"Hiruzen - sensei, please stand back."
The wind generated by Orochimaru's bursting Chakra blew on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.
What an astonishing amount of Chakra. Even an ordinary Jonin probably doesn't have this much Chakra, right?
A hint of shock flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes as he quickly retreated, putting distance between himself and the earth wall.
"Wind Release: Night Wind!"
Once Orochimaru saw that Hiruzen Sarutobi had retreated far enough, she brought her fingers together and flicked them towards the earth wall. Air currents converged to form a hurricane that shot skyward, engulfing the earth wall. The earth wall was shredded by the hurricane at a visible speed.
"It's not just a hurricane, but a hurricane formed by countless tiny wind blades? What terrifying power!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi marveled at the power of Wind Release: Night Wind.
"Hiruzen-sensei, the power of a Ninjutsu is determined by its user. The user's ability dictates both the upper and lower limits of a Ninjutsu."
Orochimaru's brows furrowed slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with Wind Release: Night Wind. As a Ninjutsu that didn't require hand seals, there was no need to shout "Wind Release: Night Wind." Shouting it out, in her opinion, was utterly foolish, like reminding the enemy, 'I'm about to attack, prepare to receive it!'
The most absurd thing was that Ninja of any moral standing would shout out the name of their Ninjutsu when performing it, as if afraid the opponent wouldn't know what Ninjutsu they were using.
"Orochimaru, at your current age, to achieve this level, no one can surpass you. What you need is to settle down and grow, don't be too impatient."
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw that Orochimaru was not satisfied with the Ninjutsu she had developed, and he also saw that she wanted to become stronger.
"Hiruzen-sensei, peace won't last forever. If I don't become stronger, in the future… I might end up like my parents…"
Orochimaru lowered her head, not continuing to speak.
Does this child think so far ahead? The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru with emotion, understanding why she was working so hard to become stronger and wanted to grow faster.
"Hiruzen-sensei, I'm going to continue training."
Orochimaru formed hand seals, creating four Shadow Clones. Her breathing became much quicker, and sweat dripped from her face.
"Orochimaru, don't push yourself too hard!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw Orochimaru pushing herself, his brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of worry in his eyes.
"Hiruzen-sensei, I'm fine."
Orochimaru's slightly trembling hand pulled out a scroll from her Pregnant. Her hand shook, and the scroll fell to the ground, rolling open.
"This is…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the text on the scroll and recognized at a glance that it was the insights of a Ninja skilled in Wind Release. It also recorded Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere.
"Ah…"
Orochimaru quickly picked up the scroll and carefully rolled it up.
"Orochimaru, this scroll…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi ordinarily shouldn't have asked too many questions, but he couldn't help but want to know who Orochimaru had received this precious scroll from.
"Hiruzen-sensei, this is a scroll given to me by Assistant Hokage Danzo-sama. He seems to think I have great talent in Wind Release."
Orochimaru looked down at the scroll and replied.
Her teacher was the Third Hokage, and Danzo Shimura was the Assistant Hokage. Was it something to be avoided for the Assistant Hokage to give her a scroll recording Wind Release insights?
Danzo… He contacted Orochimaru. What does he want?
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of Danzo Shimura's previous attempt to have talented children from various families in the Village join "Root," and a hint of suspicion arose in his heart towards him.
Could it be… Danzo wants Orochimaru to join Root?
No! This is absolutely unacceptable!
Orochimaru is my disciple, how can she join Root?
Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that everything Danzo Shimura did was for the good of the Village. Precisely because of this, he had turned a blind eye to Danzo Shimura establishing "Root" under the pretext of training Anbu.
Now, Danzo Shimura's reach was truly too long; he was even setting his sights on his disciple!
Danzo, you've gone too far!
A flicker of anger flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. Looking at Orochimaru, who was diligently studying Ninjutsu, his gaze softened and became benevolent. He said with a smile, "So it was Danzo. It seems that guy also sees that your future is limitless!"
"Orochimaru, tell me how you and Danzo met?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked over and placed his hand on Orochimaru's head.
"Hiruzen-sensei, if I don't grow tall in the future, you will bear primary responsibility."
Orochimaru glared resentfully at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hahahaha! How could that be!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed loudly and withdrew his hand from Orochimaru's head.
"I met Danzo-sama for the first time last night, at the training ground. I was testing Wind Release: Night Wind by the lake, and Danzo-sama seemed to have been there already."
Orochimaru looked towards the spot where Danzo Shimura had emerged last night, then continued, "He said my parents were heroes, and he believes that in the future, I can also become a hero like my parents."
That guy Danzo… actually played mind games with a child!
No wonder Orochimaru was pushing herself… Hiruzen Sarutobi could tell that Orochimaru was quite happy about her parents being heroes. He made a mental note of this; he had plenty of time to settle accounts with Danzo Shimura.
"Orochimaru, these are my insights on Fire Release, Water Release, Earth Release, and Lightning Release. You've mastered quite a few Ninjutsu now. Instead of learning new Ninjutsu, it's better to thoroughly integrate the Ninjutsu you already know."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had originally planned to give her these scrolls after Orochimaru had grown more, but Danzo Shimura, that scoundrel, had disrupted his plans, so he could only bring them out early.
"I understand, Hiruzen-sensei!"
Orochimaru received the scrolls Hiruzen Sarutobi handed her as if they were priceless treasures, happily putting them away.
What a good child!
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru with a beaming smile, patted her head, and said, "Orochimaru, you continue training. I still have some matters to attend to."
"Mm."
Orochimaru responded, watching Hiruzen Sarutobi use the Body Flicker Technique and disappear in a whoosh.
It seems Hiruzen-sensei didn't suspect me… Could Hiruzen-sensei be going to cause trouble for Danzo?
Orochimaru wiped the sweat from her face, thinking with a touch of schadenfreude.
Located beneath Training Ground Zero, the Anbu Training Department, and even deeper underground, was the Root's location.
In the spacious training ground, young children underwent cruel and rigorous training.
Danzo Shimura stood with his arms crossed, coldly watching them beat each other until their heads bled, and loudly declared, "Discard useless emotions, kill your hearts. You are members of Root, you are tools in my hands, you don't need useless emotions!"
"Danzo-sama."
A Root Ninja whispered something into Danzo Shimura's ear.
"What?!"
A flicker of surprise crossed Danzo Shimura's eyes.
"Danzo, is this how you train Anbu?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi strode forward, exuding a strong sense of pressure. The Root Ninja, not having received orders from Danzo-sama, dared not step forward to block him.
"Third, did you break in just to say that?"
Danzo Shimura looked at the hostile Hiruzen Sarutobi, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction. He was very surprised. What was wrong with Hiruzen Sarutobi, who usually paid no attention to the Anbu Training Department? Why had he suddenly visited today?
"Anbu are not ordinary Ninja. They are the ones who resolve all threats to Konoha in the darkness that cannot be resolved in the open! They are the cleaners who exist for Konoha's peace!"
Danzo Shimura's gaze fell upon the children training in the training ground. "Third, if there's nothing important, please do not disturb the Anbu's training!"
"Danzo, you've crossed the line!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the children, bruised and swollen but still attacking each other, and roared in anger. He glared at Danzo Shimura and sternly said, "Are you training Ninja for the Village's Anbu, or are you training Ninja for your Root, Ninja who will only obey you?!"