Let's make a Deal

Mizuki had lost track of how long they had been walking for.

Five Minutes? Ten? Fifteen?

Time seemed to blur as all Mizuki could hear was the rythmic sound of feet hitting the stone stairs as they continued to descend into darkness.

How long had it been now?

Twenty Minutes? Thirty?

The only sign he ever received that they were making progress, was the transition between staircase and straight corridor.

A corridor which, similar to the staircase, was encased in a seemingly infinite darkness.

Although he was calm on the outside, on the inside he was absolutely horrified, dreading what would come.

It had only been a week since they had graduated as genin, Mizuki didn't expect things to pick up like this, he thought they would have more time.

He began to concoct a plan in his head about his strategy, only to find he could think of nothing.

He allowed himself to fall slightly behind his two teammates before discreetly pulling out paper bombs and attaching them to his chest.

He was hoping he didn't have to do this. However, even with the combined power of the Eight Gates, Shadow Clones, and Rasengan, Mizuki knew he stood no chance of fighting a Sanin on their home turf.

He glanced up to see Anko and sighed lightly to himself. She was easily the most important thing to him, he would have killed for someone like her on earth.

He would be damned if he let that snake take away the thing that made his life so much better.

As if in perfect sync with his thoughts, as soon as Mizuki finished, the corridor stopped as it opened into an office.

The room they were in was a stone chamber roughly twenty feet by ten feet, and consisted of a desk, a couple of chairs, and several bookcases, filled to the brim.

Orochimaru took a seat in front of his desk before staring at the three of his students.

Orochimaru: "As you know, we are currently in the middle of a war."

sweeping his gaze across his three students, he confirmed that his hook had worked before continuing.

Orochimaru: "And currently, all three of you are weak enough to have significant risk when you get there."

Orochimaru: "So, this room along with the training room down the hall and myself are all available to you in order to get stronger."

Orochimaru: "However, since I am not a saint I would like a little....something in return"

Upon seeing that all three of his students were glancing up at him with curiosity, he knew he had their attention.

Orochimaru: "Some help in my experiments, or something else useful to me, I am open to making deals."

Orochimaru smiled as he saw their interest, believing that he would soon have three new puppets to do with as he pleased.

However, he was not counting on someone like Mizuki being one of his three genin, who in his resourcefulness quickly came up with a strategy, one which he hoped to use in order to secure both his and Anko's safety.

Mizuki: "Alright, I think I can make a deal"

Orochimaru nodded, clearly expecting the genin to take the bait immediately as he gestured for the other two genin to leave.

After they left, Orochimaru turned to face the genin, noticing that he had dropped the act he was putting up as he was very guarded and on edge.

Orochimaru: "Relax, I am not going to do anything"

Mizuki: "I would rather be cautious"

Orochimaru: "You mentioned a deal?"

Mizuki nodded as he stood up.

He had a strategy in mind for what was to come and was hoping to come to an agreement between the two of them.

After all, he didn't want to use his Ace unless absolutely necessary.

The boy quickly performed several hand signs before a calming green light emitted out of his palms.

{Mystic Palms Jutsu}

Orochimaru looked surprised as he saw that one of his students could utilize medical ninjutsu, and realized the general angle his student was going to go for.

Mizuki sat down as he started to hype up his deal.

Mizuki: "Considering the fact that this lab is far away from the prying eyes of the authorities, It is relatively safe to assume that there is some kind of experiment here that you don't want any wondering eyes on."

Orochimaru: "Are you threatening me?"

Mizuki: "Hell no, I am not suicidal."

Mizuki: "As I was saying, It is probably harder to conduct these experiments with limited resources in order to keep everything secretive."

Mizuki: "And these experiments would be infinitely easier in addition to you being able to increase the variety of experiments you perform if you had a dedicated Medical Ninja who you could trust..."

Orochimaru leaned forwards towards Mizuki, interested in what he was about to offer.

Mizuki: "I am offering to be your personal assistant, to be someone who can help with these experiments and act on your behalf here in the lab so you can attend to other business."

Mizuki had a relatively simple strategy here, to fill the roll that Kabuto formed in the anime.

And since it was a few years prior, Mizuki was confident that the roll was currently unfilled and still sorely needed with Orochimaru still being active in his experiments in the village.

Orochimaru had a look of intrigue and faint mixture amusement on his face as he looked towards Mizuki.

Orochimaru: "And you are not bothered by the fact that I am experimenting in some less than legal areas"

Mizuki: "So long as nobody who I care about gets hurt, I honestly couldn't care less."

Orochimaru: "Now, as of what you gain from this deal."

Mizuki nodded as he listed out his conditions.

Mizuki: "First and Foremost, Anko and I are not to be used as the subject of any of your experiments unless there are special circumstances."

Orochimaru seemed unfazed, if slightly disappointed at the turn of events. clearly expecting the condition.

Orochimaru: "Not Idate?"

Mizuki: "Can't be too greedy, also I have other conditions"

Orochimaru: "Go on..."

Mizuki: "Both Anko and I collectively get one hour a week in which we get to raid that mountain of books in your office, and another hour between the two of us every two weeks to ask you questions"

Orochimaru seemed a little surprised, but still relatively unfazed as he understood the appeal behind the request.

Orochimaru: "Obviously, there would be no touching the notes on my research and conditions on forbidden jutsu, but we can hammer those out later."

Mizuki agreed as they transitioned to his third and most important request.

Mizuki conjured up the remainder of his confidence as he stared at the snake across from him, presenting his final request.

Mizuki: "I want you to teach both me and Anko the summoning jutsu, particularly how to summon snakes."