Son of the Great 3 (Yandere Various Naruto x Reincarnated Reader)

Chapter 10: Where's Orochimaru?

Am I feeding you all well?

You know the usual, votes and comments keeps me writing!

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(Y/N) thought he had every reason to panic when Orochimaru mentioned exercises. After all, the man was known for his sinister experiments and cruelty. But it turned out that he might have overreacted. The exercises the Sannin had spoken of were not the grueling, twisted things he had feared. Instead, they were simple rehabilitation activities. It turns out that not using your body for two years wreaks havoc on everything from strength to coordination, to flexibility. Even the smallest movements seemed like monumental tasks. Orochimaru, with surprising patience, first moved (Y/N)'s limbs for him, stimulating the atrophied muscles passively. It was uncomfortable, and he hated the sensation of being so vulnerable, of relying on the black-haired person to move his arms and legs like he was some puppet. But what could he do? Nothing. He was too weak to resist.

"Relax, (Y/N). Your discomfort will ease soon," he had once murmured, with his voice as smooth as silk. The boy swore that he could hear some slight amusement underneath. He always seemed to enjoy watching him squirm. Afterward, the snake encouraged him to try moving on his own.

"Even just a twitch will do," the Sannin had said with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. (Y/N) was not sure what unnerved him more: Orochimaru's eerie calm or the fact that the man had not done anything visibly harmful to him yet. Over the days, (Y/N)'s progress was steady. When he could not move his body like he wanted to, he felt incredibly frustrated with himself. However, that happened less and less. It almost made the boy want to yell in success, but he would refrain from doing that. Also, the meals he was given became more substantial, slowly reintroducing his body to solid food under the snake's strict supervision. After two weeks, he could finally stand, though still wobbly. His balance was unreliable, forcing him to rely on walls or objects for support, but it was a far cry from where he had started.

Things were starting to look up...

If he ignored the giant snake in the room.

(Y/N) still felt a constant sense of dread around that person. Despite his seemingly gentle demeanor, the boy could not forget who he was. Orochimaru had done nothing explicitly malicious so far; no experiments, no starvation. But (Y/N) knew better than to be lulled into a false sense of security. He was not a normal child. He remembered his past life and the horror stories that came with Orochimaru's name. The most unnerving part of it all? He was always there. He barely left (Y/N) alone, sticking to him like a shadow. His presence was suffocating. The boy was hyper-aware of how close he was at all times. He could feel his yellow eyes on him even when the man was not speaking. Like he was studying him...

Waiting for something.

But today was different.

When (Y/N) woke up, he was alone. No strong arms pinning him to the bed, no unnerving chuckle in his ear. Just cold sheets where Orochimaru had been. His heart skipped a beat. He slowly sat up, his body still stiff, and scanned the dimly lit room. It was empty.