Surprise, Lord Orochimaru!

"How strange."

Before Fuyuki stood four Water Elemental Spirits. They resembled slimes, standing within the Runic Seal Fuyuki had condensed using Yin Release. They stared at their master with naive, adorable expressions, waiting for him to issue his commands.

Summoning a High-ranking Elemental Spirit was entirely different from summoning low-ranking ones. High-ranking Elemental Spirits were elemental beings with their own wills; they did not require the distraction of a 'Spirit Binding Technique' to control. They could independently devise combat strategies and unleash powerful magic.

The method to summon a High-ranking Elemental Spirit was to sacrifice four low-ranking ones and allow them to merge.

This sacrificial summoning seemed simple, but in reality, it required fusing the Power of Yin and Yang within the low-ranking spirits, granting the summoned beast true life so it could exist permanently.

This was the highest level of Yin-Yang Release; the Sage of Six Paths was likely at this level during his lifetime.

However, the two were incomparable. Fuyuki's current Yin-Yang Release was practiced strictly according to the Summoning Book. Unlike the Sage of Six Paths, who could convert Yin and Yang into incredibly formidable power, Fuyuki could only create elemental life.

"Forget it. There's plenty of time; no need to go bald like the Hyuga Clan just for a High-ranking Elemental Spirit."

Fuyuki shook his hands. The continuous output of Chakra made the meridians in his arms ache faintly. Compared to his peers in the Hyuga Clan, his Chakra reserves were actually more than a notch higher—this was the benefit of mastering Yin-Yang Release.

Today was his first attempt at the practice, so it was within his expectations that he couldn't summon a High-ranking Elemental Spirit in one go.

Everything had to be approached scientifically. He wasn't a "Godzilla" player like Naruto; he couldn't use the Shadow Clone training method.

"I think your Chakra reserves are insufficient, which is why you can't fuse the four of them together."

After a magnetic voice finished speaking, it continued: "You should use a massive amount of Chakra to forcibly compress the four of them together. If you let them fuse that way, the success rate should be much higher than what you're attempting now."

"Hmm???"

Startled by the sudden intrusion, Fuyuki immediately turned to look at the source of the voice. He found a gaunt man sitting on a tree in an incredibly arrogant posture, watching him with great interest, as if he had been observing for quite some time.

Fuyuki, having been startled, calmed down. He immediately activated his Byakugan to look at Natsumi, and upon finding her unharmed, he said very politely, "Good afternoon, Mr. Orochimaru."

"Oh? You know me?"

This time, it was Orochimaru who was stunned. Before he defected, he had been sabotaged by Danzo and had used a large number of his Konoha comrades as experimental subjects. His reputation in Konoha should have been enough to make a child wet themselves on the spot.

"Are you not afraid?" Orochimaru asked with a playful, cold joke.

"Mr. Orochimaru, you're joking. We have no grudges and have only just met. If you were to attack me, the Hyuga Clan certainly wouldn't let it slide; they would exhaust every means to make things difficult for you." Fuyuki held neither malice nor favor toward Orochimaru. Now that they had encountered each other by chance, he naturally had to find a way to escape.

Moreover, the future "Snake Auntie" made it impossible for Fuyuki to feel any fear toward Orochimaru.

Anyone who knew that the dignified Sannin, the Cold Lord Orochimaru, was actually afraid of bugs would find it impossible to feel fear toward him. If one's "good brother" was a bit more perverted, one might even be instantly charmed by the absurdity of it.

"Are you threatening me?" Orochimaru dropped from the tree, releasing intense killing intent alongside a genjutsu.

"No, no, no. I am merely stating a fact. You could easily bury me in the dirt, but doing so would yield almost zero profit. It's not a sound business deal."

"How about we part ways here? If there is an opportunity in the future, this humble one will certainly pay a visit to express my gratitude," Fuyuki said.

"Paying a visit to express gratitude" meant going over to beat him up and forcing "Snake Auntie" to hand over the improved qipao—pfft, the forbidden techniques.

Orochimaru was a rational person. Fuyuki was not important to him, but killing him would offend the Hyuga Clan. To retaliate against Orochimaru, the Hyuga would certainly unite with Konoha to make life miserable for him.

