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"Yōichi-kun, it's somewhat rude of me to drop by unannounced. Please, forgive me."
Orochimaru's sudden visit took Yōichi by surprise, especially when he brought along a timid young boy. Nonetheless, Yōichi welcomed them both into his home.
After all, he was a disciple of the Hokage and one of the Legendary Sannin of Konohagakure.
Pouring three cups of tea and placing them on the table, Yōichi finally asked, "Orochimaru-sama, what brings you to me?"
"Actually, there is something. Yōichi-kun, do you recognize him?" Orochimaru gestured towards the young boy by his side.
This question left Yōichi puzzled, and after shaking his head, he replied, "I've never seen him before. Who is he?"
"He's from the village in the Land of Iron. I plan to take him as my disciple and teach him how to use chakra; this was the village chief's request, but I also had the intention."
Orochimaru paused for a moment before continuing, "I've just returned from the Ryūchi Cave. Although I managed to get through the three trial stages, I doubt I'll succeed in mastering Senjutsu. So, I'm planning to study it further before attempting again."
He barely tried practicing Senjutsu before almost going mad from the overwhelming natural energy. If not for his timely use of a unique substitution technique, he might have failed at Senjutsu and been devoured by the Great White Snake Sage.
Orochimaru even suspected the Great White Snake Sage never intended to let him master Senjutsu, hence the excuse that he lacked the qualifications.
"I'm not ready to give up just yet, so I've decided to study Senjutsu. Since the village chief approached me, I took his disciple."
"However, the village chief also wishes for their clan to join Konohagakure, which is beyond my capabilities. I assumed Yōichi-kun might have the strength for such a task, so I came to ask you."
Yōichi immediately shook his head in response: "I don't possess such power either. Their clan absorbs too much natural energy and goes mad; even a Chūnin would struggle to restrain them. Without solving this issue, no village would accept them."
Even if their abilities were rare, who would want someone who could go berserk at any moment? Unless they're confined in a specially designed prison, it would be unbearable if someone from that clan went mad in the middle of the night while everyone else was sleeping.
"Since Yōichi-kun isn't interested, let's leave it at that. However, Yōichi-kun, have you practiced Senjutsu?"
Orochimaru inquired, unwilling to give up. Jiraiya managed to master Senjutsu, but he couldn't; if Yōichi was interested, he hoped to exchange knowledge.
Yōichi responded, "I'll definitely try it eventually, but I'm not in a hurry."
He had the ability to absorb natural energy, even more perfectly than the people from that village. Relying on his body's instincts to absorb natural energy daily, he believed mastering Senjutsu would naturally follow in due time.
"Is that so? Then, I've imposed on you today."
As Orochimaru prepared to leave, Yōichi called out, "Wait, Orochimaru-sama, since you're here, let's talk a bit more."
Yōichi then activated his Sharingan, looking at the young boy by Orochimaru's side, instantly putting him to sleep.
"Orochimaru-sama, would you like to collaborate with me?"
"Collaborate? You mean..."
"I know you want to study that clan's physique to find a way to master Senjutsu. I can provide resources, but I want a share of any findings."
Orochimaru's initial dream was to learn all ninjutsu, which later evolved into uncovering all truths of the world. Eventually, realizing the limits of human lifespan, he sought immortality.
However, his pursuit of immortality was also in preparation for understanding the truths of the world. It's undeniable that Orochimaru, a researcher at heart, played a significant role in the chaos of the ninja world with his research.
"I don't lack resources, but I still owe you a favor, Yōichi-kun. Including this, I can agree."
Orochimaru didn't outright refuse but wanted resources in return, also considering this as repaying the favor for the information about the Ryūchi Cave.
Being one of the Legendary Sannin, he likely didn't lack resources. Tsunade could mobilize medical supplies if willing, and Orochimaru surely had his ways.
However, since Orochimaru agreed, Uchiha Yōichi considered his goal achieved.
The Cursed Seal enhances a ninja's power significantly, making it ideal for training subordinates. With many Chūnin in the Uchiha clan, equipping them with Cursed Seals would make their strength comparable to that of a special jōnin.
