Curious Snake, Dazzling Lightning Gathered in the Palm

"Liuyun, are you heading home already? It's still early. Want to find somewhere to chat?"

Liuyun was quite surprised that Orochimaru had taken the initiative to invite him, but he ultimately nodded and followed Orochimaru to a secluded spot with beautiful scenery.

"Liuyun, can you tell me why you're hiding your strength?"

Orochimaru went straight to the point and voiced the doubt in his heart.

"..."

"What do you mean, hiding my strength?" Liuyun looked at him with a 'confused' expression, as though he did not understand what the question meant.

"..."

Orochimaru stared silently into his eyes. Those snake-like pupils made Liuyun's scalp prickle.

"What are you afraid of? What are you worried about?"

Orochimaru asked again.

A boy with a perfectly clean background possessed strength far beyond that of his peers, yet he had always kept it hidden, staying low-key to an excessive degree...

This abnormal behavior had successfully piqued Orochimaru's curiosity. He wanted to know why Liuyun was so guarded.

"..."

Liuyun really wanted to say that he was afraid of him... But on second thought, Orochimaru had quite a good reputation in Konoha at this point in time. There did not seem to be much reason to guard against him now.

Besides, Orochimaru had already seen him expose his strength before. There was no point in continuing to play dumb, and he truly could not come up with a suitable excuse to fool him.

Who could have expected to run into Orochimaru in such a remote place?

"Very well... Since Liuyun doesn't wish to say, I won't force you."

Seeing that Liuyun had not answered for quite some time, Orochimaru took the initiative to give him an out.

"Have you been practicing Lightning Release Ninjutsu lately, Liuyun?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Liuyun's pupils involuntarily contracted.

Whenever he practiced Chidori, he would generally activate his Sharingan in order to better control his Chakra. Had Orochimaru already discovered all his secrets?

No, that's not it...

Liuyun subconsciously looked at his right hand, where faint burn scars from electric shocks could be seen...

Did he deduce it from the scars on my hand...?

He had not expected Orochimaru to be so attentive.

"Yes!"

After careful consideration, Liuyun finally nodded, openly admitting it.

"Hehe... Can you tell me what Lightning Release Ninjutsu you're learning?"

Ninjutsu that required one to touch lightning with the palm were not nonexistent in the Shinobi World, but they were certainly rare. Orochimaru's curiosity had once again been stirred.

"Recently, I've been trying to develop a close-combat Lightning Release Ninjutsu, but progress hasn't been going too smoothly..." Liuyun scratched his head and smiled.

"You actually want to develop a new ninjutsu!"

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, surprise flashing in his snake-like pupils.

"I'm just doing it to pass the time..." Liuyun replied with an awkward smile.

"Hehe... Liuyun, you really are difficult to fathom!" Orochimaru suddenly licked the corner of his mouth.

It was an unconscious action he made whenever he was extremely excited.

For ordinary Jonin, creating a ninjutsu was extraordinarily difficult, because it required an immensely rich foundation of ninjutsu knowledge and experience. Yet an elementary school student like him dared to boast about developing a ninjutsu?

Moreover, he was developing the notoriously difficult Lightning Release. Not only did Liuyun want to work with Lightning Release, he wanted to turn Lightning Release Ninjutsu, which could originally only be used at medium and long range, into close-combat techniques?

In the Shinobi World, the only Lightning Release suited for close combat was the Land of Lightning's Lightning Release Armor.

If someone else heard Liuyun's outrageous claims, they might dismiss them as childish nonsense.

But Liuyun was facing Orochimaru. So long as Orochimaru was interested in someone, even if they said something utterly absurd, his first reaction would never be doubt.

"Liuyun, can you tell me about your ideas for this new Lightning Release technique? Perhaps I can help you!"

Orochimaru spoke sincerely.

Before being utterly crushed by Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru's greatest interest had been researching all kinds of ninjutsu, while his greatest wish had been to learn every technique in the world.

Liuyun's words had struck right at his itch.

"Of course! With Lord Orochimaru's guidance, I'm sure the difficulties with this new technique will soon be resolved!"

Delight appeared on Liuyun's face. If Orochimaru at this point in time was willing to guide him, that might truly be a good thing!

Liuyun had originally intended to guard against Orochimaru. In the original story, countless children had been used as pawns by Orochimaru, and even more had eventually been discarded as expendable pieces...

Not everyone could be like Sasuke, someone Orochimaru was willing to give to wholeheartedly without asking for anything in return.

Even in Uchiha Sasuke's case, Orochimaru had initially devoted himself to training him because he wanted to use him as a vessel for reincarnation.

Thus, Liuyun had always believed it was necessary to remain wary of Orochimaru.

Based on his understanding of Orochimaru from the original story, this guy was not only extremely curious, but also had a particular habit.

He loved abducting and nurturing genius children, especially children who caught his interest.

Liuyun had now aroused his intense interest. Ninjutsu research plus a youthful genius—the two buffs had already stacked to the limit. It was too late for him to avoid or distance himself from Orochimaru now...

Rather than that, he might as well accept this harmless snake before him.

At this point in time, Orochimaru was still physically and mentally healthy. It would only be after witnessing the deaths of his disciple Nawaki and Kato Dan that his mind would gradually begin to twist and become warped.

Orochimaru currently seemed to have no reason to harm him, so Liuyun temporarily let down his guard.

"I want to create a Lightning Release Ninjutsu that can cling to the palm, then combine it with extreme speed to achieve a close-range piercing effect..."

As Liuyun spoke, he formed hand seals. Before long, a dazzling current appeared in his palm.

As he increased his Chakra output, the current gradually grew stronger and more abundant.

Orochimaru watched the scene with a face full of shock. The situation before him exceeded his expectations. He had not expected an elementary school student to possess such formidable Chakra control!

In theory, the Ninja Academy did teach this kind of theory and knowledge, but it would not casually teach the methods of control—Tree Climbing and Water Walking.

That was because children naturally possessed very little Chakra, and they also lacked the mental focus necessary to control it. Being able to refine sufficient Chakra already counted as having strong spiritual energy.

How had Liuyun managed this? Gathering electric current in his palm—he had actually thought of it, and even managed to do it...

As the current became increasingly dazzling, Orochimaru had originally thought he was about to witness a miracle. Instead, Liuyun suddenly stopped supplying Chakra.

Holding up his scar-covered palm, Liuyun sincerely asked for guidance:

"Lord Orochimaru, how can I control lightning powerful enough to pierce an enemy's body without injuring my palm?"