The Ninja Academy students' cries of astonishment carried far.
Tsunade unconsciously lifted her chin in the stands.
"Hand-Seal-Free Ninjutsu?"
Surprise crossed Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, and he instinctively turned toward Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, that isn't what your report said."
Jiraiya scratched his head. "The last time Liu Yun used this jutsu, he made one seal. Maybe... he's refined it further?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi considered this for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
With his insight as the Professor of Ninjutsu, he could naturally see the tremendous practical value of Hand-Seal-Free Ninjutsu.
It required no hand seals, was extremely fast, could even be steered, and needed no contact with the opponent to activate.
Moreover, it was a lightning-nature jutsu, capable of paralyzing the enemy.
In the battle just now, an ordinary ninja facing Shikaku Nara's tactics would have effectively lost the moment the Shadow Possession Jutsu caught them.
Yet this jutsu could turn the situation around in an instant, showing just how special it was.
"An impressive jutsu, especially against the Nara Clan..." he remarked.
It was easy to imagine Liu Yun becoming the opponent the Nara Clan least wanted to face.
He had directly neutralized much of the effectiveness of the jutsu the Nara Clan depended on.
Orochimaru looked intrigued. Of those present, he was the most like Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He had an innate curiosity about unfamiliar ninjutsu and could not help wanting to understand how they worked.
"Tsunade, do you know how this jutsu was developed?"
The smile on Tsunade's face froze.
Ah, my student is so outstanding that even I, his teacher, don't understand the principles behind the jutsu he developed...
Seeing Jiraiya's teasing look, she gritted her teeth and slowly shook her head.
"Is that so?" Orochimaru understood.
It was hardly surprising. As he recalled, Tsunade rarely researched jutsu