Orochimaru's Training Plan Wasn't So Simple

Orochimaru's "big sister" immediately made Mito Uzumaki beam with delight.

She then glanced at Tsunade and Hoshiryu Uchiha, her meaning obvious: she wanted them to change how they addressed her too.

But all she saw was the two of them pretending the scenery was beautiful as they looked around.

Hoshiryu Uchiha was already praising Orochimaru in his heart.

As expected of Orochimaru. Did he already have a snake's instinct for danger at such a young age?

Mito Uzumaki did not dwell too much on the matter of forms of address. Hoshiryu Uchiha had made a good friend on his very first day of school.

Now that he had brought him home, she naturally had to treat him well.

She crouched down to Orochimaru's level and said to the somewhat nervous boy, "Hello. I'm Tsunade and Hoshiryu's grandmother. Welcome to our home."

As long as Mito Uzumaki was not angry, she was a very gentle person.

Her respectful manner toward others made her seem even more approachable.

It effectively eased Orochimaru's nervousness.

Looking at Mito Uzumaki's kind smile, he asked softly, "Then... can I call you Grandma too?"

Since childhood, Orochimaru had never met any relatives other than his parents.

Mito Uzumaki did not look elderly, but her kindly expression and bearing were exactly like those of a grandmother.

So, in front of her, Orochimaru showed his childlike side.

Yet Mito Uzumaki stiffened slightly upon hearing those words. But as she looked at the cautious child before her, she simply could not bring herself to refuse him.

I'm already an old woman. I should stop making things difficult for children in the future.

With that thought, Mito Uzumaki suddenly let it go.

"No problem. You can call me Grandma from now on too."

Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and he answered happily, "Grandma!"

This time, Mito Uzumaki did not fuss over the form of address and merely smiled kindly.

Hoshiryu Uchiha and Tsunade watched their interaction in surprise. They had not expected Mito Uzumaki to yield on this point.

Tsunade especially had been lectured by Mito Uzumaki more than a few times over this very issue.

Seeing Mito Uzumaki's change now, she was completely baffled.

But Tsunade soon gave up thinking about it.

This was not a bad thing, and there was no point dwelling on such a trivial matter.

After chatting for a while, the group entered the Senju Compound.

Yosuke Senju and his wife had avoided returning to the battlefield, but they were still extremely busy.

The reason was that a certain Uzumaki Clan member who loved slacking off had kept giving himself leave, causing the Senju Clan's affairs to pile up like a mountain.

With no other choice, the two of them had gone out to deal with it.

When Hoshiryu Uchiha first learned of this, he could only marvel inwardly.

So Tsunade learned to dump her work on Shizune and go off drinking from you.

Orochimaru followed them through the Senju Compound, and his eyes lit up when he saw the training grounds.

His purpose in coming here was to have Hoshiryu Uchiha guide his training. Upon seeing the place, he practically could not tear himself away.

One look at him was enough for Hoshiryu Uchiha to understand what he was thinking.

He stopped and said to Mito Uzumaki and Tsunade, "Grandma, you and Tsunade go back first. I'll train here with Orochimaru for a while."

Training was naturally a good thing. Mito Uzumaki also trusted Hoshiryu Uchiha and knew he would not do anything reckless.

So she simply nodded and left with Tsunade.

After they departed, Hoshiryu Uchiha turned to Orochimaru.

He had no way of knowing what this young version of Orochimaru was capable of.

So Hoshiryu Uchiha asked, "Orochimaru, what can you do right now?"

Orochimaru thought for a moment before answering, "I've already learned the Chakra Induction Technique and the Three Body Technique. I also know a D-rank Great Fireball Technique."

"I've also mastered tree climbing and water walking."

Hoshiryu Uchiha looked at Orochimaru in admiration. At only Six Years Old, he had already mastered everything a Genin was expected to learn.

Moreover, Orochimaru was only limited by resources, not by any inability to learn more.

As one of the rare geniuses in the world of the Hokage who possessed every elemental affinity, including Yin and Yang Release, his limits had only been restricted by the era itself.

After Orochimaru reached the limit of his talent, he began trying to break through it.

Hashirama Cells and the Sharingan were both targets of his experiments.

Unfortunately, while his direction had been right, his methods had been wrong.

If he had learned the truth of the world earlier, Orochimaru's achievements would surely have surpassed all imagination.

But he was still young now, and with an outsider like Hoshiryu Uchiha in the picture, who could say what the future would hold?

Pulling his wandering Thoughts back, Hoshiryu Uchiha asked, "Then is there anything you want to learn right now?"

This time, Orochimaru answered without hesitation, "Hoshiryu-kun, my dream is to learn every ninjutsu."

"So no matter what Hoshiryu-kun teaches me, I can learn it."

As he spoke, he radiated immense confidence.

It was as if he were saying that no matter what kind of ninjutsu it was, he would be able to learn it.

Looking at Orochimaru like this, Hoshiryu Uchiha found himself in a difficult position.

Teaching Orochimaru ordinary ninjutsu would certainly improve his strength directly.

But Hoshiryu Uchiha felt that doing so would somewhat waste Orochimaru's talent for research.

He then began recalling Orochimaru's feats in the anime.

His various Snake Ninjutsu, the Eight Branches Technique he had even developed to fight tailed beasts.

He had also improved the Second Hokage's Impure World Reincarnation and unraveled the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

At that moment, Hoshiryu Uchiha suddenly understood.

A towering building rose from the ground up; the foundation was crucial.

Of course Orochimaru needed to learn ordinary elemental ninjutsu, but he could not merely know how to use it without understanding why it worked.

After teaching Orochimaru ninjutsu, Hoshiryu Uchiha could have him study its structure.

Why did forming a particular hand seal release a ninjutsu? Could the hand-seal step be omitted?

Or could a technique with A-rank learning difficulty be improved into one with B-rank or even C-rank learning difficulty?

If successful, more people could learn advanced ninjutsu and increase the village's strength.

Orochimaru could investigate all of this, guiding him toward research while accomplishing two goals at once.

As for whether the workload would be too great, that was not within Hoshiryu Uchiha's scope of consideration.

After all, he was providing knowledge, so naturally he ought to gain something in return.

Giving without receiving anything was not advisable.

Even brothers settled accounts clearly.

Having figured out how to guide Orochimaru, Hoshiryu Uchiha looked at the expectant boy before him and slowly said, "Orochimaru-kun, I've given this careful thought."

"I acknowledge your talent and want to formally train you. That is different from merely guiding you. Guiding you is a matter between the two of us."

"But if I train you, I'll need to give you the Senju Clan's collection of ninjutsu. Therefore, you must offer something in return."

"If you don't agree, that's fine. But then I can only guide you in some ordinary knowledge."