"Orochimaru-sama, we will have many opportunities to collaborate. In the village, no one else is more suitable to work with you than me."
Yōichi continued, "I not only have a lot of money to buy many test subjects, but I also have secret techniques collected from Kumogakure, all of them!"
He had brought back Kumogakure's secret techniques, keeping some after giving a portion to Kenji.
With the Flying Thunder God Technique and Reanimation Jutsu yet to be fully researched, he had no time for Kumogakure's techniques.
"Kumogakure's secret techniques."
As Orochimaru pondered, Yōichi turned and left the living room, soon returning with a scroll he placed on the table.
"This is a compilation of Kumogakure's secret techniques, names only. I obtained it during a mission."
The most valuable techniques, of course, wouldn't be shared. Yōichi had also acquired blueprints for the Chakra Cannon, a weapon decades ahead of its time, from Kumogakure.
Orochimaru, after quietly reviewing the scroll, expressed his approval with a smile, "Impressive, Yōichi-kun. I agree to the collaboration. Working with you is akin to working with the Uchiha clan. I look forward to a fruitful partnership."
"Of course, I understand your dream, Orochimaru-sama, to master all truths of the world. It's a noble goal."
With the collaboration agreed upon, Yōichi wouldn't skimp on compliments. Orochimaru, satisfied with Yōichi's understanding, shared the same ideal.
They then discussed the details of their first collaboration, including the necessary research equipment, test subjects, and materials. Orochimaru, proficient in Earth Release, would handle the location.
Aside from test subjects, which could be sourced from prisoners of the Uchiha Police Force or purchased from the shinobi world, everything else was manageable with money.
After Orochimaru and his student left, Yōichi resumed his training. Without weights, he felt his progress wasn't as noticeable.
He couldn't practice forbidden jutsu in the village, wary of Hiruzen's Telescope Technique. Discovery of either the Reanimation Jutsu or Flying Thunder God Technique would be problematic.
Mikoto didn't visit him today, and despite being busy, he felt something was missing without this mature wife by his side.
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"Kurenai, are you also training?"
Asuma, passing by the training ground, saw Kurenai and approached her excitedly, "How about we go eat after training? My treat!"
Kurenai declined, "Thanks, Asuma, but I have to go home tonight. Plus, shouldn't you be training? The village is on the brink of war; we could be called to the battlefield at any moment."
Asuma responded, "Of course, I'm training. But it's also important to balance work and rest. Constant training is unsustainable!"
"Sorry, Asuma. Yōichi-sensei set a training plan for us. If we don't complete it, we'll be punished."
Asuma scratched his head, "That's too strict. And we haven't even seen your teacher. He's not slacking off, is he? Haha."
After laughing, Asuma noticed Rumi and Kazuhito giving him stern looks, realizing he might have misspoken.
"Asuma, you were always ahead of us in the Academy. How about a spar now?"
Rumi's tone was cold. She deeply respected Yōichi-sensei, who looked after her, a member of the Hyūga branch family. She felt invisible within her clan but valued under Yōichi-sensei's guidance.
"Let's not, Rumi."
Kazuhito intervened, "What if Asuma loses? We're all classmates."
Asuma, unable to accept being inferior, especially since he was only second to the genius Kakashi in the Academy, challenged, "Fine, let's do it. Individual or team?"
Kazuhito clarified, "Obviously, a team. On the battlefield, we rely on our teammates!"
"Alright."
Asuma finished speaking and then called out to the training ground outside, standing Chūji and another classmate, "Chūji, Iwashii!"
"It's really troublesome, I don't want to do this."
"Forget it, Chūji, it's quite interesting, let's have a match."
Chūji didn't have much interest, he just finished training and couldn't raise any energy, but Iwashii was quite interested in having a match, because in Class 1, the other two were stronger than him, and he had also been training hard.
Now that he encountered other opponents, he naturally wanted to show his strength.
"Go ahead, with me watching here, there won't be any problems."
Sarutobi saw that his younger brother liked that girl, but he was not good at expressing himself.
But with him watching, even if it was a match, it wouldn't cause any trouble.
