Where We Belong

Chapter VII

Itachi walked along the hall leading to Orochimaru's lair under the ever-so-calm purplish-grey gaze of another one of the Sannin's experiments. It was a man physically similar both in height and size to Kisame (probably larger even), with neck length spiked orange hair and fair skin. The moment they got to the door, Jugo bowed at the Uchiha and excused himself with him, announcing that he would be with his comrades in case he needed anything. The moment Orochimaru's experiment gave his back to Itachi, the ponytailed man warned him about his own 'guardian', pointing out that he should watch for his friend Suigetsu. Jugo understood without further explanations. He had already noticed Kisame's presence, as well as the younger Kirigakure shinobi's not-too-pleased reaction to that. He was also aware of the fact that the albino-haired man still yearned to obtain all the legendary swords of the Village of the Bloody Mist for himself. And these obviously included Samehada; the huge Chakra-absorbing sword from the Hoshigaki Clan.

- I know you need not such kind of warnings, Itachi-san. However, beware of Orochimaru, please...

- I know, though I sincerely appreciate the warning...

The orange-haired man bowed again and this time he walked away, disappearing from the Uchiha's sights in a matter of seconds.

Inside Orochimaru's lair...

The long, straight black-haired Sannin was sitting with a cup of tea in his hand in front of what appeared to be a pile of study sheets and scrolls and next to what could only be defined as a huge test tube. However, it differed from ordinary test tubes in two ways. On the one hand, it was connected to what seemed like a huge system that measured different parameters -or whatever they were called- of its content. Secondly, inside it there were not only fluids as would normally happen but also and floating within said fluid there was a figure that could only be described as a humanoid or something of the sort. Itachi then noticed that there was one man accompanying Orochimaru and working precisely on that machine. It was a youthful and at the same time mature-looking version of Mitsuki. The man, whose name was Log, suddenly turned his amber serpentine gaze to the entrance of the place and, when the Sannin noticed that, he asked if there was something bothering him.

- There's a strange Chakra outside, which I'm afraid you would recognize more easily than me...

Orochimaru's green serpentine eyes travelled from the direction Log was pointing at to Itachi's intense scarlet gaze to finally quirk an eyebrow and ask the Uchiha if he had agreed on his 'bodyguard' accompanying him, admitting that he recalled him having mentioned in more than one occasion that he'd rather work on his own for certain specific assignments. The ponytailed shinobi nodded, pointing out that, in their current situation, it had actually been Kisame's idea to follow him purely out of mistrust towards his 'companions'. Orochimaru gave him a wider smile in response, commenting that he could easily guess who the object of Kisame's misgivings was. Both belonged to the same village, after all. Besides, Suigetsu had desired the shark-featured man's legendary sword for as long as the Sannin could remember. After a moment of somehow tense silence, Orochimaru finally spoke again:

- I assume, however, that you have not come all the way here, in the sorry condition you're clearly in to discuss about our 'bodyguards' strange behaviour, Itachi-kun. Am I correct?

As hard as he tried to find a slightest hint of sarcasm in the man's words, or at the very least in the way he had uttered them, Itachi couldn't identify any. On the other hand, though, he was aware that he was still dealing with the consequences -or rather, the aftermath- of what happened days before with Deidara, as well as the main reason that led him to visit that lair in the first place. That is, the recurring visions that he suffered since he was revived. The older Uchiha shook his head shaking himself of those thoughts to later nod in response to Orochimaru's comment. Log walked to them and asked if Itachi wanted to have a cup of tea, explaining that he needed to go back to the lab. The shinobi looked up at the albino-looking man and nodded, pointing out that any herbal tea he had would be fine with him. Orochimaru thus ordered to prepare an infusion with the herbs that grew amidst the Konoha Forest. Uchiha didn't protest. He knew what kind of herbs grew in those areas for two reasons. On the one hand, he had been there while in ANBU and also in Akatsuki and, on the other hand, his sister-in-law was almost periodically sent there by Tsunade to pick them up to use them on their special ointments and infusions.