"Puppet techniques rely so heavily on external tools that they form their own school of ninjutsu. There's certainly a lot we can learn from them, but they still put the cart before the horse." Yusuke shook his head and continued, "Only your own strength is truly worth relying on."
"You're absolutely right, Yusuke. We really are kindred spirits. I'm currently researching a very interesting jutsu. If I succeed, it'll allow humanity to break free from the limits of life," Orochimaru said.
His face lit with fervor as he looked at Yusuke and continued, "Then people will have endless life and time to learn every jutsu in the world, until they reach a transcendent state!"
Hearing Orochimaru describe the jutsu, Yusuke guessed it was Living Corpse Reincarnation.
It was truly a genius idea. In Yusuke's eyes, Orochimaru was an unparalleled prodigy for having devised such a jutsu!
The technique had serious flaws, of course, but compared with the benefit of eternal life, those flaws hardly mattered.
Naturally, while Living Corpse Reincarnation had given Orochimaru something close to immortality, it had also greatly weakened his resistance to genjutsu.
Each time he used Living Corpse Reincarnation, Orochimaru's spiritual strength suffered a qualitative decline. As a result, when he faced Uchiha Itachi, who excelled at genjutsu, he could barely fight back.
"Lord Orochimaru, I still can't use Hidden Shadow Snake Hands properly. Could you practice with me again and help me figure out what I'm doing wrong?" Just then, a young girl's voice rang out.
A round-faced girl of about ten walked in. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she was dressed a bit like a tomboy.
This girl was Mitaraishi Anko, Orochimaru's only disciple in Konoha at the moment.
Yusuke furrowed his brow. With his keen eyes, he'd already spotted a black Cursed Seal on the back of Anko's neck. It had to be Orochimaru's Heaven Curse Seal.
The Heaven Curse Seal could grant a ninja tremendous power when activated, but it came with serious drawbacks. The longer someone used it, the more damage it did to their body, and overuse caused such agonizing backlash that the user was left in extreme pain.
"You again! Why are you always bothering Lord Orochimaru?" Anko came closer, saw Yusuke sitting across from Orochimaru, and puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
Yusuke kept a blank expression, though inwardly he felt helpless at the hostility Anko showed him.
He knew Anko was very attached to Orochimaru. Since she often saw him discussing ninjutsu with Orochimaru, she'd never taken well to him.
"Lord Orochimaru, now that we've finished the jutsu, I'll take my leave and let you get back to work," Yusuke said as he stood.
Orochimaru nodded. "All right. There was something else I wanted to discuss with you, but there's no hurry. We'll talk once the next Fourth Hokage has been confirmed."
"Lord Orochimaru, you're obviously going to be the Fourth Hokage!" Anko declared confidently, clenching her little fist. In her heart, Lord Orochimaru was the greatest ninja of all, and no one could compare.
Yusuke rather liked the energetic little girl, even if she wasn't particularly fond of him. He gave up on pinching her round cheeks, formed Hand Seals with his left hand, and vanished in flames.
"Hmph, Uchiha Yusuke is always taking up your time, Lord Orochimaru. You never have time to teach me ninjutsu anymore," Anko complained.
Orochimaru patted Anko's head and said slowly, "Yusuke is a true genius. I don't even know how strong he'll become one day." His gaze was unfathomable as he spoke, his thoughts impossible to read.
After leaving Orochimaru's gloomy research lab, Yusuke decided to enjoy a rare chance to relax.
He'd planned to spend the entire day researching the Fire Illusion Crow Technique with Orochimaru, but he hadn't expected Orochimaru to have already figured it out on his own. That had left Yusuke with some unexpected free time.
He strolled leisurely down the streets of Konoha, savoring the rare moment of peace.
He wasn't exactly unknown in the village. Everyone had heard of the prodigy nicknamed "Flame Tachi." But there was nothing especially distinctive about his appearance that made him easy to recognize, unlike Kakashi's white mop of hair or the Fourth Hokage's bright blond locks. So unless they already knew him, not many people recognized him on sight.
As he walked, a sign painted in elegant calligraphy caught Yusuke's eye. He read the four sweeping characters, "Pin-Chun Tea House," and decided to stop in.
"One cup of oolong tea, please." Yusuke entered the teahouse and took a seat near the wall.
"Coming right up, sir!" A young girl in an apron soon brought his tea over.
She looked about ten and had long, light-gray hair tied into two braids that rested over her shoulders, giving her a mischievous air. A few freckles dotted her round face, and her infectious smile seemed to brighten the mood of everyone who saw it.
"Thank you," Yusuke said, taking the oolong tea.
"Wait, are you Lord Yusuke Uchiha, the Flame Tachi?" The girl suddenly exclaimed in delight when she recognized him.
Yusuke was mildly surprised that a server at the teahouse knew who he was. He nodded and smiled. "That's right. How do you know me? I don't think we've met."
