It seemed you really were worth watching

The Training Ground was a mess.

Gouges carved by Tempest Kick crisscrossed the ground, severed snake corpses lay scattered everywhere, and dark red blood soaked the soil. A faint, bloody smell hung in the air.

Uchiha Makoto stood where he was, his chest rising and falling slightly, fine beads of sweat seeping from his temples.

In that last exchange, he appeared to have gained the upper hand.

Most of the slender snakes had been cut apart, and Orochimaru's offensive had been forcibly halted.

But only he knew how much his taijutsu had drained him.

Using Tempest Kick repeatedly, in particular, placed a considerable burden on both his leg muscles and his chakra.

He had already prepared to feign weakness, deliberately quickening his breathing, making his steps a little unsteady, and even subtly adjusting his chakra flow to create the illusion that he was on his last legs.

All he had to do was wait for Orochimaru to lose patience and charge in again, then give him a little "surprise."

But Orochimaru did not move.

The giant snake remained coiled in the distance, its golden slit pupils watching him quietly. Its forked tongue flickered now and then, as though assessing him-or perhaps... admiring him?

Uchiha Makoto felt a little unnerved. This wasn't how the script was supposed to go.

Wasn't a villain supposed to press the advantage when his opponent showed signs of exhaustion?

You're a Kage-level powerhouse. Why are you playing mind games with a six-year-old?

Just as he was considering whether to look a little "weaker," something suddenly changed.

Poof-

White smoke rose from the snake corpses littering the ground and quickly spread.

Uchiha Makoto instinctively took half a step back and adopted a defensive stance.

But the expected attack never came. When the smoke cleared, the Training Ground was spotless. Not a drop of blood or a single snake scale remained, as though that fierce assault by the swarm of snakes had been nothing but an illusion.

The Summoning Technique had been released.

Uchiha Makoto paused, then looked up at Orochimaru.

Something even more unexpected happened.

The cold, clammy aura around Orochimaru, tinged with a hint of perverse excitement, receded like the tide.

He straightened, letting his hands hang naturally at his sides. The exaggerated smile faded from his face, replaced by a sort of...

How should he put it? Aloofness? Indifference?

It was the calm, appraising gaze of someone truly powerful.

"Impressive taijutsu," Orochimaru said. His voice was no longer hoarse and oily; instead, it had a metallic quality, clear and cool. "Precise, efficient, and far more explosive than that of others your age. Even better than many chunin."

His golden slit pupils swept over Uchiha Makoto, as though assessing a weapon worth adding to his collection.

"That was a little test of mine," Orochimaru continued, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the fine weather. "It seems you really are worth watching."

Uchiha Makoto said nothing, merely remaining on guard.

A test?

You used that many snakes to test a six-year-old?

Orochimaru, aren't your testing standards a little ridiculous?

Orochimaru did not seem to mind his silence and continued on his own. "I'm very interested in your 'self-created taijutsu.' And, of course, in you."

The faintest hint of a smile seemed to touch his lips, but vanished in an instant. "This is my contact address. If you need anything, or wish to experience a wider world sooner, you can come find me."

With a flick of his finger, a small card that appeared to be made from some kind of snakeskin drifted toward Uchiha Makoto.

Uchiha Makoto reached out and caught it.

The card felt slightly cool in his hand. A line of small, inked characters gave an address in an out-of-the-way part of Konoha, with a simple snake emblem beside it.

"One more thing," Orochimaru added, his gaze lingering on Uchiha Makoto for a moment. "With your current abilities, staying at the Ninja Academy is a sheer waste of time. If you wish, I can suggest to the Third that you graduate early and enter a more suitable... environment."

As his words fell, his figure faded soundlessly and disappeared, like ink dissolving into water.

No hand seals, no smoke. He simply vanished into thin air.

The Body Flicker Technique.

And an exceptionally refined version of it.

Uchiha Makoto was left alone in the Training Ground, holding the cold Snake-Skin Card.

"..."

Uchiha Makoto looked down at the card, then at the Training Ground, now quiet again. His feelings were complicated.

