"Naruto: Ice God"Chapter 134: Talk, Anything Can Be Discussed
"Still have something to say?"
Seeing Feng Bai approach despite his obvious fear, Orochimaru couldn't help but feel a flicker of curiosity.
"Actually..."
After organizing his thoughts, Feng Bai had only just realized why Orochimaru was so tense.
All of his current experiments must be conducted in secret from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
If things continued this way, Orochimaru would inevitably defect from Konoha just as in the original timeline, then return at some point to deliver a devastating blow to his own teacher.
That absolutely could not happen. Setting aside the fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi was now his own teacher and that years of interaction had fostered genuine affection between them.
Orochimaru's research results alone could revolutionize the shinobi world and provide crucial means to combat the Ōtsutsuki—for that reason alone, Feng Bai had to find a way to keep such talent within Konoha.
After all, no one wanted to be dragged out of retirement by the Ōtsutsuki clan for another fight.
Moreover, Feng Bai's own ambitions would require Orochimaru's assistance.
"Orochimaru-senpai, why don't you sit down and have a proper conversation with Sarutobi-sensei?"
At this moment, Feng Bai had essentially transformed into a diplomatic negotiator.
Talk—anything can be discussed through dialogue.
"Talk about what?"
Orochimaru nearly burst into laughter at Feng Bai's unexpected suggestion.
"Your experiments haven't received Sarutobi-sensei's approval, have they? Otherwise, you wouldn't have chosen such a remote location for such a crude laboratory."
Glancing at the debris scattered across the ground, Feng Bai steeled himself to continue:
"Sarutobi-sensei may be stubborn and somewhat set in his ways, but he genuinely cares about everyone in Konoha. That's why he sometimes disagrees with you on certain matters. Why not bring these issues into the open and discuss them?"
Orochimaru remained silent, quietly listening to Feng Bai's reasoning.
His intimidating aura also subsided somewhat.
"Rather than conducting clandestine experiments in secret, why not approach Sarutobi-sensei and have an honest discussion about your ideas? Then find a compromise both sides can accept. I believe, given Sarutobi-sensei's character, he would never turn you away."
Feng Bai was absolutely certain: if Orochimaru was willing to compromise and refrain from using village comrades for human experimentation, Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely support him.
In the original timeline, even when Orochimaru's human experiments were exposed, Hiruzen Sarutobi at his peak still couldn't bring himself to act decisively, could he?
It wasn't until the Konoha Crush Plan, when the aged leader finally steeled his resolve for killing, that he merely stripped Orochimaru of his jutsu.
Orochimaru studied Feng Bai intently, his expression unchanged.
He was simply contemplating Feng Bai's words internally.
Did Danzō tell his son everything?
Orochimaru wasn't surprised that Feng Bai knew about his inhumane experiments—after all, he was Danzō's son.
What drew his attention was the substance of Feng Bai's discourse.
At present, due to funding constraints and various other factors, Orochimaru hadn't conducted extensive inhumane experimentation, and his humanity hadn't been completely extinguished.
Though he'd witnessed countless deaths and developed his own philosophy regarding life, abandoning Konoha entirely was still beyond him.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be traveling between battlefields constantly.
"Consider this my compensation for destroying your laboratory. If you're truly willing to have a proper conversation with Sarutobi-sensei, I'll certainly speak on your behalf. Actually, Sarutobi-sensei has mentioned wanting to see you more than once, but you always avoid him."
Feng Bai continued speaking unprompted.
Orochimaru regarded Feng Bai with a peculiar expression.
Your speaking on my behalf—what good would that accomplish?
However, he restrained himself from voicing this, merely waving his hand to halt Feng Bai's speech: "Enough. You may leave now."
"Actually—" Feng Bai wanted to add a few more points.
"I said you may leave!"
"Right away."
Seeing Orochimaru once again emanate his overwhelming presence, Feng Bai dared not linger further. To demonstrate his determination to depart swiftly, he directly employed the Flying Thunder God Technique and returned to his tent.
"Hmph."
Watching Feng Bai disappear so efficiently this time, Orochimaru finally relaxed his expression, staring alone at the ruins before him in contemplation.
"The old man wants to see me too..."
Orochimaru's emotions were deeply conflicted.
He did have feelings for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As a teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi had imparted many things to him.
When his parents died in childhood, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been there to comfort him.
Without Hiruzen Sarutobi's devoted guidance, there would be no Orochimaru today.
When did everything begin to change...
Numerous fragments flashed through Orochimaru's mind.
Nawaki's death, Dan's death, the deaths of comrades, so many deaths...
Why must shinobi slaughter each other?
What is the true meaning of life?
Orochimaru sought that answer.
Therefore, he wanted to master every jutsu in the shinobi world, to achieve completeness.
But humans as creatures have genuine limitations.
Human lifespan is insufficient to master every technique—one must transcend humanity.
That is, achieve immortality...
Currently in Konoha, no one supported his research.
Danzō's act of casting him aside had deeply wounded Orochimaru's heart.
Having a son changed everything—Danzō is merely a pitiful man blinded by the Hokage position.
Even so, regardless of Danzō's motivations for cooperating with him, the fact remained that he currently lacked any financial support.
He's right—it's time to have a conversation with the old man.
It would simply mean following the rules Hiruzen established. If he could gain support, such a price wasn't particularly difficult to accept.
Having grasped the key point, Orochimaru exhaled deeply and bent down to examine the ruins before him.
Such powerful Ice Release, combined with Flying Thunder God.
Danzō had indeed fathered an exceptional son.
Perhaps he truly could become Hokage.
Lamenting the destruction Feng Bai had wrought upon his laboratory, Orochimaru realized nothing useful could be salvaged and simply abandoned his search, using Fire Release to incinerate everything before him.
...
"Holy shit, that was terrifying."
Back in his tent, Feng Bai's first action was to pat his chest and catch his breath.
He hadn't expected to be so bold, confronting Orochimaru head-on and even revealing through his words that he knew about the human experiments.
He might well have been silenced!
Fortunately, this was Konoha's main camp with his father in command—his personal safety should be temporarily guaranteed.
"Obito, that disloyal bastard, ran off pretty fast—I'll see how I deal with him later! And Jiraiya too—stirring up Orochimaru then running off like that, he can't be spared either!"
Seeing that he was temporarily safe, Feng Bai began plotting revenge, preparing to find an opportunity to properly retaliate against Obito and Jiraiya.
Shisui and Itachi, who had just arrived at the tent, overheard every word clearly.
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