5: You're right, this is the Sharingan

The teacher said that the Uchiha Clan is a radical one, like a child clutching a kunai or a mad beast biting down on an explosive tag—irritable, volatile, arrogant, and difficult to get along with.

Ever since he grew up, the Uchiha that Orochimaru encountered were always like this.

Until today.

He hadn't realized it on ordinary days, but this young genius of the Uchiha Clan was actually quite interesting.

Silently following behind Uchiha Sakuya, Orochimaru's sharp golden eyes were filled with curiosity.

In the jonin meeting just now, was he intentionally provoking Tsunade by saying those things?

But Tsunade and he shouldn't have any enmity between them.

No, rather, today was their first meeting, wasn't it?

Why would he intentionally provoke Tsunade upon their first meeting?

Was it the fated destiny of the Senju and Uchiha to slaughter one another?

Or did he have some other scheme in mind?

Hiding beside a lush green thicket, watching Uchiha Sakuya move the ninja tool launchers, Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

After having a conflict with Tsunade, the first thing he does isn't to go back and devise a countermeasure, but to come straight here for training?

This person... his actions are completely baffling.

However, come to think of it, the number of ninja tool launchers he prepared... isn't that a bit too many?

Orochimaru was also a top-tier jonin of Konoha. Although he lacked a Kekkei Genkai, as the pinnacle of commoner jonin, he had already surpassed countless ninjas who possessed them.

He was quite proud in his heart, always believing that even without a Kekkei Genkai, he, Orochimaru, was not inferior to anyone.

But even so, during training, he wouldn't dare to use thirty automatic ninja tool launchers at once like Uchiha Sakuya.

With so many launchers, even someone like Orochimaru would be riddled with holes (shuriken).

It must be to save time by pre-loading the ninja tools.

Orochimaru hid behind a tree, thinking this to himself.

If he used two launchers per round of training, he could use them for fifteen rounds before needing to reload.

Ha, so this is the Uchiha? The wealthy clans in the village are truly... extravagant.

A single ninja tool launcher costs a fortune, and he was able to bring so many... If that money were given to me, I could build a small laboratory.

Orochimaru shook his head, feeling a bit envious of Uchiha Sakuya's deep pockets, but when he regained his focus and looked again, his gaze suddenly froze.

He saw a shuriken fly from Uchiha Sakuya's hand, cutting through all the steel wires wrapped around the ninja tool launchers in one go.

I was wrong; he wasn't doing it to save time or effort.

He intended to use all thirty launchers for training!

"Are you kidding me? There should be a limit to how reckless one's training can be!"

With thirty ninja tool launchers activated simultaneously, even he would be turned into a hedgehog in such a rain of projectiles.

The Orochimaru of this time was not yet the cold-blooded animal of decades later who viewed his companions as nothing; facing Sakuya, he almost instinctively rushed out from behind the trees.

However, the moment he rushed out, his footsteps came to an awkward halt.

He saw Uchiha Sakuya looking at the ninja tools flying toward him like a torrential downpour, standing quietly in place.

In his pupils, the red eyes imprinted with three tomoe suddenly began to rotate.

At the very instant the tools were about to touch his body, Sakuya moved slightly, his entire form dancing gracefully like a butterfly. As the countless ninja tools touched him, they were caught by his hands, leaving behind trails of afterimages.

Orochimaru held his breath unconsciously. He watched as the kunai and shuriken, falling like rain, were caught one by one by Sakuya and then spun back out.

Entering his hands like plucking a flower, leaving his hands like a flowing rainbow; at this moment, all the sharp edges became silver butterflies tamed by Sakuya's fingertips, rising and falling according to his will.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding...

The ninja tools fell to the ground one after another, emitting clear, crisp sounds.

Those sharp weapons that Sakuya had caught and thrown back were not scattered at all; they landed neatly in a perfect circle ten meters around him.

Looking at those scarlet eyes, Orochimaru suddenly smiled with a sense of clarity.

You are right; this is the Sharingan.

The Sharingan, known as a Kekkei Genkai, which makes the Uchiha born superior to others.

A long, narrow snake-like tongue emerged from Orochimaru's mouth, licking his rough, uneven lips.

Such exquisite—

—power.

How could I not understand Nawaki's thoughts?

Looking at Nawaki, Tsunade reached out and gently pinched her younger brother's cheek.

That guy was right.

I pioneered medical ninjutsu and pushed for the reform of ninja squads, but it was never for the sake of Konoha's future.

I only wanted to pave a path in advance for Nawaki, once he learned medical ninjutsu in the future.

Mastering medical ninjutsu is by no means an easy task; if the proposal I presented at the jonin meeting today had passed, Konoha would have seen at least a thousand medical novices emerge over the next few years.

And all these newcomers would need a teacher who had long been immersed in the medical arts.

By then, Nawaki, having learned medical ninjutsu a year in advance, would naturally be the most suitable candidate.

One must know that medical arts can be passed down.

Once this generation of ninjas learns medical ninjutsu, they will teach it to the next.

One teaches ten, ten teach a hundred; over time, Nawaki would become the medical mentor to all ninjas in the world.

That level of prestige would be enough for him to inherit the name of "Senju" with dignity.

"He will."

Looking at her younger brother, a smile appeared on Tsunade's face: "Our Nawaki will definitely be qualified to inherit the Senju surname."

Although the promotion of medical ninjutsu at this jonin meeting didn't succeed because of the impending war, it should be able to proceed smoothly once the war is over.

Speaking of war...

Tsunade seemed to recall something and asked her young brother: "Nawaki, you've been practicing medical ninjutsu diligently for the past few months; you haven't really trained in ninjutsu or taijutsu for a while, have you?"

"Hehe, don't worry, Sis."

Nawaki laughed: "Once I master the Mystical Palm Technique, I'll pick up ninjutsu and taijutsu again."

"If you don't practice for a long time, your vigilance against danger will drop, you know."

Tsunade reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Nawaki waved his hand.

Do you know what it means for these genin to have made no progress for months, in the face of the upcoming Second Shinobi World War?

Watching Nawaki leave, the words of Uchiha Sakuya echoed in Tsunade's mind once again.

Nawaki is gifted; at only twelve years old, he already possesses the strength of a chunin and is apprenticed under Orochimaru. So what if he hasn't practiced ninjutsu or taijutsu for a few months?

That guy's words were just too exaggerated!

Tsunade snorted in her heart, dismissing Uchiha Sakuya's words.

Alarmist nonsense, and he even got the Old Man to reject my plan. People from the Uchiha clan are just as Second Grandfather said—they're all people with holes in their heads.

Especially Uchiha Sakuya!

Tsunade bit her lip.

That guy is the worst.