Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 28 has a bit of talent

Some people believe that Sasuke learned nothing from Orochimaru, but that is completely wrong.

Before joining Orochimaru, the gap between Sasuke and Itachi was like an abyss!

Sasuke's eight skills—ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, wisdom, strength, speed, stamina, and hand seals—were completely outclassed in the other seven, except for stamina.

The essence represents the amount of chakra; the other seven attributes are completely outclassed, so having more chakra is of no use whatsoever.

Especially in the area of ​​genjutsu, Sasuke only has three points, while Itachi has ten. Itachi is also a ninja who likes to start with genjutsu as a greeting.

With a maximum score of 80, Itachi received an exceptionally high score of 71, while Sasuke only received 45.

Sasuke trained under Orochimaru for three years, where Orochimaru provided intensive training in taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, cursed seals, and summoning techniques.

Sasuke's rating rose from 45 to 63, which is a significant improvement, representing a substantial increase, especially since his genjutsu rating rose from 3 to 8.

While the Sharingan possesses the ability to hypnotize, it doesn't mean that its genjutsu abilities will be enhanced upon evolution. One must learn genjutsu to unleash the true effects of the hypnotic eye.

In the Book of Fighting, Sasuke already had three tomoe but was still using genjutsu, and he didn't use genjutsu on Naruto during the battle at the Valley of the End.

This is the effect of Orochimaru's teaching. Orochimaru is a Genjutsu 10 ninja, one of only five people in the official databook to have maxed-out Genjutsu.

The other four are Itachi, Kurenai Yuhi, Tayuya, and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Orochimaru, who also used genjutsu, was quickly defeated by Itachi, mainly because Orochimaru's soul was too weak after his resurrection, which greatly reduced his resistance to genjutsu.

It's not surprising that Itachi, who is also a Genjutsu Ten and has the Mangekyou Sharingan, was defeated.

Kurenai Yuhi was instantly defeated by Itachi.

Furthermore, data is just data. Just as some people get full marks because they have reached their limit, while others only get so many marks on the test, which is not actually their limit.

Thanks to his significant advancement in genjutsu, Sasuke turned the tables on Orochimaru and fought Itachi to a draw in their initial genjutsu duel.

The improvement in genjutsu was the most obvious. Ninjutsu and speed were not as obvious, but they also improved a lot, reaching level 10 and 9 respectively, which is a top-tier level.

The iconic ninjutsu is the Chidori Stream series.

Although Sasuke already knew Chidori before joining Orochimaru, and Orochimaru didn't know Chidori either, that doesn't mean Orochimaru couldn't provide effective guidance.

When Naruto was training in Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, neither Kakashi nor Yamato taught him Wind Release; instead, they told Naruto to ask Asuma for guidance. However, it was Kakashi and Yamato who trained Naruto in Rasenshuriken.

Yamato used Water Release and Earth Release to create a training ground and used Wood Release to suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra within Naruto.

Kakashi provides training methods, including the Shadow Clone Technique for accumulating experience and explanations of nature and form changes.

The same applies to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's basic ability is Ninja Level 10, and he has the ambition to master all ninjutsu. He is a full chakra nature, and Hiruzen Sarutobi praised him as a genius who appears once every few decades. His greatest skill is developing the five forbidden ninjutsu.

Could his guidance of Sasuke be any less thorough than that of Kakashi and Yamato?

As for the Speed ​​9, it was achieved through Sasuke's talent, the power of the cursed seal, and Orochimaru's power.

In the battle at the Valley of the End, Sasuke mastered the Cursed Seal of Heaven, but that doesn't mean the Cursed Seal has no potential for further development.

The cursed seal has provided Sasuke with assistance on many occasions. For example, although his hand seal speed was not as fast as Itachi's, he still managed to achieve miraculous feats through the cursed seal.

Sasuke's taijutsu level increased from five to seven. There are no shortcuts to this; after copying taijutsu, one can only rely on arduous training and real combat.

Orochimaru, who controlled the Sound Village, provided Sasuke with plenty of sparring partners.

With the added benefit of electrotherapy, Sasuke's close-combat abilities are quite strong, though still not quite as good as Killer Bee's.

Finally, there's the use of psychic abilities.

The snakes in Ryūchi Cave don't have as many varieties as those in Mōbōsan, but how to use them is still a skill that Ximen learns.

Snake summoning techniques have saved Sasuke from many dangers, with the most extreme example being Deidara's sneak attack and self-destruction.

In addition, there are the Orochi-style Substitution Technique to counter Amaterasu and the Kirin, a technique that can kill in one hit.

Orochi-style Substitution Technique is arguably the king of Substitution Techniques, incredibly useful.

When the Kirin appeared, Itachi didn't seem to be pretending to be flustered.

The significant improvement in his basic genjutsu abilities, combined with his normal soul and spirit, and the enhancement of his Sharingan with three tomoe, meant that Sasuke wouldn't be as helpless against Tsukuyomi as Kakashi.