"It really is you, Lord Flame Tachi! I saw you fighting a strange guy in a green jumpsuit once. I asked around and found out who you were. I may just be filling in as a server at the teahouse, but I'm a student at the Ninja Academy too! I'm going to become a powerful ninja someday!" Her eyes lit up, as if she were imagining herself as a ninja everyone admired.
Yusuke rubbed his forehead helplessly. It must have been when Guy had suddenly challenged him to a match and started fighting without a word. Someone had seen them.
Yusuke offered the girl a few words of encouragement, and she happily went back to serving tea.
Watching her bustle around, Yusuke couldn't help but shake his head. In the cruel world of Naruto, being a ninja was the most dangerous profession of all. But he wouldn't use that danger as a reason to tell someone to give up on their dream.
Yusuke sat in the teahouse for a while. A few familiar faces came in: Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai. They noticed him too and nodded in greeting. Then they sat down on the other side of the teahouse and started chatting.
Yusuke wasn't close to them. They knew one another, but had no dealings outside of work. Kakashi was already a Jonin, while Asuma and Kurenai were still Chunin.
As the three chatted, Asuma pulled out a cigarette and lighter.
Seeing that, Yusuke was at a loss for words. The kid was only fourteen, wasn't he? Though he looked far older.
Kurenai nudged Asuma with her elbow, then pointed to the "No Smoking" sign on the teahouse wall. Asuma had no choice but to put his cigarette away. No wonder Kurenai was considered one of Konoha's beauties. Though she was still young, she was already quite pretty.
Judging by their looks alone, Kurenai and Asuma really did seem like a beauty paired with a toad.
"You're the same age as that guy over there, and you both became Jonin at the same time. So who's stronger?" Asuma suddenly leaned close to Kakashi and asked quietly, sneaking a glance at Yusuke.
"Yeah, we're curious too," Kurenai said, looking interested.
Kakashi's dull, lifeless eyes showed little interest. "Who knows? It's a boring question. Maybe he's stronger."
Kakashi's answer clearly annoyed Asuma. He rolled his eyes. "Come on, can't you take this seriously? I think you'd be stronger than him if you really tried."
"Shh, keep your voice down. It'd be rude if he heard you," Kurenai hurriedly said.
With his keen hearing, Yusuke caught most of their conversation, but he didn't care. Right now, he just wanted to clear his mind and enjoy the cup of tea in his hands.
"That Uchiha Yusuke bastard skipped the clan meeting again! He really doesn't take the family seriously. If I get the chance, I'll teach him a lesson!" An irritated voice came from outside the curtain at the teahouse entrance.
Everyone inside turned toward the voice. Four people wearing the Uchiha Clan's distinctive dark, high-collared clothes walked in. The speaker was the one leading them.
"Exactly. 'Flame Tachi,' what a joke. That's just a nickname given to him by a bunch of second-rate ninjas, and now he thinks he's something special," said an Uchiha standing on the left, his face full of resentment.
"Come on, calm down, all of you. Maybe Yusuke really had something urgent to do. You don't have to—" Another Uchiha beside him, a genial-looking man, smiled as he tried to smooth things over.
But he stopped mid-sentence, mouth hanging open. The Yusuke who'd supposedly been too busy to attend the clan meeting was sitting right there in the teahouse, calmly drinking tea.
Yusuke awkwardly looked over at the group, especially at the clan member who'd been defending him. The man had been trying to make excuses for him, and now Yusuke had gone and proved him wrong right in front of everyone. He felt deeply embarrassed.
"Uchiha Yusuke! You skipped the clan meeting just to hide here and drink tea? I, Uchiha Tatsuya, will teach you a lesson today!" The Uchiha named Tatsuya grew furious when he saw Yusuke lounging there.
Before the words had even left his mouth, Uchiha Tatsuya charged straight at Yusuke. The genial man who'd been speaking up for Yusuke tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
Before anyone in the teahouse could react, the Uchiha named Tatsuya, who'd just charged at Yusuke, was sent flying back even faster. He shot straight through the curtain at the entrance and out of the teahouse.
"Tatsuya!" another Uchiha cried out. He turned toward Yusuke and began forming Hand Seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fire—"
Before he could finish the seals, a figure flashed before his eyes. Yusuke was already standing right in front of him.
Yusuke's right hand clamped down on the man's fingers as he formed the seals, interrupting the Great Fireball Technique he'd been about to use. He stared at Yusuke, who'd suddenly appeared in front of him, disbelief written all over his face.
"We're still in a teahouse," Yusuke said coldly. Then he kicked the man out of the teahouse too.
Just then, a gust of wind struck toward Yusuke's neck. The last Uchiha to enter the teahouse had attacked him as well.
Yusuke casually blocked the attack with his hand and turned to look at his opponent. The man looked back at him.
"Now's my chance!" The Uchiha was secretly delighted when Yusuke met his gaze.
Before you continue