"Well, Naruto, we're here. Are you ready?"
Naruto's wide blue eyes surveyed the scene before him with wonder and excitement. This was the best thing ever, dattebayo! He and Jiji had just enjoyed breakfast together before making their way to the grounds of the academy. They arrived to find children and parents from all over Konoha arrayed around the yard. Nearest the pair stood a cluster of people whose eyes were hidden behind a collection of dark sunglasses. Jiji identified them as the Aburame, a clan whose ninja techniques worked in tandem with beetle companions. A little beyond that was a family with wild, unkempt hair laughing loudly in a circle and accompanied by a pack of dogs. The blond thought he recognized his friend from the registration line standing in the middle of the circle, a tiny white puppy clutched tightly to his chest, and the old man confirmed that they were the Inuzuka. Beyond the representatives from the clans, smaller families were scattered throughout the crowd, parents and siblings arrayed around the new student and glowing with pride. No matter whether they were of notable background or not, all present buzzed with an excited energy that spoke to the day's significance. Today these children would start to travel down the path of the ninja! Naruto puffed with pride at the thought.
The boy broke from his giddy musings as he felt a gentle touch on his arm and turned to find Jiji grinning at him. "It's quite exciting, isn't it?" The old man's knowing smile was met with an enthusiastic nod. "Naruto, I'm going to go say a few words to the crowd to start the term. Would you like to come with me, or do you want to stay here?"
"I want to go with you, Jiji," came the blond's enthusiastic reply. "Can I talk, too?"
"Unfortunately, no." The Hokage chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm. "You'll have to save your motivational speeches for later, Gekage-kun. I would be glad to have you walk me to the front of the building, though."
Naruto pouted at being denied, but quickly brightened at the prospect of being closer to the front of the crowd. Thus, he accepted the offered hand, and the pair slowly made their way to the front of the building, stopping along the way so that the Sandaime could greet those who called out to him. While the Hokage spoke with a scarred man whose coarse black hair was tied up in a bushy ponytail, Naruto was introduced to the skinny boy with him: Nara Shikamaru. The blond also met several of Jiji's clansmen and was reintroduced to Uchiha Fugaku, who still looked very grumpy, despite accompanying a smiling, dark-haired boy who Naruto learned was named Sasuke.
After his brief conversations, Sarutobi politely declined all further calls for his time, and the pair made their way to a spot just outside the doors of the academy. There the Hokage dropped Naruto's hand with a comforting smile and ran through a quick series of hand signs. Naruto watched in awe as a small mound grew out of the dirt to lift the old man above the heads of the crowd. When he could see everyone, and the quiet murmur had faded to a respectful silence, the Professor began to address his audience. "Welcome, one and all to this exciting morning. It is my pleasure and my privilege to see so many bright, young faces here today. These children are the future of the village." The old man paused for a moment to let the appreciative applause fade away before he resumed. "It takes a special kind of person to choose the life of a ninja. Shinobi are those who endure, who experience great trial and hardship. They face adversity and choose to stand firm instead of crumbling under the onslaught. The reason they choose to do so is simple: they cannot bear to consider the alternative. The Will of Fire that burns in the heart of all Konoha shinobi reminds us that this village is our home, and it is the home of those we hold dear. To give up in the face of adversity means to abandon those we love. To you who are here today to start your career, I want to thank you for the gift you have given to all of us. One day, you may be called upon to defend our home, and I know that the skills you learn here at the academy will allow you to do that. Study hard and know that we are immensely proud of you. Everyone! Congratulations are in order. From this day forward, I hope you all will work hard to aspire to the shinobi way." The old man bowed to thunderous applause, and the earthen mound he had created sunk back to ground level. Walking over to a quiet Naruto, the old man smiled. "Well, my boy, what did you think?"
"It was good, Jiji," the blond responded absently, deep in thought.
The Sandaime nudged the whiskered six-year-old, who started and looked guiltily up at the old man. "What's on your mind, Naruto?" The Hokage's gentle question drew an embarrassed grin from the whiskered child.
