Chapter 124: Signing the Ryūchi Cave Contract - Learning Summoning Jutsu
Tsukasa fell silent
as he gazed at the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Scroll stretched out at his feet.
Now, no matter what, he couldn't deny the fact
that Orochimaru before him seemed genuinely committed to training him as a student.
While his methods were extremely intense, the results were undeniably impressive.
Even Tsukasa was surprised that he, a complete ninjutsu novice, could master a technique so quickly.
His master truly excelled at adapting his teaching to individual needs and held nothing back.
At this time,
Orochimaru, before perfecting his Living Corpse Reincarnation and bound by mortality, didn't have the same urgent need to replace his body as he would in the future.
His master-student relationship with Tsukasa wasn't as antagonistic as it would be with Sasuke.
Orochimaru's dream, as Tsukasa understood it,
was to master all ninjutsu and forbidden techniques, grasp the truth of the world, and become the ultimate being.
But this dream seemed impossibly distant, too ambitious.
There were countless ninjutsu in the world—
how could one person master them all?
Not to mention secret techniques, Kekkei Genkai, Sage Mode, Kekkei Tōta, and even the boundless Six Paths realm.
The more he learned, the more insignificant he felt.
Orochimaru had already endured countless failures simply trying to master the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave.
The more he struggled, the more lost he became.
Consequently, Orochimaru, repeatedly unable to achieve his goal, became extreme, paranoid, and lost his humanity.
And now,
through a series of coincidences, Orochimaru met Uchiha Tsukasa.
In him, he saw the potential for success on this path!
This was because all of Tsukasa's techniques had traceable origins—answers that could be found within the shinobi world.
This beautiful fusion of multiple forbidden techniques and secret arts
was the answer Orochimaru longed for,
and it was for this reason that Orochimaru placed his dreams on Tsukasa's shoulders.
At that moment,
the valley burned fiercely, thick black smoke rising into the sky.
Amidst crackling sounds, sparks erupted, exploding into dazzling fireworks in the air.
Standing in the fire, Orochimaru looked at the silent Tsukasa and spoke hoarsely,
"Still hesitating?"
"There's fear, terror, and confusion in your eyes."
"But you must have a reason you can't refuse."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his golden serpentine pupils piercing through Tsukasa, cold killing intent suddenly rising.
Then, with a pointed threat, he said,
"My student, it's fine if you want to stop here."
"But I will truly kill you—in the way you least want to face."
"You should understand what I mean."
Faced with such a threat, Tsukasa knew that Orochimaru had probably guessed something—understood what he truly feared.
After all, his own behavior was so contradictory that even Setsuna Uchiha could easily overwhelm him with accusations.
Being targeted by a villain as intelligent as Orochimaru, the things he would deduce and the threats he would employ would only be more extreme than Setsuna's.
However,
Tsukasa took a deep breath and spoke gravely,
"Orochimaru!"
"You don't understand what you're doing."
"To fulfill your ambitions, you're gambling this world's future on a true coward!"
He stared coldly at Orochimaru, bit his finger,
crouched down, and signed his name on the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Scroll.
Then Tsukasa took a deep breath and looked at Orochimaru grimly.
"Orochimaru, you'll regret this."
"And the window of opportunity for this world will close when I inherit everything from you."
When the most unkillable abilities in the world are combined in one person,
even if Tsukasa wanted to die, it wouldn't be so easy.
After this, the question becomes not how to escape,
but how to reshape this world!
Orochimaru scoffed nonchalantly.
"The Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique is only the most basic of my techniques."
"You're still far from inheriting everything I have."
"However, to reach the point where no one in this world can kill you—"
"It'll probably only take three years."
"Let me have some fun with you during these three years."
Orochimaru smiled hoarsely, turned his back, and stepped out of the fire.
His figure gradually disappeared in the vast blaze.
From afar, a hoarse voice, distorted by the flames, echoed:
"Keep studying the scroll honestly. If you can't finish before the next summoning snake brings you a message—"
"The photo of you in that state..."
