Chapter 0029: I Smell Barbecued Meat
"So that's it."
In the woods, Orochimaru paused for a moment, then smirked and said, "He never intended to use conventional methods against that Uchiha kid from the start."
That's right. From the beginning, I never thought I could handle a Special Jonin with just kunai and shuriken. Those were just tools to set up my wire traps.
"Simple tactical application…" Jiraiya twitched his mouth and said, "You make it sound so easy."
"Hmph! Unconventional methods!" Tsunade's mouth said one thing, but the smile that curved her lips betrayed her excitement. She knew she had struck gold, and it was a big win!
Today's battle made her realize she had underestimated me. This kid was far more than a mere prodigy. My astounding combat talent and quick thinking had even made her, a legendary ninja, see things in a new light.
"Hey, let's discuss this…"
Unaware of the three legendary ninjas observing me, I smiled at Danzan and suggested, "How about if you agree to a few small requests, I'll let you go?"
"Dream on!" he roared with a twisted expression. "Do you really think these little wires can hold me?!"
"I certainly don't," I said leisurely. "To deal with someone of your level, I have to use some insurance measures. Hmm, it should be about time now." I raised my hands and formed a peculiar hand seal.
What?
He instinctively felt something was wrong, but before he could free himself, a white cloth suddenly emerged from beneath him, extending infinitely and wrapping him up like a zongzi, completely encasing him.
"You're using a sealing technique?!" Danzan's body was wrapped up, leaving only half his face exposed. He exclaimed in shock, "And it's triggered? When did you place the seal on me?"
"Hmm, it was actually on your face," I said, scratching my head.
On my face?!
He was stunned, his face showing disbelief. "You… you planned all this from the beginning?!"
"It was more of a spontaneous idea," I corrected him with a smile. "I just wanted to see if placing the seal on the face would work. Also, to enhance the effect, I deliberately set a time delay."
"Bastard! You're actually using me as an experiment?!" he was dumbfounded.
"I just said it was a spontaneous idea," I said, rubbing my forehead in a troubled manner. "If you're unhappy, I'll apologize."
"You little bastard! I won't let you get away with this, I swear I won't!" his face turned green with anger. If apologies were effective, what use would the Konoha Police Force be?
"Uh, it seems communication has failed again," I sighed and said. "You really don't want to make peace with me?"
"You're doomed! I'll make sure you suffer beyond death!" he was beyond reason. Being toyed with and humiliated by a brat, and being unable to defeat him, was maddening!
"That's a shame," I said, shaking my head with regret. My right hand reached out, gathering a flame in my palm.
"What… what are you going to do?" his pupils contracted violently, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Oh, nothing much," I said, slowly placing my hand on the end of the wire. The flame began to spread along the wire, rapidly moving towards him. "I'm just curious to see if the barbecue made in this situation will taste unique."
"No, don't! You can't do this!" Danzan's face was filled with terror as he struggled to break free, but it was obviously futile.
"Why not?" I looked at him curiously. "I already gave you a chance, didn't I?" With that, a loud explosion was heard as the flames spread across his entire body.
Ahhh!
The intense pain from the flames caused him to scream in agony, his piercing cries echoing along the riverside.
"This kid is really ruthless," Jiraiya commented, his mouth twitching.
"He won't die," Tsunade said nonchalantly. "That fire is generated by chakra. Once the chakra is depleted, the flames will extinguish. At most, it'll just make that arrogant Uchiha kid suffer a bit. Don't worry about him!"
"Is this… some sort of revenge?" Jiraiya said with a headache. "Revenge for him troubling your future disciple?"
"Is that a problem?" Tsunade shot him a sideways glance.
"I'm starting to regret it," Orochimaru, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. "If I had known, I wouldn't have given such a good prospect to you."
"What do you mean?" Tsunade frowned and questioned.
Orochimaru's gaze was fixed on me as he said"You noticed, didn't you? This kid didn't use a single high-level ninjutsu in his fight with that Uchiha boy. It seems he was deliberately avoiding ninjutsu combat."
Author's note: For +30 chapters, check out p@treon: https://www.patreon.com/NarutoWriter