dark color

It was already sunset when we left Sand Ninja Village.

Orochimaru and Scorpion changed their attire and covered their faces with wide bamboo hats.

The climate in Sand Ninja Village is dry, and even the wind feels dry and hot. They blow people's robes, with inexplicable desolation and desolation, but also imply endless tenacity and vitality.

The exit of the village was not far away, but Orochimaru's footsteps stopped suddenly.

The red-haired boy stopped in surprise, and followed the gaze of those golden eyes into the distance.

The little child sat alone on a swing, the worn-out teddy bear cuddled tightly in his arms.Although he has red hair, this child doesn't give the impression of being fresh and bright, but rather like a scorpion, with an endless sense of bloodiness.

The bloody sunset deepened this feeling, and only a scene of desolation and silence emerged in my mind—the moment of encountering magic.

When Orochimaru found him, he was looking at a group of playful children in the distance with a timid and longing gaze, then lowered his head and muttered nervously to himself.

Noticing that someone was looking at him, the child froze for a moment, then flashed expressions of joy and fear, which eventually turned violent.Like a small animal, the child looked directly at them with vigilance and threats, but the bear puppet in his hand was grasped tightly.

"This kid..."

Scorpion looked at Orochimaru, and there was a rare bit of interest in the cold voice, "Is there anything special about it?"

"Do not,"

Orochimaru lowered his eyes, no one could see his eyes at this time, so he didn't know what kind of dull light was in those eyes.

The black-haired man turned around and left. He said slowly and in a cold voice, "I thought I saw someone I knew. Unfortunately, he wasn't."

The child still had hopeful eyes and a smooth forehead, cruel but not numb.

Heh, are you still looking forward to something, that's why you deliberately ran to a place far away from the center of the village?

The people here have never seen him, so they don't look at him with hatred and fear.However, it is still lonely.

Because of hope, the child still has the last piece of happiness.

However, that is just a flower in the mirror, the moon in the water, and one day, the truth will be presented to him in the cruelest way...

Everything has not yet started.

##################################### No matter how humans look at it, time still flows at its usual speed.

It's not like Orochimaru hasn't met Konoha during these years.

One of them was almost paranoid to inquire about everything about Akatsuki.

"Spontaneously."

Orochimaru looked at the man standing in front of him indifferently, time had left traces on the face of this former companion, Zilai was no longer young, and he was no longer that impulsive and frizzy boy.

But he still looks like this.

"Tsk, stinky snake, why do you still look like this? Did you use that technique like Tsunade did?"

As if he wasn't a traitor, as if there hadn't been such a long time between them, he scratched his head when he came, and still had a familiar and frivolous tone.But the excitement and joy in his eyes could not deceive anyone.

"Jiraiya, you also have such a mature look."

Orochimaru's voice was still cold, but his gaze softened slightly.Time seemed to go back a long time ago, he hit the person in front of him indifferently, and then looked at him who was neither convinced but speechless.

Even though he was wearing Xiao's robe, even if he was classified as a traitor, even if he was slandered for countless crimes, this former companion still believed in him.

This is enough.

Orochimaru lowered his eyes, thinking lightly.

Xiao Zhikong's name is outside, but this person still believes in him and looks for him.In every world, he has met many, many people, and then, someone always proves to him in his own way how beautiful this world is.

This is enough... As long as he believes in the existence of these things, no matter how dark the situation is, he will not be completely desperate.

Ever since he was awakened by the four generations of Naruto, time seems to have stopped on him.Maybe it's a side effect of that curse, or something else, maybe this body can last for a long time.

Thinking of the original Orochimaru's paranoid pursuit of eternal life, the black-haired man raised the corners of his mouth slightly, showing a slightly mocking smile.Could this be, again, something called fate?

"Hey, Orochimaru, I have a question, you have to tell me the truth..."

It is actually rare for Zilai to have such a serious expression, "Is it the elders who did it to you?"

As long as the investigation continues carefully, there will always be clues.After all, what happened that day was too strange.

Orochimaru was taken aback for a moment, then glanced at him, and then set his eyes on that extremely distant place.

He said coldly, "Yes or no, what's the difference to me now?"

Jiraiya froze, was about to speak, but was interrupted by Orochimaru, "Jiraiya, don't continue this matter."

The man smiled mockingly, "I can't go back, you know."

Moreover, he didn't want to go back.

"So are you going to be a traitor here forever?"

Furious, Zilai also grabbed his collar, "Is it okay to slander you?"

"Crime? Jiraiya, I am now the notorious Akatsuki Sora."

Orochimaru gave him an evil smile, "What you said is no different to me."

"Also, I did kill Konoha's people."

"But those are the people sent by the elders to hunt you down!"

Orochimaru frowned slightly, he thought, he understood a little bit the complicated mood when Sasuke was chased by Naruto in the original book.No matter how mature you become, a single tendon is still a single tendon, and it will never change.

Jilai also suddenly let go of his collar, turned around and jumped a long way.

The huge scorpion tail pierced the ground, even corroding a piece of the surrounding land.

"The people of Konoha?"

A voice that was too cold to resemble a human voice said this, and after the smoke and dust dispersed, Jiraiya realized that the person who attacked him was a handsome red-haired boy.Although he has a young and immature face, his eyes are dark and sophisticated, as pale as an old man.

Jiraiya looked at the black-bottomed red cloud robe on him with a complicated expression, and said to Orochimaru, "This is your partner? If I remember correctly, it should be the puppet master called the Red Sand Scorpion."

"Oh? Your information is good."

The boy raised one corner of his mouth and said coldly.He turned his head to look at Orochimaru with mocking eyes, "This is your companion in Konoha? Why, are you so moved that you want to go back?"

"Regret to be a traitor, do you regret joining Akatsuki?"

His tone was cruel, but there was a smile on his face, the boy looked at him, "Oshemaru, do you want to betray the organization?"