Orochimaru's Praise

"The only regret today was that the wine didn't match the food."

Tsunade set down her chopsticks, shook her head, and said.

"This is already the best wine in the whole village."

Jiraiya reminded her, "It's not that the wine isn't good enough. The food is just too good."

"The next time you leave the village, bring back some good wine."

Orochimaru said it casually.

"No problem."

Jiraiya said with a broad grin, "Once I find some good wine, we'll get together again."

"My lords."

Natsuki suddenly suggested, "I prepared a camera. This is a rare opportunity, so why don't we take a group photo?"

"You really did think of everything."

Tsunade said, somewhat surprised.

"When the time comes, I'm definitely hanging this photo in my room."

Nawaki said happily.

Uzumaki Kushina, Yakushi Nonō, and Namikaze Minato naturally did not refuse either.

Natsuki immediately found Zhenyou and asked her to take the picture for them.

"You stand in front."

Tsunade said, "Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and I will stand in the second row."

Nawaki, Natsuki, Uzumaki Kushina, Yakushi Nonō, and Namikaze Minato immediately lined up in front of them.

Zhenyou looked at them and felt a wave of emotion.

They absolutely deserved to be called Konoha's present and future, the finest among two generations of Ninja.

When Natsuki had suggested that she buy a camera, it had been so they could take pictures and hang them in the Izakaya as promotion.

Now, it seemed that this photo meant far more than simple publicity.

Once the photo was taken, the gathering came to an end as well.

"Natsuki."

Orochimaru said calmly, "Be at Training Ground 1 at nine tomorrow morning."

Without waiting for Natsuki's answer, he turned and left, utterly decisive.

Natsuki blanked out for a moment before quickly realizing what this meant.

Had he become Orochimaru's student?

Fortunately, Orochimaru had not gone dark yet. Becoming his student was not a bad thing.

What Natsuki found regrettable was that his teacher was not Tsunade.

But it was not as if there was no chance.

In the original story, Uzumaki Naruto had two teachers: Hatake Kakashi and Jiraiya.

"Natsuki, we'll be teammates from now on. Please take care of me."

A bright smile appeared on Nawaki's face.

"You too. Please take care of me."

Natsuki nodded and said.

"We'll be leaving first, then. See you next time."

After Jiraiya spoke, he called Namikaze Minato over and left with him.

Tsunade, Nawaki, and Uzumaki Kushina did not linger either. Before long, they parted ways with Natsuki and Yakushi Nonō.

"Director."

Natsuki looked at Zhenyou and said, "I have a promotional plan here. Find someone to carry it out tomorrow."

"A plan?"

Zhenyou asked in surprise, "Weren't we using the group photo for promotion?"

"That alone won't be enough."

Natsuki shook his head and began explaining some promotional methods from his previous life.

For example, handing out flyers, putting up advertisements, offering opening discounts, memberships, spending points, and so on.

Fortunately, with that group photo, promotion would not be so difficult.

Once the Izakaya became famous, he would come over every Saturday and Sunday to cook for reserved guests.

However, there would be no more than four tables of reserved guests each day—two at noon and two in the evening.

In short, it fully embodied the saying that scarcity made things valuable.

"You came up with all of that?"

Zhenyou was deeply shaken after hearing him out.

She had never even heard of many of those promotional methods.

The main reason was that advertising in the Ninja World was still quite traditional. Unlike in his previous life, promotion had already become utterly unscrupulous.

"I just thought of them casually."

Natsuki blinked and said.

Zhenyou was immediately left speechless.

In front of Natsuki, she felt as though he was the reliable adult instead.

The next day arrived.

Natsuki left the Izakaya entirely in Zhenyou's hands.

Yakushi Nonō and he began a brand-new stage of their lives: learning ninjutsu under the Legendary Sannin.

Natsuki came alone to Konoha's Training Ground 1.

"Natsuki!"

Nawaki, who had been practicing Water Release, immediately stopped, waved at him, and shouted.

"Continue training."

Orochimaru glanced at him and said.

Nawaki hurriedly withdrew his gaze.

"I heard from my teacher that your swordsmanship is quite good, and that you created two Sword Techniques yourself?"

Orochimaru looked at Natsuki and asked.

"I created three Sword Techniques."

Natsuki corrected him.

"Attack me."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly and said.

"Yes, Teacher Orochimaru."

Natsuki drew the Sword of the Thunder God.

With his current strength, he could not possibly injure Orochimaru, so he could give it everything he had.

One Sword Style: Horse Demon!

Natsuki gripped the Sword of the Thunder God and slashed down fiercely.

The lightning-like blade descended from above, intending to cut Orochimaru in half.

Orochimaru merely shifted slightly to the side and evaded the strike.

One Sword Style: 36 Pound Cannon!

Natsuki twisted his wrist, and the Sword of the Thunder God accelerated sharply in his hand, creating countless afterimages.

Amid those afterimages, a sword wave blasted toward Orochimaru.

Orochimaru could not help raising an eyebrow.

This Sword Technique was more threatening than the last.

Yet he simply took one step to the left, causing Natsuki's attack to miss.

One Sword Style: Iai: Lion Song!

Natsuki raised the Sword of the Thunder God.

His entire body turned into a streak of sword light and abruptly vanished.

So fast!

Orochimaru let out a surprised sound.

He immediately opened his mouth, and a sword extended from within.

Clang!

Natsuki reappeared.

His Sword of the Thunder God was blocked by the sword in Orochimaru's mouth, unable to advance another inch.

Natsuki took one look and recognized it as the Kusanagi Sword.

Its greatest trait was its ability to extend and contract, reaching over a hundred meters at its longest.

"You're very good."

Orochimaru praised him.

When he had previously heard Hiruzen Sarutobi say that Natsuki had created his own Sword Techniques, he had not thought much of it.

In his eyes, how powerful could Sword Techniques created by a seven-year-old child possibly be?

But now, his opinion had changed drastically.

The three Sword Techniques Natsuki had created, especially the latter two, had already reached B-rank standards.

Orochimaru took a step back and swallowed the Kusanagi Sword.

To Natsuki, that sight was rather horrifying.

"With your talent for swordsmanship, I suggest that you learn all the Sword Techniques available to you, integrate them thoroughly, and try creating even more Sword Techniques."

After pondering for a moment, Orochimaru said.

"Yes, Teacher Orochimaru."

Natsuki nodded upon hearing that.

Orochimaru's suggestion suited him perfectly.

After all, he had a system.

"I'll teach you Konoha Style Swordsmanship first."

Orochimaru thought for a moment and said.

Konoha Style Swordsmanship?

Natsuki immediately thought of the couple, Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao.

They were famous for precisely that Sword Technique.

Although Natsuki had no talent for ninjutsu, he learned swordsmanship easily because he had inherited Zoro's swordsmanship prowess.

April passed in the blink of an eye, and time entered June.

[Congratulations to the host for unlocking Zeff template ability three, Chef's Heavy Drop.]

After two months of buildup, Natsuki's Izakaya had become famous far and wide.

In particular, the guests he received were all either wealthy or influential.

This caused his name to spread among nobles and merchants, and his reservations were even booked solid for half a year.

He had also conquered thirty Ninja with his cooking, allowing him to completely integrate the Zeff template.

On Monday, Natsuki found Ishida Yu.

"You want to challenge upperclassmen?"

Ishida Yu could not help revealing a surprised expression upon hearing that.