Flying Thunder God Wasn't Worth It; the Eight Gates Were Suicide!

Orochimaru extended one finger and lightly tapped the tabletop twice.

"This ninjutsu was developed by the Second Hokage. The requirements to learn it are exceptionally harsh."

"First, you need an enormous amount of chakra to support it. Each spatial jump consumes several times more chakra than ordinary ninjutsu."

"Second, you need exceptional talent for spatial perception. You have to precisely locate spatial coordinates while moving at high speed. Even a deviation of one millimeter would leave your body shredded by spatial turbulence."

Orochimaru leaned forward, his golden slit pupils fixed on Qian Ye's face.

"Minato mastered it because he was innately extremely sensitive to spatial fluctuations."

"What about you?"

Orochimaru mercilessly exposed Qian Ye's shortcomings.

"Your chakra reserves are lower than even an ordinary Chunin's. Cooling Pakura down inside the barrier today completely drained you."

"As for spatial talent, ANBU tested you before. Your perception only ranked at a normal level."

"With the Flying Thunder God scroll in your hands, it would be nothing more than decoration. If you forced yourself to train it, you'd teleport yourself into a rock and get stuck on the first day."

The wild joy on Qian Ye's face froze.

This old bastard's words really cut deep.

Every sentence was true. There was no way to refute him.

Qian Ye awkwardly withdrew his finger and continued scanning down the scroll.

"Then... the Eight Gates?" Qian Ye asked tentatively.

Might Duy had relied on this move to kick four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to death, while Might Guy had nearly kicked out the ending with a single strike.

He now had Garp's special training plan, and his physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary people. This taijutsu was definitely a perfect fit.

Orochimaru chuckled.

"The Eight Gates is indeed a good thing."

"But the essence of this technique is forcibly breaking through the human body's limiters, overdrawing life force in exchange for a brief explosion of power."

Orochimaru shook his head, a trace of disdain in his tone.

"Qian Ye, you told me last night that what you sought was Life-and-Spirit Dual Cultivation, long-term survival."

"A technique like the Eight Gates, where you deal a thousand to the enemy and ten thousand to yourself, completely runs counter to your philosophy."

"If you open the Eighth Gate, death is certain. Do you think that aligns with your original intention of staying alive?"

Qian Ye was speechless again.

It was true. The Eight Gates was too extreme.

If it ever came to opening the Gate of Death, it would basically be a mutual-destruction situation. He had no desire to become some hero who flashed brilliantly for only an instant.

Qian Ye scratched his head, his gaze falling on "Impure World Reincarnation."

This was Orochimaru's signature god-tier technique in the future.

Following Qian Ye's gaze, Orochimaru directly pulled the scroll back a little.

"Don't look at that one."

"Impure World Reincarnation requires living human sacrifices and the dead person's DNA. Where would a Genin like you get such things?"

"Besides, I'm still refining this technique. The current version is extremely unstable. The dead summoned by it retain little of their former strength and may even backlash against the caster."

Qian Ye had completely lost his temper.

This wouldn't work, and neither would that.

Why were all S-rank ninjutsu just pits waiting to trap him?

"Sensei, then what do you think I should choose?" Qian Ye leaned back and spread his hands. "Since you told me to choose, you must have already thought of something for me, right?"

Orochimaru did not answer directly. Instead, he stood and walked over to the massive sand table.

"Qian Ye, you're too greedy."

"When you see these powerful ninjutsu, all you think about is how much destruction they can cause and how impressive they can make you look."

"But you haven't considered whether these ninjutsu actually suit you."

Orochimaru turned around and looked at Qian Ye, who was slumped in his chair.

"For a ninja to survive on the battlefield and live for a long time."

"The most important thing is not learning how many killing moves you can, but recognizing your weaknesses and finding ways to compensate for them."

Qian Ye sat up straight.

Orochimaru was about to teach him a lesson.

To be fair, setting aside those insane human experiments, Orochimaru was absolutely one of Hidden Leaf's finest mentors.

He could tailor the most suitable path of growth based on each disciple's traits.

"Your strengths are obvious."

Orochimaru raised one finger.

"Your physical strength far exceeds that of people your age. You're even tougher than some Chunin who specialize in taijutsu."

"Your chakra control is exceptionally precise. You can use Water and Wind Release to create a cooling cycle inside your body, and you can even suppress your own thermal radiation in desperate situations."

Orochimaru raised a second finger.

"But your weaknesses are more fatal than your strengths are valuable."

"Chakra reserves."

Orochimaru pinpointed Qian Ye's greatest problem.

"Your total chakra reserves are too low. Whether it's using advanced ninjutsu or sustaining a prolonged battle, you can do neither."

"Inside the barrier today, if Pakura hadn't collapsed from the backlash, you wouldn't have lasted past the fourth minute."

Qian Ye fell silent.

Everything Orochimaru said was right.

His current fighting style relied entirely on the physical bursts brought by Garp's special training, along with revolvers and Explosive Tags to exploit information gaps.

To him, chakra was mostly used to assist acceleration and stimulate his muscles.

Once he was dragged into a prolonged battle and his chakra ran dry, he would become a living target.

"So, Sensei, what do you suggest?" Qian Ye asked humbly.

Orochimaru returned to the desk and placed both hands against its surface.

"Give up on those flashy offensive ninjutsu."

"Choose an auxiliary S-rank ninjutsu that can solve your chakra weakness."

"Think carefully about the path you want to take in the future. Since your body is so strong, why not maximize that advantage?"

Qian Ye's mind began spinning rapidly.

An auxiliary S-rank ninjutsu.

Something to solve his chakra shortage.

Something to maximize his physical advantage.

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into the Cross-Border Mutual Aid Group.

Zhao Hai could provide Sea King meat every day.

That meat contained an unimaginably terrifying amount of vitality and blood energy, which could be converted into a massive quantity of chakra after being eaten.

But the problem was that his chakra pathways were like a tiny cup.

Once the cup was full, the excess chakra would simply overflow and dissipate. He could not store it at all.

He couldn't exactly gnaw on raw meat and form hand seals at the same time during a fight, could he?

That image was too beautiful. He would probably be cut down by an enemy before he could even swallow.

He needed a container.

An enormous reservoir capable of storing all the chakra accumulated from eating Sea King meat during ordinary times!

Then, when battle came, he could release it all at once.

Qian Ye's eyes snapped open, and his heartbeat skipped half a beat.

In the Naruto World, there was only one S-rank ninjutsu capable of doing that!

And not only could this technique store chakra, it could also work with an absurdly powerful regenerative ability. It was practically the ultimate divine gear for a taijutsu ninja.

Qian Ye took a deep breath, moved his gaze away from the scroll on the desk, and looked directly into Orochimaru's eyes.

"Sensei, I've decided."

Orochimaru looked at him with great interest.

"Oh? Let's hear it."

Qian Ye announced the name one word at a time.

"Yin Seal."