At this moment, on the rooftop of the Ninja Academy's teaching building, Orochimaru was sitting against the railing with Jiraiya, enjoying the lavish breakfast that Tsunade had brought them.
Unlike Jiraiya, who was devouring his food with enthusiasm, Orochimaru looked visibly exhausted. He yawned after taking a bite, prompting Tsunade to ask, "Did you not sleep well last night?"
"No, I barely slept at all," Orochimaru replied, shaking his head before yawning again. "I was up all night working. I only managed to doze off for about two hours at dawn."
"What were you doing?" Jiraiya interjected curiously.
Orochimaru hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell the truth. After all, the three of them had already agreed to work together as a team.
"Xu Ming came to me last night with an idea for developing a new technique. He invited me to join him, and I agreed," Orochimaru explained. "We spent the entire night researching and refining it."
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged glances. They hadn't expected Orochimaru to be involved in something like this.
"Aren't you rushing things a bit?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, Orochimaru, we've only just started learning ninjutsu. Isn't it too soon to think about creating new techniques?" Jiraiya questioned directly.
Orochimaru simply smiled and shook his head. He understood their concerns but was confident in his decision. Xu Ming's idea was well thought out, and he believed there was a good chance of success.
Besides, he found the process of research and development thrilling. Even if they failed, he wouldn't regret it. The excitement of discovery was reward enough.
"I just want to try," Orochimaru said, his eyes filled with determination.
Jiraiya sighed before nodding. "Alright then."
Tsunade thought for a moment before offering, "I can give you my grandfather's notes on developing new techniques. Maybe they'll be useful to you."
She was referring to her grandfather, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. He was a brilliant innovator who had created numerous jutsu, leaving behind valuable insights that benefited the entire village.
After all, it was Senju Tobirama who had developed the Shadow Clone Technique.
The notes he left behind were priceless.
"If I ever need them, I'll let you know," Orochimaru replied solemnly, not refusing her kindness. For now, though, they had only taken the first step, and he hadn't hit any major roadblocks yet.
Later, as the class bell rang…
Students returned to their classrooms.
Xu Ming was sitting at the back of the room when someone took the seat beside him. Without looking up, he already knew it was Orochimaru.
"Xu Ming…" Orochimaru called out excitedly. "I did what you suggested last night!"
As he spoke, he extended his hand and released chakra from his palm, condensing it into a swirling blue mist.
"Incredible!" Xu Ming exclaimed, genuinely impressed.
Even though he had already received a system notification about Orochimaru's progress, seeing it in person still amazed him.
As expected of Orochimaru.
"Haha, you explained everything so clearly. If I couldn't do it after that, I wouldn't have had the nerve to say I was part of this project," Orochimaru said humbly.
Xu Ming stared at him speechlessly. Did Orochimaru really not realize his own talent?
"What's the next step?" Orochimaru asked eagerly, stopping the chakra flow and grabbing Xu Ming's arm.
"Well, here's what I think…"
Xu Ming stroked his chin, pretending to contemplate before continuing.
"Since we've abandoned Nature Transformation, we have to rely purely on shape transformation. That means we need to compress and condense the chakra to a certain level before it can become lethal. What you did just now was just the framework," Xu Ming explained.
"Now, we need to build on that framework and fill in the missing elements."
Lowering his voice, Xu Ming detailed the second and third stages of the Rasengan technique.
Orochimaru's eyes widened in amazement. "Xu Ming, you're a genius!" he exclaimed. "Your idea for enhancing the technique's power is absolutely brilliant! I doubt anyone else could have thought of this!"
Xu Ming simply smiled and waved his hand dismissively. It wasn't really his own genius—it was knowledge borrowed from the future.
During Naruto's time, the Rasengan had already been perfected by its creator, Namikaze Minato, and further refined by Jiraiya.
Xu Ming was simply presenting the end result of their years of hard work, which naturally made him seem incredibly insightful.
As the two continued their hushed discussion, the teacher at the front of the class ignored them.
The other students merely glanced in their direction before quickly looking away, acting as if they hadn't noticed.
After all, geniuses had their privileges.
"I'm not very good at chakra control," Orochimaru admitted. "These next two stages seem a bit difficult for me."
He sighed, thinking about the water balloon and rubber ball training that Xu Ming had described.
"It might take me three whole days to master it," he added.
Xu Ming nearly choked. Three days? Did he hear that right?
It had taken Naruto two whole weeks to complete these two stages of training!
And Orochimaru thought three days was slow?
"Don't underestimate yourself, Orochimaru," Xu Ming said sincerely, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're incredible. In my eyes, there's no one like you. One day, you'll stand at the pinnacle of the entire ninja world."
Orochimaru smiled wryly. "You're exaggerating…"
"No, I mean it," Xu Ming replied firmly, patting his shoulder.
"…Well, thanks," Orochimaru said.
"No need to thank me. Just train hard," Xu Ming said with a grin.
The harder Orochimaru worked, the better it was for him.
Come on, Orochimaru! Xu Ming thought to himself. My path to becoming the strongest in the ninja world depends on you!
Satisfied, Xu Ming leaned back in his chair and dozed off.
He had already mastered everything taught in the Ninja Academy, so he didn't need to pay attention.
As long as he kept ranking first in the assessments, no one would say a word.