Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 124: Signing with Ryūchi Cave, Learning Summoning Jutsu

Uchiha Ci gazed at the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Scroll stretched out at his feet, falling into silence.

At this moment, he couldn't deny the fact that Orochimaru seemed genuinely intent on grooming him as a disciple. Although Orochimaru's methods were somewhat extreme, the results had been surprisingly effective. Even Uchiha Ci was astonished by his progress—despite being a novice in ninjutsu, he had managed to learn a technique so swiftly. This mentor of his truly excelled in tailoring his teachings to suit the student's abilities, without holding back in the slightest.

At this period, Orochimaru had not yet performed the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique and wasn't bound by the limitations of his immortality jutsu. Unlike the future, he did not have an urgent need to continuously swap bodies. His mentor-student relationship with Uchiha Ci wasn't as antagonistic as it would later become with Sasuke. Orochimaru's dream, as he once stated, was to learn every jutsu and forbidden technique, to grasp the world's truths, and to become the ultimate being. However, this dream was distant and boundless.

There are countless jutsus in the world—how could one person possibly master them all? Let alone surpassing regular ninjutsu, there are secret arts, Bloodline Limits, Sage Techniques, Bloodline Selections, and even the near-infinite realm of the Sage of Six Paths. The more Orochimaru learned, the smaller he felt. Merely trying to master the Sage Techniques of Ryūchi Cave had led to numerous failures. The more he struggled, the more lost he became, which eventually drove him to become extreme, obsessed, and inhuman in the future.

But now, due to various coincidences, Orochimaru encountered Uchiha Ci. In him, he saw the potential to successfully tread this path. This was because every technique Uchiha Ci possessed could be traced and had answers within the ninja world. This fusion of multiple forbidden techniques and secret arts into one being was precisely the answer Orochimaru sought. Thus, he chose to place his dreams on Uchiha Ci.

At this moment, the valley burned fiercely, with thick black smoke rising to the sky. Amid the crackling sounds, sparks erupted, bursting into brilliant displays in midair. Standing amidst the flames, Orochimaru turned to the silent Uchiha Ci and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Still hesitating?"

"I see fear, anxiety, and confusion in your eyes. But surely, you must have an irresistible reason."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his golden snake-like pupils gleaming with a sharp, cold intent. He then threatened pointedly, "It's fine if my disciple wants to stop here, but I will truly kill you, in the way you fear the most. You know what I'm referring to."

Facing such a threat, Uchiha Ci realized that Orochimaru had likely figured out something significant. He knew what truly scared Uchiha Ci. Given his strange logic and behavior, even someone like Uchiha Setsuna could confuse him with outrageous arguments. Now, being targeted by a high-intelligence villain like Orochimaru, the threats would only be more extreme.

However, Uchiha Ci took a deep breath and said heavily:

"Orochimaru! You have no idea what you're doing. To fulfill your ambitions, you're gambling the future of this world on a true coward!"

He coldly stared at Orochimaru, bit his finger, squatted down, and signed his name on the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Scroll.

Then, taking a deep breath, Uchiha Ci looked at Orochimaru with a melancholic gaze. "Orochimaru, you will regret this. The void left behind in this world will end once I inherit everything from you."

With the abilities of the hardest-to-kill individuals concentrated in one person, even if Uchiha Ci wanted to die, it wouldn't be easy. From now on, his focus wouldn't be on how to escape but on how to rewrite this world!

Orochimaru let out a dismissive chuckle. "The Orochi Substitution Technique is merely one of my basic techniques. To fully inherit everything from me, you have a long way to go. However, to reach a state where no one in this world can kill you, it might only take three years. During these three years, I'll have some fun with you."

With a hoarse laugh, Orochimaru turned his back and walked away, his figure gradually disappearing into the blazing fire. From afar, his raspy voice, distorted by the flames, echoed:

"Keep memorizing the scroll content diligently. If you don't have it down by the next time a summoned snake relays my message, I'll send your current photos to those two kids from Kirigakure and Yugakure."

With a flash of white light, a quick shutter sound followed. Uchiha Ci froze, his expression changing dramatically. He turned to see a small white snake in the mud, swiftly running away with a camera.

Just as he was about to pull out a kunai to intercept it, the little snake swallowed the camera in one gulp and disappeared in a puff of white smoke. Orochimaru's figure also vanished as he hurried away.

The valley fell into silence with only Uchiha Ci left, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe it—Orochimaru's way of "killing" him was through this? Using embarrassing photos to threaten him into social death? This was despicable! If those photos were sent to his little brother Hidan and Terumi Mei, how would he ever show his face again?

Feeling a chill run through his body, Uchiha Ci hurriedly pulled some clothing from the shed snake skin on the ground. Soon after, he faced another issue—Orochimaru had brought him here and then left. How was he supposed to return?

Glancing around at the devastated valley, Uchiha Ci felt lost and eventually turned his gaze to the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Scroll on the ground. "Why not ask the mystical snake?" He hesitated briefly before deciding to give it a try. Treating a dead horse like a living one, he performed the hand signs for the Summoning Jutsu.

Boar—Dog—Bird—Monkey—Ram! Following Jiraiya's guidance from the original story, he channeled his chakra and slammed his hands onto the scroll.

The summoning symbols spread quickly, and a thick smoke cloud rose. The ground under Uchiha Ci's feet shook as he was lifted skyward. Below him, a massive purple snake rolled its eyes upward, snarling impatiently:

"Huh? Orochimaru, you bastard, why did you summon me again? No sacrifices? If you don't give me one, I'll eat you!"

Sitting on Manda's head, Uchiha Ci awkwardly waved, "Hi~!"

Recognizing the idiot who had just burned its shed skin, Manda's pupils contracted, and it blew out a hot snort. The next second, it swung its head back, opening its giant mouth to swallow Uchiha Ci whole. Not willing to be eaten, Uchiha Ci quickly tried to cancel the summon and bring out a more temperate snake.

Yet, he soon realized his predicament—he only knew how to summon snakes, not how to send them back.

Soon, the recently quiet valley was again filled with chaos. The early battle of a human cub taming a vehicle erupted once more, lasting from a starry night until the sun rose high.

After summoning numerous big and small snakes, Uchiha Ci had no choice but to flee the valley, leading to a wild chase in the wilderness. Finally, he managed to summon a gentle-tempered green snake, who looked at him wordlessly. He quickly learned the summoning cancellation technique, targeted summoning, and even reverse summoning.

Throughout it all, Orochimaru, using Earth Release to hide in the distance and observing in silence, couldn't help but smile. His disciple managed to learn a series of summoning techniques from the green snake in just half an hour amidst an intense combat environment.

Raising an eyebrow slightly, Orochimaru took out a scroll and a brush to record this information. "Indeed, battle enhances this kid's learning ability. Not bad, this can be utilized." With this realization, he glanced once more at Uchiha Ci, who was sitting on the green snake's head, wiping sweat off his brow with a relieved expression.

Orochimaru let out a low chuckle, leaped out from the rocks, summoned a large snake midair, and swiftly headed back to the camp. As he moved, he glanced at the sky, estimating it was around eight or nine in the morning. After pondering briefly, he murmured:

"The Uchiha clan should start training this kid soon. However, the Uchiha teaching methods in Amegakure are too soft. I'll have to give them a push."