Trading ninjutsu

Tsunade froze at his words, and the way she looked at Qingyun changed.

People with all five standard elemental affinities were extremely rare in the Shinobi World, but they did exist. With the two special affinities of yin and yang added, however, she had never heard of anyone in the entire Shinobi World possessing all seven.

Moreover, Qingyun was extraordinarily talented. At such a young age, he had already created Swordsmanship that surprised even Orochimaru. That meant that, given time, he could grow astonishingly powerful.

"All right. We'll find somewhere to test it later." Although Tsunade had her doubts, she said nothing more. She planned to take Qingyun somewhere afterward and see whether he really possessed Yang Release.

"By the way, Orochimaru, do you really have this much free time today?"

Tsunade looked at Orochimaru curiously. She knew this teammate she had grown up with very well. He never wasted a moment; he was either training or researching ways to improve his strength in his Laboratory.

Something like today, when he idly watched her teach her student, simply Root never happened. Orochimaru had to have an ulterior motive.

At her words, Orochimaru's lips curled into a faint smile. "Naturally, I have my reasons. Little Qingyun, would you be willing to teach me your Swordsmanship and fist technique? I could trade you Ninjutsu for them."

Seeing that Tsunade was about to speak, Orochimaru hurriedly added, "First, I won't let you lose out. Second, although Tsunade's Household still has some resources, most of them are Water Release Ninjutsu.

"Tsunade could find you some basic Ninjutsu, but that would take some effort on her part, and you wouldn't be able to develop quickly."

Although Orochimaru seemed to be speaking to Qingyun, his words were also meant for Tsunade. Her Senju Clan still had some resources, but most of its assets had been handed over to the village. What remained was either too advanced for Qingyun at his current level or limited to Water Release, an affinity Qingyun did not want to train for now. Listening to him was therefore the best choice.

After considering it for a while, Qingyun said, "All right. But let me make something clear first, Orochimaru: not just anyone can master my Sword Technique. You should know something about Minato's talent. He's done reasonably well with Tai Chi Fist, but he still hasn't mastered this Sword Technique after practicing it for a long time."

Qingyun did not know whether people in this world were unable to learn Martial Arts or whether Minato simply lacked a talent for the Sword Technique.

Either way, Qingyun wanted to explain it beforehand, lest Orochimaru fail to learn it and suspect him of withholding the complete training method.

Orochimaru paused, then nodded to show Qingyun that he understood.

Seeing him nod, Qingyun did not ask what Ninjutsu Orochimaru intended to offer in exchange. With Tsunade beside him, he would not lose out regardless.

Taking the blank scroll Orochimaru handed him, Qingyun wrote down Tai Chi Fist, Basic Swordsmanship, and Quanzhen Swordsmanship from memory.

After some thought, he asked Orochimaru for another Scroll and wrote everything down again. Only then did he look up and hand a Scroll each to Orochimaru and Tsunade. "Big Sis Teacher, sorry for the trouble, but please give this Scroll to Grandpa Hokage when you have time. Consider it repayment for the care he's given Minato and me lately.

"If you want these Martial Arts later, I'll write them out again."

Watching Qingyun do this, Orochimaru's smile deepened. Clearly, he greatly appreciated the boy's cleverness.

On the surface, Qingyun had not asked Tsunade to request anything from Hiruzen Sarutobi in exchange. He had merely called it repayment for Hiruzen Sarutobi's care of them during this time.

In truth, that was precisely what made Qingyun's approach so clever. By asking for nothing, he would make Hiruzen Sarutobi feel indebted to him. If anything happened in the future, Hiruzen Sarutobi would surely stand firmly behind him in return.

Besides, if Qingyun created something else in the future, could Hiruzen Sarutobi still bring himself to take it for free? Free things were nice, but there was a limit to how often one could accept them. Qingyun was now giving him three Secret Techniques worth at least C-rank techniques. If he produced more techniques of this caliber later, surely Hiruzen Sarutobi would have to offer something of equal value in exchange!

Orochimaru turned to see Tsunade looking deeply touched, and his smile grew even wider. He said nothing, however, merely taking note of the incident as his interest in Qingyun deepened.

Having obtained what he wanted, Orochimaru said a few words to the two of them and vanished in a flash.

