"Hanzō? That guy was incredibly strong and a master of poison. How could he..." Orochimaru paused, clearly surprised that the upheaval in the Land of Rain was due to Hanzō's death.
But then another question occurred to her.
"Kenichi, how did you find out?" Orochimaru stared at her disciple. Due to her current Immortality Reincarnation, she had to look up at Amemiya Kenichi, but her gaze remained as piercing as ever.
She hadn't even heard of Hanzō's death herself. How could her disciple know?
Moreover, even the Rain Ninja Village wouldn't casually announce the death of their leader. They had few strong ninja, and Hanzō was their only true powerhouse.
Such a death would have to be carefully concealed. If word got out, it could attract the attention of other wolves, which would be extremely dangerous.
"Because I joined an organization there. Pain, their leader, told me." Amemiya Kenichi raised his hand, showing a ring.
Orochimaru glanced at it. The ring bore the character for "Jade" and had a rather novel design.
"An organization? A leader?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. His disciple seemed to have grown up.
"Teacher, you'll definitely be interested! The leader's eyes are the Rinnegan—a Sage's eyes with concentric rings!" Amemiya Kenichi exclaimed excitedly, certain Orochimaru would be intrigued by Pain.
After all, it was the Sage of the Six Paths' Rinnegan. Kenichi had previously seen his teacher studying ancient texts.
One illustration depicted the Sage of the Six Paths, with particular emphasis on the distinctive concentric rings in his eyes.
"The Rinnegan?" Orochimaru clearly knew more about this ancient legend than Kenichi had imagined. She narrowed her eyes. If this was true, the organization was indeed intriguing.
Orochimaru had always believed the Rinnegan was merely an exaggerated myth surrounding the Sage of the Six Paths. She never expected it to actually exist.
"Tell me about your mission," Orochimaru said, using Earth Release to create two simple chairs. She sat down and looked at Kenichi, her interest piqued.
Amemiya Kenichi honestly explained his recent travels.
He couldn't help feeling a little awkward. Teacher Orochimaru hadn't paid much attention to his posture, and Amemiya Kenichi had caught a glimpse of something... interesting.
Amemiya Kenichi, you're such a loser! How can you be embarrassed by something like this? He wanted to smack himself. What was there to be ashamed of?
Sure, the blonde cutie in front of him was undeniably adorable. But the problem was, she was Orochimaru! His teacher Orochimaru, the snake enthusiast!
This wasn't some game where teammates were called "snake players." Orochimaru actually played with snakes.
"Akatsuki, huh? I've heard of them. Rumor had it they were wiped out, but it seems that wasn't the case." Orochimaru narrowed her eyes, resting her chin in her hand as she pondered.
She remembered hearing about this group, active in the Land of Rain, with their childishly laughable dream.
At least, Orochimaru found it laughable. She knew all too well how naive it was to pursue peace in the Ninja World—a dream almost impossible to realize.
It seemed the Akatsuki had some connection to that idiot Jiraiya.
"Oh, right, Teacher, Akatsuki also invited you," Amemiya Kenichi said, remembering something he'd almost forgotten.
He pulled an empty ring from his pocket and casually handed it to his teacher.
"Hmm? This is... intriguing," Orochimaru said with a faint smile, taking the ring and slipping it onto his finger.
Kenichi scratched his head, feeling awkward. It was just a token from Akatsuki, but the way he'd handed it over felt almost like he was proposing.
Orochimaru didn't dwell on it. He'd originally planned to establish his own organization in a nearby small country to continue his research, but now he saw a new path.
Akatsuki.
He held no particular feelings about the organization, which he considered childishly doomed. His sole interest lay in the leader's Rinnegan.
After all, it was known as the Sage's Eye. Orochimaru coveted its legendary power.
"You've done well, Kenichi. You mentioned needing some materials earlier, right? I've procured them for you. They're in Laboratory No. 3," Orochimaru said, watching his disciple with satisfaction.
This disciple had exceeded his expectations. He'd originally sent Kenichi out simply to distract him while Orochimaru performed the Immortality Reincarnation, never expecting such a fruitful outcome.
To test Kenichi's loyalty, Orochimaru had deliberately confronted him in his original body, curious if his disciple harbored any ulterior motives.
So far, so good. At least Kenichi hadn't shown any disrespect or attempted to gauge his current strength.
"Thank you, Teacher!" Kenichi's excitement was palpable. He'd previously asked Orochimaru for materials to construct thermobaric bombs, and he never expected his teacher to actually obtain them.
Those materials weren't cheap.
"You're welcome. By the way, Kenichi, you've seen my current body now, haven't you?" Orochimaru asked, his expression turning serious as he fixed his gaze on Kenichi.
"Teacher, what's going on here?" Amemiya Kenichi asked, pretending complete ignorance, even though he already knew the answer.
He'd initially thought his teacher wouldn't bother explaining.
"This is the Immortality Reincarnation, a ninjutsu I developed," Orochimaru said with a smile. "If you want to learn it later, I can teach you."
Kenichi froze, surprised by his teacher's straightforwardness.
Then he remembered some experiments he'd taken over, and a line he'd seen in the logs:
After the transfer, the body and soul may struggle to merge properly, leading to a significant loss of power.
"Okay, Teacher," Kenichi chuckled. "But I'm still young. I don't need it yet."
He suspected his teacher was testing him, and even wondered if that line he'd seen in Konoha had been planted deliberately.
*Note: Orochimaru is referred to as "she" here to avoid confusion between two male characters. This is purely for clarity and carries no other implication.*