"What do you mean?"
Aoba was stunned for a moment. He did not understand what Orochimaru meant. However, he vaguely felt that it was not a good thing. He began to be vigilant, but there was still no expression on his face.
At this time.
Aoba was still thinking silently in his mind.
What exactly was the reason?
The person who makes Orochimaru so determined to find was himself.
What kind of mistake did he make?
There was always a question mark in Aoba's head. He had only interacted with Orochimaru once. Moreover, at that time, he did not reveal his identity. There was no reason for him to be easily discovered by Orochimaru.
"What I mean is..." Orochimaru smiled playfully. It seemed that everything here was under his control. He said, "Do you think I can join your Anbu division?"
"No."
Aoba directly shook his head and refused without hesitation. Judging from this reaction speed, it seems that he did not even think about it.
"Oh?"
Orochimaru stared at Aoba with deep meaning and continued to ask, "Why?"
"Orochimaru-sama, don't make fun of me. Who doesn't know that you are one of the Konoha Sannin? You are the student of Sandaime-sama. Why are you running to Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force for no reason?" Aoba spread out his hands and put on a helpless expression, showing this kind of action to Orochimaru.
"Now, Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force is in need of people. I think highly of you, so I want to help." Orochimaru replied in all seriousness.
"Alright then!" Aoba suddenly changed his words and agreed.
"Huh?" This time, it was Orochimaru's turn to be surprised. He never thought that Aoba, who seemed to be very resistant just now, would agree to this matter now. This made him feel very strange so he asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Orochimaru-sama, you can come to Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force." Aoba nodded and said.
"Why?" Orochimaru's curiosity was aroused. He stared at Aoba and said, "You clearly didn't want me to come just now."
"The reason is like this. I just thought about it. With your status, if you come to Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force, then the boss position will be yours. I won't have to take over this mess. This is also good!" Aoba said directly.
"???"
Orochimaru stared at Aoba with his pale yellow eyes, as if he wanted to see the change in Aoba's expression through his expression.
What did this mean?!
Was he playing hard to get?
Or was this really what he was thinking?
Orochimaru suddenly felt that this seemingly ordinary-looking young man named Yamanaka Aoba did not play according to the rules. What he did was always beyond his expectations.
"Interesting!"
Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth. His eyes that were staring at Aoba became scorching. He faintly felt that there seemed to be some secret hidden within this youth's body.
The last time he felt this excited...
It was still the moment when he saw Fugaku open his three tomoe Sharingan.
Those eyes were so beautiful and charming.
However...
Now this youth.
It seemed that he could be a good candidate to be a vessel.
"Aoba, I heard that you went to take Chunin Exams and even got to the third round. Why didn't you continue?" Orochimaru immediately brought up the Chunin Exams matter. At that time, he was the chief examiner of the third round of Chunin Exams. At that time, he did not think of Aoba. He did not have any other special concerns for Aoba. Only recently did he know that Aoba had withdrawn from Chunin Exams halfway.
"Don't mention it." Aoba shook his head. Now that he looked back at that memory, he still felt that it was pretty dull. It was the first time in his life that he wanted to make friends since he came to the ninja world. Unfortunately, he directly found the wrong person, making him not want to open his heart casually.
Now that he thought about it again.
Aoba felt that the ancient saying was very reasonable.
A stranger in a strange land!
For the ninja world...
He was a stranger who had crossed over!
Whether it was his way of thinking or his attitude in life, he was different from most of the ninjas here. He did not have the spirit to sacrifice, nor did he have the creed to completely obey orders. It was nothing more than following the heart and being at ease with the situation.
This was also the most important reason why it was difficult for Aoba to have any friends here.
In a more popular way of saying it.
That was...
Their three views were incompatible!
"Is it because of me?"
However, Orochimaru's questioning voice sounded again, clearly transmitted into Aoba's ears and directly stunning him.
What does it have to do with you?
Aoba complained in his mind. When he looked at Orochimaru, his dark pupils contracted slightly, and the confusion in his eyes flashed away.
