Fresh Out of the Gate

"Lightning Release: Earth Current!"

Imitating Orochimaru, Xuanhui pressed his hands together, then swept them apart. Fine currents of electricity surged forth like a swarm of snakes, carrying power no less than what Orochimaru had demonstrated!

"Honestly... you might really be a genius."

Even Orochimaru's voice caught. The talent Xuanhui had displayed was simply inhuman!

[He's even better than I was as a child...]

Orochimaru watched the excited Xuanhui and actually forgot to breathe for a moment.

"I should have realized it when he learned the Three-Body Technique..."

"Hm? Teacher Orochimaru, what did you just say?"

Orochimaru's narrow vertical pupils fixed on Xuanhui, his deep eyes brimming with intense interest.

"Before a major war breaks out, take as many missions as you can.

As for your ninjutsu, I'll report it to the old man later."

"I don't know what brought this on all of a sudden, but... thank you, Teacher Orochimaru!"

"Mhm."

Orochimaru stopped training with Xuanhui and turned toward the inn where the merchant caravan was staying.

His gaze remained fixed on the ground, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Nearby, Jiraiya, whose waist ached from writing, held a pen in one hand and a book in the other. He stretched both arms overhead and briefly worked his tense muscles loose.

"Huh? Where did Orochimaru run off to? Did he go back to his room?"

"He just returned to the inn. Maybe he was tired."

"How could he leave his student behind to train alone and go back to rest in his room?!

No, I need to go back and teach him a lesson!"

With that, Jiraiya stood, dusted himself off, looked down both ends of the road, and headed in one direction.

"Wait a minute! Lord Jiraiya..."

Xuanhui suddenly grabbed Jiraiya by the waistband. He poked his head out from behind the tall man and looked ahead.

"Lord Jiraiya, this isn't the time to gather material..."

"How did you know I was going to gather material?"

"In the direction you're heading, there's nothing but that bathhouse, right?

Surely you're not going to the tavern next door for another drink?"

Having been exposed, Jiraiya's old face reddened. He gave a deliberately profound cough, opened his mouth, and prepared to brainwash Xuanhui.

"Let me tell you..."

"Teacher Orochimaru! Lord Jiraiya is going to peep at the women's bath!"

Xuanhui braked instantly, dropped his shoulder, twisted his hips, pivoted and kicked off the ground. In the blink of an eye, he had dashed to the entrance of the inn.

Jiraiya immediately lost it and chased after Xuanhui back into the inn.

By the window, Teng Ran and Chi Yi sipped fine tea, their four eyes fixed on the two men in the street.

"My lord... are they really reliable...?"

"Don't worry. Some ninja are indeed a little scatterbrained, but most ninja like that are good people. When it matters, they're very dependable."

Teng Ran took a sip of clear tea and calmly shared his experience.

"My lord is wise!"

Chi Yi wore an expression of sudden realization, and his admiration for Teng Ran deepened further.

"Have all your people finished eating?"

"We've packed everything up. We can leave at any time."

Orochimaru glanced at the map, then raised his head to look at the cloudless sky.

"Let's go. We're moving out!"

At noon, the blazing sun hung high above them, and the harsh sunlight was so bright that no one could keep their eyes open.

Orochimaru and the other two led more than ten people and over a dozen carts out along the small road south of the village. At that time of day, the shade of the trees happened to cover half the road.

Xuanhui followed Orochimaru at the front of the group, while Jiraiya stayed at the rear, carefully examining the transport carts.

"This wheel design is really ingenious... Was it made specifically for mountain roads?

No wonder a single horse can pull such a heavy cart..."

As the group reached the middle of their journey, a small hill appeared in the distance. By estimate, they would pass beside it in about three li.

"So we can't avoid a fight after all..."

Orochimaru suddenly muttered as he pulled a shuriken from his pocket.

"Xuanhui, at two o'clock, there are two masked men carrying blades. They probably aren't ninja. Go take them out."

"On it!"

"Wait! Don't use ninjutsu."

"Understood. I'll watch my strength."

With a shuriken in hand, Xuanhui leaped lightly and slipped into the woods in just a few bounds.

The merchant caravan continued onward. After traveling about one li, Xuanhui emerged from the woods to one side.

Orochimaru looked at the bloodstains on Xuanhui's sleeve and observed his reaction.

Just as expected, his hands were trembling, and his breathing was a little heavy.

"Your first time killing someone?"

"That's right... It's still a little hard to accept..."

"They've killed more people than you have. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"But, Teacher... life is so fragile. It just slips away so easily...

It doesn't feel good..."

Orochimaru fell silent this time. His snake-like eyes stared at the winding road ahead... Xuanhui knew he was thinking.

[When it came to views on life, this kid always somehow agreed with him.]

[But... his ability to empathize was stronger than his own, and that had influenced him to some extent.]

Orochimaru always felt that whenever he was with Xuanhui, the other boy would remind him of important things at crucial moments. With Xuanhui's company, he himself had also become much more cheerful.

Perhaps this was what people meant by being both teacher and friend. No one was born unable to fit in with others...

"I'll find a kind of ninjutsu. A ninjutsu that can make people immortal."

"Tea?cher? Oro?chi?ma?ru?"

"I know, I know! Science needs principles! I really don't understand why you're so afraid every day that I'll break the law or cause trouble..."

The one habit of this child that he simply could not understand was how afraid he was that Orochimaru would hurt people.

"I just like science. It's not like I enjoy hurting people. Your teacher isn't some ruthless person who'll stop at nothing!"

"Of course I know that, because Teacher Orochimaru is the kindest teacher."

Xuanhui said it with considerable awkwardness. To be honest, he had forced those words out.

In order to reform Orochimaru and melt his cold heart, Xuanhui had drawn on all his experience playing dating sims in his previous life, terrified that Orochimaru would go down the wrong path.

"Oh, right, Teacher Orochimaru, look!"

Orochimaru lowered his gaze and saw that Xuanhui was carrying two black cloth bundles.

When Orochimaru opened them, he found quite a bit of gold, silver, and jewelry inside!

"Looks like they were local bandits!"

"There's only one town around here, and every household runs either a tavern or an inn.

You don't need to guess to know this must all be money from passing merchants!"

After saying that, Xuanhui's eyes unconsciously flicked toward the mountain.

Naturally, Orochimaru could see what he was thinking.

"You want it?"

"I really do."

"But that isn't our money. Taking them out is one thing, but what do you plan to do with the treasure?"

"I plan to save it."

"Save it? What for?"

"I want to use it to open an orphanage."

"An orphanage?!"