Orochimaru's "Gift"

Obviously.

As an autumn breeze brushed past, the agreement between Yun Xi and Orochimaru failed to reach a consensus.

The two sides fell silent for a long while.

Orochimaru suddenly began walking slowly toward him...

"Are you going to attack?"

A trace of wariness appeared on Yun Xi's face. At the same time, he secretly prepared to strike first.

"Kid, don't be so guarded. I have no intention of attacking you right now."

After walking about halfway toward Yun Xi, Orochimaru stopped again.

"I just want to ask why you rejected me."

"I can give you both status and strength. Why did you reject me without hesitation?"

"I really can't understand that."

After speaking, a trace of confusion crossed Orochimaru's face. He folded his arms over his chest and watched Yun Xi.

Because you're Orochimaru...

Of course, that was only what Yun Xi thought. He had no intention of saying it aloud.

After a moment's hesitation, Yun Xi replied tactfully, "You're not right for me. Compared to you, I'd rather stay in Konoha."

"Stay in Konoha?"

"I understand..."

After hearing Yun Xi's reason for turning him down, Orochimaru furrowed his brow. It took a long while before his expression returned to its usual cold indifference.

However...

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Orochimaru's eyes%...

Real murderous intent!

This is bad. Orochimaru's serious now!

Seeing the change in Orochimaru's expression, Yun Xi felt a deep sense of foreboding.

Yun Xi understood.

His earlier words about wanting to stay in Konoha must have angered Orochimaru.

Still...

Yun Xi felt a little helpless.

His earlier words had only been an excuse, but he had also been telling the truth.

Though Orochimaru was currently part of the Akatsuki, he had already begun his plan to recruit orphans.

He was preparing in advance to establish Otogakure in the future.

If Yun Xi had accepted Orochimaru's invitation, he would undoubtedly have become one of Orochimaru's closest confidants.

But...

If you compared Otogakure with Konoha...

Anyone could figure out which was better.

And then there was Orochimaru himself.

Having a Kage Level expert guide him in his training would certainly be a good thing.

Unfortunately...

Yun Xi would receive the same kind of treatment if he stayed in Konoha.

Uchiha Itachi...

He was a newly risen Kage Level expert, and he wasn't well-known in the Ninja World.

But he was certainly no weaker than Orochimaru was now...

What's more...

In the future, Uchiha Itachi would undoubtedly be one of the strongest fighters in the Ninja World.

As for Orochimaru...

From what Yun Xi remembered...

Starting with the Fourth Shinobi World War...

Orochimaru spent the whole time pretending to be dead.

So...

Yun Xi could understand both the reason he had just given and what the future held!

"Ah, I never expected that the first promising young talent to catch my eye would turn out like this after I invited him..."

"If I can't have you..."

"Then I'll kill you..."

Muttering to himself, Orochimaru slowly sheathed the Kusanagi Sword.

An overwhelming killing intent erupted from him and instantly locked onto Yun Xi.

Then...

A Haki unique to the strong burst from Orochimaru!

It was clear.

Orochimaru was getting serious!

Damn, my luck...

Feeling an inexplicable pressure, Yun Xi silently grumbled about his luck.

Ever since arriving in Konoha, Yun Xi had sensed a peculiar hostility surrounding him.

First, Uchiha Itachi had mistaken him for a spy.

Though Yun Xi had managed to dispel Uchiha Itachi's hostility with a clever move and even recruited him as an ally.

But just as that matter had come to an end, Danzo had set his sights on him.

At the same time...

The Third Hokage.

The Hyuga Clan...

And now Orochimaru...

Yun Xi was starting to panic...

"Some timber is simply beyond saving..."

As Yun Xi lamented his situation, Orochimaru suddenly spoke. Before Yun Xi could react, a purple-black venomous snake lunged straight at him.

A foul stench rushed toward Yun Xi's nose, accompanied by a bone-chilling aura!

"Orochimaru's snake?!"

With no time to think, Yun Xi faced the deadly snake and instantly gathered all the different kinds of fire within his body.

Then he locked onto it with his Sharingan!

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

As Yun Xi spoke, dozens of bright-red flames appeared around him.

"Go!"

With a wave of Yun Xi's hand, the Phoenix Flowers hovering in midair seemed to have eyes of their own.

Some intercepted the snake as it lunged toward him.

The rest flew straight at Orochimaru!

"Boom! Boom!"

The two explosions went off almost simultaneously.

The venomous snake, which had been charging forward with such ferocity, was instantly consumed by the searing flames.

And Orochimaru...

The same thing happened to him...

But Yun Xi wasn't stupid!

Though the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique he had used was different from the usual version.

It was not only far more powerful, but it could also explode.

But his opponent was Orochimaru!

Kill a Kage Level expert in one hit?

Yun Xi wasn't that confident.

And besides...

His opponent was Orochimaru, of all people.

Sure enough.

Just as Yun Xi had guessed, when the smoke and flames cleared...

He didn't see Orochimaru's corpse. Instead, there was only a charred piece of wood...

"Substitution Technique? When did he use it?"

Yun Xi's thoughts raced. And just then!

A shadow lunged toward him.

It was so fast that Yun Xi couldn't react in time!

"Ah!"

The next second, an inexplicable sting swept through Yun Xi's mind.

Yun Xi immediately turned around.

He saw that Orochimaru had launched the attack, a triumphant smile on his face...

"You really are a promising talent. Such powerful Fire Release Ninjutsu and such a unique Kekkei Genkai. You're just like a prodigy born to wield Fire Style..."

"Perhaps you were born to stay in Konoha, but..."

"You've caught my eye!"

"Rotten Konoha doesn't deserve a genius like you!"

"It doesn't!"

"Feel the gift I've left you. I'm sure we'll meet again one day..."

After successfully attacking Yun Xi, Orochimaru rattled off a string of incomprehensible words and then vanished from the area.

And Yun Xi...

He wasn't in good shape.

He held his injured wrist with one hand while keeping a close eye on his surroundings.

Only after carefully checking the area and confirming that Orochimaru really had left did Yun Xi finally relax a little.

But...

When he saw the Three-Tomoe Seal appear on his arm, a conflicted look crossed Yun Xi's face.

"The Cursed Seal..."

Only then did Yun Xi understand why Orochimaru had left so readily.

After all, he'd left him this...

Faced with the gift Orochimaru had left him.

Yun Xi felt helpless for the first time!

But just then, the system unexpectedly issued a notification...