"I was just thinking about what you said, Jiji." Naruto's right hand absently rubbed the back of his head as he carefully explained his thinking, trying to bring form to a vague idea. "I know the Hokage's the best ninja, so he's gotta do those things you talked about better than all the other ninja, 'ttebayo. That's why my da- the Yondaime died to save the village." Naruto looked around furtively to make sure that his accidental slip hadn't been heard by any of the crowd around them. When no one reacted, clearly too interested in their own conversations to pay attention to the small blond, the boy relaxed and turned his sky-blue eyes up to the Hokage's suddenly tired face. "He decided that it was more important to him to protect the people here than anything else. I was trying to think what I can do like that. Remember how you told me it's really hard to actually start to do something later?" The old man nodded, so the blond continued. "I can't say I'll protect people when I'm a ninja if I don't do it now, too. But I don't know how I can protect people right now, dattebayo."
The frustration in the boy's voice caused the old man to stop and consider before he answered. "I think," came the slow reply, "that you've started doing that already, Naruto." At the blond's curious look, the Sandaime squatted down in the dirt and reached a wrinkled hand to brush across Naruto's whiskered cheeks. "Do you remember when you came into my office and were so excited to have saved your princess? Your eye was nearly swollen shut, and you had some very dark bruises." The blond nodded hesitantly, not sure where the old man was going with his story. "That day, I was so proud of you, because you did exactly what I talked about today. You protected someone else, putting yourself in harm's way so that they didn't get hurt. I know you didn't win the fight," the old man cut across the objection he could see written on Naruto's face. "But you fought for someone else. That shows me that you will one day be a wonderful ninja of Konoha. You won't always be storming castles or rescuing princesses, my boy. Some days, you might be performing package retrieval or message delivery. Eventually, you might even be teaching your own team of Genin. The important thing is to do everything with the intention of taking care of the people you care about. For now, you need to go and learn the skills you'll use when you do those things later. Be nice to the people in your class and make new friends. Stand up and say something when you see others being mistreated. After all, they're going to be part of your family one day." With a smile at Naruto's nod, Sarutobi stood and gave the blond a small push in the back as he pointed across the yard. "Now it's time for class, Gekage-kun. I believe that gentleman will be your instructor this year."
Blue eyes followed the Hokage's pointing finger to where a big, portly man with a small, brown goatee was standing with a sign that read "Funeno Daikoku" in neatly written kana. Looking around, the blond realized that a group of teachers had come out of the building and were holding signs labelled with their names. Several students started to drift away from their families, which quickly became a flood of six-year-olds, as the rest of the crowd caught on and went to find their instructors. Naruto and Hiruzen shared a quick hug before the whiskered boy joined the throng and pushed his way through to the crowd forming around the man Jiji had said was his sensei.
Once he had joined the group clustered around the dark-haired instructor, Naruto looked around, taking note of the faces of his classmates. There were some he recognized from his classes at the civilian academy, such as Sakura-chan, Hibachi, and Ami. Others were completely new to the blond. Looking around, Naruto focused on the grinning face of his friend from the registration line and the boy Jiji had introduced him to several minutes previously. Shikamaru, that was his name, 'ttebayo. Naruto's grin threatened to split his face in half when he realized that the two boys were calling him over to join them and another boy with spirals tattooed on his cheeks.
Running over, the blond was greeted by Shikamaru, who smiled easily in greeting. "Your name was Naruto, right? Who would have guessed that we'd be in class together? With so many people starting today, I figured I'd never see you again." The black-haired boy then proceeded to introduce the other two boys in their circle. "This is my best friend, Akimichi Chōji. That's Inuzuka Kiba and his ninja dog."
"His name's Akamaru!" Kiba interjected when Shikamaru neglected to provide the puppy's name. Settling the small Great Pyrenees on the ground, the boy smiled, unconsciously baring over-large canines at the blond. "See? I told you I'd get a puppy. I'm an official member of the Inuzuka clan now." The boy threw out his skinny chest in pride as he spoke, clearly hoping that the others would recognize and comment on what an accomplishment this was.
