CHAPTER 119
The person who arrived was Mitarashi Anko.
Seeing Anko appear, Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma were all stunned.
Anko was also surprised.
She blinked and swept her gaze across their faces.
"Huh? Why are you guys here?"
Guy stepped forward and briefly explained the situation.
After listening, Anko nodded in understanding.
"Oh, so you were the ones who brought that guy over."
A look of realization appeared on her face.
Ebisu pushed up the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, curiosity filling his eyes.
"Anko, why are you here?"
Anko chuckled, a trace of pride appearing on her face.
She walked over and stood beside Orochimaru before speaking in a bright voice.
"Because Lord Orochimaru is my teacher!"
"What?!"
Ebisu and Genma exclaimed at the same time, their faces full of shock.
After only a little more than a year, Anko had actually become the disciple of Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.
What kind of heaven-defying luck was this?
Unconcealed envy immediately surfaced in their eyes.
A disciple of one of the Sannin.
That was a status countless shinobi dreamed of obtaining.
Guy looked at the sincere admiration on Anko's face, and his emotions became complicated.
On the surface, however, he forced out a smile and quietly said,
"...Congratulations."
Anko smiled happily.
Her gaze toward Orochimaru was filled with reverence.
"Lord Orochimaru is amazing!"
"He taught me so many things, and recently he's even had me helping with some very interesting expe..."
"Those things are not important."
Orochimaru's hoarse voice interrupted Anko.
His golden, snake-like eyes shifted toward Guy, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"Might Guy, Homura Mitokado sent me a letter."
Guy was slightly startled.
What did a letter from Homura Mitokado have to do with him?
Orochimaru slowly continued,
"The letter mentioned that your performance in the Land of Waves was quite impressive."
"Intercepting the Hidden Mist geniuses and protecting your teammates. Very good."
Guy's heart tightened slightly, but he maintained a calm expression and bowed his head a little.
"Lord Homura Mitokado gives me too much credit. I merely fulfilled my duty as a shinobi."
"Modesty is a virtue."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
Then he suddenly changed the topic, and obvious interest entered his voice.
"However, the letter also mentioned that you developed a new technique."
"It combines taijutsu with a rotating defensive concept, and the results are quite remarkable."
"Homura Mitokado hopes I can provide some guidance."
When he said the word "guidance," he deliberately slowed his tone.
Those golden eyes stared unblinkingly at Guy.
Deep within them, a nearly imperceptible trace of greed flashed by.
"Let me guess..."
"Was it the golden phantom technique you displayed during the Battle of Mount Kikyo that you perfected?"
Guy's eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
As expected.
It still came back to this.
Homura Mitokado said it?
More likely, Orochimaru had remembered it himself.
Guy forced himself to remain composed and shook his head.
"Lord Orochimaru misunderstands."
"After the Battle of Mount Kikyo, I was never able to successfully use that golden phantom again."
"I don't even understand its principle myself."
"What Lord Homura Mitokado referred to should be another technique."
"Another one?"
The interest in Orochimaru's eyes visibly intensified.
"Show me."
He took a step forward.
His tone left no room for refusal.
Guy blinked.
"Here?"
Orochimaru nodded lightly.
His gaze swept across the relatively spacious interior of the tent.
"There is enough room."
"It will do."
Anko immediately nodded enthusiastically beside him.
"That's right, Guy. Lord Orochimaru is a really good person!"
"He's especially willing to guide younger shinobi!"
"If you show him, he'll definitely give you plenty of useful advice!"
Guy looked at Anko's innocent and admiring expression and felt speechless.
Likes guiding juniors?
More like he enjoys researching juniors.
However, the current Anko possessed almost blind admiration for Orochimaru.
In her eyes, everything Orochimaru did was correct.
At this moment, Orochimaru's gaze was fixed firmly upon him.
There was obviously no room for refusal.
Fortunately, Guy had no intention of refusing either.
He knew very well that Orochimaru would never let this matter go.
At least there were several people present now.
That was far better than being alone with Orochimaru.
"Understood."
Guy took a deep breath and walked toward the open area in the center of the tent.
He settled into a stable stance.
With a flick of his wrist, the nunchaku appeared in his hands.
Chakra began circulating through his body according to a specific route.
The nunchaku whirled rapidly, producing sharp gusts of wind.
"Hah!"
With a low shout, afterimages appeared around Guy's body.
At the same time, dense golden Chakra surged from the Acupoints throughout his body.
It spread outward and rapidly condensed together with the rotational force.
"Om!"
A translucent, ancient, and heavy golden bell phantom suddenly materialized.
It completely enveloped Guy.
Faint Sanskrit characters flowed across the surface of the bell, radiating an incomparably solid and heavy defensive aura.
As the golden bell rotated, even the surrounding air became slightly distorted.
Golden Bell Revolving Heaven Strike!
Although it was not the colossal golden humanoid phantom that had appeared during the Battle of Mount Kikyo, this nearly tangible golden bell still radiated a mysterious and powerful presence.
Orochimaru's golden pupils abruptly contracted.
His gaze locked firmly onto the rotating golden bell phantom.
The excitement in his eyes nearly overflowed.
He recognized it immediately.
This was not a simple combination of taijutsu techniques.
Within this child's body existed a unique power capable of fusing and manifesting Chakra.
The technique clearly combined taijutsu principles with the concept of the Hyuga Clan's Rotation.
Yet it had actually condensed into such a substantial golden bell phantom.
This absolutely could not be explained as mere coincidence.
It involved an extremely profound transformation of Chakra, perhaps even involving life force itself.
"Could this child possess some hidden Bloodline Limit...?"
Orochimaru unconsciously licked his lips.
The look in his eyes resembled that of a researcher discovering the perfect experimental subject.
Guy slowly ceased rotating.
As the golden bell phantom gradually faded and merged back into his body, silence filled the tent.
Orochimaru slowly walked forward.
Only when he stood two or three meters away did he stop.
Looking down at Guy, his snake-like eyes shone with unprecedented interest.
And a nearly burning intensity.
His hoarse voice carried an irresistible allure as it echoed throughout the tent.
"Might Guy..."
"Are you interested..."
"...in becoming my disciple?"
The entire tent instantly fell silent.