Fuyuki believed this reason was enough to persuade someone as rational as the cold-blooded Orochimaru.

Unfortunately, Fuyuki failed to account for one thing: Orochimaru was a master of the "ultimate pedophile" variety. The more outstanding Fuyuki appeared, the more "Snake Auntie" would like him!

"Hmm."

Orochimaru seemed to fall into deep thought, then suddenly withdrew his killing intent and genjutsu. "Fuyuki, what was that Summoning Jutsu you were practicing just now?"

He had been attracted by Fuyuki's Summoning Jutsu, which was why he had specifically followed him.

Through Yota's vision, he had witnessed Fuyuki's peculiar summoning technique. As someone who wanted to learn all ninjutsu and understand the truths of the world, seeing such a unique summoning technique naturally stirred his insatiable curiosity.

When it came to the study of summoning techniques, he considered himself far superior to 99.9999% of the Ninja World.

But he had never seen a summoning technique like Fuyuki's!

"Uh, Elemental Summoning Jutsu. It can summon Chakra-solidified summoned beasts for self-destruction and modification." Fuyuki didn't mention the proliferation summoning technique; "Snake Auntie" would likely see the authentic version released by Pain soon enough.

"Oh." Orochimaru nodded and said, "Are you interested in helping me? I can teach you summoning techniques."

He had developed an interest in Fuyuki's summoning technique and wanted to study it thoroughly.

Therefore, he extended an olive branch directly to Fuyuki. He had lived in Konoha for some time, and with Yakushi Kabuto as his ace spy, walking through Konoha was like returning home.

He knew everything about Konoha, and he knew that Fuyuki was the heir to the Hyuga Main Branch.

But so what? He was just going to "freeload" Fuyuki's summoning technique; he wasn't going to kidnap him.

After freeloading the technique, he would just toss Fuyuki aside. The Hyuga Clan wouldn't bother searching the world for him.

"Hmm."

Fuyuki said with a helpless expression, "Mr. Orochimaru, I apologize, but I cannot accept your proposal."

"The elders of my clan taught me: if you win, you eat meat; if you lose, you eat grass. But those who surrender without a fight only deserve to eat sh*t!"

"Heh."

Orochimaru sneered. He didn't speak, but the Chakra of a Kage-level powerhouse erupted from his body, forming a powerful wind pressure accompanied by killing intent that surged toward Fuyuki.

"Mr. Orochimaru, let me introduce you to a senior from my clan: Lord Hyuga Hamura."

Fuyuki pressed his palms together and slammed them shut. The Chakra on his body was even more violent than Orochimaru's, instantly scaring the sneering Orochimaru so much that his hair stood on end. His long black hair danced in the gale like the tentacles of an octopus.

The Whirling Demon Society's Summoning Technique had classifications!

The first category is the Elemental Summoning Technique, which is what Fuyuki is currently practicing with Elemental Spirits, eventually reaching the level of Spirit King.

The second category is Contract Summoning, which allows one to form a summoning contract with living beings, establishing a relationship of mutual aid and benefit.

The third category is quite special; some Unlucky Summoners call it 'Forbidden Summoning', while wealthy players and Lucky Summoners refer to it as 'Legendary Summoning'.

This is because this type of summoning allows one to use a medium to summon creatures that exist only in legends or myths into reality. However, with 'Forbidden Summoning', the summoned creature's strength is often greater than the summoner's, and the chance of a backlash against the summoner is a full one hundred percent!

But if your ancestors were once prominent and produced powerful figures, you can use yourself as a medium to summon your departed ancestors, allowing them to emerge from the river of time to help their descendants overcome crises.

The Hyuga Clan undoubtedly belongs to those with a prominent ancestry; tracing it back to the source, one can reach Otsutsuki Hamura, the powerhouse who, along with his brother, sealed Kaguya. Even if Fuyuki could only summon one-tenth of his power, it would be enough to defeat anyone currently called Kage-level.

This is also why Fuyuki dares to strut around his home and the village with such an arrogant look on his face.

Because he is indeed arrogant!

If pushed into a corner, he will just summon his ancestors; after all, he is the favorite child of all the ancestors of the Hyuga Clan!