What was that supposed to be?

We fought, then he left his contact information and threw in an enticing early-graduation package?

Orochimaru, isn't your recruitment approach a little too direct?

Still...

He squeezed the card in his hand, his gaze settling.

Orochimaru's offer was certainly tempting.

Graduating early meant taking missions sooner, obtaining resources sooner, and escaping the school's rigid routine sooner.

And if he could stay close to Orochimaru, even just to ask for advice occasionally, with the man's expertise in ninjutsu development and the mysteries of the human body, he would probably learn more than he could from several years at school.

But.

The risks were just as enormous.

Uchiha Makoto knew very well how the future plot would unfold.

The Third Shinobi World War was not far off. After that war came the exposure of Orochimaru's human experiments and his defection from Konoha.

At most, there were only seven or eight years left.

Staying close to an S-rank rogue ninja destined to defect-even having the slightest connection to him-would leave Makoto looking guilty regardless of his innocence.

Konoha High Command, especially that scheming old bastard Danzo, would never pass up such a perfect opportunity to "clean house" while striking at the Uchiha.

"And besides..." Uchiha Makoto frowned as another question arose in his mind. "Why Orochimaru?"

He went back over the day's events.

He had defeated Asuma, displaying extraordinary strength and potential. Drawing the higher-ups' attention had been inevitable.

Sending someone to approach him, probe him, or even recruit him had all been within his expectations.

But he had originally thought it would be Tsunade or Jiraiya.

Tsunade was the First Hokage's granddaughter, the princess of the Senju Clan, and Konoha's finest medical ninja. Studying under her would not only let him learn top-tier Medical Ninjutsu and monstrous strength, but also give him access to the most important medical resources and connections.

Most importantly, although Tsunade had a fierce temper, she fiercely protected her own and had no obvious prejudice against the Uchiha.

Her summon, Katsuyu, was practically a lifesaving miracle in her own right.

Failing that, Jiraiya would have worked too.

He was lecherous, carefree, and sometimes unreliable, but his ability to teach students was top-notch. He was also upright and loyal to the village.

Following him would be relatively safe, and Makoto might even gain access to some of Mount Myōboku's senjutsu resources.

Yet the one who had come was Orochimaru.

A gloomy, secretive madman destined to defect.

"Is it because I'm an Uchiha?" Uchiha Makoto quickly grasped the key issue.

Tsunade was the Senju princess.

The Senju and the Uchiha had inherited a feud stretching back generations. Even if relations had eased considerably by this generation, having an Uchiha prodigy study under the Senju princess?

Unless Hiruzen Sarutobi had completely lost his mind, he would never arrange that.

It was too sensitive, too likely to provoke unnecessary suspicion and unrest.

Jiraiya was too easygoing, his whereabouts unpredictable, and when it came to teaching children... aside from Naruto, Makoto could not recall him taking a particular interest in anyone.

The Third probably would not feel comfortable putting him in charge of an Uchiha prodigy who needed "close observation."

After weighing all the options, only Orochimaru remained.

He was powerful enough, influential enough, deeply versed in ninjutsu research, and... sufficiently "calm" not to judge someone simply for being an Uchiha.

"Heh. So Orochimaru's the only one I'm fit to hang around with?" Uchiha Makoto laughed at himself and casually tucked the Snake-Skin Card into the deepest part of his Ninja Tool Pouch.

He could not throw it away, but he could not let just anyone see it either.

Still, on second thought, Orochimaru would do.

There were still seven or eight years before his defection.

Seven or eight years would be enough for Makoto to grow.

With the Lie-Into-Reality system in hand, as long as he handled things properly, even if he could not reach Six Paths level by then, surely reaching Super-Kage Level would be no problem!

Once he had the strength to crush everything in his path, schemes and guilt by association with a rogue ninja would amount to nothing.

"Strength is what really matters." Uchiha Makoto clenched his fists and pushed down the jumble of thoughts in his head.

There was no point thinking so far ahead now. His immediate priority was to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

He discarded those unrealistic fantasies and decided to stick to his own pace.

