"All done," Tsunade announced, patting Reiran on the head. "Don't get too hurt since it'll be a pain in the ass—I mean... um... be careful."
After that small bout of stammering, she stood up and walked over to grab herself some food, then sat down beside Jiraiya.
As for Orochimaru, he wasn't even glancing at Reiran. Rather, he didn't need to. He was confident enough that Reiran was a total ant, which, obviously, he was.
Dealing with the big bad wolf this early on is definitely a gamble in the sense that I can't deal with him at all, Reiran thought, taking a bite out of his skewer. But if I can catch him off guard with the Eclipse Eyes, then I might be able to do it.
After all, while Jiraiya was strong and all, Orochimaru had better chakra control techniques. Learning them would set Reiran and the others far ahead of the competition and increase their odds of survival.
Still...
I knew I couldn't hide the changes from Konan and Nagato for long. They're too smart. Especially the chakra signature part... because I got the Chakra Control skill, my chakra now follows an optimized path instead of the shabby one the previous Reiran used to have.
But there was no use crying over spilled milk. He would tell them what he needed to, and if they chose not to accept him, then it was just not meant to be.
Reiran rose from his seat and walked around their mini campsite, testing something out.
He wanted to activate the Eclipse Eyes to where he could see the chakra flow.
Therefore, he tried tapping his forehead, and he got nothing. Then, he closed and reopened his eyes rapidly, trying to trigger something.
Alas, all his attempts landed in failure.
How did I do it last time...? I just kinda stared at them and then I began seeing their chakra. I don't get it at all...
And when his frustrations reached an all-time high, he suddenly felt a warm energy swirling around in his lower abdomen, then settling.
His eyes widened.
Right... a Chakra Center. How could I forget about that?
Since he had the initial idea in mind, Reiran decided to try it out.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then, he focused on the swirling energy inside his abdomen, trying to control it.
To his surprise, the chakra reacted. It seemed like, to control it, he only needed to visualize it, then send it wherever he wished.
If he sent it to his limbs, he would be faster or stronger.
If he sent it to his brain, maybe his thought process would quicken.
But in Reiran's case, he sent the chakra straight toward his eyes.
And like that, the surroundings slightly slowed down to the point where everyone was practically still.
That was when a trickle of blood ran down his nose, causing him to fall face-first and lose consciousness.
(Five hours later.)
Reiran awoke with a sharp headache, meeting Tsunade's exhausted expression.
"Listen kid... if you're going to try controlling chakra, don't use it all at once. You just need to tie a small portion of the chakra to wherever you wish," Tsunade explained, tilting her head.
"Think of it as a thread. Weave a small thread from your Chakra Center to wherever you'd like. You can increase or decrease that amount depending on what your needs are. Oh, and never, unless the circumstances call for it, use all your chakra at once like you just did. If I wasn't here, you would've crippled yourself."
"..." Reiran stared at her speechlessly.
"Got it... sorry about that," he replied, embarrassed. "And thanks for the information. Seems like you couldn't wait three days to teach me, eh?"
"Don't get sleazy on me." Tsunade pinched his nose with a smile, then stood up.
"Your Chakra should be back to full now since you recover pretty fast. Anyhow... go to sleep or something, everyone else is asleep," Tsunade added with a yawn and waved at him. "Good night."
Just like that, she approached her tent and went inside. As for Reiran, he glanced toward a slightly larger tent where Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were.
Yet he didn't dare to approach. Not yet, anyway. He felt like an outsider, and from their earlier gazes, he just didn't want to deal with that right now.
Instead, he walked toward a nearby forest that was only a few hundred meters away.
To his surprise, he spotted Orochimaru leaning against a tree, seemingly asleep.
Reiran took a deep breath and followed Tsunade's advice.
He didn't send all his chakra to his eyes, and instead took a small chunk of it from his Chakra Center and connected it to his eyes.
Immediately, the familiar orange energy appeared as it flowed peacefully within Orochimaru's body. Of course, Reiran wasn't blind. The purity of Orochimaru's chakra, as well as the quantity, was no joke.
If he so much as wanted to, then Orochimaru could kill him with a single sneeze.
Anyways... Reiran hummed inwardly and took out a kunai from his pocket.
Then, he silently approached Orochimaru, and as expected, his chakra reacted, sending out pulsating waves, mirroring a heartbeat.
It was almost like the closer Reiran got, the stronger the pulse became until eventually, when Reiran, alongside his kunai, was right in front of Orochimaru, his eyes shot open.
And without warning, Orochimaru vanished from Reiran's sight.
He couldn't track his movement, and the next thing he knew, he was lying face-first on the ground again.
Did he... he paralyzed me from the neck down, Reiran deduced with a slight frown.
"That is what is called Chakra Point Suppression," Orochimaru commented as he walked back toward the tree and leaned against it. "By targeting one of the 361 chakra points, I can then pinch your nerves to block out the others. It's temporary, but you're completely immobile until then."
He pulled a notebook from out of nowhere and wrote something down.
However, Reiran wasn't about to lie down and let Orochimaru win.
He focused his Chakra Center toward his throat, and in the next instant, he felt a feeling of relief wash over him, followed by his body no longer being paralyzed.
Reiran rose to his feet and threw his kunai. But since he had never thrown one before, it landed just slightly off to the side, missing Orochimaru, who was not even paying attention.
But then he closed his notebook and glanced back at Reiran.
"You should be grateful I'm tolerating this nonsense of yours. Just give up and go back to your friends."