Shintaro took on the task.
The next day.
Coincidentally, it was Sunday, and he started his new role, preparing to go to the research institute with the letter of authorization.
But before going there, Shintaro needed to find one more person, Orochimaru's student, Anko.
Among the people he knew well, Anko was probably the one who knew Orochimaru the best.
Therefore, Shintaro needed to learn more about Orochimaru's details before officially assuming the role of assistant.
*Knock* *Knock*
Shintaro knocked on door.
A moment later, Anko opened the door, looking sleepy.
Shintaro was a bit surprised. After all, it was already late. Generally, few ninjas slept in.
He himself had long developed the habit of light sleeping during missions.
Anko stared blankly and suddenly woke up, "Shintaro?"
"What are you doing here? I'll tell you upfront, even though you're very handsome, I won't do anything to betray Kurenai."
Shintaro looked at her speechlessly and said, "If you're not clear-headed, don't talk."
Anko then waved her hand indifferently and said with a smile, "It was just a joke. Come in and sit for a bit."
Shintaro entered and got straight to the point: "Orochimaru, what kind of person is he?"
Anko gestured for him to sit on the sofa in the house.
Shintaro casually asked, "Are you the only one in your family? Where are your parents?"
Anko suddenly fell silent, surprising him, thinking he had said something wrong.
As a result, Anko suddenly burst out laughing after a while: "Hahahahaha, they went on a mission, and I'm the only one at home. I was just trying to scare you."
She then got serious and answered the initial question, "I think Sensei is very strong. He's calm, powerful, and brave. Although sometimes he can be a bit harsh and scary, overall, he's the best person apart from my parents."
Shintaro nodded and continued asking relevant questions.
Anko basically answered everything.
In her words, Orochimaru was the perfect ninja, fulfilling everyone's imagination of a ninja.
However, the more Shintaro listened, the more he felt that Orochimaru was dangerous.
Because there was no perfect person in this world, even someone like Minato had "weaknesses."
Yet Orochimaru seemed so perfect in Anko's mind. This didn't mean Orochimaru was truly perfect, but it likely meant Orochimaru had exceptional brainwashing abilities.
Anko might have been brainwashed by him.
What she saw might not be the truth, but what Orochimaru wanted her to see.
Of course, Shintaro did not argue.
Even though he trusted his intuition and judgment, Orochimaru was still a hero of Konoha.
Shintaro waited until Anko finished talking about all her experiences with Orochimaru and roughly sketched out the impression of Orochimaru in his mind.
Shintaro planned to personally verify if this impression matched Orochimaru himself. If there were indeed discrepancies, it would mean Orochimaru was very good at brainwashing.
However, he was confident that he would not be manipulated by the other party.
Whatever the outcome, he was sure he could escape unscathed.
This was why he finally decided to take on the assistant role.
After talking at length with Anko, Shintaro left and headed to Orochimaru's research institute.
❀❀❀
In a cave in the dense forest outside Konoha, Orochimaru's research institute was hidden.
This was one of Orochimaru's research institutes in Konoha. In fact, no one knew how many research institutes he had.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the cave. Orochimaru was conducting some kind of experiment, showing an amused smile and pausing what he was doing.
"Shintaro-kun is here."
He saw him walking in, wearing a Chunin vest and carrying a ninja bag on his waist.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and said, "There's no need to fight if you're going to be my assistant."
Shintaro smiled and said, "Better to be prepared."
Orochimaru stuck out his long, snake-like tongue, licking his lips, and said, "That makes sense."
"So, what's my task today?" Shintaro asked.
Orochimaru gestured for him to come closer and took out a transparent glass jar containing murky liquid and an unknown object inside.
"A snake?" Shintaro lifted his head and looked at it.
"Precisely, it's what's left after a snake's skin and internal organs are stripped."
Orochimaru accurately corrected his mistake and handed the glass jar to Shintaro.
"Shintaro-kun, why do you think snakes can crawl?" He asked.
It seemed he was testing Shintaro's foundation.
Shintaro answered, "Scales, muscles, and bones work together to complete a horizontal wave-like bending motion in a sinuous movement. The force of the bending parts acts on the ground, moving forward with the help of the reaction force."
When hunting in his previous life, one of his greatest pleasures was observing the movement of animals, which allowed him to deepen his understanding of prey and catch more.
"I didn't expect Shintaro-kun to master knowledge not found in ninja school textbooks. You are indeed a genius ninja from Konoha." Orochimaru praised generously.
"Many ignorant people often mistakenly think that snake bones are soft, allowing them to bend and move forward. In fact, it's the opposite. Snakes have very hard bones and a complete skeletal structure. Based on this structure, snakes can do the things you mentioned above."
"If snakes can do it, why can't humans?"
Shintaro understood Orochimaru's thoughts and said, "So, you want to transform humans into a snake-like structure?"
"Yes, I designed a ninjutsu based on the structure of snakes, allowing people to get rid of the structural limitations of the human body and become as flexible and strong as snakes."
"Shintaro-kun, please follow me."
Orochimaru said and walked deeper in.
Shintaro returned the glass jar to its original place and then followed Orochimaru's steps.
When he opened the isolation door, he was greeted with a strong smell of formalin.
There were corpses lying in the laboratory.
And there were several corpses soaked in formalin on both sides of the wall, which had been dissected by Orochimaru.
"Don't be nervous. The bodies here were all brought from Konoha Hospital with permission."
Orochimaru explained calmly.
Shintaro also nodded calmly.
Orochimaru was a bit surprised by his calmness and said, "Shintaro-kun, you indeed fit to be my assistant."
Shintaro did not respond but asked, "So today's task is to help you dissect, right?"
"That's right." Orochimaru smiled.
"Okay." Shintaro didn't mind.
Although this work might affect his appetite, he was not inexperienced. The people who died under the influence of the Limitless Technique in the past died in more miserable ways than the current experimental subjects.