Orochimaru the Cold Lord (Part 2)

"I can probably understand your confusion..." Hearing Issui's words, Minato deeply felt his struggle; most ninjas survived through such struggles... That's why he wanted to become Hokage, to protect everyone, to protect all the villagers...

"Is that so? This world is full of helplessness. The constant wars bring only the loss of loved ones and an abyss of hatred. How to solve this cruel ninja world is a problem we must always face. It's not just Konoha, but other ninja villages as well. Everyone is struggling in the Uzumaki of hatred in the ninja world. Is it human nature to keep fighting? The constant fighting only makes the resentment between people grow heavier and heavier. When will the moment of mutual understanding come? But as long as we hold fast to our dreams, I think that day will eventually come. When that day comes, let's charge forward with all our might..." Issui clenched his fist and punched the air hard.

"Mutual understanding???" Minato felt that Issui's ideal was too far away. Could such an era truly come? He himself only wanted to become the Hokage of the village and protect everyone, but this boy actually wanted to eliminate the hatred between ninjas. Could such a thing really happen? Like in the books written by Jiraiya's master? Perhaps such an era would truly come. He was truly looking forward to it...

The next day, an eagle landed on a window of a room and cried out softly a few times. A moment later, a ninja wearing a cat-face mask appeared and took the scroll from the eagle's feet.

"What are they saying inside?" Orochimaru asked, sitting at the top of the room.

"... Ono Nakamura and Erika Nakamura were both Chunin Konoha. They died from poison gas inflicted by Human Puppet during the Second Shinobi World War against the Land of Wind. They had a child, a boy named Takuya Nakamura, who suddenly disappeared after their sacrifice..." The cat-masked ninja quickly read the scroll's contents...

"Oh, it seems it's true. Go and call Minato over, have him bring that boy named Takuya Nakamura along..." Orochimaru tapped his fingers on the table, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Yes..."

Issui, Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were eating breakfast around a table. Rin had made the breakfast, and it wasn't very tasty.

"Minato Namikaze, Takuya Nakamura, Lord Orochimaru wants you to come over..." Suddenly, a ninja wearing a cat-face mask appeared in the room, his voice cold and hollow.

"Ah, pfft..." Lin was startled and spat out a mouthful of rice, which spilled all over Issui.

"?" Issui gave a helpless wry smile. Sitting still is suffering too. Really, is it necessary to make such a fuss?

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Brother Takuya, let me help you wipe it off..." Lin looked at her "masterpiece," her body covered in Issui grains, and felt so embarrassed.

"It's alright, I can do it myself..." Issui quickly cleaned the rice grains off her body; this was an undeserved misfortune.

"Understood, we'll be right there, thank you for your help..." Minato said to the cat-faced ninja.

"Okay, I'll go down first. You guys hurry up, Lord Orochimaru doesn't like waiting..." The cat-faced ninja nodded and disappeared instantly.

"You guys eat here. Takuya and I are going to see Orochimaru. When I get back, I'll take you on a mission..." Minato said, standing up.

"Hmm..." Rin, Kakashi, and Obito nodded.

"Let's go, I also want to meet Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin..." Issui said, tidying up his luggage.

"Hmm... let's go..." Minato nodded.

"Young man Takuya, just tell Orochimaru- senpai the truth when you see him. Don't worry. Although Orochimaru- senpai has some unusual hobbies, he is still a reasonable person. Don't worry..." Minato instructed Issui as they walked.

"Yeah, I know..." Issui didn't care. He wasn't afraid of Orochimaru. In fact, he had fought Orochimaru in the future.

"..." Minato shook his head helplessly. It was a real headache. It seemed Minato hadn't listened to him. He hoped the meeting with Orochimaru would end successfully, but would it really go as he hoped?

"You must be Takuya Nakamura..." Orochimaru looked at Issui below, his body trembling slightly. Such immense power; the sheer force emanating from him sent a chill down his spine. Another formidable opponent...

"Hmm, you must be the legendary Orochimaru the Cold Lord, one of the Sannin. I'm quite interested in you..." Issui said without any fear.

"Really? You're quite impressive. I'm very interested in you too..." Orochimaru became even more excited after hearing Issui's words; he really wanted to fight him...

"That's truly my honor. The fact that you're interested in me shows that you recognize my abilities..." Issui smile.

"..." Minato nudged Issui with his elbow anxiously, "Don't be so blunt, okay? If you keep going like this, Orochimaru might want to fight you. We can't pique his interest..."

"I've checked your identity, it's true. However, to join Konoha, you still need to pass a test. I wonder if you're mentally prepared..." Orochimaru said, looking at Issui, his pupils narrowing into slits.

"Oh, really? What if I accept it, or what if I don't...?" Issui asked with great interest.

