Learning swordsmanship

Orochimaru waved a hand, and the giant snake summoned with the Summoning Technique vanished in a puff of smoke.

Standing at the pinnacle of Konoha, he naturally would not have noticed a nobody like Anyo. He had come this time on the instructions of his teacher, the Third Hokage, to take this student under his wing.

After this test, however, Orochimaru had genuinely become interested. Whether in improvising under pressure or using ninjutsu, this little fellow had performed well. He had not even used his full strength.

Having originally come on an assignment, he now looked at Anyo with a little more interest in his eyes.

His stare unnerved Anyo a little, and he asked tentatively, "May I ask if I passed the test?"

"Of course," Orochimaru said in his distinctive, raspy voice. "From now on, I am your teacher."

At that, Anyo trembled inwardly. Become your student? Are you kidding me? Sure, you're still Uncle Orochimaru rather than Aunt Orochimaru, and you haven't started turning into a freak yet, but I'm from the Uchiha Clan. What if you take a fancy to me and go mad one day and bite me? Wouldn't that be as good as being dead?

With that thought, Anyo hurriedly lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, Lord Orochimaru. I already have a teacher."

"Hmm?" Orochimaru was even more interested now. He found himself a teacher before even graduating? Interesting. He did not mind. So what if he has a teacher? Who would dare fight me over a student? Even if he chose Jiraiya or Tsunade, I have ways of getting him.

So Orochimaru asked with interest, "Who did you choose as your teacher?"

Anyo promptly replied, "The Konoha White Fang."

Orochimaru frowned slightly. Him? What a coincidence.

The Konoha White Fang was probably the only person in the village whose strength was firmly above his own. Orochimaru really was not confident he could get a student out of his hands, but he did not believe it.

Orochimaru gave a sinister smile. "Little one, you aren't lying to me, are you?"

Anyo spoke in a fearful tone. "How would I dare deceive you, Lord Orochimaru? We really did make an arrangement beforehand. He told me to see him after I graduated today, and that he would be waiting at home."

"Oh, is that so?" Orochimaru formed hand seals and summoned a giant snake, then said in a caring tone, "Since you passed my test, let my Summoning Technique beast take you there as a little encouragement."

Anyo cupped his hands. "Thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

With that, he climbed onto the giant snake's back without the slightest hesitation.

Watching the snake carry Anyo away, Orochimaru's pupils contracted twice. He thought to himself, It seems the little fellow was telling the truth. What a pity...

The giant snake took Anyo all the way to Hatake Sakumo's front door and only vanished after seeing him go inside.

What a cautious man, Anyo thought. Over the journey, however, he had thought it through clearly, taking Orochimaru's temperament into account. If Orochimaru had seen me steal the Scroll of Seals and really wanted to do something, he wouldn't have waited this long. He probably would have approached me at the Ninja Academy. That means the Third must have witnessed what I did that time, which is why he sent Orochimaru to take me as a student. After all, Orochimaru is his prized student right now. Whether it's ninjutsu, taijutsu, or brains, he's top-tier. With him around, I certainly wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble...

Once inside Hatake Sakumo's home, Anyo felt immensely fortunate. Thank goodness I met White Fang beforehand. Otherwise, I would definitely have become Orochimaru's student today. As for the consequences... tsk, tsk...

He had barely taken two steps inside when he heard a series of thuds. Walking over to look, he saw a white-haired child of about three kicking a post high and low. He had to admit that, judging by the movements alone, the boy's form was quite good. As for the power, though...

The white-haired child seemed to notice someone standing nearby. Turning to look and finding a stranger, he asked haughtily, "Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"

"Your house?"

Oh, right! Anyo suddenly remembered that the Konoha White Fang had a son. Then this little white-haired boy must be Kakashi Hatake, the future "Fifty-Fifty." A popular character!

He could trade a few blows with anyone, but couldn't beat any of them. I think that was how it went. If I remember correctly, he seemed to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan later, too. Anyo struggled to recall the plot.

To Kakashi, however, this boy was being incredibly rude, completely ignoring his questions. He pulled a kunai from his person and threw it straight at Anyo.

Sensing danger approaching, Anyo instinctively dodged, then glanced back at the kunai. Well, damn. That's the real thing, not wood. This kid is asking for a beating.

Should I teach him a lesson? Anyo wondered. Just then, White Fang emerged from the house. He took out a forehead protector and handed it over, saying, "This forehead protector marks you as a Konoha ninja. Put it on."

Anyo glanced at White Fang, accepted the forehead protector, and fastened it around his forehead. Then he stood quietly where he was, waiting for instruction.

White Fang glanced at the rather disgruntled Kakashi behind him and said, "His name is Anyo. From now on, he's my student. When you see him, call him big brother. Remember that?"

"Big brother?" Kakashi repeated involuntarily.

With a cheeky air, Anyo used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Kakashi and affectionately patted his head. "Good boy, little brother. I'll buy you some candy next time I come."

Kakashi's face immediately flushed red with anger. He swatted Anyo's hand away and said, "I'm not calling you big brother! You're a bad guy!"

With that, Kakashi turned and ran off.

White Fang frowned but did not call him back. He calmly told Anyo, "Come with me."

The two soon arrived in a courtyard. It was large and looked like a training ground, with many wooden posts set into the ground in the middle. In the center of the courtyard stood a wooden rack hung with blades of various lengths.

White Fang first asked, "Have you studied swordsmanship before?"

"Yes."

"Good." White Fang pointed at the collection of blades. "Go pick one."

Anyo approached the wooden rack, his gaze immediately settling on the short blades. The shortest among them looked very much like the Finger Knife he had used before, and he could not resist picking it up and playing with it.

White Fang found Anyo's choice rather strange, but when he saw the short blade move as nimbly in Anyo's hand as his five fingers, he finally understood. Anyo had not merely trained with a blade; he was proficient with one.

White Fang walked over and praised him. "You have very nimble hands."

Anyo was equally confident in his hands. After all, he had made his living with them in his previous life. In this life, learning ninjutsu required hand seals, so naturally he could not do without them either. In hand speed alone, he was confident he would lose to no one.

"That's very good," White Fang said happily. "The most important thing in my swordsmanship is technique. Take a short blade inside a long weapon's reach. Use intent, not force. It emphasizes speed and closing in, lightness and agility, feints and real strikes, deception, and victory in a single blow."

"Watch carefully."

With those words, White Fang appeared beside the wooden posts like a bolt of lightning. A streak of white light flashed past, and the posts appeared unchanged.

But what Anyo saw shocked him deeply. An extremely fine, deep cut had appeared at a different spot on each of the seven posts. Had seven living people been standing there, none would still have been alive.

This swordsmanship was incredible...