"Samui's not bad at all... To think the education system in Kumogakure could produce a student like her! Unbelievable."
The chaotic lee had finally subsided.
They could finally catch their breath.
Orochimaru expressed clear admiration for Samui.
Though a kunoichi, her calmness and adaptability were qualities sorely lacking in most of Kumogakure's shinobi. Yugito, while also intelligent, tended to be too arrogant.
That, he didn't particularly care for.
"There are always a few outliers. Besides, the Fourth Raikage being impulsive doesn't really reflect on the Third Raikage or the academy teachers who trained these genin, does it?"
"...You're right."
Orochimaru paused in thought but found no rebuttal.
Indeed...
A's impulsiveness was his own flaw. The Third Raikage and the teachers of the shinobi academy weren't to bla.
The second round was different from the first.
With the field narrowing, clashes naturally beca more frequent—especially now that the teams from each village had finished regrouping. The scale of battle had suddenly expanded.
On Kumogakure's side, it was clear Samui and Yugito were leading the charge.
As for Konohagakure—
It was just as obvious...
Asuma and Shisui.
Not because of their last nas, but because they were Kyoichi's disciples—undoubtedly the strongest among them all.
Orochimaru glanced over and noticed Minato's two students.
"Obito and Rin... tead up with Yamashiro Aoba? Now that's so good luck!"
"I may have done a little behind-the-scenes tweaking."
Kyoichi didn't bother hiding anything.
So level of favoritism was necessary. Obito was stubborn to a fault, and while Rin wasn't dumb, she was far too gentle—entirely unsuited to leading others.
They needed a "captain."
And Yamashiro Aoba was, without a doubt, the most suitable. After all, he'd worked with Obito before—
Though that mission had ended in disaster, at least he understood what kind of person Obito was, and that familiarity was important.
Orochimaru chuckled quietly at this.
Obito... really was sothing else.
Still...
After a short laugh, he gave his honest take:
"Obito's done quite well in this exam. A few of his jutsu were impressive, and so of his tactical decisions in battle showed real growth. His taijutsu has improved considerably too."
"You're paying this much attention to an Uchiha?" Kyoichi raised an eyebrow.
Honestly, he had no clue what Obito's taijutsu used to be like.
It wasn't that he didn't care. It was just that Obito had been training with Guy and Might Duy lately, and with those two, it was inevitable he'd improve physically. Kyoichi's guidance for Obito had focused more on battle strategy and team coordination.
When dealing with a stubborn mind, sotis you need equally stubborn thods.
He might not be flexible...
But surely he could follow orders?
Apparently...
Obito had done fairly well. At the very least, he had learned to cast jutsu under the cover of Aoba's crows. In a recent fight, his Great Fireball had miraculously hit an enemy dead-on.
A direct hit with a Great Fireball...
It was only thanks to Konoha's top-tier dical support—not to ntion Kyoichi and Tsunade's healing abilities—that the target had even survived.
Any other village could only watch and sigh in envy.
Every village wanted a dic like Tsunade.
But unfortunately, there was only one Tsunade in the entire shinobi world—and the only ones who had mastered her large-scale dical ninjutsu were Tsunade herself and Kyoichi.
As the second ring of the exam began, resource crates began appearing at fixed locations, signaled by flare markers.
This was also Kyoichi's idea.
And it worked brilliantly.
This ti, Kyoichi didn't provide a bird's-eye map overview; instead, he offered snapshots of the three crates and their surroundings—
From the empty beginnings, to the arrival of scattered squads...
And finally...
The elite squads from the major villages began to appear.
Konoha!
"They're all here?"
Yugito, leading a squad herself, had co to see if there was anything worth picking up.
But the mont she saw seven or eight Konoha squads clustered around the resource point, she realized nearly all of them had co.
She considered herself strong—but she wasn't foolish enough to lead her team into a massacre.
So...
No hesitation. She turned and retreated!
The others did the sa.
Only Iwagakure and Kirigakure seed reluctant.
They'd brought quite a few people—three to four squads, nearly half of Kirigakure's remaining forces.
As for Iwagakure...
They'd done what Konoha did: except for one team luring the Kumo forces, everyone else was here.
"What now?"
"It's too late to grab the other resource drops. It's either conserve strength for the third ring... or fight."
Terumi i was still weighing the options—
But the next mont, she noticed soone had already drawn their blade.
"Zabuza?"
"Iwa-nin haven't backed off. I want to test myself," Zabuza said flatly.
Terumi i hesitated, then advised,
"Konoha knows the Hidden Mist Technique, and they've studied assassination techniques too. You don't stand much of a chance."
"If I fail, so be it. I'll just try again next ti," Zabuza replied.
She looked over at Zabuza's two teammates.
They said nothing.
They didn't want to stay—
Following the main force almost guaranteed advancent to the third round.
There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
Terumi i hesitated a mont longer, then said,
"If you need to run, head this direction. We'll be ahead, ready to cover your retreat."
"Thank you. And... thank you all for tolerating my selfishness."
Zabuza bowed deeply.
Then...
Everyone withdrew, while Zabuza slipped away to hide.
He subrged himself in the water.
