Perhaps This Is What It Means to Graduate from a Master

"Xu-kun, you've really kept me waiting..."

Several days later, I saw Orochimaru again. He was still the same as before, but there was a hint of weariness in his eyes. He was leaning against a big tree, waiting for Kato Osamu to appear.

With his eyes slightly closed, he seemed to be enjoying this moment of tranquility. Only when Kato Osamu approached did he turn his head and gaze at Kato Osamu with his golden Snake Eyes, a complex emotion he couldn't quite describe, though a slight smile slowly crept onto his lips.

"Orochimaru- sensei..."

"Haven't seen you for a long time..."

The evening breeze on the beach seemed to carry a touch of tranquility, gently caressing Orochimaru's hair. The bright moon shone on the waves, reflecting a shimmering light that also sparkled in Kato Osamu's eyes.

Aunt Snake

Kato Osamu smiled as he met Orochimaru's gaze.

For some reason, those days when I struggled to survive alone on a dark, long road, now when I think back on them, are not always filled with loneliness and pain. They also seem to have been accompanied by a vast, turbulent sea and a dazzling star.

"It seems that Xu-jun has been doing well these days..."

Orochimaru chuckled softly and strolled slowly towards the sea, his voice carrying a hint of coldness.

"I guess I'm considered a normal person now..."

"A mediocre, ordinary person?"

Orochimaru chuckled and ignored Kato Osamu. His footsteps lightly touched the sand without making a sound. The waves surged up and completely concealed his footprints, making him seem like just a passerby on this sea who left no trace.

"Has Orochimaru- sensei's research reached its most crucial moment?"

"Xu-jun, you are as intelligent as ever..."

Kato Osamu smiled slightly, slowly extended his right hand, and looked directly at Orochimaru. His eyes sharpened quickly as he stared at Orochimaru without saying a word.

Under the cover of night, Orochimaru's Snake Eyes held a strange and unsettling quality. He stared intently at Kato Osamu's outstretched right hand, a peculiar expression on his face. Seeing Kato Osamu's somewhat solemn demeanor, Orochimaru chuckled softly, narrowed his eyes, and slowly raised his own arm.

"The Opposition Seal?"

"It seems that Xu-kun has quite a bit of confidence in his abilities..."

Kato Osamu didn't speak, but the instant Orochimaru raised the Opposition Seal, he made his move.

"Magic - Multiple Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"

The enormous, pitch-black space created by the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique suddenly appeared on the sea. It was a blackness that seemed to merge with the entire world. Unlike ordinary Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, the pitch-black space, like surging waves, seemed to be spreading continuously with the waves. Illusion and reality may only be a moment apart.

"Amazing... a genius-level improvement..."

Orochimaru flashed away, leaving behind countless snake shadows that traversed the dark space. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly spoke, seemingly sensing the Darkness Technique the space through these colorful snakes.

"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"

Countless pebbles mixed with mud on the shallows suddenly surged towards Kato Osamu. He simply dodged left and right, avoiding all the mud and dirt. Kato Osamu's eyes flashed slightly, and countless fluorescent lights shot out from his hands.

"Fall!"

Scattered Soulfire Insect suddenly flickered with a ghostly blue light in the pitch-black night. The light, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, shimmered in the deep sea, reflecting a dreamlike blue radiance, like a scene from a fairy tale.

"Since you, Mr. Xu, are in such a refined mood, I shall naturally accompany you to the end..."

The eerie blue light also shone into Orochimaru's eyes, but it had no effect whatsoever. He simply smiled and gently clasped his hands together.

"The Myriad Snakes Formation!"

Countless venomous snakes of various sizes suddenly crawled out of the scattered soil, seemingly guided and controlled in an instant, twisting their bodies to form a dense blockade, rushing towards Kato Osamu.

"Burst!"

With a soft shout, countless points of pale blue light appeared on each venomous snake, seemingly giving them an ethereal, transparent glow.

Suddenly, the things shooting through the sky and lurking in the water seemed to burst forth like countless fireworks, scattering countless rays of light.

"Orochimaru- sensei, as always, is unpredictable..."

"Partial Spirit Transformation!"

Kato Osamu leaped into the air, clenched his fist, and threw a punch into the air. Suddenly, a huge fist shadow appeared and struck Orochimaru almost instantly.

"Has the Spirit Transformation Technique been developed to such an extent by Xu-jun?"

Orochimaru dodged the attack, watching as the fist shadow passed through the ground as if it were nothing, disappearing completely into the earth. His eyes narrowed slightly.

The attack that ignored physical defense was exactly the same as when he first met Kato Osamu, except that he seemed to have overcome the biggest drawback of the Spirit Transformation Technique.

"Since that's the case..."

"Kusanagi Sword!"

With a soft exhale, a slender divine weapon was slowly pulled from his mouth, and he seemed to take a liking to it as he turned his gaze toward Kato Osamu, who was standing on the sea.

