"Orochimaru-sama?!"
Aoba looked at the man in front of him. His bluish-white skin combined with those dim yellow snake eyes made him look sickly.
How could Orochimaru come to this place?
A big question mark popped up in Aoba's head. He vaguely felt that something was wrong with this kind of thing, but he did not show the slightest panic, still maintaining a calm appearance.
Aoba sized up Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was also sizing up Aoba.
Their gazes collided.
"Yamanaka Aoba, aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?"
Orochimaru said with a smile. When he spoke, he couldn't help but use his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth. He looked extremely demonic.
"Please come in."
Aoba nodded silently and took a step back. Right now, he still had some doubts in his heart. He wasn't sure what Orochimaru's purpose for coming here was.
However...
Since the other party had already come.
Then he had nothing to fear!
He might as well meet up with this legendary Konoha Sannin.
As Aoba moved out of the way, Orochimaru walked in. As he walked, he used his yellow snake-like eyes to size up his surroundings.
"The smell here is so familiar!"
Orochimaru said to himself meaningfully. As he spoke, his gaze fell on Aoba, constantly observing the changes in his expression. He wanted to know Aoba's specific reaction.
"Oh?" Aoba was puzzled and immediately looked at Orochimaru. The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile and he said, "Has Orochimaru-sama come to the Anbu dormitory before?"
"Of course I came, that's why I said familiar!" Orochimaru smiled slightly. He met Aoba's gaze and tried to probe Aoba. He vaguely felt that there was something wrong with Aoba, but now he had not grasped any substantial evidence.
"Did Orochimaru-sama come to find me for something?" Aoba no longer beat around the bush with Orochimaru. He went straight to the point and asked Orochimaru. After all, they were not familiar with each other. For the other party to find him, it was obvious that the other party had discovered something. This way, it would be better to bring it up now than the other party constantly probing him.
"Of course, there are some things."
Orochimaru nodded. His movements were slow and he was not anxious at all. His pair of snake-like eyes had always been on Aoba. Occasionally, he would stick out his tongue and lick. He seemed to be at ease as if everything was in his grasp.
"Recently, I have been in charge of Anbu. I have made some new discoveries about some things that I have neglected."
The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curved up even higher. The evil smile on his face made him look mysterious.
"Just a few months ago..."
"My laboratory was robbed."
"Someone stole more than ten bottles of Corpse Dissolving Water from me."
"Have you seen that thief before?"
Orochimaru's eyes suddenly narrowed, as if he had discovered some secret, staring fixedly at Aoba.
This gaze seemed to say that Aoba was this thief.
It was just that he did not make it so clear!
Such a scene.
If it was a person with a bad mentality...
They might have already given themselves away.
"I don't know." Aoba shook his head indifferently. There was no change on his face.
"I think you might know," Orochimaru said meaningfully.
"Orochimaru-sama, if I'm not wrong, are you suspecting me?" Aoba still did not beat around the bush with Orochimaru. Instead, he directly said what the other party meant. He just stared at Orochimaru as if he was talking about a very ordinary thing. There was no fluctuation in his emotions at all.
"You are a bit interesting!" Orochimaru smiled and nodded. After that, he strode toward Aoba, getting closer and closer to him.
Orochimaru added, "Since you said it so directly, then I won't beat around the bush with you. You are right. I suspect that person is you!"
"Orochimaru-sama, do you know where this place is?"
Aoba was still very calm. He did not know where Orochimaru had deduced this matter through, but he was sure that Orochimaru definitely did not have evidence. Otherwise, he would not have continuously probed and just directly attacked.
"This is Konohagakure Intelligence Division!"
"The ninjas in our Konohagakure Intelligence Division will interrogate the prisoners to get answers!"
"Are you going to interrogate me here?"
Aoba said neither haughty nor humble. When he faced Orochimaru, he did not show the slightest bit of cowardice. It was as if he was not facing Orochimaru, but a very ordinary person and was trying to reason with that person.
"You make me feel even more interesting." The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled up even higher. He shook his head and said, "I don't need to interrogate you. I believe that you will say it yourself in the future."
"That would be a pity." Aoba spread out his hands and made a helpless gesture.
"I have nothing to do so I came to see you. In the future, we both will have a lot of dealing with. So it doesn't matter if you have an answer today. I won't disturb you anymore. I'm leaving."
As Orochimaru spoke, he turned and walked out of Aoba's room. As he said, he did not stay here to make things difficult for Aoba.
Orochimaru walked toward the door step by step.
Aoba, on the other hand, had been staring at Orochimaru without saying a word, silently acknowledging Orochimaru's departure.
A few steps later.
Orochimaru walked to the door of Aoba's room. He stopped and turned his head slightly. His pair of pale yellow snake-like eyes slanted slightly and focused on Aoba.
"Aoba, there is one more thing. The person outside the door that day was you, right?"
Orochimaru seemed to be asking. In fact, he had a feeling that he had already discovered it. After he finished speaking, he did not wait for Aoba's answer and walked out again.
"Which door?" Aoba asked indifferently.
"Hahahahaha!"
Orochimaru did not answer Aoba's question. Instead, he laughed loudly and left, disappearing into the night.
After Orochimaru left.
There was only Aoba left here.
Aoba immediately closed the door and sat on a chair, his eyes filled with doubt.
"What did Orochimaru find?"
Aoba knew that Orochimaru must have found something, so he found him. Moreover, Orochimaru did not have any substantial evidence, but in his heart, he was almost certain.
This was not a good sign.
