Orochimaru could never forget that day, three years ago.
It was the 48th year of the Shinobi World Calendar, and the Third Great Ninja War had ended.
Konoha, besieged on all sides, had paid a heavy price but finally achieved ultimate victory in the war.
But…
"What's the meaning of it all?"
Orochimaru's thin lips silently parted and closed. His gaze calmly fell forward.
Leaden clouds had spread across the entire sky. The already desolate graveyard seemed even more lonely and sorrowful. The crowd, like reeds bent by the rain, wept with bowed heads. Black umbrellas clustered thickly, resembling a gathering of crows.
He stood among the black-clad crowd, looking at the old man at the very front.
That was his good teacher, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen wiped rain streaks from a tombstone. Perhaps touched by his action, a wave of sorrow spread through the crowd.
"..."
Orochimaru looked at the spiky-haired boy in front of him.
He knew this child, often seeing him and his Genin father running inverted laps around Konoha. In his memory, the two of them were always foolishly optimistic and enthusiastic, completely oblivious to the annoyed and mocking stares of those around them.
But now…
This was the first time Orochimaru had seen this child cry. He cried especially foolishly, snot and tears mingling on his face, turning into mud.
He heard that this child had encountered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist Village during a mission, and it was his Genin father, playfully called a "waste," who had rushed to cover his child's escape.
Ultimately, he single-handedly killed four of them, while the remaining three fled in disarray, severely wounded.
And that Genin father had died in battle.
And that other child…
Orochimaru's narrow pupils shifted to the side, reflecting a young face. He hadn't bothered with an umbrella, letting the rain drench him.
His weeping was low and hoarse, just a low, sibilant sound, his shoulders trembling, like a sleeve being torn intermittently.
Yet, tears flowed ceaselessly, in several rivulets, mixing with the rainwater and pouring down from his eyes.
Hyuga Kawa, timid and cowardly, physically frail. While his peers were already learning Gentle Fist, this child hadn't even awakened his Byakugan. He was known as the "waste" of the Hyuga clan.
This child's father had not actually died on the battlefield, but rather due to a main branch member he was assigned to protect being severely wounded. After risking his life to carry that main branch member back to the outpost, with his chakra almost depleted, he was tortured to death by a main branch elder using the Caged Bird Seal.
Speaking of which, this child's father had actually performed meritorious service under him during the Second Great Ninja War.
How old were these two children?
Twelve, perhaps?
Heh heh.
Thrown onto the battlefield at twelve, losing their only family at twelve…
Orochimaru looked again at the old man leading the procession. Dark clouds flashed with branch-like lightning, and the world was suddenly rendered in shades of grey and white.
The dazzling white light cast his hunched shadow long and demon-like onto the ground. Sarutobi Hiruzen's compassionate face was also divided into light and shadow.
Orochimaru, who had experienced two ninja wars, suddenly felt an incredibly profound disgust, almost to the point of wanting to vomit.
These people who died in the war, what was the meaning of their lives?
Nothing had changed, nothing had changed.
As the crowd dispersed, people left one by one, leaving behind only desolate tombstones.
Orochimaru stood before Nawaki's tombstone. A black umbrella, as dark as ink in the rain, shielded him. He placed the white chrysanthemum in his hand on the tombstone, looking at the familiar name etched there, yet surprisingly feeling no emotion.
Sadness? Anger? Pity?
None of it.
But he was not at peace.
He merely watched the raindrops fall from the edge of his umbrella, disappearing into the etched grooves of the inscription, and felt a fear originating from deep within.
"Th-that…"
A timid voice came from behind him, as if squeezed from a constricted throat.
Orochimaru snapped out of his thoughts and instinctively turned, only to meet a pair of Byakugan.
His still-cold face seemed to startle the other person, whose body involuntarily trembled and stepped back, but ultimately held firm.
"Th-that, your… your face looks very pale, so…"
Under Orochimaru's gaze, the speaking voice grew increasingly faint.
Orochimaru looked down at this child named Hyuga Kawa, knowing that he had been standing before the tombstone for too long. The child must have been worried about his physical and psychological state.
Kind and timid.
Indeed, a waste.
Orochimaru passed judgment on the child in his mind and had no intention of saying more, turning to leave with a cold expression…
"Orochimaru-sama."
A voice came from behind him. As if possessed, he stopped.
"Do you know what the meaning of life is?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. He turned to look behind him and saw that the child still looked timid, but was now looking up, confused. "My father often spoke of you when he was alive, saying you were a hero of Konoha. I thought… someone like you must know a lot…"
"There is no meaning."