In short, after three years of training under Orochimaru, Sasuke transformed from someone who was completely outmatched into someone who could face Itachi head-on.

The idea that he could instantly kill Sasuke with Susanoo from the very beginning is simply untenable. Battles in the ninja world always start with probing and testing; they never escalate from the outset.

Given Itachi's chakra reserves at level 5 and his poor physical condition, if Sasuke simply avoids his attacks, Itachi will be the first one to succumb.

The attack range of a half-body Susanoo is limited, while Sasuke is fast and has many survival skills.

The Totsuka Blade isn't a locked attack. Even if it were, the Orochi-ryu Substitution Technique would still allow for escape.

If Orochimaru hadn't insisted on showing off, he wouldn't have been sealed away after being stabbed by the Totsuka Blade and not having time to use the Orochimaru Substitution Technique.

This is the result of Sasuke's own talent, hard work, and Orochimaru's education. How can it be erased by the words "letting him go to sea"?

Uchiha Gen believed that Itachi was genuinely surprised by Sasuke's strength, and even if he held back, it wasn't much, let alone to the point of holding back completely.

To dismiss Sasuke's three years of arduous training with a single phrase like "letting him go" or "letting him go to sea" is far too biased!

Such excellent teaching ability should not be overlooked.

Even if someone has a plan to improve their own strength, who would complain that they are more well-rounded and stronger?

……

I look forward to your performance.

Orochimaru suddenly launched an attack after speaking, his body shooting forward like an arrow, and punched Shuai in the face.

As Uchiha Gen dodged to the side, he grabbed his arm with his left hand and kicked his abdomen with his left foot.

Orochimaru pressed down with one hand, twisting the arm that was being grabbed. His wrist was as flexible as if it had no bones, and he grabbed Uchiha Gen's wrist with his other hand.

Uchiha Gen raised his right hand and slammed it down on the joint between his forearm and upper arm.

Orochimaru loosened his grip and launched another attack, his fists, feet, palms, and knees raining down like a storm.

Uchiha Gen activated his Sharingan and calmly dealt with the situation.

The two figures moved with agility and speed, leaping and bounding with fluid grace, their moves demonstrating a profound understanding of speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness. The dull thuds of fists and feet colliding echoed continuously...

After fighting for three minutes, even with the boost from his two-tomoe Sharingan, Uchiha Gen felt he was starting to give out and immediately drew his ninja sword from his back to counterattack.

Orochimaru's taijutsu skills are not lacking in strength, power, speed, and precision, and he also occasionally comes up with unexpected and strange moves.

After dodging the sword light, Orochimaru quickly retreated, tilted his head back, and spat out a sticky Kusanagi sword from his mouth.

Without even washing his hands, Orochimaru grabbed the hilt of his sword, gave it a casual flick, and charged straight out.

Ding ding ding...

The clanging of metal against metal rang out incessantly, sparks flying everywhere. Compared to the contest of fists and feet, the intensity of the swordplay between the two was on a whole new level.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!

Two minutes later, Orochimaru used a feint with his right hand holding the Kusanagi sword to lure the enemy, and with a flick of his left hand, four black and gray venomous snakes suddenly emerged from his sleeve, biting the neck, heart, and two kidneys respectively.

Magical magic here!

With a sweep of his eyes, the four venomous snakes instantly fell into the illusion, involuntarily changing their attack direction and failing to make their attack work. Then, instead of retreating, Uchiha Gen advanced and thrust his sword towards Orochimaru's heart.

Clang! Orochimaru parried with his sword, a look of admiration on his face. "Your taijutsu and swordsmanship are passable, but what truly amazes me is your genjutsu."

"He avoided a fatal sneak attack using only a mere C-rank genjutsu, and it was released through the Sharingan without any hand seals."

"You have a great talent for illusion magic."

Orochimaru knew that Uchiha Gen possessed the Sharingan, so the chakra used for Hidden Shadow Snake Hands was gradually gathered from the start of the battle, and Uchiha Gen's two-tomoe Sharingan did not detect anything unusual.

Such a subtle change in chakra would probably require the perceptive power of a three-tomoe Sharingan or a Byakugan to detect.

"I do have a tiny bit of talent for illusion."

"Fortunately, I have the talent for genjutsu; otherwise, without the Sharingan's ability to see through it, I might have already fallen for it."

"It seems we can't rely too much on the Sharingan..."

"It's good that you've grasped this point."

"The Sharingan is powerful, but you can't rely on it too much."

Orochimaru spoke with great confidence at this moment. Although he was interested in the Sharingan, he was not obsessed with it.

"Come on, let me see more of your talents."

Perhaps it was the thrill of seeing a prey, but Orochimaru's voice sounded somewhat excited.

"As you wish!"

Sorry, this chapter has a lot of digressions, but I just had to get it off my chest. I think Sasuke was unfairly maligned during the Sasuke-Itachi battle. His three years of hard work, risking his life, were wiped out by being let off the hook and allowed to go to sea. Some of the comments I've heard are truly mind-boggling...

(End of this chapter)