This was the intensive care and high-difficulty surgery area. Aside from senior medical ninja, unauthorized personnel were strictly prohibited.
A faint scent of disinfectant drifted through the corridor.
Orochimaru wore casual clothes instead of his iconic white lab coat, but his chilling aura still sent shivers down the spines of passing nurses, who hurried to get out of his way.
Following a specific chakra signature, he arrived outside a treatment room.
The door was slightly ajar.
Orochimaru didn't enter immediately. Instead, he peered through the crack in the door.
Inside the room, a silver-haired boy stood before an operating table.
He looked barely ten years old, wearing slightly oversized round glasses with a focused expression.
Beneath his hands was a severely injured white mouse. Its abdomen was cut open, its internal organs heavily damaged, and it was on the verge of death.
This was usually a basic course for medical ninja to practice suturing and chakra-based blood stasis.
But Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
He saw that Kabuto Yakushi didn't release the Mystical Palm Technique frantically like an ordinary beginner. Instead, he used ultra-fine chakra threads to precisely block the mouse's primary blood vessels, keeping the bleeding to a minimum.
Then, he picked up a scalpel and removed the necrotic tissue with fluid motions.
That level of calm, precision, and almost detached insight into the structure of life didn't belong to a ten-year-old child; he looked more like a veteran who had spent decades on the operating table.
'Impressive work,' Orochimaru praised silently.
This innate composure and micro-control over chakra gave him some confidence in Gamakon's words.
This child was truly born to be his disciple.
Just as Orochimaru prepared to step inside and use his 'persuasion' tactics, a golden figure suddenly blocked his view.
"If you're here for an appointment, the registration desk is on the first floor."
A cold, commanding voice rang out.
Orochimaru paused, his gaze slowly shifting upward.
There stood Tsunade, wearing her green robe with the word 'Gambler' on the back. She stood before Kabuto with her arms crossed, like an immovable mountain.
Her amber eyes were filled with wariness and disgust.
"Tsunade..." Orochimaru straightened up and let out a raspy chuckle. "Long time no see. I didn't expect one of the legendary Sannin to have the time to tutor a brat here."
"That's none of your business."
Tsunade snorted, her presence subtly flaring. "This is the hospital, my territory. Orochimaru, pull back that disgusting gaze of yours. Don't think I don't know what you're plotting."
"I'm merely looking for talent."
Orochimaru didn't back down. Instead, he looked at Kabuto behind Tsunade with renewed interest. "This child is gifted. Leaving him in a hospital to deal with such low-level injuries is a waste of his brilliance."
"Waste?" Tsunade's eyebrows shot up. "Saving lives is the duty of a medical ninja! This child's chakra control is the best I've ever seen. With a little cultivation, he's destined to surpass me! You call that a waste?"
"Medical ninjutsu can only save people for a moment."
Orochimaru flicked his tongue, his tone carrying a fanatical allure. "But science can change the very nature of life. Tsunade, you should know better than anyone that the fragility of life cannot be solved through simple repairs. Only evolution is eternal."
He looked past Tsunade at the silver-haired boy, who seemed a bit lost.
"Child, your name is Kabuto, right?"
Orochimaru's voice had a strange, magnetic pull. "Don't you want to explore the truth of chakra? Don't you want to know the essence of this world? Follow me, and I can show you a world you've never seen before."
Kabuto pushed up his glasses, the light reflecting off the lenses and hiding his eyes.
He looked at the domineering Tsunade protecting him, then at the pale man at the door who radiated danger yet offered a world of temptation.
Instinctively, he shrank back behind Tsunade.
"It seems he doesn't want to go with you."
Tsunade lifted her chin triumphantly. "Orochimaru, your tricks for tricking children are outdated. This boy was entrusted to Minato by Nono, and Minato handed him to me. As long as I'm here, don't even think about dragging him into your dark laboratories."
"Is that so?"
Orochimaru's eyes turned cold, and a murderous intent began to fill the air. "Tsunade, it's been a long time since we've fought. I wonder if you, having overcome your hemophobia, can still handle my Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."
"You want to try me?"
Tsunade cracked her knuckles. Terrifying, monster-like chakra gathered in her fists, causing the surrounding air to distort.
The atmosphere in the treatment room instantly became tense, as if on a knife's edge.
Caught in the middle, Kabuto turned pale. At his level, the mere pressure of their overflowing chakra made it difficult to breathe.
Just as things were reaching a breaking point...
"Oi!"
A figure appeared just in time. Gamakon hopped onto the operating table between the two, sitting right next to the unconscious, freshly stitched mouse.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Gamakon waved his paws at both of them. "You're both in your thirties or fifties; why are you acting like kids fighting over a toy? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the younger generation if word gets out?"
"Gamakon..." Tsunade frowned at the toad. "Are you here to lobby for Orochimaru too?"
"Not at all, not at all."
Gamakon shook his head, speaking with the air of a seasoned elder. "This Sage Sovereign is here to mediate fairly."
He turned to Kabuto.
"Kid, don't be nervous," Gamakon grinned. "The two paths laid out before you right now are the top-tier options in the shinobi world."
Gamakon pointed at Tsunade: "This lady is the world's number one medical ninja with unparalleled strength. Follow her, and you'll learn medical arts that can bring people back from the brink, along with an invincible physical style. In the future, just mentioning her name will get you respect in any gambling hall."
Tsunade's mouth twitched. Was this toad praising her or insulting her?
Gamakon then pointed at Orochimaru: "This guy is the world's number one scientist, a master of core technology. Follow him, and you can touch the forbidden zones of life, explore the source of chakra, and even learn how to turn yourself into something neither human nor ghost... ah, wait, I mean achieve immortality."
Orochimaru snorted, clearly dissatisfied with that description.
"Only children make choices."
Gamakon clapped his hands. "Kabuto, why don't you just take both?"
"Both?" All three people present were stunned.
"During the day, you study medical arts under Tsunade at the hospital. At night, you go to the lab to do research with Orochimaru."
Gamakon spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Medical arts are the foundation of research, and research is the sublimation of medical arts. The two don't conflict at all. Besides, Kabuto is exceptionally talented; learning only one is indeed a waste. Why don't you both take turns teaching him and see who can train him to be more capable?"
Gamakon's attempt at reverse psychology was incredibly clumsy, yet it was surprisingly effective on these two proud Sannin.
Tsunade and Orochimaru locked eyes, sparks seemingly flying between them.
"Take turns?" Tsunade sneered. "Fine. I want to see if your twisted methods are better or if my orthodox medical ninjutsu is superior."
"Heh heh heh..." Orochimaru withdrew his killing intent, a glint flashing in his eyes. "In that case, it's a deal. I hope this child can withstand double the 'love'."
The two reached a bizarre consensus.
At the eye of the storm, Kabuto Yakushi pushed up his glasses. Though he felt an immense weight on his shoulders, a nearly imperceptible trace of excitement flickered in the depths of his eyes.
For an orphan desperate to prove his worth and find a sense of belonging, being fought over by two legendary ninja was a form of massive validation in itself.
"Um..." Kabuto spoke up timidly. "I... I'll do my best."