Dance with Snakes

Several days later, Nawaki excitedly sought out Tianyi, who was practicing weaving a scarf with chakra.

"Tianyi! Teacher Orochimaru said he was going to give me special training!

"It's aimed at my weaknesses in Earth Release and taijutsu!" Nawaki's face was full of excitement. Orochimaru's guidance meant a great deal to him.

At this, the steady chakra threads in Tianyi's hands rippled slightly.

But they quickly calmed again. The opportunity had come!

"Oh? Lord Orochimaru's personal special training?" Tianyi showed just the right amount of interest.

"That sounds great. Nawaki, can I come and watch with you?

"I'll treat it as an observation session. I'd also like to see Lord Orochimaru's teaching methods."

Without a second thought, Nawaki readily agreed. "Of course! Let's go!"

The two arrived at a relatively secluded training ground near the camp, where the terrain rose and fell slightly.

Orochimaru was already waiting there, his loose black hair drifting gently in the breeze.

His golden slit pupils swept over them the moment they appeared, lingering on Tianyi for a brief instant.

Yet he showed little surprise, as though he had anticipated this long ago.

The training began, and Orochimaru's teaching was direct and efficient.

He pinpointed Nawaki's sluggish transitions in Earth-nature transformation.

He also identified the flaws in combining taijutsu force generation with Earth Release hardening.

Then he provided exceptionally detailed improvement plans and training targets.

Throughout the process, Orochimaru made no effort to avoid speaking in front of Tianyi.

He even glanced at him from time to time, as though observing his reactions.

When Nawaki began the high-intensity repetitions as instructed,

Orochimaru gave Tianyi an almost imperceptible glance toward the dense forest at the edge of the training ground.

Tianyi understood. He nodded encouragingly at Nawaki, who was gritting his teeth and persevering.

Then he turned and silently left the training ground, heading toward the dim forest.

The light beneath the trees was faint, and the air was damp, with only birdsong and wind audible.

Tianyi stopped in a small clearing and waited quietly.

Before long, soft footsteps, nearly indistinguishable from the rustling of fallen leaves, drew closer.

Orochimaru's figure emerged from the shadows of the trees like a ghost.

He walked over slowly, making no effort to conceal his presence. A cold, viscous killing intent, almost tangible,

pressed toward Tianyi like a slowly rising tide as he approached!

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, and the insects fell silent.

It was the pressure of a top-tier powerhouse, accumulated through countless killings.

Tianyi narrowed his eyes, but stood perfectly straight as chakra flowed naturally through his body.

His mind held firm at its center. He came from an age of information explosion and had seen historical footage of humanity's most brutal wars.

He had also personally endured life-and-death battles in the Land of Rain, and his will had long been tempered into something resilient.

More importantly, he knew that Orochimaru was testing him more than anything else.

No matter how strong the other man was, Tianyi remained like a clear breeze brushing over a mountain ridge, allowing the killing intent to batter him as it pleased.

He simply stood there quietly, calmly returning Orochimaru's gaze.

After a moment, the killing intent receded like the tide.

A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Orochimaru's golden eyes.

It then turned into an intrigued smile, a cold curve forming at the corner of his lips.

"Hehe..." he chuckled.

"No wonder I once considered taking you as my disciple.

"Hinata Tianyi, your capacity is even greater than I imagined..."

He glanced toward the distant training ground, where Nawaki's shouts could faintly be heard.

Then he looked back at Tianyi, his tone returning to its usual calm indifference.

"Tell me. What incomprehensible difficulty did you encounter while practicing the Cell Activation Technique?"

Naturally, he assumed Tianyi had gone through the trouble of following Nawaki here in order to ask about the contents of that scroll.

Tianyi shook his head. "Lord Orochimaru, you misunderstand.

"I have already gained an initial grasp of the Cell Activation Technique you bestowed upon me."

"Oh?" Orochimaru's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

Though that scroll contained only the initial portion, it involved precise chakra manipulation at the cellular level and intervention in energy metabolism.

It was far from simple. To grasp it so quickly, either Tianyi's talent was astonishing, or... he already had relevant foundations or a unique understanding.

"Then what brings you here?" There was an added hint of amusement in Orochimaru's voice.

Tianyi took a deep breath, met Orochimaru's inhuman snake eyes directly, and said solemnly,

"I came to make a deal with you."

Silence.

Then Orochimaru froze for a moment before chuckling.

His laughter grew louder and louder.

"Hehehehe... Hahahaha! Interesting! So very interesting!"

His laughter echoed through the silent forest, filled with indescribable pressure.

Tianyi felt his calves weakening from the sound alone, while cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He was facing one of the Three Ninja, especially Orochimaru, the "Cold Lord" famed for his ruthlessness and experiments.

The pressure was far greater than when facing Elder De Xuan of the Main House.

If not for future research, such as the development of electromagnetic force,

which absolutely required Orochimaru's unparalleled knowledge of ninjutsu science,

he would never have voluntarily sought out this man, not even if it killed him.

Orochimaru's laughter gradually faded. He licked his lips.

His golden slit pupils locked tightly onto Tianyi, as if trying to see through him inside and out.

"A deal? Very well. I'll give you a chance to state your case, Tianyi-kun."

His voice became gentler, yet more dangerous.

"If your terms, or this so-called bargaining chip of yours, fail to move me...

"Then, even if you are Tsunade's newly accepted disciple, I will let you personally experience

"why I, Orochimaru the Cold Lord, can make enemies tremble at the mere mention of my name."

Tianyi forcibly suppressed the tremor in his heart and made himself calm down.

There was no turning back once the bowstring was drawn. He tried to keep his voice steady.

"Lord Orochimaru, I believe we will become valuable partners to one another."

With that, he reached into his robes, took out a special scroll, and lightly tossed it toward Orochimaru.

Orochimaru caught it casually, one brow lifting slightly as he untied the cord and slowly unrolled it.

At the start of the scroll was a title: Sperm-Free Egg-Cell Cloning.

Orochimaru's gaze instantly froze!

The way he looked at Tianyi began to change.