Before he could finish speaking, Orochimaru gently interrupted, "Even if there is, it only exists while life is alive."
"And a dead life has no meaning."
Death was, for everyone in this world, the most impartial equalizer.
No matter what you did in life, no matter what you possessed in life, death would strip you of everything.
With this thought, Orochimaru once again felt a chilling coldness deep in his bones. Even the sensation of the cold wind piercing his collar became more profound, making his fingers tighten around the umbrella handle until they turned white.
Yes, dead, like water disappearing into water.
Death meant losing everything. He didn't want to lose everything; he wanted to possess everything.
Therefore, he didn't want to die, and he couldn't die!
"Orochimaru-sama," Hyuga Kawa suddenly looked up. "Do you believe in 'gods' in this world?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the timid child in front of him, suddenly finding it somewhat amusing.
Just as he disdained Jiraiya, who always spoke of the "Child of Prophecy" who could change the ninja world.
In his eyes, both the so-called Child of Prophecy and the so-called gods were laughable fictional characters concocted by the incapable to deceive themselves.
An omniscient and omnipotent god never existed; even if one did, it would merely be a more powerful entity.
"What if, what if 'He' possessed eternal life?"
Noticing the mockery in Orochimaru's eyes, Hyuga Kawa quickly spoke, "My father once gave me a scroll and a cor—... body before he died. He said the scroll contained the hidden secrets of the Hyuga clan, but I could never open it. And that body is the ancestor of the Hyuga clan; it hasn't died and won't die, its soul simply left the body…"
Although Hyuga Kawa's voice grew fainter, as if he himself didn't quite believe his own words, Orochimaru's narrow pupils trembled.
Throughout the entire ninja world, the person who knew the most about "souls" was undoubtedly Orochimaru himself.
Souls were ethereal to most people, and it was even more impossible for anyone to achieve a soul independent of the body.
But in his eyes, as someone who was enthusiastic about studying the essence of human life, this was entirely possible, and the Hyuga clan was undoubtedly one of the oldest ninja clans…
"..."
Observing the child before him, whose forehead had begun to bead with cold sweat, Orochimaru now inexplicably felt a slight trust in what he was saying.
Perhaps, it wouldn't hurt to take a look?
So, Hyuga Kawa, who had lowered his head, suddenly felt enveloped by a shadow, and the cold rain ceased to fall.
"Can you tell me why you're telling me this?"
Hyuga Kawa looked up, a little dazed, meeting a pair of narrow eyes.
Orochimaru stood before him, holding an umbrella, and lowered himself slightly by placing one hand on his knee, maintaining eye-level contact with Hyuga Kawa.
"This should be a secret of the Hyuga clan, right? Why aren't you telling the clan elders?" A smile adorned his pale face, giving him a peculiar charm.
"Fa-Father told me that if he died, I could use that scroll and that body to exchange for good treatment from the clan."
Perhaps because Orochimaru's tone had softened, a blush appeared on Hyuga Kawa's youthful face. He lowered his head and said, "But I don't trust them. My father was forced to his death by them."
A faint resentment could be heard in his slightly trembling voice. Orochimaru glanced at his gradually clenching fists, surprised that this child still had some spirit.
"You want me to help you get revenge?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, smiling, and asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll tell the Hyuga clan this news?"
"I don't think someone like you would do that, and besides, even if you did…" Hyuga Kawa slowly shook his head, looking up at Orochimaru, and said softly, "I wouldn't lose much."
"Only myself."
"..." Meeting those resolute white eyes, Orochimaru fell into a brief silence.
A moment later, he suddenly smiled, placing his hand on Hyuga Kawa's head.
Indeed, living may not always have meaning, but only by staying alive can one find interesting people and things.
Later, Hyuga Kawa handed the scroll and the body to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru managed to partially unseal the scroll and thus saw the contents of the first few pages, learning of the Otsutsuki clan's existence at the dawn of the ninja world.
They were "heavenly beings" from another planet, each member naturally possessing immense power. Unlike humans in the ninja world, they didn't need to train; they could reincarnate using something called a "Karma seal," existing beyond death.
They explored the universe in pairs, with only one goal: to plant something called the "God Tree," which consumed all life on a planet.
The "main family" members would return to their home planet, leaving "branch family" members to monitor the planet and ensure the "fruit" of the God Tree matured successfully.
And the body that had lost its "soul," according to the scroll's records, was a "branch family" member of the Otsutsuki clan.
He had introduced chakra to the ninja world and left descendants, who were now the Hyuga clan.
Because Orochimaru hadn't yet deciphered the seals on the later parts of the scroll, the reason why that Otsutsuki clan member abandoned his body was still unknown. But even this much was enough to make Orochimaru tremble with excitement and joy.
