Rokuro's battle with Jiraiya wasn't without spectators—Orochimaru and Kabuto were watching.
Although they began retreating after Rokuro dashed out, the extensive surveillance devices left on the island allowed them to witness the fight in its entirety.
Orochimaru's face darkened into a cold, sneering smile when he saw Jiraiya's Sage Mode.
Kabuto, on the other hand, was visibly shocked, especially at Rokuro's mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique. He couldn't comprehend it.
"Lord Orochimaru, do you understand now? That Uchiha—he can truly teleport without relying on space-marked kunai? That's unbelievably strong!"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"Kabuto, every ninjutsu has its weakness. The Flying Thunder God's is the space-marked kunai. Even its creator, the Second Hokage, could not eliminate this limitation. Rokuro may be a genius, but in terms of developing ninjutsu, he's still far behind the Second Hokage. If the Second couldn't do it, neither can he."
"As for the battle just now, Jiraiya simply didn't notice. But still, using a perception barrier and scent techniques to replace space-marked kunai—that's pure genius."
"Perception barrier and scent techniques?"
Although Kabuto lacked a bloodline, his intellect placed him among the top ten minds in the ninja world. After Orochimaru's reminder, he immediately understood.
"You mean those smoke bombs?"
"Exactly. They weren't poison gas, but specially-made smoke bombs infused with a strong scent. Only after throwing them did Rokuro begin to teleport freely."
Orochimaru had spent his life learning every ninjutsu he could, even developing Impure World Reincarnation to gain infinite time to perfect his knowledge.
He had thoroughly studied every technique, even secret or bloodline abilities he could not use.
From an observer's perspective, he could easily grasp the flow of the battle and the purpose behind each jutsu.
"The principle of the Flying Thunder God is simple: sense the coordinates, then teleport. That's why Minato created countless space-marked kunai, scattering them across the battlefield to achieve seamless teleportation with no blind spots."
"So Lord Orochimaru means Uchiha Rokuro replaced the space-marked kunai with perception ninjutsu? How did he manage that?"
Since joining Orochimaru, Kabuto had extensively studied many jutsu and understood the difficulty of replacing space coordinates with perception techniques.
"Perception alone isn't enough, unless it's a massive barrier like the Konoha perception field. But such large-scale barriers consume enormous chakra and take too long to set up—impossible in actual combat."
"But Rokuro is very clever. I suspect he equipped himself with perception-type tools, allowing him to scan 360 degrees without blind spots, without hindering his ability to use other jutsu. First, he locked down the battlefield with his perception tools. Then, he threw the specially-scented smoke bombs, covering Jiraiya with the scent. Finally, using the Inuzuka clan's scent techniques, he pinpointed Jiraiya's location with deadly accuracy."
Orochimaru ran along the shoreline, raising three fingers.
"Three measures combined, and he successfully replaced the space-marked kunai, achieving free teleportation. It's a bit cumbersome, but with full preparation, it ensures invincibility. As we saw, even Jiraiya's Sage Mode, powerful as it was, couldn't land a single hit."
Orochimaru's explanation completely cleared Kabuto's doubts, earning his admiration.
"Kabuto, don't despair. Your talent is no less than Rokuro's. His specialty lies in analyzing jutsu and sealing them into tools, then fighting with those enhanced tools. You excel at research. In the short term, Rokuro had the advantage, but long-term, your potential surpasses his—unless… he can somehow replicate the power of Uchiha Madara."
Rokuro had spent three days traveling to reach this point, but only half a day returning, thanks to the Flying Thunder God marks along the way. He effectively teleported all the way home.
Upon returning, he first inquired about the events of the past few days. Finding nothing major, he went indoors to summarize the battle.
"The small-scale perception barrier played a huge role this time. Although it required coordination with the scented bombs and Inuzuka techniques, it successfully modified the Flying Thunder God. That's a major success."
"Yet aside from that, other aspects didn't work. I was caught off guard by Jiraiya's Sage Mode, secretly accumulating natural energy. The most critical problem is still my chakra. Even though the Flying Thunder God is relatively efficient, I can't sustain it at my current level."
Rokuro calculated that with his Lightning Release chakra mode and dual Mangekyo Sharingan, he could use Flying Thunder God only four or five times before running out of chakra.
Even those few uses couldn't allow him to fight multiple high-level opponents, especially if instant kills were impossible. Retreat would still be inevitable.
"Losing the Nine-Tails really makes a difference. Should I go hunt another Tailed Beast just for practice?"
He quickly dismissed the idea. Most Tailed Beasts were under the control of major ninja villages, and even if one wasn't, he had no way to locate it. Moreover, he sealed Tailed Beasts with tools, not as a Jinchuriki. If one tried to self-destruct, he couldn't stop it.
Even if a Tailed Beast died, it would eventually respawn elsewhere in the ninja world, making capture extremely troublesome.
"Forget it. Nothing major is happening for the next year or two anyway. Best to keep a low profile."
With that, Rokuro took out the medical scroll given by Orochimaru and began his studies.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya recorded a report on the battle and sent it back to Konoha via the Toads of Mount Myoboku.
Upon receiving the intelligence, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately summoned Danzo.
"That imposter from Root tangled with Orochimaru? Sarutobi, this is your negligence!"
Danzo, still annoyed by Sarutobi taking Yamato away earlier, saw this as the perfect opportunity for retaliation.
"Sarutobi, leave the investigation to your Root. Find this person and capture him!"
"What? You want me to apprehend someone who can freely use the Flying Thunder God?"
Danzo was stunned. Sarutobi didn't indulge him this time.
"Root exists to handle trouble. If you run from it when trouble arises, what's the point of having it?"
Danzo ground his teeth in frustration and stormed off.
Sarutobi exhaled heavily, looking exhausted.
"What a troublesome season…"
END OF CHAPTER
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