"No problem."
Xuan Yu readily agreed.
When he saw Orochimaru casually pull out three scrolls, he even rubbed his hands together excitedly.
But then, as if he'd remembered some unpleasant detail, he hurriedly added, "Snake Bro, there's something I need to make clear first—I absolutely won't learn four kinds of ninjutsu."
"What do you mean?" Orochimaru asked, his brow furrowing slightly.
Orochimaru had already suspected that Xuan Yu's so-called ability to learn ninjutsu at lightning speed was a bluff. Now that Xuan Yu was making demands, he was even more certain there was something fishy going on.
Xuan Yu cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Simply put, I won't learn Snake Spits Sword, Snake Spits Orochimaru, Orochimaru Spits Snake, or Orochimaru Spits Snake Spitting Sword!"
Of course, Xuan Yu wasn't refusing to learn these techniques because the Pay-to-Win System couldn't upgrade them. It was purely because the moves were far too disturbing.
Orochimaru didn't understand what he meant, but he didn't press Xuan Yu about his bizarre explanation.
He smiled faintly. "Don't worry. The techniques in these three scrolls aren't any of the ones you mentioned, and none of them are easy. Under normal circumstances, no one could even manage to learn one of them in three minutes... All right, choose. Which one do you want to learn?"
Xuan Yu grinned. "A high level of difficulty isn't a problem. I love a challenge. If I had to learn some overly simple ninjutsu, I'd find it boring! I'll take the middle scroll. By the way, Snake Bro, what ninjutsu are written in these three scrolls?"
As he spoke, he stared at the scrolls in Orochimaru's hand, eyes shining with longing.
When it came to ninjutsu, Xuan Yu wanted as much as he could get.
Although a technique wouldn't undergo a qualitative change until it reached Lv10, and he didn't have enough money to invest in that just yet, he could learn it at Lv1 first and upgrade it gradually.
His biggest predicament right now was the lack of a steady source of ninjutsu, leaving him with pitifully few techniques.
As soon as Xuan Yu finished speaking, Orochimaru casually tossed him the middle scroll.
Only after Xuan Yu caught it did he unhurriedly explain, "From left to right, these three scrolls contain Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon, Mystical Palm Technique, and Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
The moment Xuan Yu heard those names, he regretted his choice so much he could have kicked himself.
He'd pointed at random and missed out on a rare high-level technique like Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon!
Orochimaru's Triple Rashomon had been adapted from the First Hashirama Senju's Fivefold Rashomon.
Since he didn't possess Hashirama's terrifying chakra reserves, he'd reduced the number of gates from five to three.
Even so, though it wasn't the original Fivefold Rashomon, this Summoning Technique was still an exceptionally rare, top-tier ninjutsu.
Xuan Yu quickly put on a sheepish smile. "Snake Bro, how about we switch? Mystical Palm Technique isn't difficult at all... Just let me learn Triple Rashomon instead. If that won't work, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough would be fine too!"
There were plenty of opportunities to learn a medical ninjutsu like Mystical Palm Technique from Tsunade Hime, Shizune, Kabuto, or other medical ninja.
But unique techniques like Wind Release: Great Breakthrough and Triple Rashomon weren't something you could just stumble across.
What Xuan Yu didn't know was that Orochimaru, that sly old fox, had tampered with the scrolls in advance.
Every single one of the three scrolls contained Mystical Palm Technique.
He'd told Xuan Yu to choose blindly because he wanted to observe Xuan Yu's reactions as he picked a scroll and use them to test him further.
"All right. Now prove your talent for learning ninjutsu."
Orochimaru ignored Xuan Yu's request to switch techniques and gestured for him to learn Mystical Palm Technique on the spot.
As a legendary ninja, Orochimaru had mastered plenty of secret techniques he'd developed or improved himself, but he had no intention of giving away his signature skills for free.
Mystical Palm Technique was an ordinary ninjutsu that nearly every medical ninja knew, so there was no harm in teaching it to Xuan Yu.
You could grab any medical ninja at Leaf Hospital, and they'd almost certainly know how to use it.
Seeing that Orochimaru was firm and there was no room for negotiation, Xuan Yu had no choice but to give up on switching techniques.
Mystical Palm Technique might not be hard to acquire, but it was better than nothing.
If Orochimaru hadn't offered him the scroll, Xuan Yu had no idea when he'd have gotten the chance to learn this medical ninjutsu.
With Orochimaru and the others watching, Xuan Yu unrolled the scroll and swiftly skimmed through it.
Sure enough, the skill Mystical Palm Technique appeared on his system panel.
Its level was still Lv0, which meant it hadn't even reached Level 1.
That was no problem. Xuan Yu made a mental command at once. "Brother System, spend ten million ryo to raise my Mystical Palm Technique to Lv1."
"Ten million ryo spent! Your Mystical Palm Technique has risen from Lv0 to Lv1! Current balance: 73,600 ryo."
