I Will Become the Wind

CHAPTER 21 | Venom

Kabuto knew something silent and indefinable had changed after that unusual day.

It was two weeks ago.

They had moved all the way to a base in the Land of Water to use one particular lab that was, as far as he knew, not special in any way. Then after a bizarre encounter with Jiraiya, Naruto, and some unidentified child, they had simply left for Oto. He'd heard no explanation for it yet.

They had been in the Sound for one week. But far from things returning to normal, it had only gotten stranger.

The base Orochimaru built beneath the village of Otogakure was intended from the very beginning to be their true center of operations. Its many rooms, labs, and passages were the heart and veins of the Land of Rice Paddies.

But that hum of activity had quieted down since they had returned. At least once per day now, Kabuto visited a lab or team or holding cell to check the status of a project... only to find the space deserted and empty.

He only had to shake the lab coats for explanations a few times before the cause became obvious.

They all said Orochimaru himself had sent their colleagues home.

Suspicious, Kabuto always went to Orochimaru to demand the reason. The Sannin answered calmly every time, busy at work on something he hadn't canceled yet, assistants scurrying around as if terrified just to be working near him.

He had correctly predicted Sasuke would return to them here, but nothing since then had made any sense.

It took a few days, but Kabuto finally managed to catch Orochimaru working alone. 

Since when did he ever care to surround himself with others?

Kabuto watched as Orochimaru held up a vial of amber liquid to the light in his small study.

He cleared his throat. "Orochimaru-sama—"

"Tell me what you think of this one, Kabuto."

Kabuto frowned, but he accepted the vial when Orochimaru turned to hand it to him. He cautiously smelled it. "It's nearly undetectable. Poison?"

"Yes. I have been trying to replicate a sample I lost some time ago. It's not ready yet. There is still something missing, and it requires testing before I can confidently use it."

"Is something like this really worth your attention right now?"

"Of course." Orochimaru took the poison back and corked the vial before tucking it into his sleeve. "Is that why you're so restless? You think I'm wasting time here?"

"With respect, I don't know what you are doing," Kabuto said stiffly. "Sasuke has left the base several times already. Where is he right now? It's obvious he's been communicating with Akatsuki, yet you don't seem concerned at all. I haven't seen you training him since we got here. Is this some new agreement?"

"Nothing so clearly defined. Just a change in circumstances." Orochimaru turned back around to his desk and started jotting notes into an open journal. "Now that I have a new body, I have no reason to hold Sasuke-kun back from his preoccupation with Akatsuki. If he wants to continue training, he need only ask. Otherwise, he's free to do whatever he likes."

Kabuto crossed his arms. "I don't understand any of this. I can see that you found a way past your limit to get a new body, but how did that happen? It must have been the day that lab was destroyed, but I don't remember any important projects going on there. Why haven't you told me anything? And why have you cut short so many of our other studies?"

"Are you suspicious of me?"

There was a long pause.

"No," Kabuto said slowly. "Every test I've tried confirms who you really are—"