In an instant, sand and stones flew, branches snapped, and a fierce gust of wind surged towards Natsuhiko.
This time, Orochimaru wasn't worried that Natsuhiko would use the same technique as him because Natsuhiko hadn't yet mastered the nature transformation of Wind Release.
"It seems I'll have to use that technique..."
"Fortunately, I've already completed developing that technique. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to be caught unable to use any elemental ninjutsu."
In the air, Natsuhiko made a snide remark to himself as he clasped his hands together, gathering Water Release chakra in his chest.
*Poof!*
Natsuhiko suddenly spewed out a white, fan-shaped water wave from his mouth!
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave? No, this is..."
Orochimaru immediately sensed something unusual about Natsuhiko's "Wild Water Wave," but before he could analyse it, the two techniques collided!
*Boom!*
The raging torrent and the gale-force wind clashed head-on, producing a roar!
Although both techniques were basic elemental ninjutsu, they displayed astonishing power in the hands of the ninjutsu genius Orochimaru and the gifted Natsuhiko.
Even the residual force from the clash caused the surrounding trees to sway violently, creaking under the pressure.
But what surprised Orochimaru even more was that, along with the scattering wind and water droplets, many bubbles of varying sizes floated around...
Soon, the wind and rain subsided, and the two techniques ended in a draw.
Although Orochimaru hadn't used his full strength, he was already quite satisfied with Natsuhiko's performance.
Not to mention, he received an even bigger surprise:
Before him, the entire forest, whether on the trees or the ground, was covered in a vast expanse of white.
However, this wasn't snow.
It was all foam...
To confirm his suspicion, Orochimaru bent down, dipped a finger into the foam, and tasted it before spitting it out.
"It's sodium stearate. There's sodium stearate mixed in the water."
In simple terms, this was... soap water.
And that was the reason for all the bubbles.
After confirming his theory, Orochimaru's curiosity only grew.
While it was unexpected that Natsuhiko had altered the nature of Water Release, it wasn't too surprising for someone like Orochimaru, who was well-versed in various ninjutsu.
After all, he's seen similar chakra nature manipulations before Jiraiya's oil techniques, the Black Lightning of Kumogakure, and Iwagakure's Lava Release, which can be modified into magma, cement, rubber, and so on.
He even knew of a small shinobi clan in the village called the Shingetsu Clan, which possessed a technique for turning chakra into syrup.
But Orochimaru couldn't figure out why Natsuhiko would develop such a nature transformation for Water Release.
Putting the matter aside for now, Orochimaru flashed to a tree near Natsuhiko.
Seeing Natsuhiko still spitting out the remaining foam, he couldn't help but smile slightly and ask:
"This technique is quite interesting. What do you call it?"
Natsuhiko wiped the foam from his mouth with his sleeve and mumbled, "Water Release: Chaotic Foam Wave."
As he spoke, a few bubbles popped out of his mouth.
"Chaotic Foam Wave... It's indeed a fitting name."
Orochimaru nodded slightly, then asked the question he was most curious about, "But, Natsuhiko, how did you come up with the idea to develop such a nature transformation for Water Release?"
Natsuhiko's face stiffened slightly at the question, and internally, he was crying.
In truth, he hadn't wanted to develop such a nature transformation for Water Release at all!
Who could have predicted that when he had Number Three researching the nature transformation of Water Release while washing clothes and scrubbing toilets, it would accidentally lead him astray in his skill tree?
Honestly, he's just thankful he didn't end up turning Water Release into Urine Release.
Seeing Natsuhiko's silence, Orochimaru assumed it was some kind of secret related to his training and chose not to press further. Instead, he pulled out a scroll from his pocket and tossed it to Natsuhiko.
Natsuhiko instinctively caught it, his expression turning somewhat peculiar.
Why was everyone giving him scrolls these days?
Was this some sort of early gift-giving?
He then heard Orochimaru say calmly:
"When you've mastered what's in that scroll, come find me again."
Opening the scroll, Natsuhiko discovered it contained the training method for Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, but more importantly, it included Orochimaru's insights on developing Wind Release's nature transformation.
This was far more valuable than an ordinary ninjutsu scroll.
Natsuhiko hurriedly said, "Orochimaru-sama, this is too precious. I can't accept it."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly:
"Hmm? Hasn't the teacher told you yet?"
"From now on, you'll be my disciple."
"After all, in all of Konoha, I'm probably the only one who can teach you."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Ugh—"
Natsuhiko finally understood why Orochimaru had suddenly sought him out for a forced battle.
It turned out to be a test for accepting a disciple.
And it seemed he had passed.
But the problem was, he was already Mito's disciple...
Natsuhiko felt that the upcoming situation would be extremely awkward and was internally conflicted.
But when he saw Orochimaru preparing to leave, he quickly and cautiously asked:
"Um... Orochimaru-sama, have you not yet met with Hokage-sama?"
Orochimaru, seeing Natsuhiko's troubled expression, replied, puzzled, "No, I just returned to Konoha and overheard Kushina calling your name, so I followed her here. Is there a problem?"
"The problem is, I just became Mito-sama's disciple yesterday..." Natsuhiko said helplessly.
He refrained from adding "senior nephew" to the end.
"..."
Orochimaru was silent for a while before finally saying in a dry voice:
"Mito-sama?"
Natsuhiko nodded helplessly, "Mito-sama."
Why didn't you mention this earlier?
Orochimaru wanted to question him but then remembered that he had forced Natsuhiko into a fight without first explaining his intentions.
Usually calm and composed, Orochimaru found himself feeling a bit embarrassed.
After a long silence, he finally managed to say:
"It seems I was too hasty this time."
He then added, "In that case, I'll take my leave for now. Please apologise to Kushina for me."
With that, he vanished, moving faster than the Yellow Flash.
Only then did Natsuhiko realise he still had the scroll and shouted:
"Hey, your scroll."
"No, it's your scroll."
Orochimaru's voice echoed from a distance, "Consider it a gift to celebrate you becoming Mito-sama's disciple."
Uh...
Natsuhiko scratched his head, feeling the scroll's appearance was a bit odd.
Oh well.
Shaking his head, he put the scroll away and found Kushina, who was standing motionless behind the big tree with a blank look in her eyes.
She seemed to be under a genjutsu.
Natsuhiko sighed, walked over, and used his chakra-infused fingertip to tap her forehead, gently releasing the genjutsu.
"Huh? Natsuhiko, what happened to me just now?"
Kushina's eyes regained their brightness, but she still looked confused.
So Natsuhiko briefly explained what had happened.
After hearing it, Kushina waved her fists angrily and said, "That Orochimaru! How could he do that? It's infuriating!"
After being interrupted by Orochimaru, the two lost interest in sparring and decided to leave the grove.
But as they rounded the tree, Kushina saw the vast, snowy landscape and was once again baffled.
"Natsuhiko, how long was I out? How did it snow so much?"
(End of Chapter)
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