Satoru Uchiha lay leisurely on the tree branch, seemingly relaxed, but his senses were sharp. He had already noticed a presence watching him even before he opened his eyes.
"Come out!" he commanded coldly.
A serpentine figure emerged from the shadows of the trees. Orochimaru, with his unsettling snake-like gaze, slithered into view, his piercing eyes locked onto Satoru.
"You seem to have noticed me quite some time ago," Orochimaru hissed, curiosity gleaming in his expression. "How did you manage that?"
Despite Satoru's slim chakra presence, Orochimaru couldn't understand how his hiding spot had been so easily detected. It intrigued him. Fascinated him.
"This slippery, slimy aura of yours is impossible to ignore," Satoru replied with a sneer.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "Not very polite, are we?"
"There's no need for politeness," Satoru shot back, his tone icy. "I know your kind—you're no different from me."
Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly at the response. Then his lips curled into a sinister smile.
"Indeed, how can a tiger in the mountains be caged by a mere village?" Orochimaru said, his voice dripping with venom. "Konoha is too small to contain someone like you."
Satoru furrowed his brows, unsure of what Orochimaru was implying. "What are you getting at?"
"Oh, don't be so impatient," Orochimaru drawled, his tongue flicking out like a snake's. "Satoru Uchiha, would you like to become my student?"
For a moment, Satoru was caught off guard by the unexpected proposal.
Orochimaru continued, his voice low and coaxing. "Living in Konoha, stuck within the confines of the Uchiha, must be unbearable for someone like you. Painful, isn't it? Difficult?"
Satoru blinked, puzzled. *What is he even talking about?* Had Orochimaru misunderstood him completely?
"You wear that eyepatch constantly, don't you?" Orochimaru gestured, his tone feigning sympathy. "Your eyes must hold a terrible secret. To be an Uchiha, yet unable to wield the power of your clan's Sharingan—it must feel like a curse. Isn't it frustrating?"
Satoru silently observed Orochimaru's attempt at manipulation. It was clear now what the snake sannin wanted: Satoru's identity as an Uchiha and his sharp, unconventional mind.
"In your clan, no one understands you. And in Konoha, your ideas are far too advanced for these narrow-minded fools," Orochimaru continued, his words dripping with persuasion. "But I understand you. I understand the power of your ideas. Thought is the true ruler of the world."
Orochimaru's voice grew more fervent as he leaned forward, his smile widening unnaturally. "Join me. I am studying the mysteries of life and the limits of the human body. I can give you everything you desire—knowledge, power, understanding. Together, we can uncover the truths of the world."
For a moment, Satoru froze, more from disbelief than anything else. Orochimaru's confidence radiated as he spoke, as though he had already seen through Satoru's every secret.
But Satoru couldn't help but find the entire situation absurd. He glanced at Orochimaru's pallid, serpentine face, then inwardly compared it to his own youthful, unblemished appearance. *Are we the same kind of people? Absolutely not.*
He stared at Orochimaru for another moment before speaking, his tone as cold as ever. "I'm not interested in anything you're offering."
Orochimaru blinked, caught off guard for a brief second.
"I don't hate or resent anyone," Satoru continued. "And I have no desire to become your student."
He subtly shifted his stance, readying himself for a potential battle. While he wasn't afraid of Orochimaru, he didn't want to reveal too much of his strength if a fight broke out.
Orochimaru's unsettling smile returned, this time tinged with amusement. "You say there's no hatred," he said, his voice silky and cryptic. "But beasts are always bloodthirsty, no matter how much they try to act like domestic pets."
Satoru sighed internally. *Why does he talk like this? Just get to the point.*
Orochimaru continued his rambling monologue, his words layered with riddles. But Satoru quickly grew tired of the theatrics. "This is nothing but your own delusion," he said coldly.
To Satoru's dismay, Orochimaru seemed to take his words as agreement rather than rejection. "You'll come to me eventually," Orochimaru said with a knowing smirk. "Green fruit always ripens. But don't let yourself rot into something useless."
With that, Orochimaru slithered back into the shadows, vanishing as swiftly as he had appeared.
Satoru stood still for a moment, his expression unreadable.
"Green fruit? Rotten apples? Has Orochimaru been possessed by Hisoka or something?" Satoru muttered to himself. "What is this, some bizarre crossover episode?"
Shaking his head, he dismissed Orochimaru's strange parting words. Though the encounter had been unexpected, it had only solidified his resolve.
Satoru Uchiha was his own person, and he had no intention of following anyone—not the Third Hokage, not the Uchiha clan, and certainly not someone as slippery as Orochimaru.
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Up to Chapter 40 available on Patreon.com/c/GGFanfiction :)
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