Sitting in his office, Orochimaru carefully reviewed a sheet of paper. A small smile formed on his lips.
"You start tomorrow."
Beside him, a five-year-old boy nodded excitedly before leaving the office.
"It seems I've found a true diamond in the rough…" Orochimaru murmured, examining the document in front of him once more.
He hadn't tested Noah in ninjutsu or physical skills. Instead, he had given him a written exam to express his ideas, viewpoints, and understanding of various topics.
As cautious as ever, Noah made sure to demonstrate his potential as a researcher while still behaving like a five-year-old. He showed some maturity but without exaggerating. He also shared his perspectives on chakra and bloodline abilities, though he avoided going too deep. Ultimately, his intellect was promising enough to pique Orochimaru's interest, leading him to personally take him under his wing.
Back at home, Noah had dinner and then locked himself in his room.
"Let's try again," he whispered to himself.
He assumed a meditative posture, closed his eyes, and visualized his mental space. The twenty-four runes still glowed, now more intensely than they had two years ago.
To advance to the third level of acolyte, he needed some sort of catalyst to help the runes fuse. Since he had no other resources at his disposal, he decided to use his chakra.
A massive surge of condensed chakra flooded his mental space before exploding like an overflowing wave. The runes instinctively resisted, but Noah immediately suppressed them, allowing the energy to completely engulf them. Mysterious patterns began to emerge on their surfaces, intertwining and absorbing the chakra around them.
Then, a loud crash echoed in his mind. The twenty-four runes clashed against each other and fused into one, forming a complex mystical symbol.
Noah hastily withdrew the remaining chakra and exhaled in relief.
"Whew… I finally did it."
For a year, he had tried to advance without success, as the runes had rejected his chakra.
"Now, I should head to my next destination."
He passed through his usual tunnel and arrived at his hideout, which had expanded over time into an underground cave the size of a large room.
Focusing his mana, he generated a small flame on his finger and lit the candles scattered around the cave.
"These special candles take five hours to burn out. Last time, I forgot to check the time difference, but this time I need to make sure."
He placed a vial of blood—his anchor—on a stone table. Then, closing his eyes, he visualized his next destination and opened a portal.
---
Inside a nightclub, a young man with a camera in hand recorded the scene. Suddenly, a blonde girl dancing caught his attention, and he discreetly began filming her.
A man near the girl noticed and, frowning, approached the young man with a hostile expression.
"Are you recording my girlfriend?"
The cameraman got nervous and stammered:
"N-no… I'm just filming the party…"
"Don't give me excuses, you damn creep!"
Without warning, the man slapped him before walking away in disdain.
The young man touched his sore cheek. His eyes filled with tears as he lowered his head and hurriedly left the club.
Noah appeared next to a car parked nearby. He observed the scene indifferently and shook his head.
Minutes later, another guy approached the young man to comfort him. After a while, the two began walking toward the forest.
Silently, Noah followed them, keeping his distance.
"Down here!" a voice called from a cliff.
"Yeah, we can see you! Where are the others?"
"They already left! Hurry up!"
The two young men climbed down a two-meter drop and ran toward the third guy, who was waiting near a hole in the ground. Laughing and joking, the three entered the underground cave.
Noah rolled his eyes, annoyed at the waste of time.
After half an hour of strange noises and meaningless chatter, they finally arrived at their destination: a colossal starfish-shaped creature made of crystal. Its surface pulsed with a blue glow, as if it were breathing.
Matt, one of the young men, approached the central crystal and touched it curiously. Inside the structure, tiny roots moved at his contact, retreating.
Due to the cave's heat, sweat dripped down his forehead. A drop slid down and touched the crystal.
In that instant, the blue glow turned an intense red.
A shockwave rippled through the cave, and Matt began bleeding from his nose before collapsing.
His friends tried to help him, but an invisible force threw them against the wall.
Noah, who had appeared at that moment, was also identified as an enemy and was sent crashing into a rock.
Fortunately, his body was resilient enough to withstand the impact. However, he felt a strange shift in his brain. A sharp pain shot through his head as his nose and ears started to bleed.
The crystalline creature, called MOGO, had exhausted its last reserve of energy in the attack. Slowly, its structure began to crack.
The three unconscious young men floated toward the exit, carried by an unknown force.
Noah watched them, expressionless.
"What a shame… If the 4D pocket could store living beings, I would've taken you for research later."
He got up as the cave trembled violently.
"I guess it's time to leave."
With a snap of his fingers, a blue vortex swallowed him, disappearing just before the cave collapsed.
Reappearing in the underground cave, Noah checked the candles he had placed earlier.
"About an hour has passed. It seems time flows the same in both worlds…"
---
A few months later, Noah had already adapted to his new job as Orochimaru's assistant.
At first, Uzumaki Mito strongly opposed it, but seeing how determined he was, she had no choice but to allow it.
In his free time, Noah practiced his new psychic powers. Since he had obtained them at such a young age, while his brain was still developing, he speculated that these powers would only grow over time.
"Tell me, Nawaki-kun, why don't you enroll in the Academy? With your intellect, you could graduate in a year at most," Orochimaru suggested.
"Um… well, I don't want to rush things, and I'm not really interested in becoming a genin so soon."
Orochimaru pondered for a moment but didn't insist. Instead, he took out a scroll and handed it to Noah.
"This is…"
"A summoning scroll. Take it home and memorize it. Tomorrow, you'll sign a contract with one of the snakes from Ryūchi Cave."
Noah smiled excitedly and nodded. He stored the scroll and spent the rest of the day studying with Orochimaru before heading home.
Leaving his bedroom door open on purpose, he unrolled the scroll and wasted no time performing the necessary hand seals.
"Boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram!"
Biting his thumb, he smeared some blood on his palm and struck the floor forcefully.
A cloud of smoke spread through the room, and when it dissipated, Noah was gone.
---
Upstairs, Uzumaki Mito frowned as she sensed Noah's chakra signature vanish. She immediately activated the Kagura Mind's Eye, a technique of the Uzumaki clan.
Realizing what had happened, she rushed to the boy's room. Seeing the summoning scroll on the floor, she placed a hand on her face and sighed in frustration.
"That foolish child!"
---
Noah opened his eyes and found himself in a vast limestone passage.
"So this is Ryūchi Cave…"
A chill ran down his spine as he felt cold breath on his neck.
"Sssssss…"
Slowly turning his head, he came face-to-face with a massive green snake staring at him.
"Run!"
Without hesitation, he took off at full speed.
At the end of the passage, he encountered a dark, deep cliff. He hesitated only for a moment, but seeing the snake almost upon him, he made a decision.
"What a welcome…" he muttered before leaping into the abyss.
As he fell, he formed hand seals.
"Wood Release: Wooden Roots!"
Thick roots sprouted from the cliff walls, catching him mid-air and slowing his descent. With skill, he created wooden steps and began climbing down.
Finally, he reached a massive circular chamber with a colossal throne at the far end.
In the center of the room, a hunched old woman was sweeping the floor indifferently, as if she hadn't noticed his arrival.
Noah cautiously approached. It wasn't until he was close enough that the old woman looked up and smiled.
"Oh… are you lost, little one? Unfortunately, I'm just an old lady and can't help you leave. Why don't you stay here with me?"
Noah rolled his eyes, exasperated.
"Lady Snake Sage, let's talk."