Senzan couldn’t care less about Orochimaru’s reaction.
If this snake wanted him as an apprentice, an enrollment gift was absolutely non-negotiable—otherwise, he’d be taking a massive loss!
Besides, Orochimaru was a pillar of the Hidden Leaf; a man of his stature wouldn’t dare refuse just to save face, right?
“Hehehe…
Very well.
I accept you as my disciple,” Orochimaru chuckled.
“As for this enrollment gift of yours…
come with me.”
Orochimaru turned and leaped off the roof, heading toward the Academy gates.
A sly smirk tugged at the corner of Senzan’s mouth.
Only an idiot would pass up free loot.
Even if the guy was Orochimaru, when it came to shameless opportunism and maximizing profit, Gekko Senzan was the undisputed grandmaster.
“Class dismissed, you two.
Head back inside,” Senzan called over his shoulder to Kakashi and Obito.
“I’ve got a rich patron to fleece!”
With that, he vanished in a blur, bounding off the roof to chase after his new master.
Orochimaru’s residence wasn’t anywhere near the center of the village.
As a fanatic of both ninjutsu and science, he had moved his home and laboratory to the secluded outskirts to ensure absolute peace and quiet.
The house was a modest structure entirely enveloped by dense, looming trees, radiating an incredibly gloomy, sinister aura.
A few vipers flicked their tongues from the surrounding bushes—clearly Orochimaru’s makeshift guard dogs.
“Welcome, Senzan-kun,” Orochimaru said, casually strolling into the pitch-black house.
His pale complexion and white robes offered the only sliver of light in the gloom.
“I must say, since moving here, I receive very few guests.”
“Tsk, tsk.
Lord Orochimaru, I have to say, you really live up to your title as the village’s cold-blooded snake,” Senzan commented, his tone remarkably relaxed.
“If it were me, I couldn’t stand living in a creepy place like this.”
He was completely at ease—mostly because he had been discreetly dropping Flying Thunder God markers all along the route here.
With his escape plan secured, he had nothing to fear.
“Hehehe…
Geniuses are always lonely, aren’t they?” Orochimaru reached into a nearby crate and casually tossed two scrolls at the boy.
“Your enrollment gifts.
From today onward, you are my disciple.”
One scroll bore the kanji for Ninja, and the other read Snake.
Senzan’s eyes instantly lit up.
Ninja obviously meant ninjutsu.
As for Snake…
maybe a summoning contract?
Or perhaps another specialized jutsu?
“Oh!
My heavens, Master!
Please accept my deepest bow of respect!” Senzan instantly plastered on a glowing, sycophantic smile and executed a flawless ninety-degree bow, snatching the two scrolls from Orochimaru’s hands with terrifying speed.
“Honestly, Master, there’s no need to be so formal between us!”
Orochimaru just watched him with a faint, unbothered smile. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
“Senzan-kun, what are your thoughts on Kekkei Genkai?”
“I don’t think much of them.
They’re pretty useless,” Senzan replied casually.
“Look at me, Master.
I’m a Kekkei Genkai wielder, and what does it get me?
Aside from gathering intel, what else can I possibly do?”
It was the honest truth.
The Transparency Jutsu’s only real applications were peeping and sneak attacks; beyond that, it didn’t offer much in the way of raw firepower.
“Hehehe.
But it is still a gift, is it not?” Orochimaru countered smoothly.
“If it weren’t for your Transparency Jutsu, you wouldn’t have been able to casually browse through the Scroll of Seals completely undetected.”
‘Heh, here we go again.’ Senzan didn’t care what any of them said; he was going to deny it to the grave!
“You must be joking, Master.
I really didn’t do that.”
Orochimaru simply smiled, making no attempt to press for the truth.
He had initially sought Senzan out purely upon the request of his teacher, Hiruzen, and Sakumo Hatake.
He had only planned to observe the boy, but Senzan’s sheer talent had genuinely captivated him.
That was what made him decide to take the boy as his apprentice.
It would make observing him so much easier, after all…
hehehe.
“That will be all for today.
Remember this location, and come back first thing tomorrow morning,” Orochimaru ordered softly.
“As my disciple, assisting me with my experiments is of the utmost importance.”
Senzan’s brilliant smile stiffened slightly.
Why did that sound remarkably like Orochimaru wanted to use him as a test subject?
Suddenly, he remembered Anko Mitarashi.
She was Orochimaru’s true apprentice in the original timeline, and hadn’t she ended up as a human guinea pig for the Cursed Seal?
Not that he was particularly afraid of the Cursed Seal—it was just a flawed imitation of Sage Mode, and with his system constantly boosting his stats, he was confident he could suppress it.
Speaking of the system…
the exact moment he had touched those scrolls earlier, he had inexplicably learned a new jutsu.
He just wasn’t very fond of it.
Substitution Jutsu: Mud Clone Form.
It was actually highly practical, it just looked absolutely disgusting.
No one wanted to turn into a puddle of foul-smelling mud.
Well, except maybe Orochimaru.
“Understood, Master!
I’ll be here tomorrow!” Senzan offered a cheerful parting bow and instantly triggered the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, vanishing on the spot.
Orochimaru chuckled at the abrupt exit.
“Hehehe…
How delightfully paranoid.
It seems he’s left markers all over the village.” His golden eyes narrowed.
“The Flying Thunder God Jutsu… New chapters come out on g.com first.
hehehe…”
For some inexplicable reason, a flicker of sheer disdain crossed Orochimaru’s face as he muttered the name of the space-time technique.
After fleeing Orochimaru’s lair, Senzan didn’t head straight home.
Instead, he teleported directly to a friend.
“Oh?
Senzan?
What are you doing here?” Minato Namikaze blinked in surprise, pausing his grueling ninjutsu practice in the empty training field.
“Wait a minute, when did you put a jutsu formula on me?”
Standing right next to Minato was a familiar white-haired man—his sensei, Jiraiya.
“Oh?
Senzan, my boy!
What brings you here?” Jiraiya grinned sleazily.
“Did you bring me some fresh material?”
To Jiraiya, Senzan was a walking, breathing premium material library.
The boy’s sheer capability for gathering ‘research’ made the Sannin absolutely green with envy.
“Relax, relax, Minato.
The formula doesn’t matter,” Senzan waved him off casually.
“I actually came over to share some great news!
I officially took on a master.”
The entire reason he had teleported over was to rub this exactly in Minato’s face.
Minato was constantly bringing up Jiraiya.
‘My sensei said this…’ ‘My sensei taught me that…’ It always annoyed Senzan to no end.
But now?
He had a master of his own!
Who was afraid of who?!
“Oh?
You got yourself a master, kid?” Jiraiya burst out laughing.
“Who’s the poor, unfortunate soul?”
Jiraiya knew Senzan far too well.
If you asked the kid to slack off or pull a scam, he was unmatched in the entire ninja world.
But asking him to actually train hard?
You might as well ask him to die.
“Lord Jiraiya, my new master is none other than your fellow Sannin, Lord Orochimaru.”
Senzan flashed a wicked, triumphant grin at the two of them.
Both master and student completely froze, entirely blindsided by the revelation.
Gekko Senzan?
Orochimaru’s disciple?!
“Say, Minato, do you remember that little bet we made a while back?” Senzan drawled, stepping closer.
“What was it you promised to do if I ever found myself a master?”
Seeing the absolute, unadulterated malice gleaming in Senzan’s eyes, a violent shiver ran straight down Minato Namikaze’s spine.