"What a drag," Shikamaru replied. "Chōji and I are clan kids, too, you know. We've both got our own clan training, as well." Then, turning to Naruto, the young Nara explained. "I don't know if Hokage-sama told you or not, but most clans have special training for their kids. My clan, the Nara, uses shadows for our jutsu. I had to show that I can change the shape of my shadow."
"That's right," Chōji took the opportunity to insert himself into the conversation. Though he was bigger than most children in their class huddle, the young Akimichi hesitated when he spoke, conscious that his size was due to his girth, far more than his height. "My clan uses jutsu that let us grow bigger. My dad showed me the first exercise last week."
"What, really?!" Naruto zeroed in on Chōji's comment. "Can you show us?" Puppies were well and good, and Shikamaru's shadow stuff sounded kind of cool, but being able to get taller whenever you wanted? That was a jutsu worth seeing.
Smiling self-consciously, Chōji stepped away from the other boys and closed his eyes, folding thick hands into a modified hand seal. After a moment, the auburn-haired boy began to grow until he was head and shoulders above where he had been a moment before. He stayed like that for several seconds before letting out a grunt, rapidly shrinking to his normal size. "It's really hard to stay big like that," the boy offered the small circle, breathing deeply and wiping some perspiration from his brow.
Naruto's enthusiastic reply was cut short by a boisterous shout from the man at the center of the crowd. "Alright, kids. I'm Daikoku-sensei. If you're in my class, follow me. If not, go see one of the ladies standing over there," here the big man pointed to a pair of kunoichi waiting to the side of the academy doorway who waved politely. "They'll help you figure out which class you're supposed to be in." Waving his class into the building, Daikoku-sensei led the way to a classroom on the second floor, which he opened for the excited six-year-olds. "This is where we're going to be, kids. Come in and sit down. We'll do introductions in a second."
Naruto managed to sit himself close to his new friends but ended up being the odd man out for the three-person benches and was forced to sit a row lower. Turning to introduce himself to the person seated next to him, the whiskered boy's face scrunched up in confusion. His seat-mate was a small girl whose dark hair stood in stark contrast to pale skin. Something about her tickled at the blond's memory. "Hey, do I know you from somewhere?" The question was much louder than the whisper that had been intended, but it served the intended effect of causing Naruto's bench mate to look up at him. Blue eyes met lavender, and the blond's brain went into overdrive. "It's you! You're the princess, 'ttebayo!" Fortunately for Naruto, the rest of the class was still finding their seats and Daikoku-sensei hadn't yet made his way to the chalkboard. Nevertheless, the blond's exclamation earned him several strange looks from his classmates, namely his new friends seated a row behind him. Kiba seemed amused, while Chōji was more curious. Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow before resting his chin on his hand and settling in to observe the interaction. Naruto was too excited to notice any of these reactions, however, as he immediately pressed close to the girl, eagerness compelling him to make up for having forgotten to become friends with her earlier. "You're okay, right? I should have made sure you were okay before I left that day. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! What's your name? Do you want to be friends? Oh, why are your eyes like that? Can you see me? Can –?"
Naruto's barrage of questions was interrupted by the door closing with a snap. Looking up, the blond saw that the rest of his classmates had finished filing into the room. Daikoku-sensei stood at the board, a big smile on his face. Hurriedly, the whiskered boy returned to the part of the bench behind his school supplies, attention now fixed on the instructor. Thus, it was that he missed his bench-mate take several deep breaths to compose herself, a definite flush working its way off her face. No one at home got quite that close to her since the passing of her late mother. Her rescuer's sudden closeness had been… surprising.
