Visiting

Satoru had anticipated this; with Orochimaru's discerning eye, he would quickly notice his uniqueness.

And Satoru, forced to continue researching Arcane Power, would inevitably be exposed to Orochimaru's gaze.

His old man, Mitokado Homura, could no longer provide effective cover for him at this point.

"I believe that a ninja is someone who has mastered Ninjutsu, and the more and stronger the Ninjutsu they master, the stronger the ninja!"

"And my goal is to learn all Ninjutsu, thereby mastering the truth of the world!"

Orochimaru's understanding of ninjas was simple and crude.

Or rather, simple and direct.

His ideal was also so great... it was suffocating.

Perhaps ninjas do have some high-end gimmick attributes, but judging from the state of the Shinobi World War, Orochimaru was right.

The strongest ninjas indeed mastered the strongest techniques, and analyzing powerful techniques did require extensive knowledge.

Just like a mage, not everyone who can cast spells is a mage.

A mage must be a knowledgeable scholar, and there are even more wise men among them.

The level of knowledge, to a large extent, even determines the power of spells and the upper limit of what spells can be cast.

To put it bluntly, a mage is a research-oriented profession, and combat is just a side job.

Just like Satoru is a ninja now, but is actually a mage, both are side jobs.

And how to ensure survivability? Of course, by analyzing The Book of Medivh and enhancing strength.

Any Ninjutsu, for Satoru, must be analyzed through Arcane Power and completely turned into his own before he dares to use it with confidence.

Even when using Chakra-based Ninjutsu, Satoru would only use Arcane Power to convert Chakra, and would not create it through mental and physical strength.

For no other reason than that others don't know or understand, but Satoru knows...

In the moon overhead, there is also an ancestor of Chakra.

Who knows what strange things are in the Chakra passed down by that one? If it's recalled just like that, wouldn't that be terrible?

The Book of Medivh has been analyzed to nearly 40%, and the vast sea of Arcane knowledge within has allowed Satoru to slowly understand more of the differences and connections between Arcane Power and Chakra.

His control over Arcane Power and various application techniques are also steadily increasing.

This has not delayed his ninja training, because the Chakra converted by Arcane Power will also improve simultaneously.

Therefore, Satoru's research cannot stop.

Even if Orochimaru notices something amiss.

And on this day, just as Satoru and his team had mastered the continuous control of Chakra for tree climbing and water walking, Orochimaru received a visit from his friend.

Dan Katō.

Dan Katō was a very special Jonin; his signature Ninjutsu was the forbidden technique "Reincarnation Jutsu," which no one else had ever demonstrated.

This extremely special Ninjutsu can turn oneself into a living soul, traverse distances and kill enemies, control the opponent's body, and enter the mental world of others.

It is simply an assassination, reconnaissance, and even remote assassination masterpiece—of course, the target's mental will must not be stronger than the caster's.

With this unique Ninjutsu, Dan Katō made a great name for himself.

At the same time, he is also a very important character who doesn't appear much.

He is Tsunade's first love, whom she never forgot for decades, and his tragic death was the last straw that led to Orochimaru's corruption.

But now, Dan Katō is clearly only acquainted with Tsunade, and Nawaki has no impression of him.

"This is also a steadfast person with the 'Will of Fire' burning brightly."

Satoru shook his head secretly, but such people never have a good ending.

"Hey, Nawaki!"

Satoru was silent for a while, glanced at Orochimaru, who was discussing a problem with Dan Katō, and quietly asked Nawaki:

"What do you think of this Lord Dan?"

"Hmm, he's very handsome, has manners, and is a good person."

Nawaki's answer made Satoru twitch his lips. This guy...

He glanced again at Mikoto, who was tidying up her practice ninja tools, Satoru hesitated for a moment, and still said to Nawaki:

"Don't rush to leave after we dismiss later, I have something to tell you."

"Oh!"

Nawaki didn't ask Satoru what it was. Over these days, Satoru had undoubtedly become the core of the three Genin in this team.

If Satoru said there was something, then there was something, and he would know when the time came.

The conversation between Orochimaru and Dan Katō didn't last long. It seemed that Orochimaru had instructed Dan on something, and Dan looked very serious.

And after Dan Katō said goodbye and left, Orochimaru was silent for a while, and then someone came to visit again.

"Another handsome white-haired person, why are so many people visiting Orochimaru today? Is he that popular?"

"Dan Katō has white hair, Jiraiya has white hair, and now this guy has white hair too... Does hanging out with friends like that make his black, long, and straight hair seem younger?"

Satoru muttered to himself. He had no impression of this white-haired Jonin; he was probably just a background character.

But Orochimaru's attitude toward him was no different from his attitude toward Dan Katō; they seemed very familiar.

In other words, this white-haired Jonin should also be a friend of Orochimaru. Orochimaru usually couldn't be bothered to waste words on other people, even Jonin.

"Mage Eye!"

Satoru was cautious, but unfortunately, the Mage Eye could only see for now, not hear.

Lip reading was nice, but Satoru wasn't skilled at it and could only barely make out a few words.

Soon after, Satoru noticed a word in their conversation.

"Root!"

"Was this guy sent by Danzo? Judging by his appearance, he doesn't look like a Root ninja..."

Satoru frowned, but in any case, anything involving Root was trouble that Satoru wanted to avoid right now.

Orochimaru had also joined Root, but that was a long time later.

However, the term "Root" only appeared once. Later, from the snippets of their conversation, it seemed that they were discussing Ninjutsu research.

"Oh? It seems this guy is also a research type."

Satoru and the others were training on the side. In reality, Satoru, who had an increasingly strong grasp of Arcane Power, had already surpassed the level of his current training.

He looked like he was training, but in reality, Satoru was re-examining Orochimaru's relationships.

After finishing his conversation with the white-haired Jonin, Orochimaru watched him leave and shook his head slightly.

This time, Orochimaru seemed to be talking to himself. Satoru only made out words like "impatient," "failure," and "experiment."

"That guy isn't another dark scientist, is he!"

Satoru saw Orochimaru remain silent for a moment before walking towards them, so he quickly composed himself, dispelled the Mage Eye, and focused on practicing with Nawaki and Mikoto.

"Satoru, come here for a moment."

Orochimaru beckoned. Satoru raised an eyebrow, stopped practicing, took a breath, glanced at Nawaki and Mikoto, and walked towards Orochimaru.

"Teacher."

"Satoru, just now, two of my old friends came to see me and talked to me about some things."

Orochimaru seemed a little down, but Satoru became vigilant--why was he telling him this separately?

"The first to come was Dan. He has already received orders to go to the front lines--the situation on the front lines has finally reached the point where Jonin must be stationed there permanently."

"You understand what this means, right? Especially for a Jonin like him who specializes in long-range assassination. This shows that the situation is close to being out of control."

Satoru nodded. Dan was indeed the type of guy who liked to find acquaintances to set flags before going to the battlefield. This time, he was looking for Orochimaru.

"So, does that mean you're going to the battlefield too, Teacher?"