Inside the Hokage Tower office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had a pipe in his mouth, exhaling smoke that filled the room.
At that moment, the door slowly opened.
Stepping inside was Orochimaru, who had just been summoned by Anbu.
He glanced at the smoky air in the room and frowned slightly.
"Old man, what do you want with me?"
Orochimaru kept up his usual nonchalant demeanor around Hiruzen and walked straight to face him.
Hiruzen put away his pipe and slowly raised his head, his eyes burning with intensity as he stared at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, I heard that you've secretly taken Satori Hyūga from the Hyūga Clan as your apprentice?"
Normally, a ninja only became an instructor after their students had graduated from the Academy, leading a small team.
Orochimaru, being someone so proud and arrogant, was always busy with research and never seemed to have time for taking on apprentices.
Previously, Hiruzen had even questioned all three of his students directly about this.
In fact, he'd asked each of them.
But the answers he received were all the same—they found it too troublesome or inconvenient to become jōnin instructors.
Tsunade's younger brother and lover had both died in battle, causing her to develop a fear of blood, making it impossible for her to lead missions.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, was busy traveling the world gathering material for his novels, chasing after some prophesied "Child of Destiny" who could change fate.
And Orochimaru himself was deeply absorbed in his studies, always acting mysterious while researching snake-based Ninjutsu, almost turning himself into something neither human nor beast.
Hiruzen had even considered forcing these irresponsible apprentices of his to become instructors.
But much to his shock, Orochimaru surprised him.
He took in Satori Hyūga as a student before he even graduated.
Still, Hiruzen knew Orochimaru was never one to follow rules or stick to tradition.
"Yes. I met Satori Hyūga once and saw that he was exceptionally gifted—someone who shared my ideals."
Hiruzen: "..."
"Let me guess… those ideals include your obsession with immortality too?"
"Give up on that foolish dream already. Chasing eternal life is a corrupt path—it defiles even death itself."
As Orochimaru's master, he naturally understood his disciple's thoughts.
Ever since he witnessed the deaths of his parents and peers, Orochimaru's personality had become increasingly eccentric, obsessively chasing after eternal life.
But how could that ever be possible?
Even Tobirama Senju, the prodigious Second Hokage who created countless forbidden jutsu, couldn't achieve that.
Hiruzen found it hard to believe Orochimaru could succeed where someone like Tobirama had failed.
At first, he had been pleased that Orochimaru had accepted an apprentice, secretly hoping it might help correct his increasingly dark and twisted behavior.
But now it turned out that this Satori Hyūga shared Orochimaru's bizarre obsession with immortality.
Putting two mad minds together like this—could anything good come of it?
For a moment, Hiruzen was lost in deep concern.
"Old man," Orochimaru said calmly, his gaze steady. "As a Ninjutsu professor, your vision and tolerance are still far too limited to grasp my ideals and ambitions."
"Once I achieve immortality," he continued, "I'll have all the time I need to uncover the ultimate truths of this world—and only then can we end war forever."
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent for a moment, taking a puff of his pipe.
"Orochimaru," he said, "I hope you can keep your initial ideals and don't stray from the right path."
He didn't agree with his apprentice's intentions, yet couldn't stop him either.
The concept of immortality was too unattainable; achieving it might cost countless lives.
All he could do was hope Orochimaru wouldn't make the wrong choices and fall into darkness.
Fortunately, Orochimaru hadn't turned dark yet, so Hiruzen felt somewhat reassured.
But regarding Satori Hyūga, Hiruzen Sarutobi kept a close eye on him.
After all, Satori had become Orochimaru's disciple and was also a friend to Kushina, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
He himself was a member of the Hyūga Main House, carrying a complex and special status that naturally drew attention.
Then again, thinking about it, having Satori follow Orochimaru wasn't necessarily a bad thing—it was still better than leaving him to Danzo.
With Satori as a bridge, the Hyūga Clan would probably be more obedient.
If Satori were given to Danzo instead, who knows what kind of trouble he might cause.
Hiruzen used his close friend well, but couldn't allow him to grow unchecked.
Danzo wasn't suitable to become Hokage—better left handling Konoha's shadow tasks.
The next day,
Satori arrived ahead of schedule at the location Orochimaru had specified.
Of course, once again, the place was just a small forest.
Beside Satori were two Branch House members from the Hyūga Clan, both Jonin-level experts.
"Satori, you came early," Orochimaru said, arriving alone and expressionless, walking down the quiet path.
His figure was tall and slender, black hair cascading over his shoulders, pale skin glowing slightly in the sunlight as he approached Satori.
Satori narrowed his eyes, almost seeing a glimpse of the future Orochimaru in this moment.
Luckily, when Orochimaru got closer, Satori snapped out of his thoughts.
Right now, Orochimaru was still nowhere near as dark and dangerous as he'd become later.
This was a good opportunity. Perhaps they could build a better relationship and shift Orochimaru away from his evil ideas.
After all, if he defected, Satori, as his student, would find staying in Konoha extremely awkward.
"Lord Orochimaru, I was worried about being late, so I arrived a few minutes early," Satori greeted respectfully with a faint smile on his face.
"Today, are we having the lesson here? I'm actually quite eager already," Hyuga Sounmei added.
A slight smirk tugged at Orochimaru's lips, something between amusement and indifference.
"Of course not here. It'll be in my laboratory."
"Follow me," Orochimaru turned and walked toward a seemingly ordinary lab building.
This was a lab Orochimaru had openly established, containing nothing illegal inside.
Satori quickly followed behind, trailed closely by the two Branch House members.
That was their duty, after all.
Though the lab appeared small from the outside, once entered, one would realize its hidden depths.
Besides the upper floors, underground chambers housed numerous spacious rooms filled with expensive experimental equipment.
Following Orochimaru, Satori moved forward while the Branch House members remained at the entrance.
Their stated purpose was protection—ensuring Satori's safety and making sure he didn't try to leave the village.
As for joining him in lessons? That was out of the question.
Even the privilege of entering The Laboratory was beyond their reach.
Satori Hyūga gazed at the array of advanced, delicate instruments before him, his eyes alight with an unprecedented intensity.
Konoha felt like an ancient village, but the sight of these high-tech devices made him feel as though he had stepped into the modern era.
Their existence gave Satori a faint sense of detachment from the world—a world that jarred with reality.
Despite possessing such advanced science and technology, people's living conditions hadn't improved in the least.
Perhaps it was because the ninja lacked vision, never thinking to apply chakra techniques to daily life.
"Welcome to my laboratory. These are the tools you will be working with and studying in the days ahead."
"What do you think? Do you have any thoughts?" Orochimaru asked, his tone brimming with interest as he studied Satori Hyūga intently.
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