Orochimaru glanced at Tsunade as she treated Sakumo, then looked at Raizen.
"How have things been since you arrived in Konoha?" he asked.
Among the outsiders allowed into the Ninja Academy and eligible to become shinobi, only Uchiha Raizen and Uzumaki Kushina were accepted.
"Lord Orochimaru, after coming to Konoha, I discovered so many ninjutsu I can learn.
If possible, I want to learn even more," Raizen said.
Back in his remote village near the Land of Lightning, he didn't even have access to basic techniques.
In a world ruled by strength, only power guaranteed survival.
"Oh?" Orochimaru was slightly surprised.
"Heh… but humans have limited time.
One can only learn so many techniques in a lifetime," Orochimaru sighed.
"That's why I want to live longer. Only with a longer life can one learn more," Raizen said.
Everyone was stunned.
To them, Raizen sounded like a naive child shouting ambitions.
"What does a kid know? When it's time to die, you die. Living too long isn't a good thing," Tsunade waved dismissively.
Their reactions flashed through Raizen's mind.
Even with developing technology, most people in the ninja world remained conservative.
Living longer—
even immortality—
was a concept almost nobody considered.
Except one man.
Raizen felt Orochimaru's gaze—sharp and serpent-like.
"No, Tsunade… he's interesting," Orochimaru murmured.
For the first time, Orochimaru found someone whose thoughts aligned with his pursuit of immortality.
He questioned Raizen further, and Raizen answered steadily.
"That Orochimaru…" Tsunade frowned. They had serious matters to handle.
"Sakumo, focus on recovering and ignore the noise from the villagers," she said.
"Alright," Sakumo said faintly.
"This isn't Father's fault! Anyone who doesn't value comrades doesn't deserve to be a ninja!" Kakashi snapped.
"Kakashi, enough. I failed the mission. A ninja who fails deserves criticism," Sakumo said.
"Go spend some time with your friend. I need to speak privately with Tsunade and Orochimaru."
"…Yes, Father."
Raizen knew this meant they should leave, so he stepped outside with Kakashi.
Only once they exited the house did Raizen feel Orochimaru's gaze fade.
"Orochimaru will definitely remember me now," Raizen thought.
He had said those things to form a connection.
With the Third Great Ninja War approaching, Raizen needed more strength.
Orochimaru was Konoha's greatest scientist, with vast forbidden knowledge, unmatched survivability, and access to Cursed Seals and Sage Techniques.
To gain Sage Chakra, he had only one path—
Orochimaru.
During future Ōtsutsuki invasions, without Sage Mode or taijutsu, no one could even damage them.
And Sage Mode didn't just enhance ninjutsu....
it strengthened the body itself.
"Kakashi, let's practice. I've recently learned some swordsmanship."
A few steps outside, Raizen turned to Kakashi.
Encountering Orochimaru and Tsunade was purely accidental.
He hadn't forgotten his purpose for coming today: to see if he could generate a buzzword.
The White Fang of Konoha was famous throughout the ninja world for his short sword, and Minato Namikaze himself said that even the Sannin respected him.
This somewhat indicated that Hatake Sakumo was powerful.
His swordsmanship was likely not simple either.
As for whether Hatake Sakumo's swordsmanship was self-created or a secret technique passed down through generations of Hatake, that remained unknown.
"Okay."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
His mind was currently a complete mess.
Practicing swordsmanship would be a good way to clear his head of these distractions.
He stopped and hurried to another spot, saying he needed to get a short sword.
"I have one."
Raizen drew a small katana from his back.
"Not wooden?"
"No."
Raizen shook his head.
Wooden practice swords feel completely different from iron ones.
Once you get used to one, you have to spend time adapting to the other, so it's better to use a short sword from the start.
Kakashi is a genius and wouldn't really hurt himself.
And with his Sharingan, he's not someone you can easily hurt, and he wouldn't hurt Kakashi.
"Alright."
Seeing Raizen's request, Kakashi climbed in through another window and came out with a short sword.
Raizen glanced at it casually; the sword was pure white, smooth with a slight metallic sheen, and he didn't know what metal it was.
This was definitely not a weapon he could afford.
Even the short sword he had was secondhand, and a very small one at that.
It wasn't that Raizen didn't want to buy a bigger one, but every inch more meant a higher price.
Raizen's finances didn't allow him to squander money like this.
"Let's begin."
Kakashi and Raizen reached a relatively open area in the courtyard.
"Okay."
Read 50+ Advance Chapter and Support Me
patreon.com/HeavenlyYinYang