"Oh? Anything at all?" Ling grew interested, beginning to ponder what Orochimaru at this period might possess that would be valuable or useful to her.
"Of course, the Sannin never lie," Orochimaru declared shamelessly, using the Sannin's name as a guarantee.
"Is that so? Then I want your kusanagi sword, how about that?" Ling felt that asking for Ninjutsu would be a loss; she could copy ordinary Ninjutsu with her Sharingan, so there was no need to request it. As for forbidden Ninjutsu, he wouldn't give it, so it was better to ask for a good sword.
Orochimaru's pupils constricted. He felt a chill. He had only recently acquired four kusanagi swords and hadn't told anyone. How did this brat know? (I don't know how many kusanagi swords Orochimaru has, so please don't criticize this fan-fiction.)
He racked his brain but couldn't find an answer, so he could only look at Ling with even greater interest.
"Brat, the kusanagi sword can be yours, but you must tell me where you got that information."
Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and spat out a scroll, throwing it directly to Ling.
Ling disgustedly flicked off the slime, put it into her Ninja tool pouch, and then said helplessly, "I heard it from someone named Kishimoto Masashi."
"Kishimoto Masashi, very good, I've remembered him." Realizing Ling wasn't lying, Orochimaru gave a chilling smile. Kishimoto Masashi was dead meat, Orochimaru said so, and no one could stop him.
"Farewell, Senior Orochimaru." Ling disappeared into the edge of the forest with a few leaps.
"Brat, your name?" Orochimaru had talked with Ling for a long time before realizing he didn't know the brat's name.
"Hehe, Senior Orochimaru controls the Anbu, can't you even find out this little girl's identity?" Ling's voice grew fainter and fainter, finally disappearing into the distance.
"Lord Orochimaru, should we~" An Anbu member stepped out and made a slashing motion across his neck, his meaning clear.
"No need. This brat has the strength of a Chunin, and also has trump cards that even I fear." Orochimaru rejected his subordinate's idea. He felt this brat was worth investing in.
After all, he was the best candidate for the Fourth Hokage, and would inevitably become the Fourth Hokage in the future. What was one kusanagi sword compared to nurturing a talent for the Village?
After running a long distance and returning to the Village, Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief. Mainly, Orochimaru's oppressive aura was too strong, almost making it impossible to breathe.
Back home, Ling opened the sealed scroll Orochimaru had given her. Looking at the huge 'Seal' character in the middle of the scroll, Ling felt a bit of anticipation.
However, thankfully, Orochimaru likely wouldn't trick her with a fake kusanagi sword, so she directly pressed her hand onto the 'Seal' character and infused Chakra.
"Bang~!"
A puff of smoke appeared, and a straight sword emerged from the center of the scroll. It somewhat resembled Sasuke's kusanagi sword, but there were slight differences; this sword had a swastika-shaped guard.
Ling eagerly infused Chakra, and sure enough, the Chakra flowed smoothly without any loss, clearly indicating it was made of chakra metal.
As the Chakra turned into wind nature, sharp wind blades appeared on the sword's edge. With a casual swing, a wind blade cut through the solid wood desk, leaving a perfectly smooth, mirror-like cut.
Whether it was fire or lightning nature, it had excellent conductivity, and the blade was incredibly sturdy. It truly lived up to its reputation as a divine weapon, the kusanagi sword.
"Good sword, what a good sword! From now on, I'll call you Ame no Habakiri. It's a weapon name from the same series, right?"
The uncultured Ling casually named it after a famous sword she had seen in a Japanese anime in her previous life.
She had originally wanted to call it Hachitsuka Sword, but then she imagined Mahoraga looking at her blankly after she subdued him in the future.
'Yours is the Hachitsuka Sword, then what about mine?'
However, Ling still had important things to do, which was to treat the wounds on her body cut by the Shuriken.
Although the bleeding had stopped and was slowly recovering under the Heavenly Restriction, she still needed to treat it and disinfect it.
It would be hilarious if she got tetanus, so Ling found some rubbing alcohol and wound-healing powder and slowly took off her blood-stained outer jacket.
At this moment, Shisui was worried about Ling's safety. He heard from an elder that a Sand Ninja spy had left in the direction of the training ground, so he immediately left the clan compound to search for Ling. He searched the entire training ground but couldn't find Ling, so he had to go to Ling's home to look for her.
"Ah~! Ugh~! It hurts so much!"
Ling poured the alcohol onto the wound on her thigh. Some residual blood was washed out, but the stinging pain brought by the alcohol also made Ling's face pale.
During the battle before, adrenaline was flowing, and she didn't feel the pain, but now it was quite painful.
"Ling! What's wrong with you! Uh~! Sumimasen, I didn't mean to!"
Shisui, hearing Ling's cry of pain from outside the door, immediately rushed in, only to see Ling dressed only in shorts and a small tank top.
Although nothing was exposed, Shisui's face still flushed red, and he closed the door and ran out.
Ling was a bit bewildered, but then she thought of the Uchiha Clan, and it seemed normal. They were all so dramatic, every single one of them was mentally ill.
Shisui, this Uchiha who could be tricked by the fire will, probably also had something wrong with his head. Ling secretly labeled Shisui as mentally ill, after all, without a bit of mental illness, how could one awaken the Mangekyo?
Soon, she treated her injuries, changed into a new jacket, and Ling walked out the door, only to see Shisui still blaming himself.
"Ling, you're injured? It's all my fault. If I had gone with you, I wouldn't have let you face danger alone."
Although Ling didn't quite understand Shisui's logic, the general meaning of his words was probably that he was concerned about her injuries.
Ling, who considered herself extremely intelligent and emotionally intelligent, thought so, without bothering to use her brain to think.
"It's okay, just some minor injuries." Ling sat under the wooden eaves, her short legs swinging back and forth, looking to be in a good mood.
Of course, she was in a good mood. She had gotten a priceless divine weapon, the kusanagi sword, for free. That was worth several adult Asuma's heads.
She secretly dissed Asuma, who was currently a rebellious teenager, a problem child who thought smoking made him mature.
"Oh, by the way, Ling, the elder said to go to the clan to collect your allowance and some Ninjutsu scrolls."
Shisui's words brought Ling back from her wild thoughts to reality. Her clever brain started working again, and Ling smelled a conspiracy.
Currently, Ling didn't really lack the small allowance from the clan. As for Ninjutsu scrolls, Ling didn't really need them now, and if she did, she could just copy them herself.
Ling estimated that the clan elders' intention was to win her over, so that when Ling was grateful and devoted to the Uchiha Clan,
she could be used as a nail to be driven into the Hokage's Anbu. They probably thought that having only one Shisui as a spy wasn't enough.
With one more Ling, by paying negligible money and easily copied Ninjutsu, they could gain a loyal genius.
Unfortunately, Ling had no intention of getting more involved with the Uchiha Clan. Even the Village was just a temporary stop, not a home.
Once her strength was sufficient, or if she could no longer tolerate being used by the Village and the Uchiha Clan, she would just defect.