Path Of War-Chapter 341: You Pervert

In Orochimaru's subterranean laboratory.

Things here were as everyone expected: still a tad clean, and glass tubes filled with swirling or bubbling liquid.

Within this unsettling environment, three figures stood: Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke.

A door opened, and a girl with bright red hair and glasses stepped in. It was Karin. She looked around before her gaze settled on the three.

"I've finished, lord Orochimaru," she said, bowing. She then turned her attention to the boy standing beside him. She had never seen him before, for the two weren't scheduled to officially meet for a couple of years. "Who is this?"

It was Kabuto who answered, "This is Sasuke Uchiha. He's lord Orochimaru's next vessel."

Sasuke, a picture of aloofness, didn't even twitch. He stood there with a mask of indifference.

Karin's eyes flared with interest.

Orochimaru, always one to stir the pot, let out a low, amused chuckle. "Oh, Karin," he purred. "Have you already taken a liking to him?"

Sasuke, visibly bored and perhaps a little annoyed by the implication, began to turn, ready to remove himself from the conversation.

But then, Karin spoke again. "As an Uzumaki, I'm not quite fond of Uchihas."

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. He spun back around, and he locked onto her eyes. It wasn't the slight against his clan that stopped him, but the name itself.

"Uzumaki?" he repeated with unexpected interest. "Hmph... My last teammate was an Uzumaki."

Karin was a tad surprised when she heard that. Breaking eye contact, she asked herself, "I didn't think there were other survivors."

"Survivors?" Sasuke echoed, furrowing his brows.

Orochimaru, enjoying the unexpected turn of events, decided to enlighten Sasuke.

"Sasuke," he began, "the Uzumaki Clan was originally from the Hidden Eddy Village. They almost went extinct after their village was destroyed."

"From what we've gathered," Kabuto continued, "They were targeted and destroyed by other villages, likely due to fear of their strong sealing techniques."

There was a subtle yet genuine astonishment that crossed Sasuke's face.

"Some believed the village was too powerful to be allowed to continue," Orochimaru added as his gaze rested on Karin. "Although the clan fell, it was not entirely eradicated. Some members, such as Karin, migrated to the Hidden Grass Village, where I found her."

Sasuke was now truly taken aback. It was as if he was starting to understand something about this clan that he hadn't yet. Or rather, someone of that clan.

As if provoked, Sasuke clenched his fist. Kabuto, noticing this shift in Sasuke's posture, asked, "Is something wrong, Sasuke?"

The boy quickly relaxed and let the tension escape the scene. "It's none of your concern..."

Elsewhere.

From his unseen vantage point, Arthur bore witness to this whole ordeal.

What caught his interest was Sasuke's reaction after hearing about the Uzumaki clan. This was, in fact, Sasuke's first time ever getting a history lesson about that clan, as well as seeing Karin.

As Arthur understood, Sasuke never saved Karin back in the Forest of Death. That would explain Karin's strange reaction to the boy, as well as her still yet subtle infatuation for him.

This early revelation was clearly a consequence caused by the butterfly effect of Naruto's accelerated growth and the resulting impact on Sasuke's already volatile emotions. Arthur's own intervention, pushing Sasuke towards Orochimaru on a slightly altered plane, had also played a part in this unexpected development.

Now, Arthur had to understand the full scope of the disruption. He wouldn't confront Sasuke directly; the boy was a tangled knot of rage and vengeance.

Instead, Arthur waited. He waited until Sasuke retreated to his room within that particular hideout before finally drifting off to sleep.

'Flying raijin...'

After covering himself in a variety of stealthy techniques, Arthur turned into smoke and drifted into Sasuke's room. There, he remained as a wisp and flowed into the boy's body.

'Mind eye reading jutsu...'

Just like that, he began to sift through Sasuke's thoughts, his memories, and what the boy's been through. Arthur dove into the depths of the boy's mind and searched for the source of that sudden anger, as well as what the boy truly thought about being told of the Uzumaki clan.

It didn't take long for him to find it. As if reading the boy's thoughts, Arthur heard, "So the fall of the Uzumaki clan was due to the Leaf Village's unwillingness to help; they didn't do anything. Naruto... I truly despise you, but you've changed. No... I didn't understand who you were till now. You should have abandoned the Leaf Village like me and never returned. Now I know why you were such an idiot and why everyone hated you; you're just a slave."

Arthur withdrew from Sasuke's mind and reformed outside the sleeping boy. He understood now.

There had been a subtle, yet significant, shift in Sasuke's view of Naruto. Because of Naruto's growth, his burgeoning strength, and the genuine connections he was forging, he had become relatable to Sasuke in a way he hadn't been before.

The anger wasn't about the Uzumaki clan's fate itself, but about the Leaf Village's inaction, a mirror of his own abandonment of the village. And in that moment, a twisted sense of kinship had briefly formed in Sasuke's dark heart.

He had even, for a fleeting instant, wished that Naruto had followed his path and abandoned the Leaf.

This was inevitable, Arthur knew. The bond between Sasuke and Naruto, created in rivalry and conflict, was destined to evolve into a complex friendship by the series' end. The process was simply accelerating and pushed forward by Naruto's rapid development.

Arthur was not going to allow this acceleration. This premature softening of Sasuke's stance towards Naruto was an unwelcome deviation from his carefully constructed plan.

His pieces were moving too quickly. As such, he would need to adapt and find a way to counteract this unforeseen development. Because if left unchecked, the other players would take advantage of this.

Arthur knew that they were trying to rescue Sasuke early, and that was not something he could allow. Otherwise, it would make things more complicated for him.

At a restaurant in the Leaf Village.

Three generations of shinobi gathered around a small wooden table. This was an uncommon and nearly unheard-of occurrence.