Orochimaru's offer could serve as a backup plan, but it was certainly not his first choice.

For now, keeping a low profile and growing stronger was the way to go.

And to grow stronger, he first needed to recognize his weaknesses.

Uchiha Makoto walked to a reasonably clean patch of ground, sat cross-legged, and began reviewing the battle.

Taijutsu was currently his greatest strength.

The defense provided by Iron Body, the speed provided by Shave, the ranged attacks provided by Tempest Kick, and the overall boost to chakra and physical ability from Life Return-combined, these made dealing with ordinary chunin or even special jōnin perfectly manageable.

But the problems were also obvious.

"This is the world of Naruto..." Uchiha Makoto sighed.

No matter how strong taijutsu was, it had its limits.

Against all those elaborate ninjutsu, genjutsu, and kekkei genkai, its disadvantages became apparent.

First was the problem of landing a hit.

If an opponent at Orochimaru's level focused on evasion and refused to clash head-on, even the fiercest taijutsu was useless if it could not connect.

If Orochimaru had really used that ghostlike Body Flicker Technique to dart around earlier, Makoto probably could have done little besides take the beating.

Second was the problem of expenditure.

Taijutsu had powerful bursts, but it put a heavy strain on the body and drained chakra quickly.

His current taijutsu did not rely on physical strength alone. It was nintaijutsu, combining physical strength with chakra.

He had looked impressive fighting the snakes, but in reality, he had already used up nearly half his chakra.

If he became trapped in a prolonged battle or surrounded by multiple enemies, he could easily be worn down to death.

Finally, his options were too limited.

At present, aside from taijutsu, he did not have a single ninjutsu worth showing.

His attacks lacked variety. Once someone devised a counter, he could easily find himself in trouble.

"My total chakra reserves are the foundation. I need to increase them as soon as possible." Uchiha Makoto set his first goal.

Although Life Return could gradually increase his chakra, it was still too slow.

He needed to find a way to squeeze something more out of the system-or come up with some "lies" that could accelerate chakra accumulation.

"Next is ninjutsu," he continued thinking. "I can't rely on taijutsu alone to take on the world. I need to manifest a few powerful ninjutsu that suit me, preferably ones that can compensate for taijutsu's weaknesses."

Manifesting ninjutsu was the system's greatest advantage.

He did not need to train painstakingly. As long as someone believed he could "create" a technique, he could directly obtain its training method, or even proficiency in it.

"I need to plan this carefully..." Uchiha Makoto rubbed his chin, his eyes flickering.

"Ugh..."

Just then, a groan came from nearby.

Uchiha Makoto turned to see Obito rubbing his head as he sat up groggily.

"I... how did I fall asleep?" Looking bewildered, Obito glanced around. "Makoto? Weren't we sparring? Why was I lying on the ground?"

Without batting an eye, Uchiha Makoto walked over, pulled him up, and brushed the bits of grass off him.

"You were too tired and passed out halfway through training," he said flatly, as though discussing what he had eaten for lunch. "Maybe you've been training too hard lately, and your body couldn't take it."

"Huh? Really?" Obito scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I think I had a dream. There were loads of snakes. It scared me to death."

"What you think about during the day shows up in your dreams," Uchiha Makoto said, spouting nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "Have you read any picture books about snakes lately?"

"I don't think so?" Led off track, Obito tried hard to remember.

Uchiha Makoto paid him no further attention and swept his gaze over the Training Ground.

Orochimaru had cleaned up thoroughly, leaving no trace of the battle.

Obito had certainly picked the right moment to pass out, missing the most exciting part entirely.

"Let's go. It's already too dark." Uchiha Makoto patted Obito's shoulder. "That's enough for today. Go home and get some proper rest."

"Oh..." Obito answered obediently.

Suspecting nothing, Obito yawned. "I'll head home too, then. My head's still a little dizzy... see you tomorrow, Makoto!"

Watching Obito's retreating figure sway unsteadily, Uchiha Makoto shook his head.

Sometimes, being slow on the uptake was a kind of blessing.