Hearing this, Jiraiya and Tsunade couldn't help but sigh.
"Yeah, that guy Xu Ming is really something."
"In our generation, he should be the one with the most outstanding talent."
No wonder they felt this way.
Xu Ming was usually very lazy—sleeping in class, occasionally skipping, and often arriving late and leaving early. He seemed like a poor student doing nothing.
But every time there was an actual combat test or survival exercise, he left everyone in the dust.
The last time the three of them formed an alliance in private, planning to sneak attack Xu Ming, the result was that Xu Ming defeated all three of them effortlessly, one against three.
Thinking back on it now made them feel depressed.
"Next time, I'll definitely beat him!" Jiraiya clenched his fists and swore through gritted teeth.
Orochimaru and Tsunade turned away, not bothering to respond.
They had heard that same declaration many times before, and it was starting to lose its meaning.
…
Five days later.
Xu Ming looked at the still static system panel, showing no new developments, and a slight frown appeared on his face.
"Have I reached a bottleneck?"
He muttered to himself, changing his clothes and walking out of the house.
Orochimaru's training had plateaued, and as a result, there was less feedback coming in for Xu Ming.
A few C-rank ninjutsu and the Shadow Clone Technique had only given him ten times the feedback, resulting in him mastering them to the level of a "one-handed seal," but after that, no new feedback came in.
From Xu Ming's analysis, his "one-handed seal" level came as a result of the tenfold feedback boost, meaning that Orochimaru's mastery was likely only at the "familiarity" stage.
At that level, the seal wouldn't fail, and he could use it in battle. For most ninjas, "familiarity" is enough, and they wouldn't waste time improving further. They would prefer to learn new techniques instead.
This meant that Orochimaru could only subtly improve through regular practice.
And as much as Xu Ming understood this, he found it unacceptable.
"I'm getting zero progress here!"
"If this stagnates, my cheat would just be a decoration!"
"Looks like it's time for me to take action."
While thinking this, Xu Ming walked toward the village's public training ground.
He decided to apply some later-generation knowledge of ninjutsu to give Orochimaru a little "boost."
…
At 9:00 PM, Xu Ming arrived at the village's public training ground and, as expected, saw Orochimaru still practicing.
Falcon!
Falcon!
Falcon!
With a serious expression, Orochimaru was throwing kunai at a wooden stake, adjusting his force and posture, trying to find the optimal method.
When he heard footsteps, he immediately became alert.
"Xu Ming?" he asked in surprise.
Xu Ming smiled and raised his hand.
"Yo, still practicing?"
"Yeah, just practicing the kunai throw," Orochimaru answered, his expression calm.
At this point, Orochimaru was still quite immature, without the coldness and malevolence of his later years. He didn't speak much, but he had a peaceful and cheerful personality. He also practiced and studied with incredible seriousness, and his grades were excellent.
All in all, he was the type of child that every parent admired.
"Got a minute? I want to discuss something with you."
Xu Ming didn't waste time and went straight to the point.
Over the past period, he had become familiar with the young Sannin. Being talented geniuses, they naturally spent a lot of time together. And children don't need to worry about so much intrigue.
"What's up?" Orochimaru asked, stopping his practice.
"Do you know about the Tailed Beast Bomb?" Xu Ming asked, posing a seemingly unrelated question.
"The Tailed Beast Bomb..." Orochimaru answered thoughtfully. "I heard from the teacher that the tailed beast uses chakra mixed with both Yin and Yang properties, compressing them into a chakra ball with a 2:8 ratio. It's a really scary technique."
"You're right."
Xu Ming nodded, then suddenly changed the subject.
"I got some inspiration from the Tailed Beast Bomb and planned to develop a similar technique."
This sudden shift left Orochimaru confused for a moment.
He glanced at Xu Ming several times, then asked hesitantly, "You're serious?"
"I'm serious!" Xu Ming emphasized.
"Oh, good luck with that," Orochimaru replied, giving a half-hearted smile.
"Not confident in your talent?" Xu Ming provoked him.
Orochimaru rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by the crude attempt at provocation. But he still decided to listen.
Since Xu Ming was stronger and more talented than him, Orochimaru figured it was worth hearing him out.
"Alright, tell me what kind of inspiration you've got."
"Forget about the Yin and Yang chakra," Xu Ming said, his mysterious smile widening. "What do you think would happen if I used a non-attribute chakra and focused only on the 'highly condensed compression' part of the Tailed Beast Bomb?"
Orochimaru froze, staring at Xu Ming. His eyes lit up as the sentence stirred something deep within him.
He quickly became serious, considering the possibilities.
"Leave aside what might happen. How exactly would you complete the condensation and compression?" Orochimaru asked, his brow furrowing.
"Heh, I'm not aiming for nothing, Orochimaru."
Xu Ming smiled contentedly and raised a hand.
Uh-huh...
Light blue chakra began to pour from the acupuncture points in his palms, forming several controlled chakra currents that remained restrained within his hands.
He maintained this controlled state.
Xu Ming picked up a grain of sand from the ground and placed it in his palm, amidst the floating chakra.
"Now, release the chakra and focus it on a specific point in your palm," Xu Ming explained, continuing his demonstration.
With his control, the chakra moved toward the spot where the sand rested.
Swish, swish, swish...
As the chakra gathered, it slowly condensed without escaping, forming a faint sphere in his palm.
"This is the basic form," Xu Ming said, raising his palm with a smile.
What Xu Ming was doing now was exactly the same process that Jiraiya later used to teach Naruto how to form the Rasengan.
And here he was, applying this technique to the Hokage world years ahead of schedule.