Tsunade took Qingyun to a riverbank and told him, "To test whether you have the talent to learn Medical Ninjutsu, you first need precise Chakra control.

"Watch what I do, then gather Chakra in the soles of your feet and slowly walk up a tree."

As she spoke, Tsunade chose a tree beside the River, gathered chakra in the soles of her feet, and slowly walked up its trunk. Step by step, she soon reached the top and hung upside down from a branch. Looking at Qingyun, she asked, "Understand?"

Qingyun nodded and imitated her, gathering Internal Force in the soles of his feet as he slowly approached the trunk.

But while Tree Climbing looked simple, it was actually a preliminary test of Chakra control. Many genin could not do it, let alone someone as young as Qingyun.

And so his first attempt failed. He fell after barely two steps!

Qingyun rubbed his backside. After thinking for a while, he closed his eyes and carefully felt the Internal Force gathered beneath his feet, sensing the friction it produced as it flowed across his soles and came into contact with the air.

A long while later, Qingyun opened his eyes. Looking straight ahead, he slowly approached the trunk and followed Tsunade's example, walking upward one step at a time.

As Tsunade watched Qingyun walk up the trunk, surprise and a trace of embarrassment appeared in her eyes.

How long had it taken me to learn Tree Climbing? About half a day, hadn't it?

And Qingyun? He had listened to her explanation once, tried it once, then grasped the trick after closing his eyes and thinking for a short while. Once again, Tsunade marveled at his talent.

As Qingyun climbed higher and higher, the way Tsunade looked at him changed once more.

An ordinary genin certainly would not have this much Chakra, yet Qingyun had managed it perfectly. Delight surged through Tsunade. It seemed she had taken on an extraordinary student.

Soon, Qingyun was standing beside Tsunade. He smiled and asked, "Big Sis Teacher, does this count as passing?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes prettily. "Only once you walk back down."

With that, she slowly walked down.

Qingyun smiled and followed her.

Soon, they were back on the ground. Seeing Qingyun's smug expression, Tsunade took him down a peg. "That was only the first step. See the water ahead? Next, gather Chakra in the soles of your feet and keep yourself standing on the surface without sinking. Only when you can run across the water without getting your shoes wet will you have completed the second step."

Qingyun approached the water, copying what he had done during Tree Climbing.

But after barely two steps, he sank into the River. He climbed back onto the bank, soaked from head to toe, and frowned at the constantly flowing water.

Tsunade watched the thoughtful Qingyun with interest, withholding the trick. She intended to leave him struggling for a while. His smug smile earlier had made her feel that she had lost her dignity as a Teacher.

Unaware of Tsunade's thoughts, Qingyun frowned in contemplation for a moment before getting up again. He controlled the Internal Force beneath his feet so that it flowed along with the River's surface. At first, he was not used to it. Although he could stand on the water, his shoes were soaked.

But as Qingyun walked faster and faster, his control over his Internal Force became increasingly effortless.

Soon, he was running across the River's surface and even practicing Tai Chi Fist.

Before long, Qingyun's Internal Force drew water into a ball between his hands. His hands moved in seemingly slow motions, the ball of water constantly circulating between them. Only when his Internal Force was exhausted did he fall into the river again and scramble awkwardly back onto the bank, bringing the training session to an end.

By now, Tsunade had been shocked so many times that she was numb. Qingyun had not only grasped the trick to running on water himself, but had also performed Tai Chi Fist on its surface. He had nearly finished an entire sequence before running out of Chakra and falling in. This proved that his Chakra reserves far exceeded those of an ordinary genin.

That was extremely rare at Qingyun's age.

After all, even if some people could graduate early, that did not necessarily mean their Chakra reserves exceeded genin level.

The amount of Chakra a person possessed depended on their constitution. Qingyun's reserves already surpassed those of an ordinary genin. Fortunately, they had not reached the level of Senju Clan children his age, or Tsunade would have begun wondering whether he was an orphan of the Senju Clan.

Even so, Qingyun's Chakra reserves were not far behind those of Senju Clan children his age. Moreover, judging by his condition, he did not seem to have devoted much effort to cultivating Chakra. Otherwise, he would not have had so little.

Tsunade watched Qingyun restore his Chakra with his eyes closed, her gaze complicated and her thoughts unreadable.