◉◉◉◉◉
"Eyes?"
Anko froze for a moment.
"Yes."
Orochimaru nodded, studying her as though she were a piece of art, his gaze slow and deliberate.
Under that scrutiny, Anko felt her cheeks grow warm.
"Grayish-brown is not a striking color," he said casually.
"But people with eyes like yours are extremely rare. Steady, yet shy. Contradictory in an interesting way."
"Is that not how a girl's gaze should be?"
"Awkward. Uncertain. Like the beginnings of first love."
Orochimaru said it in a teasing tone.
It sounded like a joke, and in truth, it was nothing more than an offhand remark.
"By the way."
"My recent experiments have made a major breakthrough. A very significant one."
"Staying in Konoha no longer benefits me. All it does now is restrict my research."
His tone shifted smoothly, the faint smile never leaving his face.
"Then…"
"Sensei means… you want to leave Konoha?"
Anko asked softly.
She deliberately used the word leave instead of defect.
"More or less."
"Once I deal with the final laboratory I still have in Konoha, I can depart at any time."
"I've grown tired of this decaying village."
Orochimaru said coldly.
Seeing the icy indifference on her teacher's face, fear suddenly crept into Anko's heart.
She had always known her teacher was not normal.
But this madman was also the one who had saved her life.
Noticing the subtle hesitation and fear in the girl's expression, Orochimaru let a faint smile return to his face.
"Were the flowers in my room placed there by you?"
"I liked the little gift."
"Even though I hardly ever stay there, it still made me happy to know someone cared about my daily life."
"Thank you, Anko."
Orochimaru said calmly.
He reached out with a hand that felt slightly cold and gently touched her cheek.
The emotion in his eyes was not quite tenderness. It was closer to indulgence toward a foolish child, mixed with a trace of appreciation.
Such beautiful eyes.
That was what Orochimaru was thinking.
"Tonight, I'll be dealing with the laboratory behind the Hokage Rock."
"If you want to come, you can come with me."
"Of course, if you'd rather stay in Konoha, that's also…"
"No."
"I want to follow you, Sensei."
Before he could finish, Anko interrupted him.
It was the first time she had ever done something so improper, cutting him off before he finished speaking.
Orochimaru did not get angry. He simply smiled and nodded.
Rustle.
A gust of wind swept down the street, and the man beside her was already gone.
…
Night fell.
A crescent moon hung high in the sky, and Konoha remained brightly lit and lively as ever.
From the distant mountain ridge, the stone faces of the former Hokage watched silently over the prosperous village.
"Orochimaru-sama."
A girl's voice sounded behind him. The man gazing at the night scenery finally turned around.
That face was steeped in something sinister. Even his smile carried a chill that reached the bone.
Yet to Anko, it felt reassuring.
"What a punctual child."
Orochimaru walked ahead, Anko following quietly behind.
In less than three minutes, they arrived at a laboratory hidden deep within the shadows.
Creak.
The moment the wooden door opened, a thick, acrid stench of chemicals rushed out.
The room was dimly lit, but the space inside was vast.
On the right stood a wooden rack, packed tightly with dark red glass containers. Inside them floated human and animal organs, suspended in preservative fluid.
On the left were coffin-like rectangular devices, used to freeze entire test subjects.
Some contained corpses.
Others held shinobi who were barely clinging to life, captured not long ago.
On the central worktable lay a body wrapped in white cloth. The subject had died several days earlier. A faint hint of decay lingered in the air, though it was largely drowned out by the chemical smell.
"In just a few days, this place has really gone to hell."
Orochimaru spoke casually.
Neither the test subjects nor the research records here held any value to him anymore.
Everything worth knowing was already carved into his mind. The Eight-Headed Serpent technique was complete. In the strictest sense, he was no longer human.
He was a serpent wearing human skin.
A monster.
"Mmh."
Anko could not help frowning.
This was not her first time in one of Orochimaru's laboratories, yet every visit still filled her with dread.
"It's lost all value."
"I've already consumed everything worth taking from them. What's left is just trash."
The man spoke to himself as he walked to the table, picking up a light surgical blade.
Slice.
The blade plunged into the dead man's eye socket, nearly piercing straight through the skull.
He twisted the handle slightly before pulling it free, leaving behind a hollow, pitch-black cavity.
As the body continued to decay, thick, dark fluid slowly seeped from the opening.
"The eye is dead, no preservation."
"That's why it looks so ugly."
"And besides."
"His eyes were inferior to begin with."
Orochimaru tossed the blade aside and glanced at the corpse with naked disgust.
He walked to the water basin, washed his hands, and then turned his gaze back to Anko.
"S-Sensei."
Anko forced herself to speak, suppressing the fear in her chest.
"Are you afraid of me?"
"That's fine. That's exactly how you should feel."
Orochimaru smiled indifferently.
He patted her head, then took her hand and led her back outside through the wooden door.
Anko lowered her head, saying nothing.
At the same time, Orochimaru's hands began forming seals at blinding speed, completing them in less than a second.
Boar. Dog. Rooster. Monkey. Goat.
"Summoning Jutsu."
Orochimaru growled lowly as chakra saturated with malice and corruption erupted outward.
A massive serpent's jaws appeared out of thin air, swallowing the entire laboratory in a violent rush.
It was as if the room itself had been dragged into the snake's mouth, every object devoured in an instant.
This was a refined use of summoning, calling forth only part of the serpent's body.
The residual chemicals might kill the snake, but that did not matter. Ordinary giant snakes were expendable. One died, another could be summoned.
"Clean."
In the blink of an eye, the serpent vanished without a trace. The room behind them was completely empty.
Orochimaru brushed his hands together and turned, leading Anko away.
"Sensei."
"When will we leave?"
Halfway along the path, Anko suddenly asked.
For some reason, her small face was flushed with tension, her fingers clenched tightly together.
"Heh."
"Are you afraid I'll abandon you?"
Orochimaru chuckled softly.
"There's no need for lies."
"I won't leave you behind in Konoha."
"Thank you."
"Orochimaru-sama."
The girl answered seriously, then added silently in her heart.
'I will follow you forever'
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
Thank you so much for your support and for reading.