"Minato now has the strength of a Chunin, and what I just showed is also about the same as a Chunin's..."
Kaze quickly formed a plan in his mind.
"Maintain the speed of a Chunin. Find a way to get close to Orochimaru and engage him in close combat, letting Orochimaru get used to this rhythm.
Then, seize the opportunity to deflect Orochimaru's attack with Separate Wind, suddenly burst out, and give him a heavy blow!"
"It should work."
Kaze calculated and thought the success rate of his plan was quite high.
To be honest, a ten - year - old with the strength of a Chunin can already be considered a genius.
Ordinary people definitely wouldn't think that a ten - year - old child could be faster than a Jonin!
As for exposing his talent...
Orochimaru at this time had just started out and was far from being as troublesome as he would be in the future. His dad could handle him with one hand. No need to worry.
"Minato, let's go again!"
Kaze let out a shout and rushed towards Orochimaru again, yelling, "I'll lead the charge, deya!"
Minato gave a helpless smile, picked up the Kunai on the ground, and circled around to the other side of Orochimaru.
"Hehe, planning to compete with me in Taijutsu?"
Orochimaru raised his eyebrows with interest. Since Kaze and Minato weren't using Ninjutsu, he naturally wouldn't use it either.
In fact, Kaze didn't have many impressive Ninjutsu...
He had average talent and only knew two or three Wind Release Jutsu. He had achieved what he has today entirely thanks to the System.
As for Minato, being a commoner, he only knew the three basic Jutsu taught in the Ninja Academy and nothing else.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Kaze quickly waved his long sword, creating a flurry of cold glints that swept towards Orochimaru's face.
Minato coordinated with him and stabbed at Orochimaru's abdomen from the opposite direction, trying to block Orochimaru's evasion space.
"Not a bad attempt!"
Orochimaru used the same old trick. He twisted his waist like a rope and dodged their attacks.
His arms, as if boneless, eerily transformed into long whips, bypassed the sharp blades, and lashed hard at Kaze and Minato.
"Scum!"
Kaze quickly retracted his sword and blocked horizontally, using the sword body to stop the incoming attack.
Minato simply stepped back. The Kunai was too small and useless!
Clang!
Orochimaru's hand hit the sword body, actually making a sound like metal colliding, causing the sword to vibrate.
"This hentai!"
Kaze cursed under his breath and smoothly changed his sword move, sweeping the sword at Orochimaru who was about to retreat.
Minato lowered his center of gravity and gave Orochimaru a slide tackle from behind, slashing the Kunai diagonally upwards.
One in front and one behind, one above and one below, they blocked Orochimaru's evasion space again.
To be honest, this kind of cooperation was enough to thrash 99% of the students in the Ninja Academy.
But it was obviously not enough to deal with Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, who was originally retreating, actually stopped his movement ignoring inertia.
He just swayed his body slightly and barely managed to dodge their combined attack.
"Hehe!"
Orochimaru grinned. "Interesting. I'm starting to take an interest in you guys."
It was quite an experience, being told you were interesting by a drag queen. It was both terrifying and thrilling.
Kaze didn't say a word. He just silently quickened his strikes with the sword.
The two of them launched wave after wave of attacks, but Orochimaru easily defused them all. They simply couldn't pose a threat to him.
"Huff... huff..."
Minato was already out of breath, and Kaze was following suit.
"Hehe, your stamina is starting to wane," Orochimaru mocked with a smile. "So, are you going to give up?"
"Give up? No way!" Kaze roared and lunged at Orochimaru again.
"I'm going to become... the father of the Hokage... ah!"
Minato: (「)?
Orochimaru: (o_o)??
Minato thought to himself that he didn't understand, and he didn't dare to ask. Since Kaze was charging again, he might as well just follow along.
It was just a matter of overexerting his body. He'd just need to rest for a couple of days afterward.
The three of them were standing together again. Mid - fight, Kaze suddenly had a moment of inspiration, feeling as if he'd triggered a rift in time and space.
"Now's the time!"
"Wind Release: Separate Wind!"
A thin wind domain took shape instantly, deflecting Orochimaru's roundhouse kick and disrupting his rhythm for a moment.
At the same time, Kaze thrust his long sword forward.
With a speed far greater than before, he aimed at Orochimaru's torso, the part facing him with the largest exposed area!
This was the opportunity he'd been waiting for a long time!
"You!" Orochimaru stared at Kaze in surprise, then "poof," he turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared.
Kaze's sword had truly struck him!
Minato also looked at Kaze in surprise, gasping for breath. "Huff... Kaze, you were so fast just now!"
Kaze grinned proudly. "Of course! You think it was for nothing that I stayed in the Land of Rain for so long."
[Selection successful, Reward obtained: Shadow Clone Jutsu!]
Wuhu! I can do some weird research tonight. Hehe.
"Your performance exceeded my expectations," Orochimaru said as the two were taking a break. He slowly walked over from a distance, having received the memories of his shadow clone.
"Well, according to my previous promise, I'll give you some guidance. Hehe."
When Orochimaru got serious, he was a very responsible teacher, at least compared to Kakashi.
He only had a few days, so he couldn't systematically teach the two of them everything.
So, he settled for teaching them only the experience and skills that could be used on the battlefield.
Even so, the amount of information was overwhelming. The continuous pouring of knowledge made the two of them feel half - dead.
But Orochimaru remained unmoved.
Looking at the innocent faces of the two kids in front of him, he thought to himself.
If he had told Nawaki all this before going to the battlefield, perhaps things would have been different...
"Ah, Lord Orochimaru, I really can't go on. Please let me take a break!"
Kaze's shrill cry interrupted Orochimaru's train of thought.
He really wasn't one to endure hardships. This high - intensity cramming was almost making him vomit.
"..."
Orochimaru didn't say a word. His pair of golden vertical pupils silently fixed on him.
"=_= Alright, it seems I can't take a break."
Kaze sighed. Glancing at Minato beside him, he sighed at how different people were.
Unlike him, Minato's state was basically like "I understand", "I've got it", "I've got it again"....
"This kid might really become Hokage," Kaze thought to himself. "Compared to him, my father's a nobody!"
While Kaze was daydreaming, an unexpected person came to the training ground.
"Well, it's rare for me to come back to the village. I thought you'd find a quiet place to hide, but unexpectedly, you're instructing the kids."
The man was on familiar terms with Orochimaru. Laughing heartily, he said, "This isn't like you, Orochimaru."
Seeing the person coming, Orochimaru forced a smile, moving his lips slightly: "Hehe, I'm just doing it at someone's request."
With long white hair and red tear - marks, hey, isn't this poor old Jiraiya!
"Hey, Master Jiraiya!" Kaze greeted politely.
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