Don't Let Me Overtake You

"Pikachu, how about we try that Combination Technique today?"

In the Forest of Death, Sōkyū Hatake spoke to the Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Pika pika~" Pikachu chirped twice in response.

"All right! Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Sōkyū Hatake said, pointing at a large tree nearby.

"Pikachu!!!" Yellow lightning gathered around Pikachu, and in an instant, Thunderbolt struck Sōkyū Hatake!

Without the slightest hesitation, Sōkyū Hatake placed both hands directly on Thunderbolt, then drew the electrical energy toward himself.

Bzzzt!

"50,000,000 Volt! Thunderbird!" Sōkyū Hatake formed a Thunderbird made of lightning in his other hand.

He brought his palms together. After Thunderbird merged with Thunderbolt, an enormous Thunderbird interwoven with yellow and blue appeared above Sōkyū Hatake.

Boom!!!

The next second, Sōkyū Hatake directed the immense Thunderbird toward a lake!

Bzzzt!!!

In an instant, the tremendous power carried by Thunderbird enveloped the lake. A moment later, the vast lake was completely surrounded by lightning!

Following Sōkyū Hatake's actions, fish floated to the surface one after another, clearly no longer alive.

"What a sin, what a sin. Pikachu, do you eat fish?" Sōkyū Hatake picked a fish out of the water. It was grilled just right, and he could even smell the aroma of grilled fish.

"Pika!" Pikachu shook his head, indicating that he did not want it at all.

"Then I'll eat it myself." Sōkyū Hatake began eating as though no one else were there, not feeling in the slightest that he had damaged the ecosystem.

PS: Electrofishing is illegal, everyone, so please don't casually try it~

Next, Sōkyū Hatake began his training. In addition to swinging his blade, today's tasks included another exercise: practicing chakra nature transformation.

"Heh heh heh, so you really were the one making all that noise." Just then, a small snake suddenly appeared beside Sōkyū Hatake.

Soon, the little snake opened its mouth wide, and a pale-faced figure appeared before Sōkyū Hatake.

"Orochimaru? Ahem, Sensei." Sōkyū Hatake had been about to address him by name, but the dangerous look in Orochimaru's eyes made him instantly change his form of address.

"Mm-hmm. What are you doing here?" Orochimaru glanced at Sōkyū Hatake's Pikachu and licked his lips with his snakelike tongue.

"Training. What brings you back, Orochimaru-sensei?" Sōkyū Hatake looked at Orochimaru curiously. Wasn't Orochimaru supposed to be on the front lines against Sunagakure right now?

"You and Anko have both started school. Shouldn't I come back to take a look?" Orochimaru stared at Sōkyū Hatake, his yellow eyes giving no indication of what he was thinking.

"You have time for such leisurely pursuits, Orochimaru-sensei?" Sōkyū Hatake glanced at Orochimaru with some amusement. Since when did the icy Orochimaru have thoughts like that?

"Of course, part of the reason is that I have some matters to handle here. Give me that thing." Orochimaru suddenly held out his hand toward Sōkyū Hatake.

"What thing?" Clearly, Sōkyū Hatake did not know what Orochimaru meant.

"The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan. You still have that person's Sharingan, don't you?" Orochimaru sneered. His purpose in coming to see Sōkyū Hatake today was quite clear.

"Nothing like this gets past you, Lord Orochimaru. How did you find out?" Sōkyū Hatake chuckled, already growing wary inside.

After all, only Sōkyū Hatake, Uchiha Fugaku, and Hyuga Hiashi knew about this. There was no reason Orochimaru should know.

"I wasn't certain before, but a little bluff got it out of you, didn't it?" Orochimaru said smugly, his right hand still held out in front of Sōkyū Hatake.

"Orochimaru-sensei, if you want this, you'll have to earn it with your strength." Sōkyū Hatake looked at Orochimaru.

After all, the Orochimaru before him was a bona fide Kage Level expert. If he could fight someone of that caliber, perhaps he could gain more practical combat experience.

"It seems little Sōkū has grown up." Hearing Sōkyū Hatake's words, Orochimaru spoke with interest, his serpentine eyes already gleaming.

Clearly, what Sōkyū Hatake had just said had caught his attention.

"What do you say, Orochimaru-sensei? Shall we find somewhere to play?" Sōkyū Hatake imitated Orochimaru's tongue-licking gesture. He really was quite interested in challenging Orochimaru.

"Sure. I know a place where no one will be watching." Orochimaru surveyed their surroundings, then took off in one direction.

Seeing Orochimaru move, Sōkyū Hatake swiftly followed.

Unlike Orochimaru, Sōkyū Hatake seemed to have streaks of lightning appearing beneath his feet. With Soru boosting him, his speed was actually no slower than Orochimaru's current pace.

"That speed isn't bad..." Orochimaru looked at Sōkyū Hatake in surprise. Although he was not going all out, the speed he was using was not something an ordinary person could keep up with.

Had this student of his... actually reached this level of speed?

"Hehe, Orochimaru-sensei, don't let me overtake you," Sōkyū Hatake said excitedly.

"You really are... confident!" Orochimaru looked at Sōkyū Hatake, somewhat speechless. Are you really that confident?

But having been provoked, Orochimaru was not about to let Sōkyū Hatake off so easily. His figure flashed as tremendous power surged into his legs, and in the next instant, he left Sōkyū Hatake behind.

"Damn it! Even his speed is this high?" Sōkyū Hatake looked at Orochimaru in surprise. He knew there was bound to be a gap between them.

But he had not expected the gap to be this large.

"Still too young." Orochimaru looked at the expression on Sōkyū Hatake's face with some satisfaction.

If I don't exert myself, do you really take me for Hello Kitty?

Wait... what is Hello Kitty? Why would I think that?

For a moment, Orochimaru's mind wandered again.

"Lightning's speed... is more than just this!" A smile appeared at the corner of Sōkyū Hatake's mouth. Right now, speed was his strong suit!