After taking a bite of Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto's favorite, Ling's evaluation was that it wasn't as good as grilled meat.
However, Ling was just being unreasonable; the two weren't even in the same price range.
One could only say that Ichiraku Ramen had a very high cost-performance ratio among foods of the same tier.
However, Ling's big appetite made Teuchi believe that this little girl particularly liked the ramen he made.
Even though Teuchi was busy kneading dough and cooking ramen, his face was still full of smiles, because this was the customers' recognition of his craftsmanship.
As an excellent chef, how could he let a customer leave without being full?
Finally, under the astonished gazes of Shisui and many other customers, Ling let out a burp like a roaring dragon, signifying she was full.
Placing the bowl on the tenth bowl of the fourth stack, Ling contentedly rubbed her flat stomach.
Teuchi finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this scene.
This round, he had barely won; if this little girl ate a few more bowls, he would be exhausted.
Shisui was also extremely curious: where on earth did Ling's stomach hide all that food?
Ultimately, Shisui felt his shriveled wallet.
Ling had eaten forty bowls this time, costing twelve thousand Ryo, completely emptying his savings.
One should know that a Genin could at most earn twenty thousand Ryo from a C-rank mission.
After parting ways with Shisui, Ling returned home, but she didn't expect to find a snake in her house.
"Kid, your name is Ling, right? You were hard to find.
I wonder if my kusanagi sword is still useful?" The white phosphorescent snake spoke, but the voice was Orochimaru's.
"Extremely satisfied, truly worthy of Lord Orochimaru's collection."
Ling seemed to act as if the white phosphorescent snake didn't exist, meticulously maintaining her tools.
"Uchiha Ling, I've seen your Sharingan.
You're a talented kid.
Would you like to become my subordinate? I have a vast array of Jutsu here."
Orochimaru, as per his usual routine, started by trying to abduct a minor.
"Senior Orochimaru, I still want to enjoy a few more years of peaceful Ninja Academy life."
Ling felt that it wasn't fair for only Orochimaru to ask questions, so she simply began to ask about the nature transformation training questions she had accumulated.
"Kid, if you join my ranks, you can ask me these questions anytime."
Orochimaru answered a few questions with interest, showing Ling his sincerity.
"Does Lord Orochimaru believe he will definitely be the next Hokage?"
Ling, following Orochimaru's guidance, created three Shadow Clones and continued to practice Wind Release nature transformation, as well as Lightning and Fire Release nature transformation.
"Oh? Kid, then who do you think can compete with me?"
Orochimaru was surprised.
When he was five, he wasn't as talented as Ling, who was already beginning to practice nature transformation.
"Lord Danzo has coveted the position of Hokage for a long time.
Even if he can't become Hokage, he and the Third Hokage will, for the sake of power, hand the Hokage position to someone young and obedient."
As Ling felt the leaves in her hand being continuously cut by Wind Release blades, she planned to sow discord between Danzo and the Third Hokage.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, revealing a hint of killing intent.
"Kid, these secrets are not something you should know.
Who is behind you?"
Clearly, Ling's words did strike a nerve with Orochimaru.
He and Danzo were superficially cooperative but secretly using each other; he could not fail to see Danzo's schemes.
"Senior Orochimaru, who is behind me doesn't seem important, does it?
Don't you want to be Hokage?
You should know that Danzo has a lot of evidence of your human experiments."
Ling once again dropped a bombshell, which made Orochimaru's intention to capture Ling fade.
Ling's background must involve a deeply hidden and formidable organization.
"Heh heh, kid, then who do you think Danzo and Sensei will let become Hokage?"
Orochimaru, facing Ling's various questions, was now answering everything he knew, only to gain more information.
Ling looked at the leaves in her hand, shredded by Wind Release Chakra, with a smile.
Orochimaru was indeed worthy of being called the Hokage's sage teacher; his teaching level was excellent.
Ling had already completed the initial Wind Release nature transformation training and had officially entered the field.
Learning Wind Release Chakra Mode was not far off.
Orochimaru was truly a good person.
"Senior Orochimaru, that comes at a different price.
I need the forbidden Jutsu you possess.
I wonder if Lord Orochimaru would be willing to part with them?"
Ling knew that Orochimaru had many forbidden Jutsu from the Scroll of Seals, and Ling also wanted to learn some of them.
Orochimaru gave Ling a cold look, but ultimately decided to acquire the information.
"Kid, I have the Flying Thunder God Technique, Reincarnation Technique, and Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu here.
Which one do you want?"
"Senior Orochimaru is truly generous.
I want the Reincarnation Technique."
Ling knew that the Flying Thunder God Jutsu Orochimaru possessed was only the Second Hokage's version, so she decided to ask for the more cost-effective Reincarnation Technique.
Studying souls would help Ling grasp the core of Curse Power, and it would also be very helpful for strengthening Genjutsu and mental abilities.
"Interesting kid, tell me, tell me the information you know."
The white phosphorescent snake spat out a sticky scroll, holding it in its mouth and throwing it to Ling.
"It's Senior Minato Namikaze.
He has already improved the Flying Thunder God Technique, developed the Rasengan, and his strength has reached Kage-level.
He has the support of the Senju Clan behind Kushina, has a close relationship with the Jinchuriki, is Jiraiya's disciple, is a commoner Ninja, is amiable, and now only needs to gain achievements in this Third Shinobi World War."
The more Ling spoke, the colder Orochimaru's expression became.
He realized that he indeed couldn't compare to Minato in these aspects, and Minato was young and easy to control.
"Danzo? Sensei, you truly are corrupt!"
For the first time, Orochimaru felt that he had no certainty of victory, and given that Danzo possessed a large amount of evidence of his human experiments, he had no chance of winning.
"Heh heh, it seems I need to take care of some loose ends, Uchiha kid.
I'm very satisfied with this transaction with you.
See you next time!"
Bang ~ The white phosphorescent snake dissipated in a puff of white smoke, allowing Ling to relax from her tension.
Because she had been preparing to summon Mahoraga at any time, which created a deterrent against Orochimaru, combined with the information asymmetry, Orochimaru mistakenly believed that she had a powerful force behind her and also had a means of mutual destruction.
Opening the scroll of the Reincarnation Technique, Ling began to study through the night.
To live freely, she had no choice but to painstakingly study.
Otherwise, she would have to sell her beauty to obtain so-called stable emotion providers, then gamble on her luck through a lottery.
The Reincarnation Technique was indeed profound and extremely difficult to learn, but Ling could roughly determine that Orochimaru's future Reanimation Jutsu would be thanks to the Reincarnation Technique.
"The inventor, Senju Tobirama, is truly a genius, to have such ingenious ideas and such deep research into the soul."
The more Ling read, the more she felt that Senju Tobirama was a genius, but he was no better than Orochimaru.
To obtain such detailed soul research data, it was impossible without human experimentation, and the research process was absolutely extremely inhumane.
"Naturally evil Senju Tobirama!" Ling muttered to herself.