Orochimaru's secret laboratory.
"Asahi-kun, you have done a great service for the village this time. Congratulations." Orochimaru's voice was a little hoarser than before and sounded even gloomier.
"This is nothing. Compared to Orochimaru-sama who is commanding the ninjas in the front line to fight against Sunagakure head-on, I have hardly done much." Asahi said somewhat weakly.
Asahi had long anticipated that once the matter of Sasori was exposed, Orochimaru would completely lose trust in him. After all, this was very important information, but Asahi did not tell Orochimaru. Instead, he chose to complete the task himself and make contribution to the village.
In Orochimaru's opinion, Asahi was so anxious to make contributions to the village was just to add another safety tag onto himself so that Orochimaru would not dare to harm him easily.
And this meant that Asahi was ready to get rid of Orochimaru's control.
This is why, Asahi had won over Chizuru in advance and told him about Orochimaru's assassination of the Uchiha clan ninjas. If Chizuru reported this matter to the Uchiha clan, then the Uchiha clan would always keep an eye on Orochimaru and find evidence of Orochimaru coveting the Sharingan.
With the Uchiha clan's eyes on him, Orochimaru would inevitably restrain himself a little. At least Orochimaru would not choose to kill Asahi at this time.
And Asahi would have more time to learn the [Flying Thunder God Technique] and prepare to completely break away from Orochimaru.
However, before leaving Orochimaru, the cells of the First Hokage must be obtained.
This task was difficult. In the past year, Orochimaru had not given Asahi any chance. Whenever Asahi appeared in Orochimaru's laboratory and came into contact with the Hashirama Cells, Orochimaru would always keep an eye on Asahi from time to time, making Asahi dare not make any small moves.
Therefore, if Asahi wanted to obtain the Hashirama Cells, he must find another way instead of being Orochimaru's follower and quietly waiting for an opportunity.
Because given Orochimaru's behavior, he would never give Asahi this opportunity.
"When I was your age, I could only follow Sarutobi-sensei to complete missions. You should feel proud that you have achieved such a high level of success at this age." Orochimaru licked his lips, and said with a sinister look in his eyes.
"Orochimaru-sama is already a powerful figure who terrorizes the ninja world, and I haven't grown up yet. How dare I be compare with you, Orochimaru-sama?" Asahi deliberately said the words "I haven't grown up yet" to give Orochimaru think that he would still dare not betray him for now.
"You are very talented, and your future is indeed promising. However, there are many people in the ninja world who are even more talented, but they died at the hands of stronger ninjas because they were too conceited." Orochimaru glanced at Asahi with his peripheral vision, and said in a playful tone, "A genius who has not yet grown up is still just a weakling."
"I know this very well." Asahi said respectfully, "That's why I follow a strong ninja like Orochimaru-sama and have been learning everything I can from you all the time."
"Hehehe…" Orochimaru chuckled and asked, "Where is Uchiha Chizuru's eye? Did you get it?"
After the meeting, Orochimaru notified Asahi to come to the laboratory, so Orochimaru still hadn't confirmed Chizuru's status and about the fact that he was still alive.
"I'm really sorry! Orochimaru-sama!" said to Asahi apologetically, "Sasori of the Red Sand's strength was not as strong as imagined. Chizuru's Sharingan saw through all of Sasori's attacks. Until Sasori fled, Chizuru was not injured. With my strength, I am really not enough to fight against Chizuru."
"Oh? Didn't you say before that you were no match for Sasori, and that in the end it was you and Uchiha Chizuru who escaped?" Orochimaru asked.
"In fact, it was me who suggested letting Sasori go." Asahi explained, "But I didn't want others to know about this, so I exaggerated his strength."
"Heh, why did you let him go?" Orochimaru chuckled and asked in a mocking tone, "If you can catch Sasori, wouldn't you be able to make a greater contribution?"
"Given the situation at the time, it was impossible to capture him alive." Asahi explained calmly, "And according to the information I know, Chiyo of Sunagakure loves her grandson very much, and even helped to conceal his suspicion of assassination of the Third Kazekage. If I killed Sasori, I'm afraid Chiyo would seek revenge on me at all costs. Just like what you said, Orochimaru-sama, I haven't grown up yet, and I have always been very afraid of death, so I let Sasori go."
It was a perfect explanation, but Asahi knew that Orochimaru would never believe what he said.
Even if there was no flaw in these words, Orochimaru does not need to find evidence that Asahi had betrayed him. As long as Orochimaru had doubts in his heart, he would not continue to trust Asahi.
However, Asahi does not need Orochimaru to continue to trust him now. The reason why Asahi joined Orochimaru was that he was going to at first wanted to take Orochimaru as his master, but who knew that Orochimaru would actually let Asahi worship Tsunade as his master.
With Tsunade as his teacher, Asahi's need for Orochimaru had been greatly reduced, and he no longer needed Orochimaru's guidance.
If Orochimaru had chosen to accept Asahi as his disciple, Asahi believed that his choice would be different now. If Asahi had become Orochimaru's disciple, he would not have hesitated even if he followed Orochimaru to rebel against Konoha one day.
Maybe this was what they call fate.
"So, you have accomplished nothing?" Orochimaru said in a gloomy tone.
"Of course not." He smiled faintly at Asahi and continued, "I have achieved some results in researching drugs that inhibit Hashirama Cells, but I still need to consult with Tsunade-sensei before I can truly complete this research. At most in three months, Orochimaru-sama will be able to see the results."
Since he hadn't obtained the Hashirama Cells yet, Asahi didn't want Orochimaru to think that he was of no use, so he told a 'white' lie.
"Three more months?" Orochimaru frowned and fell into deep thought. Finally, he nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I'll give you another three months. If you still don't have any results after three months, I'll give up on you."
Hearing Orochimaru's threat, Asahi immediately assured him, "It will only take three months. Please rest assured, Orochimaru-sama."
…
After returning to the medical team camp, Asahi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just standing next to Orochimaru, one could feel the suffocating pressure emanating from him, not to mention having to make up lies to deceive Orochimaru.
Asahi believed that with Orochimaru's character, he would never trust him again, so Asahi must achieve results in three months. Either he must gain strength to protect himself from Orochimaru, or he must research a drug to inhibit the Hashirama Cells. Otherwise, Orochimaru would definitely give up on him completely.
The fate of those who were abandoned by Orochimaru was to be killed to be silenced forever.
Time was running out, Asahi must be extremely cautious in every step he takes, because a single carelessness could lead to a disastrous outcome.
*****
Support me on my pat reon and gain early access to my creations.
https://www.pat reon.com/RroY28 (remove the space)
You can access up to 30 advanced chapters.