Chapter 158: Mid-term Break
Orochimaru's return to his "hometown" served a dual purpose: to bid farewell to one person and to recruit another. The farewell was for his cherished teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, while the recruitment target was Uchiha Sasuke. The former represented the past, but for the pragmatic Orochimaru, the latter – the future – held greater significance.
However, acquiring Sasuke required a careful approach. Their planned "chance encounter" in the Forest of Death had been foiled by Ino.
He needed a new strategy.
This delay stretched until the present day.
Despite Orochimaru's exceptional ninjutsu skills and mastery of numerous secret techniques, his current situation was precarious. He was nominally under the protection of many Konoha ninja, but in reality, they were monitoring his every move, preventing him from acting freely.
To openly use the Clone Jutsu? Or perhaps the Shadow Clone Jutsu? That was a joke. Did they think he was the only one in the world who knew ninjutsu?
Since Orochimaru couldn't approach Sasuke directly, he had to send Kabuto, recently revived, to persuade him.
Sasuke had always been a solitary individual, preferring secluded places. Kabuto, sensing an opportunity, naturally approached him.
"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, his guard up. He didn't recognize the masked man at all. Initially, he suspected an Anbu ninja from the village, but he quickly dismissed that idea.
"Uchiha Sasuke," Kabuto said, calling out his name. "Are you confident about winning this afternoon's match?"
Sasuke was clearly impatient. "Get lost. Don't make me repeat myself."
Kabuto sneered inwardly. This brat, what's with the attitude?
"That Yamanaka girl has mastered her family's secret techniques, inherited ninjutsu from both the Second Hokage and the Second Mizukage, and recently became a disciple of Tsunade, one of the Sannin. Do you honestly believe your Sharingan and Kakashi's limited guidance are enough to defeat her? You should know that in this morning's match, she didn't even use half her true strength and easily defeated the Jinchuriki from Sunagakure. How long do you really think you can last against her?"
Kabuto revealed all the details about Ino's capabilities. Sasuke was still too naive; his thoughts were an open book.
In fact, Sasuke's confidence was even lower than Kabuto described. He hadn't even dared to use his Sharingan against Ino, fearing unforeseen consequences.
Even if he did use it, his current Sharingan was only at the two-tomoe level, its power significantly limited.
His recent intense training with the Chidori was partly motivated by a desire to find another path through ninjutsu.
Many clan heads and Jonin were aware of Ino becoming Tsunade's disciple, but Sasuke was completely in the dark; no one had informed him.
Kabuto smiled. "Haven't you already guessed? I'm a subordinate of Lord Orochimaru. Lord Orochimaru, also one of the Sannin, holds you in high regard. We had a chance encounter in the Forest of Death before, and your performance was very impressive. Lord Orochimaru wishes to recruit you as his subordinate. Sasuke, don't be too quick to refuse. I've heard that members of the Uchiha clan are exceptionally skilled with shuriken, and this is a gift from Lord Orochimaru as a token of our first meeting."
He tossed a scroll to Sasuke, then remained silent, simply nodding before making a one-handed hand seal and vanishing in a puff of white smoke.
Sasuke hesitated for a moment before opening the scroll and examining its contents carefully.
It contained an A-rank ninjutsu: the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.
This technique demanded exceptionally refined shuriken throwing skills, keen insight into timing, light, and environmental factors, as well as a considerable amount of chakra.
Sasuke possessed all these prerequisites. Upon understanding the technique's purpose, the first person who came to his mind wasn't Orochimaru, nor Ino, but Naruto!
Indra's chakra was subtly influencing him.
He was lost in thought.
Next time Naruto used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he wouldn't have to painstakingly deal with each clone individually. He could use this Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu to counter him perfectly!
Thinking of his clever idea, a smile finally appropriate for his age spread across his face.
Since Orochimaru was offering him ninjutsu, he would simply accept it. Become his subordinate? That was preposterous!
For Sasuke, defeating Naruto and steadily improving his own abilities were his sole immediate concerns. He had no other ambitions in the short term.
He had no idea that Orochimaru's intentions were far more complex and manipulative. The Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu was the Third Hokage's signature technique. Using it in public would inevitably lead to accusations about the A-rank ninjutsu's suspicious origins, an accusation he would be unable to refute.
To master an A-rank ninjutsu in a single afternoon? Not only was it beyond him, but even Uchiha Itachi couldn't accomplish such a feat.
Against Ino's "Water Release" techniques, shuriken wouldn't be particularly effective. He still needed to devise a strategy using Lightning Release.
Sasuke used the remaining time to further his training in Lightning Release chakra nature transformation, skipping even a meal.
Naruto was also forgoing lunch.
Iruka, during the school's lunch break, came to the Chunin Exam venue to invite Naruto to eat the bento he had brought. Naruto's refusal was highly unusual.
Losing to Sasuke had deeply unsettled him.
He couldn't explain it, but even though he had always been the class's dead last, losing to anyone else wouldn't have bothered him. Yet, the thought of losing to Sasuke was unbearable. He couldn't articulate why, but it simply felt wrong.
This was supposed to be his chance to shine, to finally earn everyone's recognition, but his fight had been a chaotic mess. Just thinking about it filled him with frustration.
Jiraiya observed from a distance, choosing not to approach and offer comfort. For a young boy, experiencing setbacks was a valuable lesson. Even he, the great Jiraiya, had been defeated by Orochimaru countless times in his youth. What was the big deal? He should probably go find some beautiful ladies for his research. Earlier, a girl with a rather fitting name, Pink Skin, had arrived at the hot spring...
On the Sunagakure side, they were busy tending to Gaara. Several ninjas skilled in sealing techniques had studied the situation for a long time but were still baffled about how to break the Five Elements Seal.
The five chakra elements cycled endlessly, creating and sustaining each other. Breaking this sealing formula through brute force was incredibly difficult.
The Third Hokage feigned ignorance as soon as the match concluded. Break the seal? Had he ever said that was possible?
The "Fourth Kazekage" was capable of breaking it, but with so many Konoha ninja present, he couldn't risk exposing himself. He also claimed to not be particularly skilled in sealing techniques.
Temari looked at Gaara's peaceful expression and decided against confronting Ino again. She would let her brother rest for a while.
Rock Lee's loss to Naruto was partly due to the presence of some of his village ninja, which prevented him from using many of his more powerful moves. However, he reasoned that even though he had restricted himself, Naruto was likely in a similar situation, making it a fair fight in that regard.
He stubbornly believed his training wasn't intense enough. He also skipped lunch and declared with fervent passion, "Two laps around the Land of Fire! If that's not enough, then two thousand jump ropes!"
Might Guy, proclaiming that "youth and passion will never wither," promptly joined his beloved student in his self-imposed training.
Neji and Tenten weren't quite as extreme, but the two of them, still wearing their rather Chinese-style attire, headed to the training grounds together.