"To have Genjutsu and Ninjutsu at this level, Osamu-kun, you've truly surprised me..."

From the smallest details, Orochimaru could tell that Kato Osamu's Genjutsu skills were extremely profound, and that his ability to control so many Soulfire Insect and his improvements to the Spirit Transformation Technique all demonstrated his exceptional Chakra control and Ninjutsu talent.

"Has Orochimaru- sensei decided to have a proper fight with me?"

Kato Osamu glanced at the Kusanagi Sword in Orochimaru's hand, pursed his lips slightly, and gently Hand Seals.

A jet-black hilt slowly emerged from the void. Gripping the hilt tightly, the blade was pulled outwards, its ink-black color seemingly constantly coalescing from another dimension. A chilling aura of annihilation swept across the entire beach.

"A creation of Chakra? The aura of Sealing Jutsu..."

I wonder when that little brat who could be easily defeated with a single stone has grown to this level.

Orochimaru's gaze towards Kato Osamu seemed to hold a strange hint of bewilderment, as if he were seeing other people through Kato's figure.

Kato Osamu didn't know who those people were, but this was the first time she had ever seen such delicate emotions in the eyes of the cold-blooded snake lord before Kato Osamu.

Orochimaru abruptly stopped what he was doing, letting out a laugh. His eyes held a mixture of admiration and complexity. He gently lowered the Kusanagi Sword and smiled as he extended his hand to Kato Osamu.

"No need, Xu-kun..."

"I accept you..."

As their fingers lightly interlocked, forming the Reconciliation Seal, Kato Osamu simply smiled, a very happy smile.

"Perhaps this way, Orochimaru- sensei won't treat me like a child who needs help anymore..."

"Is Xu-jun complaining that I didn't pay you enough?"

Orochimaru smiled but didn't speak again. He simply paced quietly under the moonlight, seemingly deep in thought. Although he appeared perfectly normal, Kato Osamu sensed a strange silence emanating from Orochimaru.

Perhaps she was thinking of someone from the past...

He probably knew that, compared to himself, who had never felt any sense of belonging to Konoha, Orochimaru, who grew up in Konoha, had countless 'bonds' here. Perhaps it was the repeated disappointments that led him down this path. His choice was probably a hundred times more difficult than his own.

After a long silence, Orochimaru finally spoke, seemingly concealing his emotions once again.

"I never worried about the possibility of Xu-jun's strength growing to what it is today, but now Xu-jun seems to be putting shackles on himself because of this strength..."

"They try to escape reality by filling their empty hearts with false emotions, sinking into a quagmire of feelings from which they cannot extricate themselves, and ultimately falling into the so-called 'happiness trap'."

"Xu-jun..."

Your heart is empty...

Orochimaru's gaze seemed to penetrate Kato Osamu's body, seeing into his thoughts and feelings. Compared to Kato Osamu's perception, this kind of accurate judgment based solely on thought and experience always amazed him with Orochimaru's insight into people's hearts.

Friendship, family, love—such beautiful things, yet emotions are nothing more than a need, a more insatiable greed.

If Kato- kun is lonely, I suggest you find some women, like Jiraiya. Maybe you'll experience a deeper sense of emptiness and know what that feeling is like...

However, I don't think Kato- kun would satisfy such a basic need. He's probably still fantasizing about something...

"However, perhaps what you haven't realized is that only loneliness is eternal."

Kato Osamu listened silently to Orochimaru's words. Orochimaru rarely showed such emotion; he seemed to have become more talkative, less cold, and more approachable.

He seemed to gradually understand why Orochimaru had become the way he was today. Kato Osamu looked around at the endless, deep sea, pondering Orochimaru's words, before slowly speaking.

"Constant loss makes people insecure, and if you add betrayal to that, then nothing in this world can truly open a person's heart again."

"What is a genius? I think it's not someone who is born with knowledge, nor someone who can quickly and skillfully imitate a certain skill."

Rather, they can immediately detect the slightest signs of making wrong choices because they gain their own insights by observing the lives of those around them.

"Is Orochimaru- sensei a genius? No one would disagree with that title. However, sometimes, perhaps only through personal experience can one truly understand the intensity of such pain."

"I just want to experience this world first—the pain, the regret, the resentment. When these sharp blades pierce my chest completely, perhaps that will be the moment I am reborn."

"Only by severing the bonds with my own hands can I intensify this pain, and perhaps only then can I strengthen my resolve..."

Kato Osamu's voice wasn't loud, but it surprisingly made Orochimaru fall into deep thought. His eyes shone with an even stronger light, as if he were seeing the young man in front of him all over again. The weak, innocent, and childlike figure in his memory was completely different from the one before him.

"What a brilliant statement! Such a clear-headed Xu-kun is almost terrifying; it makes me want to kill you..."

"Perhaps you should have done this when we first met..."