"Orochimaru, have you gone mad?"
As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, not to mention the disciples stunned speechless, the Nine-Tails roared in disbelief.
"This is not far from Konoha. If I unleash a Tailed Beast Bomb, Konoha might be gone!"
Nonoyu bit her finger and nudged Shisui beside her.
"Shisui-kun, are the Tailed Beast Bomb that teacher and Kurama are talking about the same kind of Tailed Beast Bomb that teacher taught us before?"
Shisui stared blankly at his suddenly eccentric teacher and nodded numbly.
"Yes!"
Nonoyu shivered and accidentally bit herself, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain.
"Then Kurama is actually..."
Shisui tilted his head and looked at her, nodding again.
"That's right!"
Upon Shisui's confirmation, Nonoyu was plunged into existential doubt.
Heavens above! I was just holding a Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails no less, and patting it for ages, and it didn't even get angry!
Has the world gone mad?
Minato Namikaze, who was staring intently at the Nine-Tails, wasn't faring any better.
He only knew that because Kushina sealed the Nine-Tails within her, she was assigned by the teacher to learn chakra control techniques from Lady Tsunade every day.
But he never imagined that there would be two such beings as the Nine-Tails! And they would appear right before them?
"Teacher, this..."
Even with Minato's composure, his legs felt a bit weak at this moment.
Learning from a Tailed Beast?
And using the Tailed Beast's most powerful attack, the Tailed Beast Bomb, as a teaching tool?
Is this madness?
Putting aside the internal chaos of the younger ones, Orochimaru glared at the Nine-Tails.
"Kurama, can't you release the Tailed Beast Bomb in a different direction?"
"Or, are you unable to control the condensation and release of the Tailed Beast Bomb?"
The Nine-Tails stiffened, shrinking its neck guiltily.
"I was careless!"
"The Tailed Beast Bomb was created for destruction from the very beginning."
"I actually subconsciously wanted to unleash it towards Konoha..."
"Mito-girl, I've failed you!"
Finally managing to cover his embarrassment with the thick skin he had developed from training with Orochimaru, the Nine-Tails feigned nonchalance and chuckled at Orochimaru.
"Haha, I was just kidding."
"A mere Tailed Beast Bomb, Minato boy, watch carefully!"
The Nine-Tails gave a warning, then turned its head towards the Valley of the End and slowly opened its mouth. Terrifying Yin-Yang Release chakra rapidly converged into the Nine-Tails' mouth in a two-to-eight ratio, instantly forming a small, rapidly spinning Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Roar!"
The Nine-Tails let out a low growl, its body slightly bowed. The Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth shot out with a whoosh, skimming close to the ground.
"Buzz!"
The Tailed Beast Bomb pierced the air with a soul-stirring hum. Where it passed, the trees seemed to vanish into thin air.
"Rumble!"
A series of earth-shattering explosions erupted from the mountains near the Valley of the End in the distance. The towering rocks instantly disappeared under the Nine-Tails' attack, turning into a sky full of powder.
The earth trembled, and the wind raged.
The powerful shockwave generated by the Tailed Beast Bomb's detonation sent rocks flying everywhere. Some were even carried by the swirling dust into the center of the forest where they were, falling like rain.
The intense tremors, approaching from afar, nearly knocked the younger ones who had witnessed the Tailed Beast Bomb off their feet. They stared dumbfounded, too shocked to even react to the debris falling on their heads.
Orochimaru waved his hand, and powerful natural energy flowed at his will. A cool breeze awakened his disciples while pushing the falling debris away from their heads.
"Kushina, this is your goal for the next stage."
"Once you can perfectly control your body's power, you can attempt to merge with Kurama and borrow its strength to unleash an attack of this magnitude."
Orochimaru first turned his gaze to Kushina, encouraging her gently.
Kushina's eyes sparkled, and she nodded vigorously.
"Teacher, I understand!"
"I will definitely study hard with Big Sister Tsunade!"
As if feeling this wasn't convincing enough, Kushina clenched her small fists and cheered herself on:
"Even something as difficult as sealing techniques, I could learn it. This mere chakra control, I can definitely do it too!"
"Mm! Keep it up!"
Orochimaru nodded gently.
"Having such determination is good. I will temporarily overlook your sneaking out this time."
"However, simply mastering your own chakra isn't enough..."
"Kushina, communicate with Kurama more often. You are mutually symbiotic. The stronger your tacit understanding, the less burden borrowing Kurama's power will place on your body."
"Be diligent, and in the future, you might become the strongest among this group."
Kushina's face flushed with excitement at such encouragement. She squinted her beautiful large eyes, looking at one person then another, a wild grin spreading across her lips. She chuckled mischievously and said,
"Heh heh, a bunch of rabble!"
"The future strongest has been born. You guys can fight for second place here!"
"Hee hee..."
Shisui was almost driven to the brink of madness. He exchanged a look with Nonoyu, and they both pounced on Kushina, ruffling her hair.
"Rabble, huh?"
"Strongest, huh?"
One tickled, the other ruffled her head. In just a few moments, the future strongest in this small group was curled up on the ground, surrendering.
"You brat Shisui, how dare you mess up my hair! Just you wait until I tell Big Sister Tsunade how you treated me!"
"Haha... Ahahaha..."
"Nonoyu, stop tickling..."
"Minato, save me quickly!"
Minato Namikaze, who had been deep in thought, looked up in confusion at Kushina's call.
"Huh?"
"Why are you calling me?"
Orochimaru shook his head helplessly.
As expected, except for Minato, none of these children truly obeyed. Even Nonoyu, who was originally a gentle and well-behaved girl, had become spirited after spending so much time with Shisui and Kushina.
"Don't mind them. They've been training for a long time, it's good for them to blow off some steam."
Orochimaru patted Minato's shoulder and asked gently,
"Minato, I saw you looking down and thinking just now. Did you gain some inspiration from the Tailed Beast Bomb?"
"If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them. Perhaps I can help you resolve some doubts."
Minato hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the Nine-Tails, who was watching the spectacle with amusement, and slowly shook his head.
"Teacher, I..."
"I'm not too sure either."
Orochimaru chuckled and said nonchalantly,
"It's alright, just say whatever comes to mind."
"Anything you think of independently, whether right or wrong, will always offer some unique enlightenment."
Minato nodded gently, his expression becoming more serious.
"Yes!"
"Although I don't know what attribute the power Kurama used to release the Tailed Beast Bomb was..."
"It seemed like he gathered chakra in his mouth, compressed and spun it at a certain frequency, and then released it."
"Teacher, is that right?"
A barely concealed smile appeared in Orochimaru's eyes, and he nodded gently.
"Very keen observation!"
"This is precisely why I had Kurama intentionally release the Tailed Beast Bomb in front of you."
"Think about it carefully when you get back, and combine it with your own chakra control techniques, then give it a try!"
"Perhaps you'll have an unexpected harvest!"
Minato gave Orochimaru a grateful look and nodded firmly.
"Yes, thank you, teacher!"
Orochimaru nodded and no longer paid attention to this sensible disciple. He turned to look at the three children who were getting more boisterous under the Nine-Tails' instigation. Just as he was about to reprimand them, he sensed a large amount of chakra rapidly approaching.
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi's tense voice drifted to Orochimaru from afar.
"Quick, the location where the attack just occurred should be not far ahead."
"Kushina might be in trouble!"