Such exquisite meridians, such a perfect body—compared to humans of the ninja world, they were completely different species!
Eternal life truly existed. Tangible things would eventually die, but "souls" could exist forever!
By merely exploring the secrets of the Otsutsuki clan, one day, he too could comprehend all the truths of this world!
To this day, three years had passed since Orochimaru obtained that scroll and body.
In these three years, Orochimaru believed he had completely controlled Hyuga Kawa. The youth's eyes, when looking at him, held nothing but admiration.
No matter the experiment, he would docilely cooperate.
He even had the child approach the Third Hokage and even deliver messages to Shimura Danzo in the Root, and even though he was afraid, he still wouldn't refuse.
Moreover, Orochimaru discovered that while the child lacked ninja talent, he seemed to possess a peculiar curiosity and intuition in scientific research, often inadvertently providing him with inspiration from inconspicuous places.
This was truly rare.
Even Tsunade, the "medical genius," only viewed medicine and ninjutsu as means to save lives and heal injuries, showing no interest in exploring the secrets and essence of life.
Because of this, Orochimaru even felt a slight sense of shared purpose, and a bit reluctant to kill the youth's soul.
But ultimately, the greed for truth and eternal life outweighed that last shred of recognition.
Until now.
Looking at the youth who had suddenly attacked, looking at the headless corpse, Oroumaru even felt a sense of absurdity.
As if everything he had experienced in the past three years was an unreal dream.
"You…"
The strong emotional shock made the usually calm Orochimaru ask a foolish question.
"What are you doing?"
Fortunately, Hyuga Kawa seemed to know what he truly wanted to ask, so he merely smiled and said, "Thank you, Orochimaru-sama."
"Just as you told me, true ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it."
"And I also want to tell you, weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival."
"Arrogance is."
Yes, because of arrogance, Orochimaru had never paid attention to a "waste," a fifteen-year-old child.
Because of arrogance, his gaze had always been fixed on the "remains" of the Otsutsuki, ignoring all the anomalies he was experiencing right before his eyes.
After all, what could a fifteen-year-old, timid child do?
What could a waste who couldn't even activate the Byakugan do?
Hyuga Kawa was like an island closed off to the outside world. Orochimaru only saw its outwardly normal forest, but failed to see the bottomless, calm swamp within the island.
It wasn't until things spiraled out of his control that Orochimaru truly woke up.
From beginning to end, it wasn't he who chose Hyuga Kawa, but Hyuga Kawa who chose him.
He… he had been played by a brat?
Realizing this, Orochimaru almost laughed in anger, a grim smile appearing on his pale face.
"Do you think you can escape from me?"
The instant the words left his lips, Orochimaru vanished.
A bone-chilling, cold killing intent erupted at that very moment!
It was as if the frozen river had shattered, and the torrent accumulated beneath the ice for years erupted with a heart-shaking roar, pouring towards Hyuga Kawa!
Buzz!
A sharp hum sounded, the sonic boom of something slicing through the air.
Too fast.
The kunai had lost its form due to its extreme speed, moving too fast to discern its entirety.
Indeed, even Orochimaru, with his chakra almost depleted, is not an opponent I can currently deal with.
The Otsutsuki body, manifested with thousands of "Reality Points," was ultimately just an incomplete Otsutsuki body. It could only grant him powerful talent, not actual strength.
Thinking this, Hyuga Kawa's blue-white pupils reflected the cold glint of the kunai, yet showed no ripple of emotion.
Then, under Orochimaru's astonished gaze, he not only didn't dodge but actively met the kunai's sharp edge.
Pfft!
Thick, crimson blood instantly gushed out, splattering heavily onto the ground with a wet sound.
The blade severed half of Hyuga Kawa's neck, from his vocal cords and laryngeal ventricle all the way to his cervical vertebrae. Blood would be choked into his lungs within tens of seconds with each breath; for an ordinary person, this would almost certainly be fatal.
"As expected."
Hyuga Kawa's smile remained unchanged. He watched Orochimaru's lips open and close, silently mouthing: "Even now, you still can't bring yourself to stab the heart?"
If that's the case, then I win.
Bang!
A deafening crash filled the air. Orochimaru instinctively looked behind him, and an old face filled with fury met his gaze.
"Orochimaru! What are you doing?!"
As the angry roar erupted, Hyuga Kawa slowly closed his eyes and collapsed onto the operating table, his last thoughts surfacing.
Heh, a waste bearing the Caged Bird Seal.
Fate truly gave me the worst "script."
But, it's okay.
I was born to be the best "actor."
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