"I'll send copies to those two kids in Kirigakure and Yugakure."
As the words fell,
a flash of white light appeared, followed by the sound of a rapid camera shutter.
Tsukasa was stunned, his head suddenly snapping around.
He turned and saw a small white snake scurrying away through the mud, carrying a camera.
He was about to draw his kunai and strike the snake down,
stopping the camera in its tracks, but the snake swallowed it whole and vanished in a puff of white smoke.
Orochimaru, too, vanished with swift movement.
Tsukasa was left alone in the valley, and silence descended.
Tsukasa was dumbfounded.
He had never imagined that Orochimaru's true method of "killing" him would be this way?
Threatening him with nude photos?
Forcing him to die of embarrassment?
No, that was too despicable!
If this photo reached his followers, Hidan and Mei Terumī, how would he ever face them again?
Tsukasa immediately felt a cold wind blowing past, and his body trembled.
He quickly retrieved his clothes from the discarded molted skin on the ground and put them on.
But soon, he faced another problem.
Orochimaru had brought him here and abandoned him. How should he get back?
Tsukasa looked around the devastated valley with a bewildered expression.
Finally, he could only look at the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Scroll on the ground.
Why not ask the magical snakes?
He was silent for a moment, then decided to try his luck, forming the summoning seals.
Boar - Dog - Bird - Monkey - Ram!
Following the method Jiraiya taught Naruto in the original story, he invested chakra and
finally pressed his hands on the scroll.
The summoning pattern spread rapidly, and massive clouds of smoke rose.
Tsukasa's feet trembled, and he was launched into the sky.
Beneath him, a giant purple snake rolled his eyes upward and cursed impatiently,
"Huh? Orochimaru, you bastard, why did you summon me again?!"
"Sacrifices! If you don't give me sacrifices, I'll eat you!"
Tsukasa sat on Manda's forehead with a bewildered expression. Meeting Manda's gaze,
he gave a dry laugh and lightly raised his hand.
"Hey~!"
At the sound, Manda's pupils contracted. He immediately recognized the idiot brat who had just burned his skin.
A long stream of white steam spurted from his nostrils in rage!
The next moment,
he threw his head back, opened his enormous maw toward the sky, about to swallow Tsukasa whole.
But Tsukasa couldn't let Manda actually swallow him. He hurriedly tried to dismiss his summoned beast, perhaps replacing it with a gentler snake.
But he tragically discovered he could only summon snakes out, not send them back.
Soon,
the valley, which had only recently calmed down, began shaking again.
Another battle erupted in the valley—a novice shinobi's struggle to master summoning techniques.
This battle raged from the starry night until the sun rose high in the sky.
After summoning numerous snakes, large and small, Tsukasa was forced to flee the valley, engaging in a battle royale across the wilderness.
Finally, he managed to summon the good-tempered Green Snake.
Under the patient snake's silent guidance, he quickly learned the techniques of dismissal and directional summoning, as well as reverse summoning.
Orochimaru, who had been observing the entire struggle from afar using Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique, couldn't help but smile.
His student,
under such extreme combat conditions, had mastered a series of summoning techniques from the Green Snake in just half an hour.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, regurgitated a scroll, and pulled out a brush to record the information.
"As expected, combat makes this kid's learning ability exponentially stronger."
"Yes, this can be exploited."
After understanding this, Orochimaru took one last glance at Tsukasa in the distance, sitting on the Green Snake's head, wiping sweat from his forehead with an expression of relief.
He snorted and leaped from the rock.
He summoned a giant snake mid-air and rode it swiftly back toward camp.
He glanced up at the sky,
estimating it was around eight or nine in the morning. He pondered for a moment, then muttered:
"It's about time for the Uchiha clan to begin training this kid."
"However, the Uchiha's teaching methods in the Land of Rain are too soft."
"We need to light a fire under them."
End of Chapter 124
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