I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 584 Before the moment of true success arrives, one must be mentally prepared for failure.

"Yin Yang Escape"

Orochimaru frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Although Yin and Yang chakra are related to the mind and body, I don't think they have enough potential to solve the problem of soul escape."

"It's not Yin-style chakra or Yang-style chakra, but a technique called '遁术' (Dunjutsu)."

Tatsuma shook his head. Orochimaru's reaction was within his expectations. After all, Yin-Yang Release was too unfamiliar and too distant for the current ninja world.

Orochimaru may have collected such information, but it may not have been under the name of "Yin-Yang Release" or "Yin-Yang Release Technique". It is more likely that it exists in some myths and legends.

However, with Orochimaru's brain, keeping up with Tatsuma's thought process was not a problem if he was corrected. He stretched out his right hand, palm up, fingers spread.

Flames, water droplets, electric arcs, loose soil, and an invisible breeze gathered at his fingertips. He frowned and said, "A technique activated with pure elemental chakra? Like a pure Five Elements technique? That's almost impossible."

Orochimaru shook his head. As one of the few people in the ninja world who were at the very forefront of ninjutsu research, Orochimaru knew the difficulty of releasing techniques with pure elemental chakra.

No, it's not the release technique that's difficult, but the development technique, especially the high-intensity, high-functionality technique, which is unimaginably difficult.

For thousands of years, the ancestors of the ninja world have been exploring the potential of chakra ever since they began to use it. At first, people only used pure elemental chakra for things like starting fires and building structures.

However, this was clearly a waste of chakra. With the popularization and in-depth research of "ninjutsu", a great feat in the history of ninjutsu emerged: nature transformation.

Fire can be transformed through changes in its properties into ultra-high temperature flames that do not exist in nature, or simulated as explosive powder that can be ignited by a spark, or even developed from a scorching flame into the pitch-black "Amaterasu no Hi" (fire of heaven).

Earth Release can be developed into clay, rock, sand, etc. Lightning Release has also been developed, resulting in lightning of various colors and external forms that do not exist in nature.

These characteristics, derived from changes in nature, continuously increase the power of the Five Escape Techniques.

Nowadays, any ninja who develops the Five Elements techniques will strive to explore the nature transformation aspect in order to develop more possibilities for that attribute's chakra, and then add form transformation to make the technique more flexible.

What Tatsuma was referring to as "Yin-Yang Release" was more like turning back the clock, using the inherent nature of chakra to develop techniques and apply chakra.

Of course, Orochimaru couldn't say that Tatsuma's idea was completely wrong, because "Yin-Yang Release" directly refers to the spirit and the physical body. Nowadays, the application of Yin-Yang chakra by Akimichi Secret Technique, Nara Secret Technique, Yamanaka Secret Technique, medical ninjutsu, etc., is actually one-sided.

While enhancing functionality in a certain direction, it also sacrifices many of the uses of Yin-Yang chakra. If all the characteristics and uses of Yin-Yang chakra could be utilized, perhaps the problem of soul escape could truly be solved.

However, the possibility of an idea is not entirely linked to its feasibility of implementation, just like...

If people in this world didn't harbor negative emotions like hatred, anger, and greed, wouldn't the world become a better place? This idea sounds plausible.

But how can it be implemented? It's practically impossible.

Tatsuma shook his head and said, "Given the current conditions, Yin-Yang Release is indeed a thankless and laborious development project, but... Lord Orochimaru, you should understand the source of chakra better than others."

"You mean the Sage of Six Paths?"

"I mean deus ex machina."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru fell silent, then nodded and said, "Indeed, regardless of whether the legend of the Sage of Six Paths is true or not, the great power of those individuals in ancient myths does not conform to the laws of development."

Moreover, Jiraiya can, to some extent, corroborate the existence of the Sage of Six Paths; after all, that giant toad can prove something.

While some of the legends about the Sage of Six Paths that have been passed down to this day are fabricated, some of the legends have been passed down and evolved over thousands of years, and the power of the Sage of Six Paths is beyond doubt.

In an era when chakra had just been discovered, such individual power shouldn't have existed, unless the starting point was different.

"That's right, the development of ninjutsu follows a predictable pattern, gradually becoming more refined and powerful. However, in that era, some people's utilization of chakra surpassed that of today, after a thousand years of development. It's more likely that..."

Chakra exists within another system we haven't touched upon, a system different from our current refined and mixed use of chakra. It's perhaps an application system that more directly addresses the essence of chakra.

"Interesting. But how do we uncover this application system that might have existed thousands of years ago?"

Orochimaru posed a "fatal" question, and Tatsuma shrugged, saying, "Shall we have the Sage of Six Paths give us a lecture?"

"Ha ha."

Orochimaru gave a polite, fake laugh, clearly thinking it was a joke by Tatsuma. After all, the story of the Sage of Six Paths had been passed down for thousands of years, but the man himself had disappeared a thousand years ago.

But Tatsuma was more serious than Orochimaru had imagined. He was even thinking about what he had to do to get the Sage of Six Paths to teach him a lesson, such as activating Infinite Tsukuyomi.

That's too far off, and given Chenma's current potential, he can't possibly achieve that.

I need to plan this carefully. Even if I have to force him, I have to get the Sage of Six Paths to meet with me.

"Ding~ Ding~"

Just as the two were silently contemplating, a reminder sounded from inside the laboratory. They both looked towards the small window by the door at the same time. Hongdou was standing on tiptoe, opening and closing her mouth, and pointing in a certain direction.

Orochimaru erased the words he had left on the whiteboard and then said, "It should be Shisui or Genma who has woken up."

"Um."