Orochimaru immediately caught the change in his expression that was inadvertently revealed at this moment.
"Isn't it?"
Orochimaru frowned slightly. Just now, he thought that Aoba had taken the initiative to avoid him after knowing that he was the chief examiner of Chunin Exams' third round.
However, when he saw Aoba's instinctive reaction, he understood that it did not seem to be the case. He realized that he was thinking too much.
"No."
Aoba shook his head and did not want to say anything more about Chunin Exams. Then, he raised his eyes and looked at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama."
"If there's nothing else,"
"I'll be leaving first."
After that.
Aoba was about to leave.
He had just fooled Black Zetsu and already felt a little tired. Now, facing Orochimaru, he was not in the mood to talk about anything.
"Wait."
Orochimaru suddenly called out to Aoba, and his speed began to speed up. He said, "How did you come back alive from the frontline?"
"I was lucky," Aoba said indifferently. At this time, he had already turned around, leaving Orochimaru with his back as he walked away.
"Do you want to be in charge of your own destiny?" Orochimaru suddenly asked for no reason.
"Not interested." Aoba's tone was still indifferent, but he silently added in his heart, 'My own destiny had always been dominated by myself. It had nothing to do with other people. Even now, I dominated the destiny of many people.'
"I think you will be interested!" A confident smile appeared on Orochimaru's face. As Aoba left, his volume increased a lot. He shouted, "If you need power, you can come to me. I can give you power."
"Thank you." Aoba's voice was the opposite of Orochimaru's. Not only did it not increase, it became even lower. Finally, he whispered, "No need."
Orochimaru did not say anything more. Instead, he silently watched Aoba leave. The corners of his mouth slowly curled up, and the corners of his lips rose higher and higher.
There was no need to say anything now.
He believed.
Aoba would come to him!
No one in the ninja world would refuse the temptation of power!
Anyone wanted to become a more powerful existence, including himself!
Aoba was a person who had experienced war!
The more he experienced the baptism of the war and witnessed the death of his companions, the more he realized his own insignificance and the importance of strength.
...
After leaving Orochimaru, Aoba walked straight toward Ramen Ichiraku. His mind still echoed what Orochimaru had said earlier.
What was going on?
Did Orochimaru know?
Or was he not?
What did he mean by that last sentence?
Did he want to plant a hickey on him?
Aoba thought as he walked. He knew that he would not be able to think of any results if he thought like this, but he could sort out his thoughts.
Orochimaru might have guessed something.
However, he had not completely guessed it.
Otherwise, he would not be so polite to come here and waste his breath!
Not long after.
Aoba came to Ramen Ichiraku's door.
"Brother Teuchi, a bowl of ramen."
Aoba lifted the curtain and sat in. The temperature outside was slightly cold but Noodle House was steaming hot so it dispersed the cold around him.
Aoba was not afraid of the cold.
But the temperature here gave him a very warm feeling.
It was this feeling.
It made him feel that the ninja world was not completely cold.
"Okay!"
When Teuchi saw that the person who had arrived was Aoba, he immediately responded. A smile appeared on his face, and his eyes directly narrowed.
...
Konohagakure, Hokage's office.
Hiruzen was looking at the scroll in his hand. Sitting opposite him was an old man with a bandage on his body. It was Shimura Danzo, while Nara Shikaku stood beside him.
In the huge office, there were only three of them.
"Sigh..."
Hiruzen sighed, closed the scroll in his hand, and placed it on the table. He looked straight ahead at the indifferent Danzo.
"The situation at the front is not very optimistic!"
Hiruzen was very helpless in his heart. Even though he had sent out a powerful battle force like Konoha White Fang, he still could not completely turn the situation around. After all, the overall combat strength of Konohagakure's ninjas was lower than that of Iwagakure's well-trained ninjas.
"Can't win?" Danzo seemed to have expected such a result. He had been paralyzed for only a few days, and the matter of the village had been messed up.
