"State your purpose," a few Sound ninja appeared before Naruto's team, their voices grim.
"Konoha Root, here for a transaction," Naruto said, handing a token to the Sound-nin.
After a moment of inspection, the ninja nodded and led Naruto's team into the village.
The passing residents were all accustomed to such visitors and didn't let the arrival of Naruto's group disrupt their lives.
Otogakure was a self-sufficient system. It didn't need to trade with the outside world; its internal agriculture was enough to sustain its villagers.
Compared to the villagers of Konoha, the people of Otogakure were more content with what they had.
Having experienced homelessness and starvation, their requirements for life had been lowered to an appalling degree.
"Eh?!!" A sudden gasp from the crowd quickly caught the attention of Naruto's team.
A young boy tending a stall was staring at Naruto, completely stunned.
He wanted to call out a greeting, but when he noticed the teammates beside Naruto, his expression immediately changed. He let out a cry of feigned surprise and admiration. "Wow, so cool! They're ninja from another village!!"
The boy's innocent words made the slightly suspicious Aburame Neri retract her gaze.
She dismissed him as just a snot-nosed kid who had never seen the world.
This boy was, of course, one of the children living with Haku.
His eyes darted around, and then, completely abandoning his stall, he took off running toward his home.
"Lord Naruto is here? And with ninja from his village?" Inside the house, Haku, who was preparing lunch with Karin, covered his mouth and chuckled softly. "It seems he's here representing Konoha on a mission this time."
"Konoha… aren't they all bad guys?" the boy said indignantly.
His and his sister's family had been torn apart because of Konoha's wars.
Back when Konoha was fighting against the major villages, some of the smaller villages were forced to get involved in the conflict.
Compared to the great villages, the smaller ones lacked resources. A single small-scale battle could bring a small village to the brink of collapse.
The boy's parents had died in the chaos of war, and since then, he had developed a deep resentment for the major ninja villages.
But he didn't hate Naruto. In fact, he worshipped him.
From Haku, he had learned of Naruto's ambition.
He saw Naruto as a great hero shouldering the burden of saving the world.
Although Naruto was wearing a mask, he had still recognized him from his brilliant blond hair and familiar Reiatsu.
"Good thing I'm so clever and pretended not to recognize him, otherwise Lord Naruto's cover would have been blown!!!" the boy exclaimed, waving his arms and legs as he dramatically took credit.
"Yes, yes, our little Nan is the best," Haku said, gently stroking the boy's hair. He looked over at Karin. "Karin, it seems you'll have to be patient. It looks like Lord Naruto has important business."
Karin's shoulders slumped, her disappointment visible to the naked eye.
The girl had been training incredibly hard recently, all so that Naruto would see the fruits of her labor.
And hopefully, praise her for it.
"It's okay, Big Sis Karin. Even though you're not as pretty as Big Bro Haku and you're kind of a ditz, Lord Naruto will still smile at you," little Nan said, standing on his tiptoes to pat Karin's hand comfortingly.
After being led for some time, Naruto's team arrived at a hidden laboratory area.
Down flight after flight of stairs and through long corridors, they were finally about to meet Orochimaru.
Along the way, Aburame Neri's muscles were tense, her entire body in a state of high alert.
She even whispered reminders to Naruto and Lee.
"Be careful later. If things look bad, retreat immediately."
Faced with the incredibly timid Neri, Naruto offered a gentle reassurance. "Don't worry. The trade relationship between Root and Orochimaru is very solid. He won't do anything to us. All we have to do is complete the transaction."
"…" Hearing Naruto's comforting words, Neri suddenly felt a surge of annoyance.
She was the one who had grown up in Root; she was practically indifferent to life and death.
So why, on this mission, was Naruto acting even calmer than she was?
Is he really not afraid of death?
No!!!
He's too much of a rookie!
He has no idea how terrifying a Kage-level powerhouse who loves research can be.
Neri recalled the details of her time researching with Orochimaru.
Back then, Orochimaru had held the organ of a Kekkei Genkai user in his hand, extended his long, slender, scarlet tongue to give it a light lick, and said in a tone of intoxicated bliss:
"This one has a rather strong fishy taste. It seems the research has a certain effect on the organs. Let me experience it again."
Just thinking about that scene made the hair on Neri's arms stand on end.
She considered her own research to be quite disgusting, but she never imagined someone could be even more depraved than her.
That scene was imprinted in her mind, impossible to forget.
From that day on, she had placed Orochimaru on her inviolable blacklist.
And so…
She spoke in the tone of a seasoned senior, her voice full of gravity. "You haven't had contact with Orochimaru, so you don't understand how terrifying he is. I've worked with him before. That research maniac might dissect you on a whim. So, we must be cautious above all else."