Rumi whispered to Kurenai, "Kurenai, I know you have feelings for Asuma, but when it comes to Yōichi-sensei, you won't show mercy, right?"
"Who has feelings for Asuma, don't talk nonsense, we are just classmates!"
Kurenai was a bit anxious and quickly clarified, then reassured Rumi, "I won't show mercy later, don't worry."
Then the two teams quickly discussed the match. The location was limited to this training ground and the surrounding forest, the method was not limited, and the training kunai and shuriken were used.
Clap clap!
Kurenai clapped her hands twice, attracting everyone's attention to her, then gestured and repeated, "Everyone, don't go too far, otherwise it will take too much time."
Her voice was clear, and her ruby-like pupils were also very beautiful.
When Kurenai spoke, she directly attracted the attention of Iwashii and Asuma; after all, before graduating from the Ninja Academy, Kurenai was the most beautiful girl in their class.
But seeing this scene from a distance, Sarutobi was surprised and said, "This genjutsu technique... was it taught by Yuhi-senpai?"
Then, after shouting the start, Kurenai and her team almost at the same time threw many smoke bombs, helping Kurenai to block the vision.
At the same time, Rumi and Kazuhito retreated, the two of them couldn't see anything in the smoke bombs, staying inside was useless, so they would definitely come out at the first time to help Kurenai trap the people inside.
Kazuhito, relying on the memory just now, directly threw out six kunai with steel wires, hoping to trap one person's position.
And in the smoke bombs, Rumi, relying on the Byakugan, quickly rushed towards Asuma's three people.
Facing the well-coordinated attack of Kurenai's team, Asuma's three people didn't even react at the first time. Although Class 1 also talked about the spirit of the team, it definitely didn't have such a tacit understanding.
And Class 8's usual imaginary opponent was Yōichi, the Shadow of the Leaf, and they had tried all kinds of cooperation methods, even thinking about using poison.
"Get out of the smoke bombs!" Asuma shouted, but just as the three of them were about to retreat, Chūji shouted, "There are kunai, and steel wires!"
Noticing the incoming ninja tools, Chūji hurriedly wanted to dodge these attacks, but his vision suddenly flickered, and after stumbling under his feet, he was directly entangled by the steel wires around his legs and then fell to the ground.
And in front of Asuma, a Byakugan suddenly appeared, which made Asuma's heart skip a beat. The Gentle Fist of the Hyūga clan was very powerful at close range, and even he didn't want to try it.
But since Rumi had gotten close, she naturally wouldn't give Asuma a chance to retreat. With a slightly fierce Byakugan, she shouted and attacked directly.
On the other side, Iwashii was dodging left and right, and it was hard to get out of the range of the smoke bombs, but as soon as he came out, he saw Asuma had been cut into two pieces, and Chūji's head was on his body.
"Ah ah ah!!!"
Seeing this, Iwashii directly screamed in shock and then fainted, Kurenai, feeling a bit sorry, as she seemed to have overdone it.
Soon, Class 1's three people were all defeated, and after Kurenai dealt with Iwashii, she went to help Kazuhito, and then the two together came to the place where Rumi and Asuma were fighting, ready to make a move, but was stopped by the suddenly appearing Sarutobi.
"Alright, let's stop here. Asuma, you guys lost."
Asuma said unwillingly, "I haven't used ninjutsu yet."
"Face the reality, if you can't even admit defeat, then you've lost even more completely."
Hearing the elder brother say this, Asuma, even if unwilling, could only lower his head.
"Forget it, Asuma, it's just a match, we'll go back first."
Kurenai greeted Asuma, and then she, Rumi, and Kazuhito left, their training was almost done, and it was time to go home to rest.
Then Sarutobi helped Iwashii dispel the genjutsu, called the three people over, and said, "I originally thought your team's cooperation was not bad, but compared to Class 8, you're still far behind; and the three of you didn't even realize that you were hit by genjutsu at the beginning.
Although it's only a genjutsu that affects the senses, your basics are too poor. Starting tomorrow, you should also start from the basics."
(End of Chapter)