"Welcome to the ninja academy," the chubby sensei began. "As Hokage-sama said just a bit ago, you're here to learn the skills you'll need as a shinobi of Konoha. In this classroom, we'll practice theory and other basic ninja skills. We also have training grounds here at the academy, where you'll learn ninja martial arts, called taijutsu, weapon techniques, called bukijutsu, and chakra techniques, called ninjutsu." Pausing, the veteran instructor smiled at the rustle of excitement that ran through his class. "Many of the things we learn will be best reinforced by working with your classmates outside of regular school hours. As such, I'd like to start the term off by performing introductions. We'll take turns, so that each person can say their name and something important about yourself that you want other people to know. Everyone, please take a moment to think of that special thing to share with the class." The room broke out in muted whispers as the children compared ideas with their neighbors about what to tell the group. After a minute, Daikoku-sensei brought the class back to order. Looking down at his roll sheet, the thickset man read the first name. "Akimichi Chōji. You're up. Please come to the front of the room and introduce yourself."
Rising, the Akimichi heir slowly made his way to the front of the classroom, where he looked hesitantly around at his classmates. Taking note of the smiling faces of his new friends, the boy began. "Nice to meet you. I'm Akimichi Chōji." Chōji's voice was quiet, but it rose in volume as he spoke. "Um, I'm part of the Akimichi clan, but the thing you need to know about me is that… I won't forgive you if you eat the last bit of my snack!"
The last comment was made with such unexpected intensity that the class paused before bursting out in excited giggling, as Chōji hurriedly made his way back to his seat next to Shikamaru. After a moment, Daikoku-sensei looked down at his list and called "Aburame Shino-kun" down to share. Shino turned out to be far more mild-mannered (though no less strange) than Chōji, simply sharing that he had an aversion to insecticides and disliked being left out of social activities. Ikeda Kei spoke about being the oldest of three brothers and his desire to help support his family when he became a proper ninja, and Kiba boasted loudly that he and Akamaru would be the best partners the Inuzuka clan had ever seen.
Then it was Naruto's turn. The grinning blond scrambled excitedly down the stairs to the front of the classroom, where he turned to face the class. Once in front of them, the whiskered boy's nerves caught up with him and he had to take a moment to calm himself before he looked around and saw the smiling faces of his new friends. Reaffixing his goofy smile to his face, the Hokage's ward began his short introduction. "Hiya, my name's Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo. I'm gonna be the Hokage one day: the best Hokage ever!"
The room paused, much the way that it had with Chōji's comment, though the explosion that followed wasn't one of muted laughter, but of outrage. "There's no way you'll be the Hokage! The Hokage's got to be someone strong, not a shrimp like you!" The voice of Hibachi, Naruto's chief tormentor from the civilian academy, grew above the general din as the beefy boy stood up and pointed an accusing finger at the blond standing in front of the class.
"Jiji says I can, Hibachi! And he knows, too. He's the Hokage, after all." Naruto stick out his tongue at his antagonist. "But you can just leave the village when they make me Hokage, if you don't like it."
"Alright, that's enough." Daikoku cut off the impending argument between his students and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Uzumaki, why don't you return to your seat? The rest of your classmates would also like to introduce themselves."
Naruto made his way back to his seat, grumbling the entire way. When he had seated himself with a huff, the blond watched as Uchiha Sasuke introduced himself. Blinking slightly at the other boy's declaration that he would take over as the chief of the Konoha Military Police Force one day, Naruto had to admit that his dark-haired classmate seemed determined to get the job. He also hadn't joined in ridiculing the Uzumaki orphan's decision to become Hokage, either. Maybe, when Naruto was Hokage, he'd let Sasuke be the police chief.
The rest of the introductions proceeded much the same way, with most students providing some of their family background, as well as sharing their goals for the future. Naruto learned that Shikamaru hated his mother telling him what to do, that Sakura-chan's pretty hair was like her dad's, and that his bench-mate was named Hyūga Hinata. The small girl haltingly explained that her pale eyes were a family trait, called the Byakugan, and that she could, in fact, see very well. Naruto smiled broadly when he concluded that the dark-haired girl was using her time at the front of the class to answer his questions, not knowing that it was something of a tradition for Hyūga children to need to assure their classmates that they weren't ill or blind when they started at the academy.
