"Just leave it there."
The arrival of an Anbu ninja interrupted Yan’s thoughts. He closed his Sharingan.
He motioned for the Anbu to place the packed als on the table. Before the ninja could put down the remaining money, Yan spoke.
"Use the rest to buy so sake or drinks. After your shift, have a few with your squad."
"Ah... this..."
The Anbu ninja hesitated, holding the money in midair, unsure of what to do.
"This isn’t a bribe. But if you feel like I need to bribe you, that’s fine too. Just take your squad out for a drink and relax a bit."
"Understood. I’ll take my leave."
Hearing that, the Anbu ninja finally felt at ease accepting the money.
After work, he planned to take his teammates out for a few drinks.
This was a direct order from his superior, so he had to take it seriously.
As soon as the Anbu ninja left, Tsunade arrived.
"You really went all out, bribing an Anbu ninja?"
"Is our Hokage-sama planning to report ?"
"Yeah, right."
She kicked Yan’s leg in annoyance, then opened the takeout box to check. Seeing it was food she liked, she couldn’t resist grabbing a piece of at with bones and stuffing it into her mouth. With her mouth still full, she reminded Yan:
"Don’t do this too often, or it’ll get ssy later."
"I know."
Yan sat down by the table to eat with Tsunade.
"By the way, where’s Shizune?"
"She went to et up with an old classmate after work. Said it was an invitation from them."
Tsunade answered casually.
"Got it."
---
Early in the morning, students at the ninja academy were happily running to school with their little backpacks, ready for class. But Sasuke was an exception.
Carrying his ninja tool pouch, he headed alone to Orochimaru’s underground lab.
When it ca to Sasuke becoming Orochimaru’s student, his parents, Mikoto and Fugaku, didn’t ask too many questions after hearing that Yan had guaranteed his safety.
"Itachi went to escort Sasuke, right?"
Mikoto walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands. Fugaku, who was sitting on the floor drinking tea, nodded slowly.
"He did, but he doesn’t plan to let Sasuke know. I think Yan must have his reasons for handing Sasuke over to Orochimaru. With his guarantee, don’t you feel reassured?"
"I trust Yan, but I don’t trust Orochimaru."
Letting their son follow such a dangerous man—any parent would be worried.
If it weren’t for Yan’s assurance, Mikoto would have been the first to oppose it, and she wouldn’t have just protested—she would have completely flipped out.
She might usually seem gentle, a good wife and loving mother, but that was only because she hadn’t lost her temper.
Once she did, even Fugaku, the head of the clan, wouldn’t be able to hold his stance.
"I don’t trust him either."
Fugaku remained indifferent, as if his son’s safety wasn’t nearly as important as the tea in his hands.
"Hopefully, Sasuke can get so special training under Orochimaru.
Just now, soone reported that Orochimaru went to Konoha Prison early this morning. He was carrying a direct order from Yan to take so captured spies—ones that were already sentenced to death."
Mikoto’s expression darkened instantly. She knew exactly what Orochimaru was planning.
Taking those prisoners wasn’t for experints—Konoha had already made it clear that Orochimaru was strictly forbidden from conducting any human experints. He wasn’t even allowed to go near them.
But now, he was taking people. It was obviously for Sasuke’s training.
"Ahh... I just hope Sasuke grows stronger from this."
Even though she really didn’t want to, Mikoto knew that children would eventually grow up. A child who always hides in their parents’ arms will never truly grow.
"Hmm."
Fugaku gave a slight nod, still drinking tea and looking through docunts.
Again and again, it was always the sa—distant and indifferent.
Looking at Fugaku, a vein on Mikoto’s forehead started to bulge.
"What’s wrong?"
Sensing that sothing was off, Fugaku looked up in confusion at his wife.
"Nothing."
Mikoto took off her apron, tossed it onto the table, and headed outside, leaving behind a sentence that left Fugaku completely dumbfounded.
"My friends invited to the Daimyo’s estate for a trip. I’ve decided to go for a few days. You’ll have to cook for yourself."
"Make sure to clean the house. I expect to see a spotless ho when I get back."
"?????"
Wait... what just happened? She was fine a mont ago.
And didn’t she say earlier that she wasn’t going to this gathering?
Why the sudden change of heart?
As the ultimate clueless husband, Fugaku just couldn’t figure out why his wife’s mood had flipped so suddenly. She had left him and their sons behind to go on a relaxing trip to the Daimyo’s estate.
Cooking? That wasn’t a big deal. He could just eat at the police departnt...
Wait, no.
He could eat there, sure, but what about Sasuke?
Was Sasuke supposed to eat work als with him?
Or should Itachi be the one cooking?
Itachi seed pretty busy, though.
Sothing felt off.
It finally hit Fugaku—Mikoto was mad.
And what was worse, if she ca back and found the house a ss, with the three of them barely eating properly—especially little Sasuke—there was going to be serious trouble.
---
Sasuke gathered his courage and stepped into Orochimaru’s lab.
Orochimaru had been waiting for him.
"Sasuke, from today onward, you are my student, and I am your teacher. Let’s work well together."
"Teacher."
Sasuke gave a proper bow, greeting him respectfully.
Having faced the harsh reality of the world, he wasn’t as arrogant and reckless as he was in the original story.
"Good. Then let’s begin our first lesson. Did you bring your Ninja Tools pouch?"
Orochimaru led Sasuke straight to the third level of the lab.
It was a massive underground space, mostly used to store materials and equipnt.
However, Orochimaru had cleared it out—because this would be the place where Sasuke would grow and train in the days to co.
Thinking that Orochimaru was taking him for training, Sasuke quickly nodded. He didn’t want to disappoint his new teacher, nor did he want to seem weak. His Ninja Tools pouch was with him, ready to go.
"Good."
In the underground third level of the research facility, Orochimaru led Sasuke inside.
He pointed at two prisoners sitting on the ground, dressed in prison uniforms, resting.
"These people are spies captured by the village. Their cris are severe, and the village regularly executes prisoners like them.
I brought them here under Yan’s orders. Now, your training begins—kill them."
Seeing blood and taking lives were basic skills for a ninja. It was sothing every new ninja had to go through.
Without giving Sasuke ti to hesitate, Orochimaru took a few steps back and said to the two prisoners, who were slowly getting up,
"Kill him, and you will be free."
Freedom...
---
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