What Are You Supposed to Be?

After obtaining three C-rank Ninjutsu, Toneri left Orochimaru's residence, completely satisfied.

And because he had successfully become Orochimaru's disciple, he now had the right to come and go freely from Orochimaru's home.

The place was full of snakes. Anyone who barged in without permission would probably enter standing up and leave lying down.

Humming a little tune, Toneri had neither the inclination nor the energy to take the Anbu who were watching him on another aimless stroll. After wandering around Konoha "a little," he "fortunately" found the Nara Clan Compound.

Under the horrified gazes of Shikaku and Shikashin, he swept every last morsel from the table.

Ever since Toneri had moved in with them, his standing in the household had risen steadily. And since he was so charming when he spoke, he had won Yoshimi Nara's favor.

But that left Shikashin and Shikaku in a difficult spot. Every day, they had to wait at home for Toneri to return before they could eat.

Even worse, the moment Toneri sat down at the table, it meant war had begun.

A war without smoke!

If you were even a little slow, you might have to make do with rice soaked in saliva for dinner.

At first, Shikashin, as the elder, hadn't wanted to compete with the younger ones for food, but...

It was a sad state of affairs. These days, Toneri didn't even leave them any soup.

After happily returning to his room, Toneri set the three Ninjutsu scrolls on the table and opened them one by one.

He had been involved in the shinobi profession for more than two weeks now, yet he still hadn't learned a single Ninjutsu related to attacking.

Although he had obtained the B-rank Shadow Clone Technique from Danzo, it was mainly useful for learning. When it came to attacking, he still had to rely on himself.

People in this world took Ninjutsu far more seriously than Toneri had imagined. They truly guarded their knowledge as if it were more precious than gold.

The most jealously guarded techniques were, of course, the secret arts of the various clans. The Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Technique, the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Technique, the Akimichi Clan's Expansion Jutsu, and so on. These secret arts were the foundation of each clan, and they would never allow them to spread beyond their ranks.

For an outsider to learn one of these clan secret arts was, in their eyes, a reason to fight to the death!

It was harsh and unforgiving.

Ordinary Ninjutsu might not be treasured to the same degree as secret arts, but they were still carefully guarded.

They couldn't simply be taught to anyone.

Throughout the six years at the Ninja Academy, the only Ninjutsu taught were the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques. Teachers generally wouldn't teach any extra techniques. Only students who got along particularly well with their teachers, or talented students whom their teachers favored, might learn one or two different Ninjutsu.

Even then, those techniques weren't passed on casually.

Most Ninjutsu resources were firmly controlled by the major clans. If you wanted to learn, you either had to join one of those clans or become their vassal.

However, Konoha also had a system for exchanging merit for Ninjutsu.

Why did so many geniuses and powerful shinobi emerge whenever war broke out?

Aside from the brutal fighting forcing shinobi to improve, earning merit was also fastest during wartime. Those with outstanding military records might even be allowed to choose one or two Forbidden Jutsu from the Scroll of Seals as a reward.

Aside from that, the most common way of teaching Ninjutsu in the Shinobi World was from teacher to student.

A teacher passed techniques to a disciple, or a squad leader taught their subordinates. This allowed them to build closer relationships and stronger bonds.

To some extent, Konoha's team leader system existed to give more civilian shinobi the chance to learn a wider range of Ninjutsu.

So why had Toneri been so frightened when he first learned that he was going to become Orochimaru's disciple, only to accept it so quickly afterward—and even become a little excited?

It was because having one of the Three Sannin, Orochimaru, as his teacher meant he would suddenly have access to a much wider range of Ninjutsu, as well as more opportunities to grow stronger.

As it turned out, aside from his habit of playing with snakes, which made him seem a little hard to approach, Orochimaru was actually a fairly good teacher.

When Sasuke Uchiha later defected and went to Orochimaru, Orochimaru had ulterior motives, but he still did everything he could to train him. He taught him Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, and didn't neglect his Summoning Beast either. He even took care to teach him combat instincts and how to work with a squad in battle.

Otherwise, Hawk Team wouldn't have come into being later.

Today, after learning that Toneri had three chakra natures, Orochimaru had directly given him three Ninjutsu scrolls.

They might only be C-rank Ninjutsu, but each one corresponded to one of Toneri's three natures, and together they covered three functions: attack, control, and defense.

Fire, the most powerful offensive nature, was suited to attack. Water, the most versatile, was suited to control. And earth, the strongest defensively, was suited to defense.

Who said Orochimaru had just picked them at random?

With Toneri's current chakra control, mastering these three Ninjutsu wouldn't be easy.

He used a Shadow Clone to memorize everything in the scrolls, then climbed into bed himself.

The moment he got near the pillow, he began to snore softly.

He really was exhausted today.

In his dream, Toneri found himself flanked by his second tool, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and one of the Three Sannin, the Cold-Blooded Orochimaru. Together with a giant cat, they swept across the Shinobi World, punching Pain and kicking Madara Uchiha, before casually tossing Kaguya Otsutsuki off to be the Two-Tails' cat-sitter...

Dreams were always so different from reality.

In reality, I was timid and submissive; in dreams, I struck back hard!

Still at Orochimaru's residence.

After tidying up the laboratory, Orochimaru was preparing to begin a new experiment.

The Second Shinobi World War had finally ended. Jiraiya, that fool, had let his compassion get the better of him and even believed in something as fictitious as a child of prophecy.

In Orochimaru's view, rather than believe in fate, it was far more important to take control of your own path.

Though he disapproved of Jiraiya's behavior, when he thought of him as one of his only two friends, a faintly warm smile appeared on Orochimaru's face.

Like spring sunshine melting the snow.

But the smile came quickly and vanished even faster.

He liked snakes because they were cold-blooded. He didn't need unnecessary emotions, and he didn't want to be weighed down by them.

"If you barge into my place again, you and your men won't be going back." Orochimaru stood with his back to the tunnel entrance. His deep, hoarse voice betrayed no emotion.

It was chillingly cold, making it impossible not to believe he meant every word.

From the shadows, Shimura Danzō appeared in the tunnel, leaning on his cane, accompanied by two fully armed Root Ninja.

"Orochimaru, at this stage, I think I'm the only one in all of Konoha who can help you.

"I know what you're capable of, even if no one else does. But that coward Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't dare support you or let you show what you can do.

"So, how about it? Want to work together?"

Danzō clearly wasn't the sort of person Orochimaru could scare off with a single sentence.

Orochimaru didn't answer, but the version of him standing before the laboratory table slowly "melted."

The two Root Ninja immediately moved to flank Danzō, ready to attack at any moment.

Bang!!!

Hundreds of snakes suddenly poured out, one after another, hurling the Root Ninja against the wall.

Shadow Snake Hands!

Orochimaru licked his lips and stepped in front of Danzō. His cold snake eyes fixed on Danzō's stern face as he asked mockingly, "Oh? You can help me? What are you, exactly?!"

Danzō said nothing. He took a scroll from his robes. "Take a look at this first..."

A snake slithered out from Orochimaru's body, bit down on the scroll, and carried it back to him.

When he opened the scroll and released the seal, even Orochimaru's eyes widened at what he saw. Then something called "greed" burst from his gaze, and his tongue, which had been licking his lips, stretched out even farther...

The group number is in my bio. Everyone's welcome to come chat.

Honestly, hasn't Jin Mu been good enough to you? I bathe and change every day, then set out a bowl to beg for votes, and you still want to help get me muted...

And about that stuff in the group—can you really believe it? My good name...