"Are you going to get the Ninja Swords?"
"Among the Seven Ninja Swords, which one do you favor the most?"
Orochimaru did not stop Hozuki Mangetsu, who was trying to break through the ice prison, and asked with great interest.
Hozuki Mangetsu, who was about to ask the Third Mizukage to release him from the ice prison, was stunned. He then turned to Orochimaru with surprise.
"How did you know what I was thinking?"
His attention diverted, Hozuki Mangetsu no longer felt the urge to leave.
Curiously, he returned to Orochimaru's side and stared into his eyes for a long time.
"You can guess what I'm thinking, right?"
Orochimaru did not expect that the child's mind would turn so quickly. His previous evaluation of him as brainless seemed to be inaccurate.
"Yes, you could say that!"
Orochimaru nodded.
"Really?"
Hozuki Mangetsu exclaimed, pointing at himself excitedly and asking, "Then guess again, which Ninja Sword do I like the most?"
Orochimaru stroked his chin, feigning deep thought.
"Hmm..."
"I guess, it's the Twin Swords Hiramekarei, right?"
Hozuki Mangetsu was utterly shocked.
"Huh?"
"You actually guessed it!"
"That's amazing! What kind of ninjutsu is this? Can you teach it to me?"
Hozuki Mangetsu immediately abandoned his plan to snatch the twin swords and pleaded with Orochimaru, treating him like family.
Seeing that Hozuki Mangetsu did not consider him an outsider at all, Orochimaru re-applied the "brainless" evaluation to him.
"That won't do!"
Orochimaru shook his head with a look of difficulty.
"This is my unique secret technique, and I can only pass it on to my disciples."
"If others want to learn it, they'll have to find another way."
Upon hearing this, Hozuki Mangetsu's face did not show disappointment, but rather became even more excited.
"Then why don't you be my teacher?"
"Even Lord Mizukage dares not speak to you. You must be an incredibly powerful ninja."
"How about this? I won't learn the swordsmanship of the Leaf's White Fang anymore. I'll become your disciple and learn that ninjutsu that can eavesdrop on people's thoughts. What do you say?"
Orochimaru finally heard the answer he wanted and nodded with a smile.
"Yes!"
Seeing Hozuki Mangetsu kneel down with a thud and kowtow to accept him as a master, and Orochimaru with a smile on his face, Xue Wu's mind was filled with question marks.
He couldn't understand how he, one of the Five Kage, was relegated to a subordinate position disguised as an ally in front of Orochimaru.
Mangetsu was weak and not very bright, so why did he gain Orochimaru's favor upon first meeting?
He didn't know that Orochimaru and the Hozuki clan had a connection of sorts.
Although the event happened in the future, and Hozuki Suigetsu, who had been by his side since the Fourth Great Ninja War, had not yet been born, this did not prevent Orochimaru from feeling an innate closeness to the Hozuki clan.
He also didn't know that the Hozuki clan's unique Hydrification Technique was one of the few in the ninja world that could be immune to cursed seals.
The cursed seal that had tormented him to the brink of death had no effect on the Hozuki clan.
Orochimaru did not want to give up the exceptionally talented Hozuki clan, or more precisely, he did not want to give up Hozuki Mangetsu, a genius who had been recognized by all seven Ninja Swords.
Since he could not force him into submission through the power of the cursed seal, Orochimaru was reluctant to destroy the Hozuki clan.
Based on these two considerations, Orochimaru had to find a way from other avenues.
In the ninja world, was there any relationship stronger than that of master and disciple?
Fortunately, it was not too difficult for Orochimaru to entice a child whose worldview was limited to the Hidden Mist Village.
...
While the Third Mizukage was lost in thought, doubting his own existence, Hozuki Mangetsu, having established a master-disciple relationship, circled Orochimaru, calling him "Teacher" with great affection.
In contrast, Xue Wu could only sigh, lamenting, "Different people, different destinies!"
"Teacher, so you are one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, Orochimaru!"
"You're amazing!"
...
"Teacher, do you have a good relationship with that Leaf's White Fang? Will he refuse to teach me swordsmanship because I am already your disciple?"
...
"Teacher, when are you going to teach me that ninjutsu that can eavesdrop on people's thoughts?"
"Is it difficult to learn?"
...
Orochimaru had never imagined that Hozuki Mangetsu was such a chatterbox.
Once he opened his mouth, he just wouldn't stop talking.
Rubbing his slightly throbbing forehead, Orochimaru casually pulled a wisp of void power from within himself and infused it into Hozuki Mangetsu's lower abdomen.
He formed a few hand seals and then sealed it with a Bagua Seal.
"Here!"
"Study this power carefully, and you will gain the ability to perceive others' thoughts."
Hozuki Mangetsu clutched his stomach, his face contorted. His body flickered between solid and liquefied forms, but he could not get rid of the cold, terrifying dark chakra in his abdomen.
"Teacher, this power is so strange!"
"It seems to have its own will, constantly expressing things in my mind."
"Why do I feel... well... a desire to kill people?"
Before Hozuki Mangetsu could finish, Orochimaru turned and glared at him.
"Adapt to this power. Before you understand how to use it, if you dare to say another word..."
"I'll feed you to the fish!"
Hozuki Mangetsu grimaced, pressing his hands to his stomach, and pouted, muttering under his breath.
"Fish can't eat me..."
"Shut up!"
Orochimaru's temples twitched with anger. He roared, and a surge of chakra, so powerful that even Xue Wu and Hozuki Mangetsu couldn't imagine, erupted from him.
The surrounding ice prison, which was sturdy, could not withstand even a single breath before it was reduced to dust with a "crash" by this chakra.
A violent gust of wind swept through, and several mist ninja experts, brought by Xue Wu's ice clone, cried out in alarm and were blown away like spinning tops.
Xue Wu's ice clones fared even worse. Under the impact of this powerful chakra, they exploded into mist with several "bangs."
Orochimaru glanced at them and indifferently averted his gaze.
He glared fiercely at Hozuki Mangetsu, who was so shocked that he was about to melt, and then let out a soft snort, slowly retracting his aura.
Orochimaru had long since mastered the ability of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, to immobilize Kage-level ninja with just his chakra alone.
Hozuki Mangetsu shrunk his neck, his heart filled with insurmountable admiration for his teacher, and obediently closed his mouth.
"Have them come over!"
Orochimaru calmly instructed Xue Wu beside him.
Xue Wu quickly suppressed the shock on his face, bowed respectfully, and then used Shunshin to chase after the direction where the clan leaders of the Bloodline Limit families had been blown away.