After using the Pay-to-Win System to raise Mystical Palm Technique to Lv1, Xuan Yu grinned at Orochimaru. "Snake Bro, that's it. I've got the basics of this ninjutsu down."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and replied coldly, "Ridiculous. You've barely had enough time to look over the scroll once. Unless you already knew the technique, there's no way you've learned it. As far as I know, you've never had a chance to practice Mystical Palm Technique. Claiming you've learned it now is just self-deception."
If Xuan Yu hadn't had other qualities that impressed him, Orochimaru might have already lost his temper.
After all, from the very beginning, he hadn't believed Xuan Yu truly had the monstrous ability to learn any ninjutsu in three minutes, though he'd still held on to a shred of hope.
Even if Xuan Yu was using some little trick, Orochimaru had wanted to see what he would do.
He hadn't expected Xuan Yu to wrap things up with such a blatant act of self-deception. Orochimaru couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Hearing Orochimaru speak so harshly, Xuan Yu was immediately annoyed.
He shot Orochimaru a sidelong glance and retorted, "Get me a fish. I'll demonstrate Mystical Palm Technique right now."
Orochimaru had thought that once he'd called Xuan Yu out, the boy would back down. Instead, Xuan Yu still sounded completely confident.
Could the kid really have learned Mystical Palm Technique in such a short time?
The idea was simply too absurd.
Orochimaru would sooner believe Xuan Yu had learned the technique in advance by some other means than that he could master a ninjutsu after skimming its scroll once.
Of course, there was another possibility.
Xuan Yu was simply bluffing. He hadn't learned a thing and was just putting on an act to save face.
Orochimaru's expression darkened. He snorted and ordered Kabuto Yakushi, "Go catch a fish."
"Yes!" Kabuto Yakushi acknowledged the order with a nod and swiftly turned to leave.
Two or three minutes later, Kabuto Yakushi returned to Xuan Yu with a barely breathing grass carp.
Xuan Yu took the fish, which was close to death, and set it on the grass beside him. Then he formed Hand Seals, performed Mystical Palm Technique, and began treating the little fish.
He gripped his right wrist with his left hand and held his right palm over the fish.
In no time, wisps of warm, emerald-green chakra gathered in his palm and flowed into the dying grass carp at his feet.
When Xuan Yu had taken the fish, it had barely moved, as if it were already dead.
Now, under his treatment, its tail finally gave an occasional twitch.
But Xuan Yu's Mystical Palm Technique was only Lv1; it was nowhere near powerful enough to work miracles, and he couldn't fully save the fish.
Even so, Xuan Yu's performance left Orochimaru and the other two deeply shocked.
From the details, it was clear that Xuan Yu was still unpracticed when performing Mystical Palm Technique. He was obviously a beginner.
But the point was—he really had learned Mystical Palm Technique in less than three minutes!
That learning speed was simply unbelievable.
Orochimaru stared at Xuan Yu, his golden, slit-pupiled eyes glinting.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "If it were one of my original techniques, could you learn it in three minutes too?"
Xuan Yu smiled without hesitation. "No matter what ninjutsu it is, I can learn it in three minutes. But—"
He paused and wagged one finger with a sly smile. "My little talent show is charged by the performance. It costs thirty million ryo each time. Snake Bro, would you like to pay me to put on another one?"
Orochimaru's mouth twitched.
Thirty million ryo for one performance? Was this kid robbing him?
No matter how much money he had, he wasn't about to waste it like that.
"Ahem."
Orochimaru cleared his throat and smoothly changed the subject. "I've seen your ability to learn. Now, let me see what else you can do."
Xuan Yu was a little disappointed that Orochimaru hadn't taken the bait.
He'd thought that if Orochimaru asked him for another demonstration, he could collect the money first and perform afterward. Wouldn't that be great?
But on second thought, it didn't matter. His talent for learning ninjutsu had already caught Orochimaru's interest. After showing off another ability, he could get down to business and negotiate his payment.
As for his other ability, Xuan Yu planned to demonstrate it in a much more hard-core way.
"Whoosh—!"
A sound split the air as Xuan Yu's figure suddenly blurred. He launched himself straight at Orochimaru!
The clone who had come to the hideout carried ninety percent of his chakra, so it also possessed roughly ninety percent of his original's combat strength.
Orochimaru and the others hadn't expected Xuan Yu to be so audacious that he'd attack without warning.
Kabuto Yakushi and Kaguya Kimimaro immediately moved to help, but Orochimaru stopped them with a raised hand. "Stand back. I'll take him on."
Before he'd even finished speaking, Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth, and a long, sharp Grass-Cutting Sword emerged from it!
He reached out and gripped the sword, then shot straight at Xuan Yu like an arrow released from its bow.
In that split second, Orochimaru's heart tightened.
Compared with their last clash atop the Amegakure tower, Xuan Yu seemed to have become more than a single level faster.
Even more astonishingly, Xuan Yu kept accelerating as he moved at high speed!
Orochimaru's keen eyes could barely follow the full trajectory of Xuan Yu's movements.
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