"Amazing!! Insect Queen, you've actually worked with Orochimaru? So between the two of you, whose research ability is more outstanding?" Lee's interest was piqued, and he asked with exaggerated enthusiasm.
"Research ability?" Neri snorted coldly. "When it comes to research, I won't lose to anyone!"
"Hm? I have a question," Naruto said, a thoughtful look on his face. "You must have been very young when Orochimaru defected, right?"
No matter how you calculated it, Aburame Neri couldn't have been more than six years old at the time.
"Ahem!" Neri's face flushed red, and she quickly changed the subject.
Inside the laboratory.
Orochimaru sat elegantly in a chair, gently wiping the blood from his hands.
Just a moment ago, a subordinate had informed him of Naruto's team's imminent arrival.
"It seems Naruto has done very well. To think that old fox Danzo would send him directly to receive the Hollow," he couldn't help but remark.
Having worked with Danzo for a long time, he knew how difficult it was to gain his trust.
That man was suspicious and greedy.
Even with those he trusted most, he would always harbor a sliver of doubt.
For Naruto to have gained Danzo's trust in such a short time was a testament to his ability.
It made Orochimaru feel a little more at ease about their collaboration.
Besides Naruto, there was another target of Orochimaru's interest.
Aburame Neri.
A look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes.
He vaguely remembered that before he defected from Konoha, he had been helping Root with some experiments.
At the time, Root had sent many research personnel to assist him.
Though they were called assistants, their main purpose was surveillance.
But these so-called research personnel were all pathetically untalented. After several years, they were still useless.
Later, Root had quietly launched a research talent program.
The so-called program was…
To send Root children between the ages of four and ten to the laboratory to learn directly from the researchers.
To give them a head start.
So, in a way, these children could be considered Orochimaru's students.
Root didn't have many research talents, and there were very few truly outstanding ones.
Among these children, it was a matter of picking the tallest among the short.
But what impressed Orochimaru the most was that Aburame Neri was completely different from the other children.
As a child of the Aburame clan, Neri had been cultivating her body as an insect hive since she was young.
The children of the Aburame clan were generally calm and indifferent, traits that were well-suited for a researcher.
Neri was no exception.
The moment she arrived at the lab, she showed no fear. Instead, she calmly observed her surroundings, her muscles tense.
Clearly, she was ready to bolt at any moment.
Orochimaru had never seen such a spineless child, and he immediately took an interest in her.
Later, Orochimaru displayed his own research 'talent,' scaring the little brat Neri so badly she nearly wet herself.
Neri had brought him a bit of childhood fun, so his impression of her was quite deep.
Of course, what was most unforgettable was an experiment where he had given the children of the Root research talent program an assignment.
Dissecting a human body.
While the other children were 'diligently' exploring, Aburame Neri stood on a stool, very seriously commanding her insects to move the organs of the corpses, muttering to herself:
"Hehehe, these are all extremely precious research materials. It would be a waste to let them go to waste. I'll steal them, steal them all."
She would make some noise to distract the other children, then order her insects to steal the organs.
In the end, Neri's table was piled high with various organs.
The little girl laughed like a simpleton, lying happily among the organs, looking as if she had obtained the entire world.
Orochimaru had not forgotten that scene to this day.
When he later defected, he had even considered taking Neri with him.
But unfortunately…
He had missed the chance.
Aburame Neri was probably one of the few true research geniuses in Konoha.
He wondered if she had been put to good use by Root.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru secretly shook his head.
With Root's research and training capabilities, it would be difficult for Neri to get enough resources.
Click. As Orochimaru was lost in thought, the door opened, and Naruto's team walked in.
"Welcome!!" Seeing the familiar faces, an awkward smile appeared on Orochimaru's cold face, and he stepped forward to greet them.
Although Neri wanted to change the subject, the ever-oblivious Rock Lee kept pressing excitedly, "Hey, hey, hey! You were so young back then, was your research ability really comparable to Orochimaru's? You're so amazing!!"
Lee was very excited.
All this time, he had thought Neri was just an extremely timid, rookie ninja.
Now he realized he had misunderstood her.
It turned out Aburame Neri was a research genius!!!
"Ahem, although I was quite young at the time, my research skills were not bad," Neri said, her face red with embarrassment.
Click. At that moment, they reached the end of the corridor, and the door opened.
Orochimaru came forward to welcome them, his gaze falling on Aburame Neri. "It's been a long time, little brat."
"Little brat?!" Hearing this form of address, Rock Lee, who had already come to see Neri as a comrade, stood up indignantly.
"Mr. Orochimaru, you'd best watch your words! The Insect Queen standing before you is a research genius no less than yourself!!"
"…" Neri wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.