Chapter 26

War?

Nara Shintaku thought for a moment and nodded in understanding. At this time, the Third Ninja World War was on the verge of breaking out. He also remembered that Hatake Kakashi, who was the same age as him, had already graduated and become a Chunin.

Before Nara Shintaku had awakened his wisdom, White Fang had already passed away.

Otherwise, what else could be done?

"When do we set off?" Nara Shintaku shook his head, suppressing these distracting thoughts, and asked.

Orochimaru was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Nara Shintaku to be so straightforward and resolute.

"Now!"

"Good!"

---

That day, Orochimaru applied to leave the village, using the pretext of taking Nara Shintaku out for training. Neither the Third Hokage nor Ino-Shika-Cho had any objections. Nara Shintaku had already shown his strength. Although only six years old, he had the skills of an elite jonin and his techniques were flexible. Even if he couldn't defeat Orochimaru, he could escape, a fact verified by Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.

---

In a remote mountain village in the Land of Rice Fields, Nara Shintaku and Orochimaru hurried to the secret research base hidden in the village, under the astonished gazes of the local boys and girls.

"I collected some orphans here and raised them," Orochimaru explained. "There were also people who couldn't survive, but I saved them, and they chose to stay and work here. Additionally, a few wandering ninjas have secretly pledged allegiance to me."

Orochimaru led Nara Shintaku through the base, giving a tour while he introduced the different aspects.

Nara Shintaku nodded perfunctorily, uninterested in the personnel composition. He trusted Orochimaru's control over them. If Orochimaru couldn't handle them, he wouldn't be Orochimaru.

"This is my laboratory," Orochimaru said, guiding Nara Shintaku to the deepest room. Inside were various experimental tools and equipment, with many children sorting through reports and maintaining the gear.

"Lord Orochimaru!"

The children all bowed in respect.

"Yes," Orochimaru acknowledged before pointing to Nara Shintaku. "This is the person assisting me with the experiments. If he needs anything, do your best to accommodate him."

The children's eyes widened in surprise. They were taken aback by Nara Shintaku's appearance, as he stood before them as a mere six-year-old.

Nara Shintaku, however, wasn't worried about being exposed. He had confidence in Orochimaru's control. Besides, by the time he was exposed, his power would have already grown to the point that Konoha would no longer be a concern.

"Let's not waste any time. Let's get started," Orochimaru said, handing over a data report to Nara Shintaku. "These are the results from my previous experiments. We can't stay outside the village for too long, so you'll only have five days to study. Use that time to read through all the material as quickly as possible. Familiarize yourself with the project now, and next time we leave the village, we'll begin our proper research."

Orochimaru's expectations were realistic. He didn't think they'd achieve any breakthroughs on the first attempt, as five days would only allow Nara Shintaku to read and analyze the existing data.

---

Nara Shintaku took the report and began to flip through the pages slowly at first. Then, as he continued reading, his speed increased. Before long, he was rapidly skimming through the documents.

The sound of pages turning quickly filled the room.

"Hey! Lord Orochimaru told you to read the report, not flip through it like that!" one of the children yelled.

The others chimed in as well, "You're not even reading properly!"

"That's Lord Orochimaru's hard work!"

"Stop messing around!"

Despite Orochimaru's earlier instructions, the children found it hard to fully respect Nara Shintaku due to his age and appearance.

"Shintaku…" Orochimaru frowned slightly.

Snap! Nara Shintaku slammed the report shut, frowning at Orochimaru.

"Most of this is filled with meaningless experiments. Your design is terrible!" he declared.

Before Orochimaru could respond, the children erupted in fury.

"Shut up!"

"Don't you dare talk to Lord Orochimaru like that!"

"Do you even know what research is?"

"I don't care if you're his assistant, you have no right to insult Lord Orochimaru!"

Nara Shintaku ignored them entirely. These kids didn't concern him.

"It's fine. You all leave now," Orochimaru waved his hand, dismissing the children from the lab. Their faces froze with shock, but they had no choice but to obey.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," they muttered reluctantly, glaring at Nara Shintaku as they exited.

"I'm sorry about that," Orochimaru apologized. "They're just overly… respectful toward me."

"It's fine," Nara Shintaku chuckled. "Doesn't that just prove how strong your control over this base is?"

Both of them quickly dismissed the earlier incident. For researchers like them, the opinions of others were of little consequence.

"Now, what exactly is wrong with my design?" Orochimaru asked, his curiosity piqued.