From Danmachi to God of Ninja

Chapter 84: Chapter 84

Command headquarters, Orochimaru’s quarters.

Feeling the unprecedented weakness in his body, Orochimaru could not help shaking his head with a sigh.

"What an astonishing growth speed, Kiriya-kun."

Large-scale Wood Release.

Powerful, sharp taijutsu and swordsmanship.

A ghost-like movement technique.

Wind and Fire Release ninjutsu combined at just the right moment.

This boy had given him far too many surprises!

’How long has he even been in contact with these things?’

Orochimaru seriously considered that question.

It had only been around two months since Kiriya first came into contact with the First Hokage cell transplant experiment.

And if he counted from the time Jiraiya accepted Kiriya as a disciple and began teaching him ninjutsu, it had not even been one month.

Yet in less than three months, that boy had grown into a powerful shinobi even Orochimaru had to be wary of.

If Orochimaru had not already mastered the two forbidden techniques, Living Corpse Reincarnation and the cursed seal, his ashes would have been scattered by Kiriya already.

So now, a very serious problem lay before Orochimaru.

His current self could no longer take Kiriya down.

If Kiriya continued growing at this speed, the gap between them would only grow wider and wider, until the boy reached a height Orochimaru could no longer imagine.

Perhaps even the height once reached by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

If Orochimaru and Kiriya continued maintaining this awkward hostile relationship, forget continuing his research—whether he could keep his own life would become a problem.

After all, no ninjutsu was omnipotent or truly without weakness.

What if Kiriya really cracked the secret behind his immortality one day?

When it came to the future, Orochimaru had never been afraid to assume the worst.

"It seems it’s time to change my strategy."

Remembering the contents of his correspondence with Jiraiya, Orochimaru said those words quietly.

...

Early the next morning, Orochimaru came to Kiriya’s residence.

Looking at Kiriya, who was still eating breakfast, Orochimaru went straight to the point.

"I heard you’re very interested in ninjutsu?"

Slurp—

Kiriya swallowed the ramen in his mouth and looked at Orochimaru’s serious face, not quite understanding what the man was planning.

Still, he nodded honestly.

"Yeah. Having more skills never hurts."

A rich ability system would increase his flexibility when facing different environments and situations, ensuring that he always had suitable methods to respond with.

For a transmigrator deeply influenced by the path of "stability," it was never wrong to prepare an extra backup plan for everything.

"Yes. As shinobi, how could we not pursue ninjutsu? After all, a shinobi should be someone who masters ninjutsu."

Looking at Orochimaru’s face, Kiriya could not help making that judgment.

"Oh? I didn’t expect you to have such an extraordinary understanding at such a young age, Kiriya-kun. How rare."

Orochimaru licked his lips.

The way he looked at Kiriya was almost like he had found a kindred spirit, making Kiriya feel uncomfortable all over.

Inside, Kiriya shouted that he could not take it anymore.

He liked all kinds of ninjutsu, yes.

But he was not a pervert!

"Since Kiriya-kun enjoys learning different ninjutsu, I happen to have a few things here that I believe you’ll find very interesting."

Orochimaru ignored Kiriya’s strange look and directly took out several scrolls, tossing them over.

Kiriya caught them and glanced through the contents.

Then he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Damn! Now this is something."

The scrolls recorded all kinds of Water Release ninjutsu.

Water Dragon Bullet.

Water Formation Wall.

Water Barrage Bullet.

Water Severing Wave.

Hard Whirlpool Water Blade.

All of them were high-level ninjutsu, treasures left behind by the Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

There were two kinds of Water Release in this world.

Senju Tobirama’s Water Release.

And everyone else’s.

Take Water Dragon Bullet, for example, a technique that had become widespread throughout the shinobi world.

The commonly used version required a full forty-four hand seals.

Even someone like Kakashi, Konoha’s copy ninja, with superb hand speed sharpened over more than ten years, still needed several seconds to complete the seals.

But Senju Tobirama’s Water Dragon Bullet?

It only required three seals.

The time saved was several full seconds!

And in a fight between powerhouse, victory or defeat was often decided in an instant. Even a one-second lead could be enough to determine the outcome.

And it was not only Water Dragon Bullet.

Techniques like Water Formation Wall and Water Barrage Bullet were the same, requiring so few seals that other Water Release users would envy them to tears.

Besides fewer hand seals and faster activation speed, Senju Tobirama’s ninjutsu were usually stronger and more refined.

For example, Water Severing Wave compressed ultra-high-pressure water into a thin line that continuously cut through targets, producing cutting force and penetration far beyond ordinary Wind Release ninjutsu.

During the Konoha Crush plan, Senju Tobirama had used this technique to destroy Sarutobi Hiruzen’s Earth-Style Wall in an instant.

Its power was frankly ridiculous.

And that was not all.

Orochimaru seemed afraid that Kiriya might still be lacking in theoretical knowledge, so he specially included some handwritten notes and records.

The source was still the same.

The Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

The main contents were analyses and insights regarding chakra nature transformation and shape transformation.

As someone whose understanding of ninjutsu was deep enough to establish his own school of thought, Senju Tobirama’s comprehension of chakra and "techniques" was nearly unmatched.

His high-level explanations gave Kiriya a sudden knowledge from the very first read, inspiring him so much that he wanted to shut himself away immediately and study them properly.

However, considering that Orochimaru was still present, he forcefully suppressed the urge to go into seclusion and raised his head to look at him.

"Orochimaru, what kind of performance are you putting on now?"

"Consider it my investment," Orochimaru said. "I also want to see just how far you’ll go."

"Huh?"

Kiriya’s eyes widened, and a row of question marks seemed to appear over his head.

"You’re that kind of guy?"

It was no wonder Kiriya did not believe him.

Just yesterday, the two of them had been fighting to the death.

Now Orochimaru was suddenly speaking sincerely and bringing out his family treasures.

If Kiriya did not feel suspicious, that would be strange.

"This is unavoidable. After all, your growth is simply too astonishing, Kiriya-kun. Having a genius like you as an enemy would leave me unable to sleep or eat in peace."

That was exactly how Orochimaru’s mentality had changed.

After realizing he could no longer take Kiriya down, he chose the next best option: helping Kiriya grow in order to ease the relationship between them.

As for whether that would succeed... Orochimaru had some confidence.

"Kiriya-kun, do you believe in... immortality?"

"What the hell?"

Kiriya froze.

How had the topic suddenly turned to this?

"In this world, life is far too fragile. Even someone as powerful as the First Hokage eventually died, let alone ordinary people like us."

"Over the years, I have experienced far too many separations of life and death, and I have conducted a great deal of research. In the end, I reached one conclusion."

"Humans have limits."

"So, you’re giving up on being human?"

Kiriya’s expression turned strange.

A powerful sense of déjà vu surged through him, and the words slipped out before he could stop them.

"That’s right. I will surpass humanity and become eternal."

Orochimaru spread his arms, his expression fanatical.

"The very existence of ninjutsu is already a miracle. And I will use that miraculous power to achieve a true great work—to surpass life and death, and become the master of my own existence."

That’s right.

This was Orochimaru’s true trump card.

Immortality.

As long as one was alive, one would fear death and desire eternity. Orochimaru believed that no one could resist the temptation of immortality.

And at present, in the entire shinobi world, the one who had gone the furthest down this path was undoubtedly Orochimaru himself.

He did not believe Kiriya could remain completely unmoved by it.