Training in Senjutsu

"How was the food, everyone?"

Seeing that the three had finished eating, Tetsuya came over at just the right moment to ask.

"Boss, your ramen is the best I've ever eaten!"

Jiraiya gave Tetsuya a generous thumbs-up.

"Especially those cold noodles! I've never tasted anything like them. I never knew noodles could be made that way. They were amazing!"

"You're too kind."

Tetsuya smiled and nodded, his eyes narrowing.

"And what did you think of our new dish, sir?"

Orochimaru offered a very objective assessment.

"A very novel flavor. The sweet-and-sour taste was refreshing and whetted the appetite. I imagine it would be wonderfully cooling in summer.

Personally, though, I don't particularly like cold food. Still, the flavor was quite good."

"Ah, so you don't like cold food. Sorry about that. Next time you come, I'll make you a new flavor of ramen."

"Oh? You have more new flavors?"

Orochimaru was a little surprised. He hadn't expected this young Ramen Shop owner to be so inventive.

"Then I look forward to your next creation."

Orochimaru readily paid for all three of them, then waved goodbye and left with Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"The future Sannin."

Tetsuya felt a little wistful. He could honestly say he liked all three of them.

After all, one would become the woman every old pervert dreamed of, another was Jiraiya, the great hero of the Ninja World, and the last was a future great scientist.

Honestly, setting aside his inner pervert, Orochimaru was actually Tetsuya's favorite of the three.

He felt that Orochimaru was a man of singular purpose. Whether during his early defection or his later redemption and return, he had never forgotten his original ambition. From beginning to end, he had kept advancing science, all in pursuit of his dream: eternal life.

He wouldn't foolishly make a prophecy his lifelong pursuit simply because it had been foretold, nor would he run away from Konoha's darkness and corruption.

He was who he was: Orochimaru, a scientist who kept moving forward and working hard in pursuit of his dream.

Ah, the Great Shinobi War is about to begin. After this war, Konoha will start going downhill.

Tetsuya sighed inwardly.

Hashirama had stepped down early, handing the Hokage position to his younger brother, Tobirama.

Though Tobirama was sharp-minded, he lacked his elder brother Hashirama's tolerance and prestige.

He couldn't keep the Uchiha Clan, who coveted the Hokage position, under control, and he had always viewed them through a lens of prejudice.

His attitude had also sown the seeds of disaster, allowing those fine students of his to inherit his Will of Fire. Once he stepped down, his students' oppression of the Uchiha Clan would only intensify.

Of course, Tobirama wasn't entirely to blame. After all, he had used both the carrot and the stick, pairing oppressive policies with conciliatory ones.

But those fine students of his really went all out to crush them, as though they were afraid the Uchiha wouldn't rebel.

By then, the great ship that was Konoha would begin to fall apart, tossed about by storms on the sea of the Ninja World.

Still, what the hell did that have to do with a businessman like him?

Once he had made enough money, he would open shops all across the Ninja World. If he was going into business, he had to go big and build a commercial empire. That way, when the "Feel Pain" guy came to deliver his pain, his shops wouldn't get caught up in it.

But on second thought, if he really kept doing business until then, he could probably beat the crap out of the "Feel Pain" guy himself.

Of course, that was assuming his business could keep running this steadily.

That night, Tetsuya closed up shop and went home.

He set up a table at home and placed a roast chicken on it, waiting for the weasel to return.

After all, he had to handle his relationships properly.

Though they had signed a contract, contracts weren't always that useful. In the original story, for instance, Manda and Orochimaru didn't have a particularly good relationship. And Naruto couldn't simply summon whichever toad from Mount Myōboku he wanted.

"Ah, looks like he won't be coming today either."

Just as he was about to put away the roast chicken on the table and save it for breakfast tomorrow,

a paw pressed down on the chicken.

"Little one, where do you think you're taking that roast chicken?"

"Immortal Huang, you're here!"

Seeing the familiar weasel appear, Tetsuya was a little surprised, but even more delighted.

After all, it had been some time since the weasel had last appeared, back when they signed the contract.

Huang Bai took a puff from the pipe in his hand and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

"The old man called the clan together for a meeting about you. It took a little longer than expected, but the outcome was good."

"So the old man agreed to let me learn Senjutsu from you?"

Huang Bai nodded.

"That's right. But before you learn Senjutsu, there are a few prerequisites."

As he spoke, he looked Tetsuya up and down.

"Your foundation is too weak. Your chakra reserves are far too small, so learning our clan's Senjutsu could be a bit troublesome. I'll teach you how to train your chakra first."

"Chakra? Give me a moment."

Tetsuya quickly formed hand seals, finished with a hand gesture, and pressed his hand against his chest.

"Release!"

With his low shout, the seal came undone, and a vast surge of chakra spread through Tetsuya's body.

"Oh? Interesting. You sealed your own chakra."

Seeing the change in Tetsuya, Huang Bai's small eyes widened a little.

"Not bad. This works out well; it'll save us some time. Then let's start training in Senjutsu right away. I'll explain the Huang Family's Senjutsu to you."

Huang Bai began explaining the Senjutsu practiced by his clan, which differed from that of Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku.

The Yellow Weasel Clan's Senjutsu didn't carry such a high risk of failure. Practitioners would neither turn to stone nor become snakes and get eaten.

However, their clan's method of training in Senjutsu was extremely time-consuming.

It required continually sensing the power of nature until one reached a state of unity with the world. At that point, you were nature, and nature was you.

Once you had mastered the power of nature, you could blend natural energy into yourself.

Once you successfully blended in natural energy, you could be considered accomplished in Senjutsu.

The only drawback to this training method was how long it took. Someone of average talent might spend their entire life on it and still never succeed.

"I see. So that's how it works. I understand now."

After listening to Huang Bai's explanation, Tetsuya nodded thoughtfully.

"But don't worry, little one. I can tell you possess a special constitution. Perhaps you'll manage to succeed before your lifespan runs out.

As long as you successfully learn Senjutsu, extending your life by a few decades shouldn't be a problem."

"I understand. Please teach me how to train in Senjutsu, Immortal Huang."

He didn't care about his lifespan at all. With his Evil God Immortal Body, as long as he didn't go looking for death, he wouldn't be kicking the bucket easily.

"Good. You have the right temperament. I'm increasingly convinced you'll succeed. Then let's begin."

Huang Bai explained the method of training in Senjutsu to Tetsuya while eating the roast chicken.

At first, Tetsuya was confused and understood little of what he heard, but gradually, he began to get a feel for it.