The fierce winds that Guy was riding dissipated, and he fell from mid-air.
Setsuna voluntarily ended the jutsu, floated down from the air, and stood in front of Guy. "Guy, are you okay?"
Guy shook his head, looking dazed as he asked, "Big Brother Setsuna, was that the Leaf Dragon God just now? But it seemed... different?"
Setsuna nodded, saying softly, "I refined it a bit. I'll call this move the Leaf Divine Dragon."
Guy's jaw dropped in shock. He learned the Leaf Dragon God in two weeks, and Big Brother Setsuna called him a Taijutsu prodigy. So what did it make Setsuna, who learned it instantly and then improved upon it?
Fortunately, Guy was always optimistic, and he quickly recovered from the shock, asking excitedly, "Big Brother Setsuna, how did you do it? Does your Leaf Divine Dragon not have the central weakness?"
Setsuna explained, "Your Leaf Dragon God needs to constantly maintain the whirlwind, which makes the center where you are a vulnerability. If you can 'fire' the Leaf Dragon God like a shuriken, it naturally has no weakness."
Guy nodded thoughtfully, then said, "But if you do that, the Leaf Dragon God that's 'fired' should be weaker, right? Why is Big Brother Setsuna's version even stronger?"
"It's the spirit, I incorporated my intent," Setsuna said earnestly. "That's why the Leaf Divine Dragon I use isn't just a hollow shape; it has a soul."
(Note: 'Chi Control' and the 'Destructo Disc' from Dragon Ball, where infusing intent allows for remote control. Setsuna implies his control is even better, given his 'divine' power.)
"Intent?" Guy nodded, half-understanding, and muttered, "Then my Leaf Dragon God should incorporate the fire of youth! The Passionate Youth Edition Leaf Dragon God!"
Setsuna's mouth twitched slightly. He hoped Guy wouldn't turn his Leaf Dragon God into something that looked like it was wearing a jumpsuit and had a bowl-cut for a horn.
"That's incredible!" Asuma watched in astonishment from the edge of the training ground. Snapping back to reality, he jogged over. "Senpai! Senpai!"
Seeing him out of breath, Setsuna asked, "Asuma, what's wrong?"
"I've come to give you a secret report," Asuma lowered his voice, acting mysterious. "I went to see the Old Man today—I wanted him to give me a high-level mission—but guess who I ran into?"
Guy couldn't help but guess: "Was it the Sage of Six Paths?"
Asuma gave Guy a look of utter exasperation. Should he call Guy imaginative or just completely random?
He sighed. "It was Orochimaru."
"Running into Lord Orochimaru isn't all that strange, is it?" Guy scratched his head, still thinking his answer was more creative.
"But when I walked in, I overheard him asking about you, Setsuna-senpai," Asuma rubbed his smooth chin. "After he left, I asked the Old Man, and he told me that Orochimaru had just returned from the Hidden Cloud. On the way, he ran into Jiraiya, and Jiraiya tried to goad Orochimaru into fighting you."
Setsuna suddenly understood. No wonder he hadn't heard from Orochimaru these past few days—Orochimaru had been in the Hidden Cloud.
Asuma pumped his fist. "Senpai, you have to win! You should beat him until he looks like a swollen pig, just like you did to Jiraiya back then!"
Guy was curious: "Do you have a grudge against Lord Orochimaru?"
Asuma grumbled irritably: "It's because the Old Man always uses him, his star pupil, as an example! Hmph. I'm decades younger than Orochimaru. When I reach his age, I might not be any worse than he is."
"Too bad in the original timeline, you don't even live to be Orochimaru's age," Setsuna shook his head, quickly dismissing that rather morbid thought. "Thanks for the heads-up, but they say Lord Orochimaru is the most level-headed of the Hokage's three students. Since he knows Jiraiya is trying to bait him, this fight probably won't happen."
Asuma waved a hand. "It's fine, I just came to warn you to be careful and avoid any sneak attacks."
Setsuna nodded, but in his mind, he was considering whether he should proactively seek out Orochimaru.
Setsuna was always decisive. Once he had an idea, he quickly acted on it.
During this period, although Orochimaru's demeanor was already rather cold, his overall image was still quite positive. Therefore, finding out his address wasn't difficult for Setsuna.
It was night. After finishing his training, Setsuna said goodbye to Guy but didn't head home. Instead, he traversed the woods toward the outskirts of Konoha.
The Hidden Leaf Village covered a large area, but the residential area was only a central section; the rest was mostly forests and training grounds.
Setsuna's home was on the edge of the residential district, but still in a populated area. Orochimaru's base, however, was deep in the forest, far from civilization.
As Setsuna moved toward his target, an unexpected visitor arrived at Orochimaru's base.
"Elder Danzō, visiting late at night. Do you have an urgent order for me?" Orochimaru looked at the man and asked with a smile.
"Orochimaru, the time has come for us to restart the Wood Release experiments," Danzō said directly.
"Restart the Wood Release?" Orochimaru narrowed his snake-like eyes, the faint glow unsettling. "Doesn't Elder Danzō already have a Wood Release ninja under your command?"
"You know about that? Did Hiruzen tell you?" Danzō gave a dissatisfied snort. "He tells you everything, doesn't he?"
Orochimaru chuckled, "If I'm not mistaken, that Wood Release result should have been a shared success between us. Is Elder Danzō acting this way because you don't trust me, or do you think I'm starting to get in your way?"
Danzō was silent for a moment before saying, "I did have some ideas, but it doesn't matter now. That Wood Release user is just a semi-finished product."
Orochimaru asked, "Semi-finished?"
Danzō nodded. "He only has the shape of Wood Release, not the life force. I originally wanted to stimulate the child's potential to see if he could eventually show the power that Wood Release should have, but now, I can't wait any longer."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Because I found much better material. No Ninjutsu talent, unaffected by the disruptions of Wood Release, immense physical strength, vibrant life energy... a perfect vessel for the power of Wood Release..."
Danzō's eyes were burning with zeal. If he had harbored any doubts about Setsuna's ability to handle Wood Release before, those doubts completely vanished after he personally experienced the boy's sheer power.
Orochimaru's expression was odd. Danzō's description sounded awfully familiar. Could it be the person Jiraiya had mentioned?
"The person you're talking about is..."
Just then, a knock sounded on the door.
In the dead of night, the sudden knock was chilling, like the echo of a ghost. Especially when followed by the voice:
"Lord Orochimaru, are you in?"
Hearing the voice that had haunted his nightmares multiple times, the hairs stood up on Danzō's neck. He looked at Orochimaru with a mixture of shock and fury. "You bastard! You dared to scheme against me!"