaru's fate had shifted because of his actions… some things still seemed bound by destiny.
Now, with his parents suffering from cellular damage, Orochimaru would probably still end up walking the path of biological research.
It made Hikaru reflect—maybe fate really was a strange thing.
Like a boomerang, you never know when something you threw away will come spinning back… and smack you right between the eyes.
But was fate really unchangeable?
Not necessarily.
Because Hikaru was confident that once he leveled up his medical skills using the Idle Training System, he could absolutely cure Orochimaru's parents.
But for now, his current skill level was enough. He needed to focus on bloodlines and the Sharingan first.
He wasn't some selfless saint. What he wanted was Orochimaru's future potential, not his parents.
Even offering the sealing method was already the limit of what he could do as a friend.
At that moment, Mito Uzumaki also noticed what was going on and motioned for Hikaru to meet her at the Hokage Building.
Hikaru nodded in response, even though he had no idea what she wanted from him.