In Naruto with the Flame-Flame Fruit-Chapter 491: Orochimaru’s Letter

As for her husband’s utter lack of seriousness, Mei Terumī had long since gotten used to it. Why was he saying this kind of thing in front of the kids?

Kiyosuke chuckled.

"See? Your mom’s getting embarrassed."

"Eat your dinner already! If you don’t eat now, then forget it!"

"Okay okay! Dinner!"

The two kids instantly sat at the table at light speed, waiting to start.

Mei Terumī had been living in Konoha for quite some time now. She had already passed the Mizukage position to Chōjūrō. Although Kiyosuke always felt that once Chōjūrō lost Hiramekarei his strength would take a huge dip, it probably didn’t matter much.

As long as nothing unexpected happened, the shinobi world shouldn’t run into any major chaos for a while.

After dinner, once the dishes were washed, Kiyosuke and Mei brought their son and daughter to the Konoha training grounds.

"Alright, tonight Dad’s going to teach you Wind Cutter Technique! This one packs quite a punch. The hand seals go like this..."

He taught the seals to them, then demonstrated the destructive force of the technique.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

An invisible blade of wind appeared in an instant, slicing a tree so thick that it would take five or six adults to wrap their arms around it cleanly in half.

"That’s amazing! Let me try! Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

Yuka, born with all chakra nature affinities, had great talent. Even without the Sharingan, after figuring out the feeling for a moment, she successfully used the technique, carving a clean cut into a nearby tree.

"Not bad. Keep an eye on your chakra balance. Also..."

He patiently explained the issue to his daughter, then pointed out the same kind of mistakes when it was his son’s turn.

"Alright, next—Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique! Watch closely!"

Kiyosuke formed the simplified hand seals. Yuka blinked in confusion.

"Dad, isn’t Water Dragon Bullet supposed to have a ton of seals? Why are there only three?"

Kiyosuke explained:

"I’m using the Second Hokage’s simplified version. If your Water Release is strong enough and your understanding is solid, you can reduce the seals. Otherwise, you’ll still be forming seals while the enemy already took your head off—pretty pointless. Your mom doesn’t even need seals at all to use Water Dragon Bullet. That’s the difference in level."

Mei smiled at the side. Yuka and Shinichi looked at her with admiration.

"As expected of Mom!"

"No wonder Mom was Mizukage. Why would you ever fall for Dad—a guy who can’t cook, is super lazy, and completely unreliable?" Shinichi complained.

Bonk!

A fist-sized bump swelled on Shinichi’s head. He grabbed it while his eyes watered.

"Owww! Dad, you attacked me?!"

"Attacked? I’m just too fast for you to react."

Kiyosuke blew lightly on his fist.

"Daring to talk trash about me right in front of my face—tonight you’re mastering Wind Cutter Technique."

"Huh?!"

"What do you mean ’huh’? After that you’re learning Konoha-ryū Taijutsu, Kirigakure-ryū Taijutsu, and you’re not skipping Fire Release or Wind Release. And in a while, I’m sending you to train at your Orochimaru-san’s place."

"O–Orochimaru-san?!"

Shinichi shuddered.

"No way! His place is terrifying!"

"Don’t say that. He’s much better than he used to be. Otherwise, the only version of him you’d be seeing is the one hanging on the wall."

Right now, Orochimaru was under Konoha surveillance, receiving research funds from the village. His main base was still technically the Sound Village—and the fact that it still hadn’t collapsed was a small miracle in itself.

When Shinichi was younger, Kiyosuke took both kids to meet Orochimaru. Orochimaru had shown great interest in them—especially Shinichi. Back then he hadn’t gotten anything useful out of researching Kiyosuke, so seeing Shinichi made his research instincts flare up again.

It terrified Shinichi, though Yuka was the opposite—she loved staying at Orochimaru’s place and even looked reluctant when it was time to leave.

Also... Orochimaru looked noticeably younger lately...

Most likely he had transferred to a new body using artificial human technology.

Using his own previous cells for reincarnation drastically reduced the risks of soul transfer, allowing for a kind of pseudo-immortality. And since the vessel was made of his own cells, there was no rejection at all. He could choose whatever age he wanted.

He even went and made himself a kid recently...

After training for a while, the family returned home to rest. The daughter could continue training the next day, but the son had school.

...

Morning came without incident.

The next day, Shinichi left the house in a panic—he had overslept.

Reading the paper, Kiyosuke commented:

"That kid... I wasn’t even late this often when I was his age."

"I heard a lot from Rin, you know? Back then, you and Obito, Guy, and Asuma skipped class all the time to catch fish in the river. You were never late, though."

"Seriously... does Rin have to tell her everything? Yuka’s still eating."

Yuka pretended she hadn’t heard a thing.

At that moment, a snake crawled through the window. Mei picked up her chopsticks, but Kiyosuke stopped her.

"It’s delivering a message. Looks like my sensei has something to ask of me."

The snake slithered to Kiyosuke, opened its mouth, and produced a scroll. He unrolled it.

"Oh? I see. So Mitsuki, huh... I guess he counts as my junior."

"What is it?" Mei asked.

Kiyosuke said:

"Orochimaru-sensei wants to send his son Mitsuki to Konoha as an exchange student. He wants me to talk to Naruto and look after the kid while he’s here."

Mitsuki was a newly created artificial human. His understanding of the world was extremely basic—he needed to learn everything from scratch. If he came to Konoha, he would definitely stir up some trouble. But since it was Orochimaru’s request, Kiyosuke would agree.

"I’ll head over to see Naruto."

"Be careful on the way."

Kiyosuke arrived at the Hokage’s office. Compared to Kakashi’s old office, Naruto’s was practically buried in paperwork. Naruto, radiating sage-like energy, sat at his desk working.

"You didn’t spend all night here, did you?" Kiyosuke asked.

"More or less. Kiyosuke-san, do you need something?"

"Yeah. Orochimaru-sensei wants his son Mitsuki to come to Konoha as an exchange student. Here’s the application."

He handed Naruto the scroll. The first half was addressed to Kiyosuke, the second half to Naruto.

"Orochimaru, huh? Didn’t think he’d do something like this. Kiyosuke-san, what do you think?" Naruto asked.

"It’s fine. The kid’s an artificial human but has great potential. Honestly, he’s much better than Orochimaru ever was. No issue letting him join. He’s basically Sasuke’s and my junior too."

"True... I haven’t seen him in ages."

Sasuke was constantly away, investigating the Ōtsutsuki clan. He was rarely home, appearing and disappearing like a ghost. His daughter Sarada was much closer to her grandparents and uncle.

"You’re always busy outside. So? If it’s okay, I’ll send the reply."

"Yes. Sorry to trouble you, Kiyosuke-san. I still have a mountain of work."

"Make sure you rest."

"Mm!"