After praising Sora, Orochimaru's tone shifted as he began pointing out areas for improvement.

  "First of all," he began, "your hand seal speed needs signifit work.

  "In a duel between shinobi of equal strength, victory often depends on who form their hand seals faster. If you're slow, you'll lose the initiative and be forced into a defensive position. This could be fatal in your battle.

  "From now on, incorporate additional hand seal practito your training regimen. This is the main issue.

  "As for the others," he tinued, "they're minor fws that have been exposed during yur training. tinue addressing those when you return."

  Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed as he added, "Overall, your progress is endable. Because you had so many problems early on, I put off teag you the Summoning Teique. However, ohese minor issues are resolved, you'll sign a tract with Ryūchi Cave and begin learning to summon. Gradually, you'll also start mastering my secret teiques."

  Sora's excitement was immediate. The thought of finally learning Orochimaru's secret teiques filled her with determination. She replied eagerly, "Yes, Teacher Orochimaru!"

  Orochimaru pced a hand on her shoulder, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Sora, I know what drives you. To you, Konoha is a prison. You push yourself so hard because you want to escape it. One day, you'll leave Konoha."

  "Teacher Orochimaru…" Sora frowned, her tone defensive, but Orochimaru pressed on, ign her protest.

  "I've said it before—we are alike.

  "I desire to master every jutsu ience, but this body of mine is a prison, just as Konoha is yours. Eventually, this body will bee a hindrao me, and I will do whatever it takes to break free of it.

  "As someone like me, I kly what you're thinking."

  A gust of wind swept through the area, carrying a chill as it lifted both their hair. Orochimaru turned his gaze to the bright moon above, his voice raspy yet filled with a magic allure.

  "I have expectations for you now, Sora," he said, his words heavy with meaning. "I want to see where the wind will take you as my disciple."

  Sora stared at him, her expression bnk with uainty. Orochimaru's words carried yers of meaning she couldn't fully uand.

  Even so, she decided to respond firmly. "Teacher Orochimaru, I will always be a ninja of Konoha."

  Orochimaru lowered his head, smiling faintly at Sora. But behind the smile, his eyes carried a mysterious, unreadable emotion.

  At that moment, even Orochimaru himself was flicted.

  The Sed Ninja World War had left deep scars on him. He had withe deaths of his friend Kato Dan and his disciple Nawaki.

  Nawaki's death, in particur, had left a profound impa Orochimaru. Though Nawaki's personality was closer to Jiraiya's—idealistid optimistiaru still cared deeply for him.

  During the war, Nawaki charged into battle with boundless enthusiasm, only to fall victim to a detonating trap id by the enemy.

  By the time Orochimaru and Tsunade arrived, it was too te. Nawaki was already gone—his body destroyed, his internal ans scattered.

  Even Tsunade, a master of mediinjutsu, couldn't save him.

  fronted with the brutal reality of Nawaki's death, Orochimaru found himself questioning the meaning of life. He had also boro the war's disregard for the value of humaeo Orochimaru, life itself seemed fragile and fleeting.

  But within that fragility, he saw potential. Orochimaru believed the human body held untapped power—an endless reservoir of possibilities. To him, the key to unlog the truth of existence y in mastering all ninjutsu.

  Only then could oruly prehend the essence of the world?

  The vast number of ninjutsu in the ninja world meant that even with a lifetime of effort, it was impossible to master them all. This realizatio Orochimaru feeling that his body was nothing more than a burden, limiting his ambitions.

  Driven by his insatiable thirst for knowledge, Orochimaru secretly elimihe guards and infiltrated Konoha's Forbidden Jutsu archives, seizing numerous scrolls. Among them was the Reanimation Jutsu, a teique that could summon the souls of the deceased from the underworld and temporarily revive them in the present world.

  Orochimaru had been studying the Reanimation Jutsu intensely. Though he hadn't yet mastered it, the research provided him with an invaluable insight: the essence of existence y in the soul.

  To Orochimaru, the human body was merely a vessel, a tainer for the soul. This revetioo a groundbreaking question: if one could traheir soul into another's body, could immortality be achieved?

  At this point, Orochimaru's hypothesis urely theoretical. He had yet to initiate experiments. However, t this vision to life, he k would iably involve human experimentation—a tabohout the ninja world, and especially in Konoha.

  Human experimentation vioted ethid was strictly forbidden. Moreover, Orochimaru's status as a disciple of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, further restrained him.

  He began to feel suffocated—not only by the limitations of his physical body but also by the moral and societal straints imposed upon him.

  If he were not the Third Hokage's disciple, if he were not a shinobi of Konoha, he could experiment freely, unhindered by the judgment of others.

  Orochimaru found himself at a crossroads, torween his ambition and the rules binding him.

  And then, there was Sora.

  At first, Orochimaru evaluated Sora only in favour of Hiruzen, agreeing to determine whether the boy had the potential to bee his disciple. Sora had proven to be remarkably talented—a true genius.

  But it wasn't Sora's raw ability that captured Orochimaru's attention. What truly intrigued him was the fleeting look in Sora's eyes—a look that revealed an uiermination to achieve his goals, no matter the cost.

  That look reminded Orochimaru of himself.

  During the Sed Ninja World War, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were trapped in a cave surrounded by Iwagakure shinobi. Jiraiya had been gravely injured, and even he believed he wouldn't survive.

  Orochimaru's solution at the time had been cold and calcuted: Jiraiya was too severely wouo tinue, and his dition would only drag them down. Orochimaru resolved to kill Jiraiya himself, ensuring that he and Tsunade could escape.

  Tsunade had been horrified, acg him of beiless for sidering such a thing.

  She wasn't wrong. Orochimaru had always known he was ruthless.

  Looking at Sora now, Orochimaru saw a refle of his younger self. He believed that if pced in a simir situation, Sora would make the same choices he had. This alig in their natures made Qianyu a disciple who resonated with Orochimaru's ideals.

  But there was a lingering curiosity within Orochimaru: would Sora remain steadfast, or would he falter along the way?

  Sora, meanwhile, felt uneasy under Orochimaru's intense gaze. He couldn't dis what his teacher was thinking, and that uainty left him tense.

  Turning his back to Sora, Orochimaru spoke in a low, deliberate voice. "Don't worry. Follow your own pn. I won't stand in your way. In fact, I'll support you—because you are my disciple. I'll do everything I to train you to ensure you bee the wind that cuts through the air."

  Sora stared at Orochimaru's back, his expression flicted.

  Something about Orochimaru seemed... different. And his attitude toward Sora felt strangely altered.

  "Because you are my disciple."

  The words sounded genuine as if Orochimaru truly reized him as more than just another subordinate. But Sora couldn't help but wonder: was this reition real? Or would Orochimaru see him as nothing more than aool, like so many others before him?

  Sora's mind swirled with questions, but he chose to remain silent.

  Orochimaru had said that Sora would eventually leave Konoha, yet he also told him to proceed with his pns. For now, it seemed Orochimaru didn't io expose Sora's true thoughts to others.

  Sora exhaled softly, his resolve firm. No matter Orochimaru's iions, he would stay vigint and tinue forward on his chosen path.

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