"The Chunin and Jonin in the village are almost all on the battlefield. The first group went to the Country of Earth, and the later group went to guard the Country of Wind. At the moment, the village is very empty, and it is difficult to deal with a sneak attack. However, in such a situation, the ninjas in the frontline can't resist and need more people!" Hiruzen's face was full of helplessness, and he looked a lot older. He said bitterly, "I also want to add more people, but I can't create people!"
"Since the frontline can't hold on, let's shrink the frontline back," Danzo suggested.
"It is very strange..." Hiruzen raised his right hand and pinched his chin. He said, "Whether it is Iwagakure ninjas or Sunagakure ninjas, they never push forward. They only care about the victory of the battle. It seems that they did not go all out, as if they were worried about something. But I don't know what they are thinking. Even if we slightly moved backward, they did not move forward easily. This feeling is like... They are the defending side!"
"Huh?" Danzo's eyes became sharp and he said in a low voice, "This situation is very abnormal. We need to face it carefully and send people to gather information. We need to figure out what is going on before we can proceed."
"We have sent people to search for information, but there is no result." Hiruzen shook his head.
At this time.
A thoughtful look appeared in Shikaku's eyes.
He had not spoken for a long time.
It was not that Hiruzen and Danzo were relatively important people and he could not interrupt when the two of them were talking. He was Hokage's office advisor. He could tell them if there were any problems.
Only...
After experiencing the previous series of events.
He had become a lot more mature and steady.
He had already learned to silently review his point of view a few times in his mind to make sure there were no problems before speaking out.
It would not be like before.
He thought that he was very smart, so he casually asked questions and firmly believed that he was right.
People were all growing up!
The reason why he kept making mistakes was so that he would not easily make mistakes in the future!
In the end, Shikaku was only a sixteen-year-old youth. His previous life had been rather smooth, and he had not really suffered any losses. He had not realized some of the problems that had appeared on his body.
"I have a guess..."
Shikaku took advantage of the time when Hiruzen and Danzo were silent and slowly spoke. He immediately attracted the attention of the two people.
The current him was no longer as sharp as before. Instead, he had become mature and reserved. He already had the feeling of a politician.
"Hurry up and say it," Hiruzen said anxiously.
"Iwagakure and Sunagakure attacked our Konohagakure at the same time. It is obvious that they have already discussed this matter. If I am not wrong, their two villages should have formed an alliance." Shikaku said in a deep voice.
"I think so too." Danzo nodded in agreement with Shikaku's point of view.
"According to common sense, their alliance should be more radical and take the opportunity to catch us off guard. They should not give us a chance to catch our breath, but they are very cautious. This makes me feel..." Shikaku paused for a moment and looked at Hiruzen. Then he looked at Danzo and finally said, "They have something to worry about!"
"That makes sense." Hiruzen followed Shikaku's thoughts and kept nodding.
"What are the worries?" Danzo also felt that Shikaku's words were very reasonable. After that, he analyzed, "Kumogakure is fighting with Kirigakure. Both sides are busy with their own affairs and can't spare any strength to sneak attack Iwagakure. Moreover, even if Iwagakure has worries, what about Sunagakure? Is it Amegakure?"
"Is there such a possibility?"
Shikaku narrowed his eyes. His heart was beating faster. Now that he thought of a possibility, he was no longer so sure about it. Instead, he began to listen to other people's opinions and discuss them.
Although both Hiruzen and Danzo had lower IQs than Shikaku, these two people had more experience in life. These were the parts that Shikaku lacked.
"Iwagakure is worried about Sunagakure!"
"Sunagakure is worried about Iwagakure!"
"There seems to be a close relationship between the two allied ninja villages!"
"But they are really not completely allied!"
"Since they are working together because of benefits..."
"Then it is possible to stand on the opposite side because of benefits!"
"I think..."
"They may have a disagreement on the distribution of benefits."
Shikaku spoke slowly and clearly, clearly stating the possibility that he thought of.