Minato's Talent, Sen's Smiling Face

"What is this, anyway?" Kushina picked up another piece and turned to ask Minato, "Minato, didn't you catch this? What is this that tastes even better than chicken?"

Minato silently took a step back, his face a little pale. "I... I don't really like eating snake meat. Don't ask me about it."

"Snake... snake meat?!"

"Ah--"

A piercing scream echoed across the entire beach.

"Minato, don't run, I'm going to beat you to death!" Kushina threw down her chopsticks and chased after Minato, her arms flailing. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!?"

Minato asked as he ran, "Sen caught it and added it in, why are you hitting me and not him!"

"I can't bear to hit him! You stop right there!"

Watching the chaotic scene, everyone burst into laughter.

After the commotion died down, Sen said to Orochimaru, who was drinking with Jiraiya, "Orochimaru, since it's rare to have you here today, do you have time to spar with me?"

Orochimaru put down his wine cup, a flicker of interest in his vertical pupils. "I thought tonight was a free dinner, Sen-kun."

"I don't think a senior would appreciate 'free' things," Sen replied with a smile. "How about it, just as an after-dinner amusement?"

"Very well." Orochimaru slowly stood up and walked to the center of the area.

"Everyone, make way! The final main act is here!" Jiraiya shouted to the crowd. "You all better watch these two spar closely!"

The crowd quickly retreated, cheering, "We have food, drinks, and a fight to watch, it doesn't even feel like we're on a mission!"

Orochimaru took out a kunai, looked at Sen, and said hoarsely, "You're quite good at easing the atmosphere, well done."

"Then now, I need you to help me ease this desire to become stronger within me." Before his voice even fell, Sen had already charged forward with his sword!

"Heh heh..." Orochimaru gave a wicked smile, his body flickered, and he vanished from his spot!

Sen's Sharingan spun frantically, but he could only catch one or two blurry afterimages of the opponent's high-speed movement.

"Lord Orochimaru's speed is too fast!"

"Yeah, they said we'd watch a fight, but we can't see anything at all."

"Go, Sen! Win even if you can't see!"

Hearing Kushina's encouraging words, Sen knew he couldn't drag this out. He spun his body and formed hand seals.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Dozens of fireballs were continuously spat from his mouth, scattering like a celestial maiden's flowers to cover a large area around them. They illuminated the night as brightly as day, making even the patterns in the sand clearly visible.

Under the blockade of flames, Orochimaru's figure had to make continuous turns, and his speed slowed down by half a beat.

Now!

Chakra erupted from beneath Sen's feet. With sand flying, the ground instantly caved in, forming a large pit, and his figure shot towards Orochimaru like a cannonball!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Blade light and fire intertwined as Sen unleashed the Uchiha Style Swordsmanship to its limit.

Even Orochimaru showed a trace of surprise and curiosity in his eyes.

"Sen-kun, your swordsmanship and cooking both pique my interest. Your talent is truly rare," Orochimaru said, easily blocking while still having the energy to speak.

Sen had no time to reply. He forced the opponent back with a sweeping leg attack, and his short sword thrust straight forward.

Unable to dodge in mid-air, Orochimaru directly grabbed Sen's blade with his hand!

Blood dripped down the blade.

Sen looked at the blood on the opponent's hand and confidently said, "How about we call it a day?"

Orochimaru said calmly, "Alright."

Sen unconsciously swallowed, because--

Orochimaru's voice clearly came from behind him.

"Let's call it a day," Orochimaru said, licking his lips. "If it were any later, my kunai would have pierced you. I wouldn't want to lose such a skilled cook as a companion."

After speaking, the "Orochimaru" he had injured turned into a pile of dirt and fell to the ground.

Earth Release: Clone!

Orochimaru retracted his kunai and comforted him, "You were too focused on my movements just now, you didn't even notice when I used the Earth Release: Clone. However, once you obtain the Sharingan, you should be able to keep up."

Sen nodded, his heart filled with shock.

Is this one of the future Sannin? He's outrageously strong, even stronger than Jiraiya, it feels like!

The onlookers hadn't expected the fight to end in such a flash. It took them a moment to react.

"As expected of Lord Orochimaru, truly amazing!"

"Sen is also good. In that situation just now, I could barely even see Lord Orochimaru's movements!"

"Lord Orochimaru is right. If Sen can awaken the Sharingan in the future, his strength will reach another level. That will be his peak!"

Orochimaru yawned and said, "That's all for today. I need to get back; I have other matters to attend to. Thank you for the delicious meal, Sen.

Sen said nothing, silently watching the system prompts:

[Defeated Orochimaru in battle, please select the entry to absorb: Basic Medical Ninjutsu, Mental Strength +1, Chakra +1]

He silently absorbed the first entry. After all, medical ninjutsu was very important on the battlefield.

It was a pity that opportunities to gain entries by sparring with Orochimaru like this wouldn't be available for the next few days.

Over the following days, he dragged his three teammates to frantically devise combat plans and spar with each other, their strength rapidly improving.

One day, Jiraiya looked at a listless Minato and asked with concern, "What's wrong? You seem very tired lately."

Minato rubbed his eyes and said uncertainly, "I don't know why... lately, I just feel like things that move quickly appear very slow to me.

Just now, I could even see the trajectory of a fly flapping its wings."

As soon as he said this, Jiraiya shot to his feet, his eyes blazing with an unprecedented light!

"Are you telling the truth? After all these years, is there hope for that jutsu? No, I have to confirm this."

He picked up a stone, retreated fifty meters, and shouted to Minato:

"Minato! Try to see if you can follow the trajectory of the stone when I throw it with all my might! Remember, use your eyes to see, don't dodge!"

Minato closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his gaze was incredibly focused. "Jiraiya-sensei, I'm ready!"

Jiraiya nodded, then gathered chakra in his right hand. Sen and the other two watched as Jiraiya's muscles rapidly bulged, as if suddenly infused with immense power.

"A normal person's maximum reaction speed is 0.2 seconds, but that jutsu requires at least 0.05 seconds of dynamic vision! Look closely, was it to the left, or to the right!"

"Huu—"

Jiraiya's arm instantly became a blur. The stone, thrown at such short distance, gave no time for reaction. Only a powerful gust of wind suddenly impacted the sandy ground with a loud noise.

At least, that's how it appeared to Sen and Kushina.

The stone only fell to the ground more than ten seconds later.

Minato gasped for air, his body still maintaining a dodging posture to the left. Clearly, that extreme focus had placed a huge burden on him.

After a moment, he slowly said, "It was to the left... it flew past about thirty-five centimeters from the side of my shoulder."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya was overcome with excitement!

When he threw it just now, he had deliberately kept some distance from Minato's body, so the latter couldn't possibly sense whether it was left or right through the wind.

Minato's words and his current state made it even clearer for him—

The boy had dodged using dynamic vision and his body's maximum reaction speed. He never expected this kid to have such talent!

"Hooray! That's great!" Sen, who had been watching from the side, cheered louder than Jiraiya, raising his hands in jubilation.

Jiraiya looked at him strangely. "You're so happy, did you see it too?"