."Humans are really fragile things..."

Walking on the street, looking at the villagers coming and going and the stars in the sky, Orochimaru unconsciously whispered this sentence.

Tsunade's departure deepened his feelings.

Born in troubled times and growing up in war, he should have been indifferent to the loss of human life, but he didn't.

Tsunade's departure made him realize this even more. Whether it's Rope Tree or Broken, they are all people he is relatively familiar with, especially Rope Tree, who he saw being blown up with his own eyes.

He thought about it and realized that there were fewer and fewer familiar faces around him. Except for Sandai who was getting older day by day, except for Jiraiya who was chatty all day long but never bored him, and there were also divorced people.

There are almost only a few Tsunade who went there who are acquaintances from before.

Even Sakumo died, leaving only a son. Well, his son was also a genius, but so what? He might die one day...

It's really unsettling... Maybe I will die suddenly one day? No matter how powerful a person is, once he dies, what is the meaning of his glory during his lifetime? The stone sculptures of the Hokage carved on the cliff are also a

It's just something that can be easily destroyed using escape techniques.

The aura on Orochimaru's body suddenly became much colder, and a trace of desire flashed in his eyes.

"Huh? What's the matter, Orochimaru?"

A hand patted Orochimaru's shoulder, and a loud piercing sound came from his ears, which could almost be considered "deafening."

Without even thinking about it, the only person in Konoha who dared to tap his shoulder was that idiot Jiraiya. The Third Generation didn't know how to tap his shoulder. He just patted his head. Fortunately, he stopped patting him now...

"Jiraiya..."

The yellow-brown snake pupils were glanced sideways. Because of these strange pupils, most enemies would have palpitations before they even made a move.

It's not some kind of pupil technique, but his natural appearance, which combined with his hoarse voice, adds a sense of mystery, or in other words, a deterrent force...

But such a thing is of no use to the guy next to him. His nerves are so thick that they can be used as a stick.

"You are still so noisy..."

Even so, he actually enjoys it. After all, he is also a human being and needs someone to care about him.

"Don't say that!"

Jiraiya stretched out his hand and unceremoniously hooked it around Orochimaru's neck. By the way, he was holding a large bunch of squid in his other hand...

The two of them are walking in the business district now. The night market has a different atmosphere compared to the daytime. The villagers of Konoha, even during the war, continue to do business, which can be regarded as a buffer against the tense atmosphere.

"Seeing how deep your heart is, do you think... you like Tsunade? Are you reluctant to let her go? Hahahaha..."

"This joke is not funny at all. If Tsunade were here, you would probably be beaten..."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and smiled softly.

From childhood to adulthood, he always wore a smile that was extremely contemptuous. This is why ordinary people dare not approach him at all. This temperament is completely equivalent to writing the words "Don't mess with me" on his face.

The eerie aura is enough to scare children all over Konoha.

However, when he was with Jiraiya, Tsunade and others, there was obviously something different. At least, there was more warmth than usual.

"Uh... let's change the topic..."

Jiraiya looked around awkwardly, then his eyes lit up,

"Oh, the wine in that shop is pretty good! Let's go, I'll treat you today!"

After saying that, Jiraiya had already rushed over quickly.

Grinning slightly, Orochimaru did not interrupt Jiraiya's interest and walked towards the store as well.

"Lord Orochimaru!"

At this moment, a Konoha ninja appeared on the street and ran towards the two of them.

"Huh? No way... I have another mission, and I haven't rested for a few days yet..."

Seeing the ninja running all the way, Jiraiya suddenly had a bitter look on his face. He glanced at the little girl accompanying the customer in the store with regret.

"Didn't you hear? They are here to find me. You can continue."

Orochimaru responded calmly.

"If I'm looking for you, I'm looking for me. We're companions!"

Jiraiya replied shamelessly,

"Your business is my business, Lord Jiraiya!"

"No, you are you and I am me. This will never change."

After saying this sentence with a pun, Orochimaru rushed towards the ninja. At this time, he had changed back to his usual appearance.

"What do you want from me?"

"Hokage-sama asked me to inform you that he is waiting for you in the office."

Looking at Orochimaru's cold face, the Konoha ninja couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"I know, I'll go right away."

Orochimaru nodded, he turned back to look at Jiraiya,

"Jiraiya, you can do whatever you want, I'll leave first."

After saying that, he had already walked away, regardless of Jiraiya's yelling behind him.

But Jiraiya obviously didn't intend to be casual. He originally wanted to drag Orochimaru out to relax today. Since Orochimaru was gone, there was no point in wandering alone. Therefore, he completely ignored Orochimaru's refusal and followed him anyway.

And followed him all the way to Sandai's office...

"Jiraiya, why are you here too?"

The third generation looked at Jiraiya, who was shaking and looking like an inhumane person, with some surprise.

"I didn't call you..."

"Let me take a look."

Jiraiya chuckled.

"Forget it... Orochimaru, among all the people, you have the fewest disciples. This doesn't seem appropriate."

"Hmph... Do you need to blame me for this?"

Orochimaru smiled sinisterly,

"I want strength but also want to be relaxed. How can there be such a simple thing?"

He was talking about the children of those families. As Sannin, many families hope that their children can learn under the Sannin. However, people from big families are often a little more "delicate", and the Sannin trains apprentices.

Come on, no one will be so gentle.

Jiraiya was a little better, all those assigned to Tsunade cried father and mother in less than a day, and Orochimaru, who was quite scary to begin with, not many could survive in his hands in the end.

Now Jiraiya's apprentice, Minato, has become a new generation of super masters in Konoha. Regardless of whether Tsunade has a disciple, even Orochimaru, now there is only Anko, a disciple, and he is only a little bit younger.

As far as the level of the master is concerned, Jiraiya has rarely defeated Orochimaru once.

"Didn't you have good intentions when you assigned those people to me?"

After Orochimaru finished laughing, he said something that made the third generation cough.

"Ahem...I won't talk about this anymore, but look at this person..."

Konoha's efficiency is really good. In such a short time, the third generation actually had Qi's preliminary personal information in his hands.

"Hui Yue Qi?"

Orochimaru took the information and read it softly.

Even if the third generation didn't say it, he already knew the reason why he was looking for him. Did he plan to let himself be the teacher of this child? However, among the more influential families in Konoha, there seemed to be no surname like Huiyue.

He continued to read...

"A person with blood inheritance ability? An outsider under review!?"

In the last sentence, he rarely raised his voice, which fully showed his surprise.

Konoha's review is very strict, not to mention finding a teacher for him before he passed the review. Isn't this preferential treatment a bit excessive?

Besides, the teacher we are looking for is a Sannin! There are many families in Konoha who want to place their descendants as apprentices to masters like Sannin and Golden Flash, but how many have succeeded?

The Sannin's standards for selecting apprentices are frighteningly high. Even Jiraiya, who has the most apprentices, has not taken any descendants of his family away from him. The reason is simple: he doesn't like them!

The power of the family cannot affect masters of the Sannin level...

"Sarutobi-sensei, do you think you can give me an explanation?"

Orochimaru was relieved quickly. What was he worried about? Since the third generation called him, he obviously wanted to explain to himself. Otherwise, as usual, wouldn't it be enough to just stuff people in and wait for them to get out?

"Do you understand what Wood Release Ninjutsu is?"

Sandai nodded. There were no outsiders here, so he just spoke frankly.

"Old man, you wouldn't say that this kid can use Wood Escape, right?"

Jiraiya leaned his head over and stared hard at the information in Orochimaru's hand. Finally, Orochimaru couldn't stand it anymore and simply stuffed the information directly into his hand.
To be continued...