Chapter 41: If You Don’t Want to Work, There Are Plenty of Snakes in Ryuchi Cave!

Chapter 41: If You Don't Want to Work, There Are Plenty of Snakes in Ryuchi Cave!

ps;new schedule ten chapters per week.

Time flew by.

It had been over eight months since Chiba began his new training regimen under Orochimaru's guidance.

At this moment, Chiba was already 13 years old and standing along the coastline of the Land of Fire.

Orochimaru had accepted a C-rank mission on Chiba's behalf: to clear out the pirates landing on the coast of the Land of Fire.

Surrounding Chiba were numerous headless bodies—those of the pirates.

What surprised Chiba was that some of these pirates were actually shinobi.

C-rank missions like the one Chiba was assigned should not involve encountering shinobi. Yet, standing before him were three individuals, all capable of using ninjutsu.

During the battle, Chiba realized these three were not mere pirates but ninjas from a shinobi village. Their combat methods clearly identified them as shinobi.

After some thought, Chiba deduced that these ninjas were likely infiltrators from an enemy village, hiding among the pirates to secretly enter the Land of Fire.

The three ninjas stood a short distance away, visibly wary of Chiba. In a short time, this young boy had slaughtered all the pirates. If they hadn't been on the outskirts of the group and constantly interfering with Chiba, they might have been decapitated already.

Knowing they were no match for Chiba, the leader of the trio whispered, "Retreat," and they began to flee.

Chiba grinned wickedly. "I can't let you escape; I'll use you to earn some merit!"

"Thunder Breathing: First Form—Thunderclap and Flash!"

A thunderous roar ripped through the air as Chiba transformed into a streak of lightning, charging at the nearest shinobi. He struck with his blade, and though it was the back of the blade, it still sliced into the ninja's flesh.

The struck ninja screamed, collapsing to the ground like a heap of mud, his spine shattered by the blow.

Chiba quickly formed hand seals, inhaling deeply as his chest swelled.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"

Chiba unleashed four fire dragons toward the second ninja, attacking from above, below, left, and right simultaneously.

Seeing this, the second ninja swiftly formed seals and pressed his hands to the ground.

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

Infusing his water chakra into the ground, he created a vertical water wall that rose to block the upper and lower fire dragons, but the left and right dragons broke through, hitting him directly and exploding.

The scorched ninja was blasted away, landing on the ground in a smoldering heap.

Chiba's gaze turned to the third and final ninja, who was already fleeing rapidly, putting some distance between them.

Chiba pointed his katana at the escaping ninja, lightning crackling around the blade.

"Thunder Breathing: Fifth Form—Heat Lightning!"

A lightning-fast, scorching slash erupted from the katana, striking the last ninja almost instantly. His hair stood on end, body convulsing as smoke began to rise from his charred flesh.

Chiba halted the technique just in time to avoid killing him.

In a matter of moments, Chiba had subdued all three ninjas with little resistance.

Chiba gathered the three incapacitated ninjas together, then formed hand seals and pressed his hand to the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

With a puff of smoke, a large white snake appeared before Chiba.

The white snake greeted him coldly, "Lord Chiba."

Chiba pointed to the unconscious ninjas. "White Snake, swallow them into your belly."

Upon hearing that, White Snake's tone became enthusiastic, wrapping around Chiba like a loyal pet. "Oh, Lord Chiba, you're the best! You know just when I'm hungry, bringing me food! I love you so much~"

Chiba rolled his eyes. This snake's mood changed at the thought of food, showing just how fickle it could be.

As White Snake opened its mouth, preparing to devour the unconscious ninjas, Chiba cautioned, "They're not for eating—I still need them. Just keep them in your belly for now. You can eat the surrounding corpses instead."

White Snake, disappointed, grumbled, "What a waste of my feelings! These dead ones are no good!"

Chiba pulled the snake off him. "You're picky about food now? Do it, or there are plenty of snakes in Ryuchi Cave who'd be happy to take your place!"

"Alright, alright, I'll do it! You summon me just to boss me around?"

Despite complaining, White Snake agreed and began devouring the surrounding corpses at a visible speed. To Chiba's surprise, despite eating so many bodies, its belly showed no signs of swelling.

Once the corpses were gone, it turned to the three ninjas.

Chiba warned, "I really need those three ninjas, so don't eat them!"

White Snake flicked its tongue at Chiba, annoyed. "I have standards, you know."

White Snake opened its mouth again, swallowing the ninjas one by one. This time, its belly noticeably expanded.

Curious, Chiba asked, "Why didn't your belly swell when you ate those corpses earlier?"

White Snake explained, "My stomach acids quickly dissolve the flesh. These three are in a part of my stomach without the acids."

Chiba nodded. "I see. Alright, keep them safe for now. I'll summon you later to retrieve them."

With another puff of smoke, White Snake disappeared, returning to Ryuchi Cave.

After tidying up, Chiba set off toward Konoha.

Over the past eight months, Orochimaru had assigned Chiba a C-rank mission almost every month. If not for Chiba's rank as a Genin, Orochimaru would have given him B-rank missions already.

During these eight months, Chiba's strength had grown tremendously. With his experience in manipulating lightning chakra's form and nature transformations, he had also mastered fire chakra transformations.

Chiba had not only learned the Uchiha clan's fire ninjutsu and summoning techniques but also acquired some of Orochimaru's secret techniques.

Under rigorous training, Chiba's Sharingan had evolved into a two-tomoe Sharingan.

However, Chiba's most significant improvement wasn't his skills but his chakra reserves.

His chakra capacity had now reached a level comparable to Kakashi's while using the Sharingan, matching that of at least a Special Jonin.

Chiba understood that this was likely due to his Senju lineage's physique, granting him chakra reserves on par with those of a Sharingan-wielding Kakashi.