"If you accept, you'll have to fight me to test your strength. If you don't accept, you'll still have to fight me. In short, I'll test your strength. There are no unknown ninjas in my team..." Orochimaru said calmly.

"In that case, very well. I've been wanting to test my strength anyway. It's an honor to have Orochimaru- senpai as my opponent..." Issui smile.

"Alright, let's begin then. Follow me, this isn't a suitable place for fighting..." Orochimaru excitedly stood up, his figure flashing as he appeared behind Issui and walked towards the door...

"Why were you so impulsive..." Minato said reproachfully to Issui after Orochimaru left.

"Don't worry, if we can't win, we can always run away..." Issui waved his hand dismissively, then disappeared in a flash...

"Sigh, you..." Minato shook his head in frustration. Honestly, things had gone beyond his expectations. He never imagined things would develop to this point; Takuya had actually gone up against Orochimaru...

In a clearing in a forest, a large number of ninjas gathered, all their eyes fixed on two figures in the center of the area. One was Orochimaru the Cold Lord, one of the legendary Sannin, with long black hair, long golden pupils, purple eyeshadow extending to his nose, pale skin, and blue Tomoe -shaped earrings. The other was a young man with long silver hair and silver eyes.

"Hey, do you know what's going on here? What's Lord Orochimaru doing here? And who's that kid opposite him? Judging by the Forehead Protector on his forehead, he's a Konoha ninja. I've never seen him before. How did he end up fighting Lord Orochimaru?"

"I don't know, I just got here too. That boy is in trouble, he actually went up against Lord Orochimaru, you can imagine the consequences..."

"I think this boy has a death wish. How dare he challenge Lord Orochimaru's reputation? His end will surely be tragic..."

"That's another story, otherwise, Lord Orochimaru will be angry, just you wait and see..."

The crowd started talking all at once, pointing and whispering about Issui.

"Minato-sensei..." Rin suddenly appeared beside Minato with Kakashi and Obito, who were also drawn by the commotion.

"Why are you all here? Didn't I tell you to stay home?" Minato asked.

"We were at home, but we were drawn by the commotion here, so we came over. Minato-sensei -sensei, what's going on here? How come that guy is going toe-to-toe with Sannin, one of the Lord Orochimaru?" Obito asked, puzzled.

"Yes, didn't Takuya- nii go to see Lord Orochimaru with the teacher? How could this be..." Rin said, puzzled.

"Sigh, it's a long story. Anyway, Orochimaru is going to have a fight with Takuya..." Minato said helplessly.

"Ah..." Lin looked at Issui's figure with worry, and couldn't help but cover her mouth. Would Brother Takuya be alright? You know, he was facing Lord Orochimaru Sannin...

"Hmph, arrogant bastard..." Obito thought to himself. "You were so smug, weren't you? Well, you'll be in for a rough time now. Lord Orochimaru will teach you a lesson..."

At this moment, the situation on the field changed, Orochimaru began to speak.

"Let's begin, you go first..."

"Oh? Orochimaru- senpai wants me to make the first move? Then I won't stand on ceremony, please guide me..." With Issui, Yishui vanished in a flash, reappearing behind Orochimaru the next moment, a Kunai in her hand aimed at his back...

"So fast..." Lin exclaimed in surprise...

"Watch closely, he's much stronger than you. I hope you can learn something from him..." Minato said to his three disciples.

"..." Kakashi and Obito both stared intently at the battle unfolding on the field.

"Bang..." Orochimaru didn't look behind him. He suddenly reached back and grabbed the wrist of the one holding the Issui Kunai. The arm twisted strangely, as if it had no bones and could be twisted at will.

One of Issui's hands was grabbed, while the other hand quickly Hand Seals...

"Si-Wei-Shen-Hai-Wu-Yin, Fire Release--the art of powerful fireball!!!"

A gigantic fireball erupted from Issui's mouth, the intensely hot flames engulfing Orochimaru's entire body!

"What...!" Kakashi and Obito exclaimed in surprise. How could this be? One hand Hand Seals, and so fast! Their eyes could barely see it.

"Just watch closely, there are plenty of geniuses in this world..." Minato said.

"Minato-sensei, don't Ninjutsu require hand Hand Seals?" Rin asked, puzzled.

"Well, the so-called 'Ninjutsu' is the will to extract spiritual energy and physical energy from the body, refine them (this is called creating Chakra), and then activate them through the process of 'Hand Seals'! Generally speaking, everyone uses both hands to form hand Hand Seals. To form hand Hand Seals with one hand means that one has mastered all kinds of hand seals to the extreme and has reached a point where one can control the flow of energy in the body at will. But that's just talk. I haven't tried it myself, and this is the first time I've seen it with my own eyes..." Minato said.