Off you go, Traveling Frog!

"Fufufu, I did you quite a favor this time." Only after Danzo left did Orochimaru turn to look at Sōkyū Hatake.

"Lord Orochimaru, you showed up a little late this time." Sōkyū Hatake gave Orochimaru a somewhat speechless look.

He knew that Orochimaru had placed a small white snake beside him for his safety.

The instant he saw Danzo appear, Sōkyū Hatake crushed the little white snake so that it could immediately notify Orochimaru to come over.

He simply hadn't expected Orochimaru to arrive at Hokage Rock only when it was nearly evening.

"Fufufu, how do you know I wasn't here from the very beginning? Little Sōkū, whose dream is to make Konoha the greatest village?" Orochimaru looked at Sōkyū Hatake with some amusement.

"So you were nearby from the start." Understanding dawned on Sōkyū Hatake. Had Orochimaru really been nearby all along?

Otherwise, Orochimaru wouldn't have heard what Sōkyū Hatake had said about his "dream."

"Fufufu, of course. Little Sōkū, I helped you this time, but that movement technique of yours?" Orochimaru glanced at Sōkyū Hatake's legs.

This was also Orochimaru's first time seeing a technique like Soru, so he was naturally a little curious.

"What, Lord Orochimaru, would you like to know about it?" Sōkyū Hatake looked at Orochimaru with a smile. He knew that, having used Soru and attributed it to Orochimaru, Orochimaru would naturally ask about it.

"It certainly interests me a little. A method that doesn't require chakra, yet has speed comparable to the Body Flicker Technique. Could it be a secret move of the Hatake Clan?"

Orochimaru looked at Sōkyū Hatake with some curiosity. He had wanted to ask ever since Sōkyū Hatake used this secret technique.

"Yes and no. Would you like to know, Lord Orochimaru?" Sōkyū Hatake looked at Orochimaru. They were currently in a cooperative relationship.

"Of course. But little Sōkyū, this is only to deal with Teacher Sarutobi. After all, as you know, you just said I taught it to you, so naturally..." Orochimaru didn't continue.

He knew that with someone as clever as Sōkyū Hatake, if he had come prepared, many things didn't need to be spelled out.

"I can teach you," Sōkyū Hatake said directly. He only intended to teach Orochimaru the basics of Soru. Even Sōkyū Hatake himself didn't know about its further developments.

"Fufufu, excellent, excellent," Orochimaru said with a smile.

Next, after Orochimaru confirmed that no one was nearby, Sōkyū Hatake taught him the basics of Soru.

One of the Six Powers, it involved stamping on the ground dozens of times at high speed within an instant (0.36 seconds), generating explosive reactive force to move at high speed. To an enemy watching, it looked practically as though the user had vanished.

That was the principle behind Soru.

Once it was explained, it wasn't difficult for Orochimaru to master. After all, Orochimaru was already a Shadow-level powerhouse, and he had some familiarity with Taijutsu as well.

Thus, before long, Orochimaru mastered how to exert force for Soru. Although he wasn't particularly proficient yet, it was enough to prove certain things before Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I'm growing more and more curious about you, Little Sōkū. I really want to know what other strange things are hidden in that little head of yours." Orochimaru looked at Sōkyū Hatake, a hint of interest seemingly showing in his eyes.

"Teacher Orochimaru, you'll have to give that some careful thought." Hearing Orochimaru's words, Sōkyū Hatake merely smiled lightly, then used Soru to run straight down Hokage Rock.

Orochimaru remained where he was, seemingly pondering something.

"What an interesting person, Sōkyū Hatake." Orochimaru flicked his forked tongue, then vanished from Hokage Rock with a bang.

Yes, the Orochimaru here had only been a Shadow Clone.

His real body was conducting experiments in a laboratory in the Forest of Death. After receiving the memories transmitted by the Shadow Clone, Orochimaru's hands paused.

But in that brief pause, a small lump of flesh and blood on the operating table suddenly exploded, leaving only a short twig behind.

"Another failure? Lord Hashirama's cells really are as overbearing as ever," Orochimaru murmured. Then, exerting force through his feet, he appeared directly outside the operating room.

"This really is quite a good way to exert force. But I've never seen Lord White Fang use it. Could it be a secret technique Little Sōkū dug up somewhere else?"

Orochimaru remarked casually, but gave it no further thought. Instead, he took another small lump of flesh and blood from the freezer in the operating room and began a new experiment...

After they parted ways, Sōkyū Hatake returned to the Hatake Clan compound.

He walked straight into his room. Others could see the training ground, but not inside these houses.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Today's events had been somewhat beyond Sōkyū Hatake's expectations, but the final result was acceptable. At least he should have managed to fob Danzo off for now.

Next, Sōkyū Hatake lifted the Traveling Frog down from his shoulder.

"The Traveling Frog? How do I activate this?" Sōkyū Hatake looked at the Traveling Frog with some curiosity.

"Ribbit!" As if responding to his words, the Traveling Frog croaked.

"Um... I don't understand..." Sōkyū Hatake was somewhat speechless. The main problem was that he had never learned the frog language...

[Ding!]

[Send the Traveling Frog out on a journey?]

[Traveling Frog: Can travel to other worlds, with a chance of sending postcards back!]

[Uses: 1/1]

Looking at the system prompts, Sōkyū Hatake didn't hesitate much. Since the system could send him out on a journey, wouldn't whatever he brought back simply depend on luck?

As it happened, Sōkyū Hatake was quite confident about that.

I'm a transmigrator, a chosen one. Could I possibly lose when it comes to luck?

At that thought, Sōkyū Hatake didn't hesitate any further and selected confirm!

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, host, on activating the Traveling Frog!]

[The Traveling Frog is currently out on a journey!]

[Journey time: 0/240 hours]

Ten days?

Sōkyū Hatake took a look, then closed the system.

After Sōkyū Hatake confirmed, a rift in space and time appeared before the little frog. The little frog then leaped into the rift, and everything finally grew still...