They were none other than Jiraiya, Minato, and Kakashi.

They were having a casual conversation, the kind that only comes from a deep understanding and a shared past. There was a familiarity in their talk due to their evident connection.

For those who weren't aware, Minato was the sensei of Kakashi, and Jiraiya was the sensei of Minato. Minato had died young, so no one would have believed to see all three of these shinobi in one spot.

"Minato, do you recall when you attempted to teach me the Rasengan?" Jiraiya smiled. "It took me far too long to understand it."

"You learned it quick," Minato smiled back. "Far quicker than me."

Under his mask, Kakashi, who had always been a silent observer, permitted himself a tiny, barely noticeable smile. To think that he was eating lunch with both his teacher and his teacher's teacher.

Quite the bizarre experience.

"I heard you also learned it, Kakashi," Minato said.

"Well, let's just say that it might be useful one day," the youngest of the group answered.

Minato wanted to ask why Kakashi hadn't taught it to Naruto, but the answer was apparent: Naruto, at the time, wasn't showing the aptitude to learn it. And after discovering that it was William—not Jiraiya—that was the main reason Naruto even knew about the Rasengan, Minato didn't have a reason to complain.

Unavoidably, the topic of the impending danger came up. Jiraiya's tone lightened as he said, "Just so you both know, we have to stop Obito no matter what it takes."

"I agree," Minato nodded.

Kakashi's silence also hinted at his agreement.

As a server came over, Jiraiya said, "I'll have some saké."

"Isn't it too early to be drinking?" Minato softly smiled at his sensei.

"It's for inspiration," Jiraiya grinned.

In contrast, Kakashi gave the straightforward command to the server, "Just water, please."

The restaurant door opened as they finished ordering, bringing in two more figures. It was William and Naruto.

"I got much better control over the flying raijin now!" Naruto exclaimed to his cousin.

"I'll say," William agreed. "You didn't use a lot of chakra to travel all the way to the bathhouse and back, so that's a big improvement.

Jiraiya, overhearing this, gave a mischievous smile and yelled, "Minato, you should teach me that technique too!"

The two boys more than just heard this, so they both yelled, "You pervert!"

It wasn't long until the server returned with their meal, and the males ate as a collective family.

"Do you really think Orochimaru's not behind everyone's revival?" Kakashi asked William.

"Of course!" the boy answered. "There's just no way because I sealed his arms when he attacked the village."

While a more than plausible reason, Minato wasn't quite convinced because he was told that Orochimaru had a very loyal and skilled servant, Kabuto, that could help perform techniques for the Sannin.

"Okay," William conceded, "so there's still a possibility that Orochimaru's behind this all. I'm just trying to find out why."

"Aren't we all?" Kakashi replied.

After their meal, Jiraiya excused himself. "I have an important meeting with the Hokage."

This was in regard to the recent tracking mission the others were to go on. When he arrived at Tsunade's office, she and Shizune were present.

"Jiraiya," she said in a worried tone. "Like we discussed before, you're the best man for this job. So I need you to go and check them before I send out that scouting party."

This reconnaissance mission was essential because Jiraiya was the only person who had any substantial knowledge of Orochimaru's numerous lairs.

"You can count on me."

"One more thing," she said, furrowing her brows. "Please be careful..."

Jiraiya wasn't quite certain why she was so concerned about this, as this wasn't the first time Jiraiya and Orochimaru had faced off. They were, after all, former teammates.

After exiting the office, Jiraiya nearly bumped into someone standing right outside the door. He was shocked to see the boy there and said, "Naruto?"

"Pervy Sage, I came because I was going to speak with Granny Tsunade. Then I heard about your mission and—"

Jiraiya hurriedly closed the door behind him, relieved that Tsunade hadn't heard or seen Naruto. With a finger to his lips, he lowered his voice and said, "Quiet, Naruto. That mission was supposed to be a secret."

Naruto wasn't stupid. At least not anymore. So he demanded, "Let me join you on it then!"

Jiraiya firmly shook his head and said, "No, it's too dangerous." The only reason that the boy wanted to come was because it could potentially involve Sasuke. "Besides, weren't you supposed to be training to defeat Obito?"

"Yes, but Sasuke is just as important!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but we can't let you leave the village. Shoot, you're not even safe with me by your side."

"Can you at least let me know when you'll be leaving?"

Jiraiya shrugged but eventually gave in and said, "You'll be asleep by then, but don't worry; I'll be back in a couple of days."

Jiraiya then turned and walked away, leaving Naruto standing in the hallway in frustration.

Once night fell, the Sannin walked out of the village in the shadows. His mission was clear: to discover which of Orochimaru's past hideouts he was currently in.

Little did he know, a smaller, determined figure was following him.

"Good thing I waited till nighttime," Naruto whispered. "The entire village would have been on me if Alice found out."

Safely out of the village, Naruto entered his own subconscious. The tall figure of the Nine-Tails awaited him in the familiar, watery landscape of his mind.

"So you left without telling anyone?" the beast asked. "I wonder why."

Naruto approached the enormous cage that housed the beast. "Because I never give up on my friends. No matter what."

A low, rumbling laugh, amused and slightly threatening, came from the Nine-Tails.

Naruto ignored it as he levitated toward the paper seal on the cage. He then removed it and performed a series of hand signs.

"Sealing jutsu!"

What he had done was seal the sensing mechanism behind the Flying raijin marks on his Eight Trigrams Seal.

The Nine-Tails reluctantly acknowledged, with a note of surprise in its voice, "You're smarter than I thought."

"Yeah, well, I don't want my dad and Jada to know where I am."

Quite ironic. The very technique he learned from them was now being stopped to prevent the two from tracking his location. freёweɓnovel.com

Nothing, not even Jiraiya, could stop him from pursuing Sasuke.