To return the friendly gesture, Naruto dug into his bag and produced a pencil and clean notebook that Jiji had bought him for school. When Hinata returned to her seat, the blond wrote a quick message and showed it to her. Thanks for answering my questions. It was nice. The young girl blushed and nodded happily before turning her attention back to the front of the room.
Naruto turned back to the front as well but found that his attention wandered when he didn't particularly know or like anyone who was speaking. Creating a little game for himself, the blond took to writing a kanji to represent the thing each classmate had shared about themselves. Hibachi earned the title of 'shellfish' for his allergy, while Yamanaka Ino became 'flower' when she shared that her family owned and operated a flower shop. Looking back over the sheet, the whiskered boy began to add extra kanji for the people who had already spoken, taking special care as he traced out 'fire' for himself. By the time the class was dismissed to eat their lunch, the first page of Naruto's notebook was filled with notes about the class.
On their way out the door, Kiba paused so that his new friend could join him. "Naruto, what were you doing while everybody was talking?" Naruto handed the taller boy his notebook, which the brown-haired Inuzuka looked over with a raised eyebrow. "Man, I didn't figure you'd be a goody-two-shoes. He was taking notes during class," the scruffy, brown-haired boy responded to Shikamaru's raised eyebrow, tossing the notebook at the other boy, which the Nara failed to make any effort to catch.
While Naruto sputtered indignantly, Shikamaru picked the book off the ground and resumed walking outside, idly perusing the page. "Kiba, he's only a goody-two-shoes if he took notes so that sensei would notice and be happy with him. Maybe it was just a way to pay attention. I know I saw you yawning before we even got halfway through introductions." Tired eyes scanned the page and came to rest on Naruto's personal identifier. Tracing it with a finger, the black-haired boy looked up at his whiskered classmate. "Hey, Naruto, why do you want to be Hokage? My dad says that it's a hard job. If anything goes wrong, everyone's mad at you, and you always have to be working."
Naruto froze at the question, falling a step behind the group. Shikamaru's question sounded uncomfortably like one that Hibachi had asked last year. The whiskered boy had, after much prodding, confided in Hibachi and some other boys that he wanted to be Hokage because then he would have a family, and they had teased him mercilessly for weeks before Kaka-nii had 'taken care of it'. Whatever had happened, the bullies didn't even seem to remember Naruto's admission, and the blond was grateful for his big brother's help. Deciding to avoid a repeat of that event (even if Shikamaru was nicer about it than Hibachi had ever been), Naruto mentally cast around for another explanation.
Seeing the panicked look on the blond's face, the black-haired Nara decided to steer the conversation another direction. "Eh, never mind. I'm just saying that it seems like it'd be a lot more trouble than it's worth." Handing the notebook back to a relieved looking Naruto, Shikamaru decided to ask another question that the quick perusal of the blond's notebook had raised. As the group of four stepped outside and settled underneath the shade of one of the trees on the school grounds, the young Nara commented, "Your handwriting is as neat as my tutor's, Naruto. How'd you get it to look like that?"
The blond puffed up with pride at the comment. "You think so, Shikamaru? I practice every day. I'm gonna learn fūinjutsu just like the Yondaime, so Jiji says I need to have good handwriting." Reaching into his bag, Naruto grabbed the bento that Hiseko-san had bought for him and his clan fūinjutsu practice scroll. Unrolling the second item, the Uzumaki boy showed his new friends some of his work. "There used to be an Uzumaki clan that helped make Konoha. Jiji told me that the Uzumaki were good at fūinjutsu, so I'm learning how to do it, too. It's like how you all get to learn stuff for your clan. I'm trying to make a storage scroll so I can carry a lot of stuff in a piece of paper."
