Orochimaru clearly understood Danzo Shimura's notorious habit of denying everything to the grave.
Even when the truth was exposed, he would never admit wrongdoing.
Throughout his life, Danzo had committed countless atrocities.
Twisting facts, reversing black and white, those were his standard tactics.
And "protecting the Leaf" was always his favorite excuse.
"As compensation," Orochimaru said with a cold smile, "Nonō Yakushi will now be working for me."
He wasn't in the mood to negotiate.
Orochimaru's experiments were expanding rapidly.
He couldn't handle the load alone, he needed a skilled medical ninja to assist him.
Now that someone capable of Mystic Palm Jutsu like Nonō was in his grasp, there was no way he'd return her.
Danzo's pupils contracted.
He hadn't expected Orochimaru to see through everything so clearly, not only realizing that Nonō was his agent, but also being bold enough to demand her openly as compensation.
"Impossible."
Danzo rejected the demand outright.
Nonō Yakushi was a Root operative he had carefully cultivated for years.
Though not especially powerful in combat, her infiltration and intelligence-gathering skills were among the best in Root.
"I didn't come here to discuss this with you," Orochimaru said flatly.
He turned on his heel and walked out, utterly disregarding Danzo's authority.
"Orochimaru!" Danzo roared, his face twisting in fury in the dim chamber.
"You'll regret touching what's mine!"
"Send someone. Find a way to contact Nonō… in secret."
Meanwhile, Sora Hanyū had been bedridden for an entire day before his body finally began to recover.
Nonō Yakushi had stayed at his side the whole time, caring for him attentively.
When she finally helped him outside for some fresh air, Orochimaru appeared once more.
His golden eyes narrowed as he looked at her and grinned.
"From now on, you'll work for me. You won't be going back to Root."
Nonō's body stiffened.
Then, as if resigned to her fate, she slowly dropped to one knee.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
Her life had never truly belonged to herself.
Whether it was Danzo or Orochimaru, people like them never allowed rejection.
Orochimaru began forming hand seals, so swiftly that Sora couldn't even follow them.
The process lasted over a minute.
A black sealing array appeared before him.
He slapped it onto Nonō's forehead, where it condensed into the image of a black bougainvillea bloom.
That's probably a curse seal to keep her from leaking secrets, Sora thought silently.
He'd had plenty of time to reflect while bedridden.
It was all clear now, those Root shinobi who had ambushed him, and Nonō's timely "rescue", the whole thing had been an elaborate setup.
What surprised him most was how decisive Orochimaru had been.
He had not only killed Danzo's men but also claimed Nonō as his own.
In the original timeline, it was Kabuto, the orphan Nonō raised, who had joined Orochimaru as an assistant due to his medical talents.
But now, because of Sora's presence, Nonō had stepped into that role instead.
When Orochimaru finished, his eyes turned toward Sora.
A faint grin curled on his lips.
"Sora-kun, I've heard you're all recovered. While I was away, you trained in taijutsu with the Might father and son…"
"I never expected you'd actually manage to forcibly unlock the First Gate of the Eight Inner Gates. Truly impressive."
Then Orochimaru stretched out his hand, tongue flicking excitedly.
"Come. Show me everything you've learned, with the intent to kill me."
Defeat Orochimaru?! Not a chance.
Sora didn't hold back.
He unleashed everything, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, even summoned his newly-contracted green snake.
Orochimaru, however, didn't move a single step.
Instead, he beat the crap out of him for half an hour.
"Contracting the green snake, not bad," Orochimaru said as he finally called a halt, seemingly satisfied.
"Your genjutsu fundamentals are solid, and your taijutsu has clearly improved. To think it's only been a few weeks… You're quite the prodigy, Sora-kun."
In truth, there was something Orochimaru hadn't said out loud, Sora's hidden affinity for space-time ninjutsu, a kekkei genkai level ability.
That kind of talent surpassed even Orochimaru's own childhood self.
Sora scratched his head awkwardly.
"What I've learned so far is nothing compared to you, sensei. There's still so much more I need to study."
"So… what do you want to learn next?" Orochimaru asked, watching him carefully.
"You're progressing well. All you really need now is time."
"Sensei, I'd like to learn the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu. I want to use it to accelerate my training. And also…"
Sora paused, his tone turning serious.
"I want to help you with your experiments."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't expected Sora to not only know about his experiments but also express a desire to join in, despite his immense natural talent.
This made Orochimaru even more intrigued.
"Very well. I won't ask your reasons," he said with a rare laugh, ruffling Sora's hair.
"Come, then."
Sora hadn't made this decision lightly.
During his recent training, he'd come to understand the full extent of his potential.
With hard work alone, he was confident he could become a powerful jonin, and combined with the Door-Door Fruit, he might even rival Kage-level power.
But in the latter half of the Naruto timeline, power levels skyrocketed.
To reach Six Paths-tier strength, there was no path through ordinary training.
In a world where bloodline dictated destiny, Sora chose to ride Orochimaru's scientific war chariot.
With Orochimaru's brilliance and Sora's meta-knowledge of the story, they could reach into the deepest layers of power.
Only then would he be qualified to challenge the future gods of this world.
Orochimaru brought Nonō and Sora to a secret underground lab outside Konoha.
The lighting was dim, the space lined with dozens of large glass tanks filled with strange fluids.
Orochimaru gave a brief rundown of safety protocols, then had them begin work.
Because of Sora's young age, he was assigned only basic tasks, recording data and organizing specimens.
Yet even in these simple tasks, his attention to detail, rigorous method, and most importantly, his sensitivity to patterns in experimental data, shocked Orochimaru.
Sora had never studied medicine or biology in his past life, his knowledge of cells didn't go beyond high school science.
But with a modern university student's analytical thinking, Sora's insights were exceptionally rare in a world where the average education level barely reached elementary school.
Orochimaru began to entrust him with more complex work: learning organ transplant procedures, analyzing kekkei genkai inheritance, and so on.
Sora's occasional out-of-the-box ideas, though bizarre, often led to genuine breakthroughs.
And just like that, time flew by.
Soon, the new school term began.
Sora walked to class with Guy and the others.
But unlike the others, he wasn't filled with excitement.
He felt like a soldier headed for battle.
Today was the day of his challenge against Uchiha Osamu.
<150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter>