For an orphan, ethical dilemmas might be harder to grasp than that copy of Advanced Mathematics in the library.

Nagato even found himself mentally mapping out the generational relationships between them.

Given that Orochimaru was Jiraiya's peer and close friend, and now with the added layer of being Sasuke's son...

How exactly was he, as the leader, supposed to address Uchiha Kaito now?

"Don't worry."

"I was just joking. No need to take it seriously."

Kaito said dismissively, his gaze still fixed on Orochimaru in the distance.

According to Nagato at the time...

Orochimaru had also learned that powerful Body Tempering Technique of his in the library, one as formidable as an eagle's.

Given Sasuke's current combat strength—boosted by his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and mastery of Lightning Release—landing a first-strike kill on Orochimaru shouldn't be too difficult.

How many lives it would cost, though, was another matter.

But now, it wasn't just Sasuke who had grown stronger.

Orochimaru, who had also trained in the Body Tempering Technique, might not have progressed as fast as Kaito, but the technique itself was inherently superior to Ninjutsu.

Just how strong was it?

Well, the moment the practitioner assumed the Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg stance when facing an attack, their body would turn as hard as metal.

At its peak, the technique even allowed the user to adapt their physique based on natural metals.

Sure, the defender had to hold the Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg pose motionlessly, but in a way, this Body Tempering Technique essentially granted them Bronze Head Iron Arms.

In the distance, Orochimaru stood with his arms spread wide, one foot planted firmly on the ground. His originally pale skin now gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Clang—Clang—

"Coward!!"

"Show me what you've got!!"

Sasuke, wielding the Executioner's Blade in one hand and the ninja sword Kaito had given him in the other, relentlessly hacked away at Orochimaru. He was practically one step away from biting down on a third blade to unleash a Three-Sword Style assault.

At first, seeing Orochimaru strike such an absurd pose, Sasuke hadn't been able to hold back his laughter.However, his smile froze the moment the Executioner's Blade struck its target...

Orochimaru seemed to have turned into stone. No matter how Sasuke attacked with ninjutsu, all he could hear were clanging sounds and feel the recoil vibrating through his hands.

Listening to his own "blacksmithing" actions, Sasuke desperately wanted to consult Runtu for advice.

"Did you skip breakfast?"

Orochimaru grinned slightly, his seemingly caring words piercing Sasuke's ears like needles.

"You motherf—"

Sasuke, having picked up who-knows-where such vulgar language, directly cursed Orochimaru's parents while his attacks became so fast they left afterimages.

He tried everything—Fire Release, Lightning Release, sword techniques—yet Orochimaru remained unharmed, even yawning lazily.

"Sasuke, I thought you'd give me at least a little surprise."

"Heh heh heh..."

Orochimaru's tone was no different from usual—low, hoarse, and utterly unreadable—yet it made Sasuke flush crimson with rage.

"I need to learn that technique too!"

Having stood outside for a while, Nagato suddenly grew intensely interested in that Body Tempering Technique.

To be fair, Uchiha Sasuke's ninjutsu had already surpassed most in the Shinobi World. Few could sustain ninjutsu output for over half an hour like he did.

Yet Orochimaru had tanked all the damage using just some unremarkable Body Tempering Technique.

Yes.

When Nagato first saw that so-called "Second Set Body Tempering Technique: Eaglet Takes Flight," his immediate reaction was disdain.

After all, he knew truly powerful techniques always had names containing words like "god," "demon," "heaven," or "earth"—terms that sounded impressive.

Second Set Body Tempering Technique...

Trash.

But now, watching Orochimaru standing firm on one foot, Nagato completely changed his mind.

"Learn it! I must learn it!"

"Orochimaru has a copy. You can ask him for it later."

Kaito's eye twitched. For a moment, he felt an eerie sense of déjà vu.

It was as if Nagato was just a plus-sized version of Sasuke.

One yelling "I want to learn Dog Clone!" while the other screamed "I want to learn Eaglet Takes Flight!"

Nagato lost all interest in watching further, desperately trying to drag Kaito to Orochimaru's place to find that technique. Seeing Kaito remain unmoved, he said:

"Stop watching."

"Sasuke can't break Orochimaru's defense."

"Let's wait a bit longer..."

Kaito brushed Nagato off absentmindedly, continuing to watch his younger brother give Orochimaru what amounted to a light massage.

"Sasuke-kun, you can rest if you're tired."

Noticing Sasuke panting like an exhausted dog, Orochimaru kindly reminded him—only to trigger a shrill scream from the boy.

"You bastard!!!"

Feeling the pitiful remnants of his chakra and seeing Orochimaru completely unharmed, Sasuke was overwhelmed by helplessness.

Damn it...

What kind of bizarre ninjutsu is this...?

He'd tried everything—shuriken, Fire Release, Lightning Release—yet couldn't even scratch Orochimaru.

At this moment, Sasuke began to despair.

Just as he prepared to resume his "blacksmithing," he suddenly realized—he hadn't tried genjutsu yet.

Might as well test it.Sasuke didn't hold much hope for the effectiveness of genjutsu, merely adopting an all-out attitude in his heart.

With his Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, the moment his gaze met Orochimaru's, Sasuke immediately unleashed a not-so-proficient genjutsu.

Thud—

The next second, Orochimaru, who had been standing in the Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg pose, stiffened entirely. After standing rigidly for half a second, he toppled straight to the ground.

Sasuke ran a hand through the hair on his forehead, rubbing it a few times forcefully. At the same time, he let out several sharp breaths, blinking his eyes repeatedly before finally muttering to himself.

"Was my genjutsu… reflected?"

That seemed to be the only explanation for this situation.

After all…

He really wasn't that good at using genjutsu, was he?

Even someone like Naruto wouldn't fall for such a weak genjutsu, let alone the terrifyingly powerful Orochimaru.

After pondering for a long while, Sasuke quickly concluded that his clumsy genjutsu had been bounced back by his opponent.

And he—

was the one who had actually been hit by the genjutsu.

"When did I get caught in a genjutsu?!"

Sasuke: ?

This was something Sasuke had originally wanted to shout, the words already on the tip of his tongue—until he suddenly heard the redhead beside him yelling the exact same thing.

Nagato had already rushed to Orochimaru's side, shouting "Release!" and other nonsense as he ran.

Seeing this, Sasuke became even more convinced that he was the one trapped in a genjutsu. He also began forming hand seals on the spot, shouting "Release!" as if doing so would free him from Orochimaru's illusion.

Kaito stood beside the two, listening to Sasuke and Nagato's alternating cries of "Genjutsu, release!" and felt utterly numb.

Looking at the scene before him…

He, too, began to wonder if he was caught in a genjutsu.

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