The other boys made appreciative comments and began to talk about their own experiences with their families' traditions. Munching on sliced cucumber sandwiches and salmon-stuffed onigiri, Naruto mentally evaluated his morning. Daikoku-sensei didn't seem that much nicer than Akari-sensei or Fujio-sensei had been, but the blond had yet to be thrown out of the classroom, which was a definite improvement. Hibachi and Ami were still in his class, but there were some cool people as well. The school building wasn't that different, but the things they would be learning seemed much more interesting than what had been covered in civilian school. Overall, Naruto decided that his initial assessment had been correct: the ninja academy was awesome!
"Orochimaru-sama, Gaichūmaru has returned."
Slit yellow eyes looked up from a collection of scattered pages to regard the ninja who had come bearing news. Straightening, the pale man known as Orochimaru smirked at the messenger. "Oh, he has, has he? Send him to my study. I'll hear his report when I've finished up here." The man at the door bowed and left as the figure whose serpentine features and familiars had earned him the title of the Sannin no Hebi returned his attention to the figure strapped to the table in front of him. The pale man licked his lips in anticipation. "Now, where were we?" Moments later, the prisoner's whimpering turned to screams, and his tormentor began a deep, hissing chuckle. The two sounds echoed ominously down the halls of the underground lab, playing off each other and sending shivers up the spine of anyone in earshot.
Several hours later, the snake summoner walked into his study to find a flustered-looking rat of a man seated in front of the large stone desk. Smiling to himself as his subordinate's fidgeting increased, Orochimaru stopped to savor the terror that his mere presence evoked in his minions. Danzō might eradicate emotions to instill obedience, but the Sannin preferred to utilize fear. Idly reflecting that such a mindset might have been why Sarutobi-sensei had refused to nominate his prized student to be the Yondaime Hokage, the pale man mentally shrugged. Losing the hat to that upstart, Namikaze, had been more of an inconvenience than anything; the resources he would have had access to as the Hokage would have been useful, though the hat itself was worthless.
Eventually, the small man's fidgeting rose to a fever pitch and drew Orochimaru's attention back to the present moment. "So, Gaichūmaru, what news do you bring me from our contact in Konoha?"
The ratty man blanched but succeeded in limiting his nervous twitching to the leather holster strapped to his leg, where he began anxiously opening and closing the clasp as he responded. "Orochimaru-sama, Yami-sama sent me back with this." Jittery hands offered a sealed envelope to Orochimaru as the Sannin glided across the room and seated himself behind the desk. The snake summoner took the file and gestured that his subordinate should continue speaking while he perused the documents in the folder. "At first, he said that we should take our 'recruits' from one of the older classes who are about ready to graduate, but I told him you would want some of the first-years."
Gaichūmaru suddenly found himself unable to speak further, pinned in place by the sheer force of his master's presence. When Orochimaru spoke, his voice was soft and dangerous. "I find myself curious, Gaichūmaru: why did you presume to tell your contact that I would want to move forward with the youngest class of students? I know I've never given you leave to make decisions on my behalf before. And you should be able to understand that younger children will have less experience using their family's techniques and will, therefore, be less suited to my needs. So please tell me, Gaichūmaru, why shouldn't I send a new messenger to the next rendezvous with our partner to explain that your arrogance in deciding things above your station has made you permanently unavailable?"
The small man began to sweat heavily, realizing that his life depended on what he said next. "It's true, I know, that your lordship wants to experiment with children who know more techniques, but here's the thing: your lordship has told me that there's also a lot to do with the purity of the bloodline for your work, and for that you want these youngsters. The oldest group has four classes, but each one only has, at most, four clan kids, and most of those only have one parent who's from the clan. The youngest group, on the other hand, that's a proper gold mine. There's a class where, all told, there's five clan heirs and two second sons, all from the head families. If you want to explore the secrets of Konoha's clans, it's the best group. 'Sides, if they're little, they won't be able to fight back as much."