Tatsuma nodded and unlocked the laboratory. The door slowly opened, and Anko looked at the two solemn-faced people with a face full of curiosity. Such a situation was very rare.

After all, the two of them could even laugh and talk when discussing a battle involving thousands of people in the camp. What exactly did they talk about in this meeting that she was not qualified to participate in?

Could it be a plot to annex the other four countries and unify the ninja world?

Just as Anko was lost in thought, Tatsuma asked, "Have Shisui and Genma woken up?"

"Yes, they're both awake. Shisui is crying while holding Genma, and we can't pull them apart."

Hongdou snapped out of her daze and immediately spoke. Chenma glanced back at Orochimaru, who was slowly walking out. Orochimaru shrugged and said, "He's just a kid."

Tatsuma rolled his eyes, but still hurried toward the observation room where Shisui was. As soon as he entered, he saw Shisui crying his eyes out, tears streaming down his face, with some stringy liquid sticking to Genma's body.

Genma, on the other hand, was completely bewildered and somewhat at a loss for words in the face of the overwhelming emotions of others. When he saw Tatsuma and Orochimaru appear, a pleading look even appeared in his eyes.

"Lord Orochimaru, Lord Tatsuma, Shisui... I don't know why. He just left like this."

As he spoke, he even showed his hands to indicate that he had not bullied Shisui, after all, he was just Orochimaru's "subordinate".

Orochimaru even disagreed with Genma calling him "Orochimaru-sensei." While most team leaders would allow their newly graduated genin subordinates to call them "sensei," Orochimaru simply wouldn't agree.

Because he lacked both Shisui's talent and Anko's bottle-washing skills, Genma was well aware of his situation, so he defined himself as a sparring partner for the team.

His time in this team would probably only last until the Chunin Exams were over, so although it was a bit of a pity, he still didn't shamelessly try to build a relationship with them.

He was bewildered when he woke up inexplicably today, and not only did he return to the lab from the wilderness, but Shisui was also holding him and crying so sadly. Did he and Shisui have such a deep bond?

It took a lot of effort to separate the two. Then, Hongdou recounted the whole story. Genma sat blankly on the hospital bed, and as Hongdou described it, some memories seemed to flash through his mind.

But it's like forcibly recalling last night's dream; you know something happened, but you can't remember what happened.

After a while, he turned to look at Shisui, who had wiped his face clean and stopped crying, and said, "Congratulations, little Shisui, you've awakened the Sharingan at such a young age."

Shisui looked at Genma and said, "Thank you, Brother Genma. I will always remember your help."

"Haha." Genji scratched his head and said, "It's fine if you don't remember, I didn't remember it myself."

As he spoke, he felt something was off. Just then, Tatsuma took out a senbon from his ninja tool bag and tossed it to Genma.

With the arc and force just right, Genma doesn't use his hands; he just uses his mouth to catch it. Okay, that's it, no problem now.

He even forgot to recall what had happened the night before, and was instead excited about receiving the Senbon (thousands of books) as a gift from the future Fourth Generation Lord.

Orochimaru then looked at Shisui and said, "Give it a try. Use the power of the Sharingan. Last night you only passively activated the Sharingan. I don't know if you have the ability to activate it on your own."

"The Sharingan?"

Shisui rubbed her swollen eyelids from the pain. When she lowered her hands and opened her eyes, two black tomoe shaped beads revolved around her pupils in her red irises.

"It's amazing that I can see it," Shisui pointed to Hongdou and said, "The pimple under her bangs."

"Don't look!"

Red Bean covered the side of her forehead with one hand and reached for Shisui's eyes with the other. Moreover, Shisui's eyes and expressions were very interesting, much more so than those of ordinary people.

"You did not follow the seven-step handwashing method."

As soon as Shisui spoke, Orochimaru grabbed Anko's hand without him needing to stop her. His eyes darkened, and he said, "Go and throw away everything in the negative eight boxes. Clean them and collect the contents again."

"No, teacher, my hands are already very clean."

Red Bean's face was contorted, not because it hurt from being grabbed—Orochimaru still had some control over his strength—but because of the things in the refrigerator, which would take her half a month of working without sleep.

"How can I be sure this isn't the first time you haven't washed your hands properly? Even if it's only once, they're still contaminated."

To Anko, Orochimaru's voice sounded utterly ruthless and cold-blooded. Instantly, her eyes turned red, even redder than Tatsuma's and Shisui's, though only the whites of her eyes turned red.

Chenma, who was listening in, unconsciously looked at his own hands. He had made the same mistake once before. Who working in a laboratory hasn't made it?

He pulled out a few sheets of paper and said, "We'll clean it when we have time. There's more than one storage facility. Let's focus on the Chunin Exams first."

Red Bean looked expectantly up at Orochimaru, who closed his eyes and said, "Prepare a new batch of materials for today."

Upon hearing this, Anko immediately took her exam admission ticket, bowed to Orochimaru and Tatsuma, and said, "Thank you! I'll go right away!"

"Go wash your hands first!"

Orochimaru emphasized this, and Anko nodded and rushed out of the observation room. Tatsuma handed the other two admission tickets to Shisui and Genma.

"Tomorrow is the reporting session plus a written test. A week after passing the written test, the team and individual practical assessments will begin. Good luck!"

After Tatsuma finished speaking, Shisui nodded and said, "I will not let you down, teacher, Lord Orochimaru, and you, Genma-nii."

Genma scratched his head and said, "Don't say things like that. I'm under a lot of pressure. It would be embarrassing if I failed the exam and you became a Chunin."

Tatsuma looked at Genma with an approving gaze, which left Genma somewhat bewildered. Only Tatsuma understood that refusing the "poisonous prediction" was the absolutely correct attitude.

(End of this chapter)