"Late by forty-five minutes on your very first lesson." Orochimaru's tone was very calm. "What happened?"
"I got lost."
When Shin-chan said those two words, he sounded perfectly justified, as if "getting lost" was an entirely legitimate reason to be late.
"From your house to Training Ground Three." Orochimaru's golden pupils stared at him. "At a normal walking pace, it takes twelve minutes."
"Is that so?" Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it. "Maybe I wasn't walking normally."
"I can tell."
"I took a road I'd never walked before." Shin-chan began gesturing. "You can see the whole village from up there, and then I passed by..."
"Explanation time is over." Orochimaru interrupted him. "Forty-five minutes, when converted into battlefield time, is enough for an entire squad to be wiped out three times."
Shin-chan gave an "Oh."
"Pay attention to the time next time," Orochimaru said. "Do not be late without reason."
"Then can I be late on purpose?"
The training ground was quiet for several seconds.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed again, like a snake locking onto its prey. In that instant, his entire presence became dangerous.
If any chūnin had been standing opposite him, they would probably have already started thinking about what to write in their will.
Shin-chan scratched his head, completely unaware that there was anything wrong with what he had said.
Orochimaru stared at that face for several seconds.
The Third Hokage's words suddenly echoed in his mind.
"That child is not quite the same as ordinary students. Just keep that in mind."
At the time, when Orochimaru heard those words, he had merely nodded, thinking they were nothing more than the old man's usual evaluation of a final disciple.
Now he was beginning to keep it in mind.
"Being late on purpose and being late unintentionally," Orochimaru's voice remained calm, "both result in being late."
"But they're different," Shin-chan said seriously. "Without reason means there's no reason. On purpose means there is a reason."
"What is your reason?"
"I got lost."
The training ground was quiet for another two seconds.
Orochimaru decided to begin today's lesson early. Continuing to get entangled with this child on this topic might consume the entire afternoon.
"Today..." He prepared to introduce the training content in the simplest way possible.
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
Orochimaru's gaze landed on Shin-chan, who had absolutely no awareness of what he had just asked.
"A boy."
"Really?" Shin-chan changed angles and continued observing him. "Your hair is long and smoother than Misae's."
When he said the word "smooth," he stretched out his right hand.
"What does your hand intend to do?" Orochimaru's tone changed slightly.
"I want to touch it." Shin-chan had no embarrassment at being caught. "It looks slippery."
Orochimaru took half a step back and once again began reassessing the five-year-old child in front of him.
"What do you wash it with?" Shin-chan continued asking.
"Class."
"The smell of your shampoo is so special."
"Today's training content is the theoretical explanation of ninjutsu." Orochimaru's voice rose just a little.
Shin-chan finally nodded, as if accepting that they should now enter the teaching segment.
Then his gaze fell on Orochimaru's legs. Through the gap between his trouser cuffs and shoes, the white bandages wrapped inside could still faintly be seen.
Shin-chan crouched down.
"Are you hurt?"
Orochimaru looked down at the little thing squatting beside his feet. "No."
"Then why are you wrapped in so many bandages?" Shin-chan reached out, preparing to lift them and take a look. "If you're hurt, you have to say so. Grandpa Third said helping each other is what Konoha ninja—"
Before he could finish speaking...
Orochimaru grabbed the back of his collar with one hand and lifted him up.
Shin-chan's legs swung twice in the air. Then he found himself placed on a wooden post at the side of the training ground.
"Sit here." Orochimaru folded his arms in front of his chest again. "Before I allow it, do not come down, and do not speak."
"But..."
"Do not speak."
Shin-chan closed his mouth and swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
Orochimaru turned around and, rare for him, took a deep breath. "Today's lesson is..."
Shin-chan raised his hand from the wooden post.
"I did not allow you to speak."
The hand went down.
Three seconds later, it went up again.
Orochimaru looked at the small hand raised in the air and resigned himself.
"Speak."
"Teacher Orochimaru's hair..."
"Questions unrelated to chakra are not allowed."
The hand went down.
Two seconds later, it went up again.
Orochimaru suspected that the biggest mistake he had made was not waiting for forty-five minutes, but agreeing to teach this child for the Third.
"Speak."
"Can chakra make hair smoother?"
Orochimaru chose to ignore the question and continued the lesson. "The nature transformation of chakra is divided into..."
He paused and glanced at Shin-chan sitting on the wooden post.
Shin-chan had not raised his hand. He looked like he was listening seriously.
Orochimaru continued.
From the basic principles of the five chakra natures, to the relationship between hand seals and chakra control, then to the difference between shape transformation and nature transformation.
Shin-chan did not interrupt him the entire time.
After Orochimaru finished the final point, his golden vertical pupils focused once again on the child sitting on the wooden post.
The silence came somewhat suddenly.
Orochimaru realized that he was actually waiting for an unreasonable question, waiting for a pair of raised hands, waiting for some statement completely unrelated to ninjutsu.
But none of those things happened.
The smoothness of it surprised him a little.
"The content I just explained." Orochimaru looked at Shin-chan. "Do you have any questions?"
Shin-chan said nothing. His mouth was shut tightly.
Orochimaru frowned slightly. "Do you have any questions?"
Shin-chan stretched out one finger and pointed at his own mouth.
Then he shook his head.
It meant, "I can't speak."
Orochimaru realized that the instruction he had given this child had still not been lifted.
"You may speak now."
Shin-chan opened his mouth and took a deep breath. "I've come back to life."
The corner of Orochimaru's mouth twitched.
"The things from the lesson." He pulled the topic back. "Did you understand them?"
Shin-chan raised his head, puffed out his chest, and loudly gave his answer.
"I didn't understand any of it!"
His voice bounced back and forth across the training ground several times.
"If you didn't understand, why didn't you raise your hand and ask just now?" For the first time, Orochimaru felt that teaching someone could be this tiring.
"Because you said I wasn't allowed to speak." Shin-chan said it as if it were only natural.
"I meant questions unrelated to chakra."
Shin-chan tilted his head. "I don't know whether the questions have anything to do with chakra."
Orochimaru silently sighed. "I'll explain it again from the beginning."
"Okay."
That "okay" was answered far too readily. Orochimaru looked at him and somehow felt that something was off.
He thought for a moment and added a patch in advance. "After listening, if you have questions, you may raise your hand, but you are only allowed to ask questions related to ninjutsu."
"Got it."
"Are you sure you got it?"
"Sure." Shin-chan nodded. "Only questions related to ninja."
"Ninjutsu."
"Ninjutsu." Shin-chan repeated after him. "Then you can start."
Orochimaru looked at him.
The five-year-old child before him made him experience something entirely new for the first time.