When he had finished, Gaichūmaru felt silent, anxiously awaiting his master's judgement. Orochimaru pondered for a long second, pale face impassive as yellow, slit eyes inspected the dirty man across from him. Then, just as his subordinate once again began to fiddle nervously with the weapons pouch on his leg, the snake summoner spoke. "How did you come across this information, Gaichūmaru? None of the correspondence you have brought from Konoha have said anything about such a group."
A look of relief crossed the ratty man's face, even as he rushed to answer the question. "Beggin' your pardon, but I don't like that tree hugger, Orochimaru-sama. His help feels like it's been mainly sideways, instead of forward. I think he intends to take us for fools. I decided to stop for a drink near the school on my way into town, and I heard some of the Genin who work in the Hokage tower talking about it. Turns out, there's an Uzumaki brat who's also part of the class. Something must be wrong with that one, though, because they were saying that it shouldn't be put in a class with so many important kids. I dropped a line at a different place about how my 'dear, sweet, little Kaeda-kun' was going to be starting at the academy next year. One of those Akimichi blowhards said that if he'd been born a year earlier, he might have been in good company with a proper who's who of Konoha's clans. Didn't take too much more digging to confirm, so when Yami-sama's flunky said we should take the oldest kids, I called his bluff and told him you wanted the little ones." The small man finished with a nod, pleased that his master seemed to approve of his proactive approach.
That impression lasted until a huge, albino serpent slithered out of Orochimaru's sleeve. "Gaichūmaru, I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am," the Sannin drawled, as the reptile made its way across the desk and began to wrap itself around the whimpering man seated there. "I had specific expectations as to what you would communicate to our temporary associate, and you've failed to meet those expectations. Now Shimura Danzō knows that I'm aware of the youngest crop of talent from Konoha, and he'll be on his guard. Oh yes," the pale man replied dismissively at the wide-eyed look from his subordinate, "I'm already aware of the membership of that particular class, just as I am of our ally's efforts to steer our attention away from it. Danzō has none of his own clan members in attendance there, so he'll be unable to pretend the same measure of indignant outrage when he fails to stop us. Beyond the old fossil's political inconvenience, your assessment was correct. The purest sampling of bloodlines in Konoha can be found there, all in one place. It is the true prize we desire." For the second time that day, the Sannin licked his lips, this time at the thought of such exceptional research subjects.
A pained gasp from the small man let Orochimaru know that his pet had begun to squeeze. "I must admit, however: I'm impressed with both your observations and your loyalty. You've discovered something to which I thought you would remain ignorant and sought to turn it to my advantage." Seemingly heedless of the thin man's hoarse wheezing, the Sannin continued, unperturbed. "Your assessment of our compatriot is correct: Danzō doubtless means to betray me when it benefits him most. Whether he would have his ROOT intercept the extraction team before they secure the children or sabotage my agents' escape, he gains nearly as much with far lower impact to the resources he values if he stops me before I remove the children from the village. If he can direct me to lower-value targets, his situation improves further." Yellow eyes focused on the struggling man and Orochimaru allowed his irritation to leak into his voice. "Which is why it was so very important to make sure that he continued to believe he had deceived me."
The constrictor tightened further, and Gaichūmaru's bones creaked in protest. The man's dirty face lost what little color it had, as the last of his breath left him. "You've given me much to do, Gaichūmaru, and that's not something I appreciate. However, for your initiative, you will have one chance to redeem yourself." Orochimaru extended a pale finger, and the serpent grudgingly released its victim to slither back up its master's sleeve. The small man fell on the floor, desperately sucking air back into his lungs. Silky, black hair swung in a fan as the taller man rose from his desk and strode out the door. "You should be happy, Gaichūmaru. You wanted to be involved with bigger and more important things, and now you are. Once you catch your breath, report to the medical facilities. You will need to be in perfect health for the role you have just volunteered yourself to fill. If all goes well, you will be rewarded with the power you crave. If you fail, well…" The snake summoner left as his servant struggled to maintain consciousness, the price of failure clearly understood, despite being unstated.