Even with insects or birds scouting, it would be hard to detect him. But Zabuza didn't have the Hydrification Technique—he was holding his breath, relying on old-school thods.
Without the Byakugan, no one would ever find him.
However...
This exam included Hyūga clan mbers from the branch family.
"There's a Kiri-nin hiding in the water. Not a Hōzuki..."
"What's he trying to do?"
"No idea," Hyūga Kaimon replied with a puzzled face.
The guy wasn't even from the Hōzuki clan. Hiding in water would let him avoid most sensory techniques—
But not the Byakugan.
Didn't he know that?
"Probably hoping to fish in troubled waters."
Asuma cast a glance in that direction, then shifted focus back to the Iwa squads ahead.
Six squads.
This was pretty much all of Iwa's remaining combatants.
But Konoha had gathered eight teams, all strong.
Asuma didn't think Iwa would dare a direct clash.
More likely—
"Watch your feet. They might try to reshape the terrain with Earth Release."
Asuma anticipated the tactic.
With Shisui gone, he had to take the lead. The pressure was imnse, but it was the only possibility he could think of.
And sure enough...
A ninja tool pack ca flying down from the sky.
The next mont, the ground split—
Parts rose while others dropped, reshaping the battlefield.
Iwa-nin launched into action using Earth Dragon Hiding Technique.
But...
Konoha struck back imdiately.
"Throw!"
Genma Shiranui gave the signal.
A flurry of kunai flew through the air, each trailed by iron wires.
The wires ford a net beneath the area being reshaped, anchoring into nearby trees on the other end.
Iwa had no choice but to alter the terrain again.
But...
Another Konoha team, led by Asuma, was already flanking.
Above, a flock of crows descended, circling Iwa's forces and disrupting visibility.
And then...
Zabuza charged out from the river.
---
"Soone wants to play the hero, huh?"
Kyoichi chuckled from above, watching with amusent.
One man charging a battlefield.
Insane.
Even if it was Zabuza—with a na and a reputation—it was still madness.
Konoha wasn't the sa as before. These genin had seen blood, received elite training. They weren't going to panic.
The Hidden Mist Technique?
If anything, it just helped Konoha.
Genma instantly shifted tactics—
He lunged to grab the supply pack!
Iwa panicked.
But then—
From the side ca a torrent of fireballs, blotting out the sky.
Great Fireball Jutsu.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
Two Great Fireballs rged, amplified by Wind Release—
Asuma, Obito, and Yamashiro Aoba's combo was nearly flawless.
A wall of flas surged across the battlefield.
Iwa-nin rushed to erect Earth-Style Walls to block it.
But...
They were already under siege by the crows, and now with fire on the other flank, they were thrown into chaos.
Kitsuchi sighed softly.
These kids had done everything right—
But Konoha had gone all in for this single resource drop, as if they didn't even care about the others.
"Kitsuchi, what a sha!"
A sneered from the sidelines.
They'd used a full squad to lure the Kumo main force away—
And still couldn't secure the supply.
Round three...
Iwa's elimination was all but certain!
Yagura, however, wasn't in the mood to gloat.
Things weren't looking great for Kirigakure either. Zabuza clearly wasn't going to make it.
He couldn't even understand why Zabuza had done this.
Was there ever a real chance?
The answer was obvious.
None.
Because Konoha had the Byakugan.
"His Hidden Mist Technique and Silent Killing Technique are already quite refined—almost flawless. If it weren't for the Byakugan, he might've actually stood a chance."
Kyoichi couldn't help but admire Zabuza.
He was clearly trying to force a breakthrough by pushing himself to the edge—betting everything on this one desperate strike.
And in a way... it worked.
This ti, his Hidden Mist, Silent Killing, and Body Flicker Techniques were all executed at the highest level soone his age could probably manage. But unfortunately, he ran into the Byakugan.
"What a pity," Orochimaru sighed.
"You seem to understand him pretty well."
"Of course. For ordinary shinobi to improve quickly, they have to force themselves into life-or-death situations to break through their limits. It's extre... but it works."
Unfortunately...
He had no kekkei genkai, no particularly rare talent, no unique ninjutsu...
No matter how hard he pushed himself—no matter how desperately he sought breakthroughs in the space between life and death—his ceiling was still just that.
That's the reality of the shinobi world.
The more Orochimaru studied, the clearer this truth beca. And the more he saw of Zabuza's performance, the more pitiful it felt. Maybe one day, Zabuza would beco a fine jōnin.
But...
He would never reach the heights of Hōzuki Mangetsu or Terumi i.
Orochimaru didn't hide his thoughts—he spoke them directly through the "comntary" feed. Kyoichi paused slightly, then simply smiled without adding anything.
Below, Yagura also hesitated for a mont before letting out a sigh, saying nothing further.
There was no doubt—Zabuza had failed.
His hand had just brushed the package when, in the very next mont, a mber of the Hyūga Clan struck.
Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms.
Not the full Sixty-Four, but for a genin-level fight, sixteen was more than enough.
The force of the Gentle Fist brought Zabuza's charge to a screeching halt.
He couldn't escape again—
Even in his final monts, he was still struggling fiercely to fight back. But this was Konoha—not so pushover. They weren't going to stand around and let one man put on a solo show.
***************************
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