Aoba did not want to be targeted by Orochimaru.
That would be really troublesome for him.
One must know...
Orochimaru had the reputation of a ninja world scientist.
Even at this time, Orochimaru had the research and developed all kinds of ninjutsu.
Aoba just did not expect that Orochimaru would find him at this time and speak so inexplicably.
He hated this way of speaking.
It seemed like he had said it.
But it also seemed like he had said nothing.
It made you feel like he knew something, but in reality, he didn't seem to know anything.
To put it this way, it was strange.
Aoba felt that if it was someone else with a bad psychological quality, they would definitely be shaken by Orochimaru's repeated words and reveal different degrees of problems.
"I don't care."
Aoba ignored Orochimaru. Instead, he lay down on the iron bed. Right now, all he had to do was to obediently wait, wait for time to pass, and wait for the war to break out.
...
Half a day later.
Dong Dong Dong!
There was the sound of knocking again.
"Coming."
Aoba slowly got up, and some question marks appeared on his head again. Why did the dormitory, which no one usually came to, become lively now?
Creak...
Aoba opened the door and immediately saw a man in a white chef uniform standing outside the door, holding a bag in his hand.
This man was Ramen Ichiraku's boss, Teuchi.
"Brother Teuchi?" When Aoba saw Teuchi, his eyes suddenly lit up, and his eyes flashed with confusion. He continued to ask, "Why are you here?"
"You brat, you have been back for so many days, but you don't come and see me. If not for the fact that I heard a guest mention that you were back, I would have thought that you had died on the battlefield. I brought you a bowl of ramen to eat. Consider it my treat!" Teuchi said with a smile. When he smiled, his eyes had already narrowed into slits.
"So considerate?" Aoba was stunned, and his heart suddenly surged with warmth. He and Teuchi were indeed friends, but he did not expect that Teuchi would personally bring takeout to his door. This service was already very good.
"Do you think I have no conscience like you!" Teuchi rolled his eyes at Aoba, so hard that his narrowed eyes could not be seen at all.
"Thank you, Brother Teuchi. Then I won't be polite!" Aoba immediately took the ramen that Teuchi handed over. Needless to say, he was really hungry. Especially after smelling the ramen aroma, his index finger suddenly moved, and his stomach was roaring with excitement.
"It's good that you can come back alive!"
Teuchi sighed and sat on the chair in Aoba's room. He happened to sit opposite Aoba, and the smile on his face disappeared. He looked a lot more serious.
"Who knows how many people will die when the war breaks out fully!" Teuchi sighed.
"Casualties can not be avoided in a war." Aoba opened the ramen cover, picked up the chopsticks, and directly eat it up.
"I don't know when we will reach a peaceful period." Teuchi was still sighing with emotion, but when he said this, he secretly glanced at Aoba a few more times.
"The current war is actually laying the foundation for future peace. If you are willing to give up so many years, what you will get is a long-term future." Aoba quickly sent the noodles into his mouth, and the strong fragrance continued to overflow from his lips and teeth, making his taste buds feel a great sense of excitement.
"That's true!" Teuchi nodded. Although he was just a ramen seller, he could hear a lot of conversations between the people who came and went. The current war was unavoidable. After all, the strength of each country was not equal. This kind of friction would continue to occur. Rather than continuing the friction like this, it is better to have it released in one go.
"Brother Teuchi, how was Noodle House's business while I was away?" Aoba took the initiative to talk. He did not like to be asked frequently, so he took the initiative to ask. It was not that he wanted to know something, but it was purely that he could avoid being asked.
"Just so-so." Teuchi gave an evaluation that he was not very satisfied with.
"Right."
Teuchi seemed to have suddenly thought of something. He stared at Aoba who was eating ramen. He bowed slightly and moved closer to Aoba.
"After you left, two girls came to find you. They were the two people who were in the same group as you in the Chunin Exams." Teuchi said in a low voice.
"Saki and Rin?" Aoba continued to eat ramen.
"It's the two of them." Teuchi nodded and continued, "They seem to have something they want to talk to you about. From their expressions, it seems that they are quite impatient."
"I don't care."
Aoba waved his hand. If there was anyone who he did not want to see, it would be these two girls.
Apart from that.
It was the three major clans of Ino-Shika-Cho.
Nara clan.
Akimichi clan.
Yamanaka clan.
These three clans all belonged to Konohagakure's old clan!
But...
There was a lot of class in them.
Every person in the family, from the moment they were born, would undergo a simple division based on their bloodline and talent.
Aoba was the lowest level.
It was not that such a division system was bad, but that such a division system did not have a way for low-level people to turn over.
Until now.
Aoba did not have a good impression of these three clans including the current generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. From the outside, they seemed to be the future star of Konohagakure's old clan. However, only the people in the clan knew that when they were dealing with some things, the pride in their eyes had already given them a sense of superiority.
This was something that outsiders could not see.
This kind of feeling was like going to a restaurant to eat. Every waiter, including the supervisor, manager, and so on would smile at the customers, speaking in a warm and gentle voice, showing a very polite side, and making the customers have a good impression.
But on the other side.
What may appear was the mutual exclusion between the waiters, the unreasonable and indifferent reprimand of the supervisor, and the manager's suspicion and disapproval from the heart.
These were all problems that the Ino-Shika-Cho clan have.
Aoba saw these things clearly.
Because of this.
He had developed a strong sense of disgust toward these clans.
"They won't find me for anything good. I'm too lazy to have too much contact with them, so..."
Aoba paused and looked at Teuchi.
"Don't bother with them!"