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"Hehehe!~"
After Orochimaru caught up to Sasuke, he saw that Sasuke was only a bit dejected and nothing else, so he couldn't help but laugh and tease, "Sasuke-kun, it seems you've failed again."
"Shut up, you're so annoying!"
A broken Sasuke didn't care about the relationship with his master. Hearing Orochimaru's words, he immediately retorted,
"It's all because you're too weak, that's why the gap between Naruto and me is getting bigger and bigger! Besides, we didn't even fight just now—we just greeted each other!"
Although he did propose a rematch to Naruto, he only used Ninjutsu, and the summoned Manda bit him back. Then, Manda was so terrified by a single word from Naruto that it scurried back to Ryūchi Cave. So, he and Naruto didn't even get a chance to fight.
Since they didn't fight, how could anyone say he was defeated again? So, Orochimaru saying he lost again was simply slander!
More importantly, Orochimaru, as his master and one of the legendary Sannin along with Jiraiya, not only didn't reflect on why he couldn't teach him to be stronger than Naruto, but also came to mock him after he was dejected. He was truly an unfit master—simply too much!
Orochimaru didn't mind Sasuke's attitude; he just chuckled indifferently and then said,
"It seems you haven't lost your mind from this latest failure, and you can still realize that the gap between you and that Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki brat is growing wider and wider."
Speaking of which, Orochimaru was also very curious about Naruto's increase in strength, and this time when he saw Naruto, he actually felt a fatal sense of threat from him.
His intuition was usually very accurate. Feeling this way from Naruto indicated that Naruto's strength was already enough to threaten him, or even—kill him.
He hadn't felt that way about Naruto the last time he saw him.
This situation indicated that Naruto's current strength had grown significantly compared to their last meeting.
Actually, Orochimaru was quite satisfied with Sasuke's progress in strength, and he thought Sasuke was truly talented. Not only did he learn Ninjutsu very quickly, but he also awakened the Sharingan at the age of eight.
Such talent, no matter in what era, would absolutely be worthy of the title 'genius'.
But everything is afraid of comparison. Sasuke's talent, compared to ordinary Ninja, was indeed a rare genius.
However, compared to Naruto, the gap was even greater than the difference between a person and a dog, so vast that he didn't know what method he could use to allow Sasuke to possibly catch up with Naruto's growth.
"You shut up!"
Sasuke heard Orochimaru's words and immediately became enraged, then he said angrily,
"I already said we didn't fight this time, and the gap between Naruto and me is getting bigger and bigger—isn't that your responsibility as my teacher?
As my master, why don't you teach me some methods to quickly improve my strength? All the Ninjutsu you taught me before are completely useless in front of Naruto!"
"A method to quickly improve strength, I do have one—"
Orochimaru heard Sasuke's words, his gaze suddenly deepening as he looked at him, and then he slowly said,
"I recently discovered a technique that can change one's physique and even greatly increase the Chakra of an ordinary Ninja.
However, that technique is not yet mature and carries huge risks. Do you want to try it?"
When Orochimaru met Tsunade this time, he unexpectedly heard from her that she was planning to take Naruto to Shikkotsu Forest to learn Sage Mode. And regarding Sage Mode, it happened to be Orochimaru's recent research project, and precisely because of a certain 'other material', he had made some progress, developing an ability called the 'Curse Mark'.
Although it was not yet fully mature, if successful, it could indeed, as he told Sasuke, allow the person who receives the 'Curse Mark' to experience a leap in improvement from their physique to their Chakra.
Of course, this method of increasing strength would also be accompanied by great risks; it just depended on whether Sasuke dared to take the gamble.
"What method is it?"
Sasuke's eyes lit up when he heard Orochimaru's words, and he even directly ignored the 'huge risk' Orochimaru mentioned, immediately saying impatiently,
"Hurry up and teach me, I want to learn!"
This reunion with Naruto made Sasuke realize something: if he didn't use some special method to improve his strength, the gap between him and Naruto would only grow wider, and it was even very likely that he wouldn't even see Naruto's back the next time they met.
Sasuke absolutely could not allow such a thing to happen, so no matter what method it was, as long as it could make him stronger, he would definitely try it without hesitation.
As for the risk—although Sasuke was young, he understood that to gain power beyond effort, bearing risk was a necessary price.
If he could close the gap in strength between himself and Naruto, Sasuke was willing to pay any price!
"It seems I underestimated your determination before."
Orochimaru heard Sasuke's unhesitating reply and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction, then said,
"Since Sasuke, you have such determination, I will do my best to ensure you safely receive the power of that technique.
Also, didn't you say last time that you wanted to become a Jinchuriki like Naruto-kun?
If you still have that thought, I can help you achieve it too."
In this world, becoming a Jinchuriki is definitely one of the ways to quickly gain great power.
Originally, Orochimaru had always maintained a repulsive attitude toward something as risky as becoming a Jinchuriki.
After all, his goal had always been 'immortality', and as long as one becomes a Jinchuriki, it means a lifetime of fighting against the Tailed Beast sealed within their body. Once the Tailed Beast goes berserk, the Jinchuriki's life will be greatly threatened, with an extremely high mortality rate and too much risk.
Another point was that there were only a few Tailed Beasts in the entire Ninja World, and they were all 'owned'. Trying to get a Tailed Beast was even more difficult than winning a war.
Because of the excessive risk and the difficulty of capturing Tailed Beasts, Orochimaru had never set his sights on them.
But this time, Orochimaru also learned from Tsunade that Naruto was already able to perfectly control the Nine-Tailed Chakra.
This made Orochimaru feel that the power of the 'Tailed Beast' seemed not as difficult to master as rumored.
Also, Orochimaru discovered from the Akatsuki Organization's recent movements that they seemed to have plans to collect Tailed Beasts, and in Orochimaru's view, this was an excellent opportunity for him to get involved with Tailed Beasts.
In the past, when he heard rumors of 'perfect Jinchuriki' appearing in other Villages, Orochimaru always maintained a skeptical attitude.
But from Naruto, he genuinely saw the possibility of 'taming' the Tailed Beast's power, and now he even had an excellent 'test subject' readily available.
More importantly, the Akatsuki Organization's actions made Orochimaru realize that the Ninja World might become chaotic. At that time, if he quietly took one or two Tailed Beasts, he wouldn't have to worry about being targeted by other Villages.
Finally, if Naruto, a child of only eight years old, could perfectly master the power of a Tailed Beast, there was no reason why he, one of the 'Sannin', couldn't!