Orochimaru leapt backward in a rather disheveled state. At the final mont, he barely managed to dodge, though he still took so of the shockwave head-on.
Just as he was about to counterattack, however, his mind suddenly turned murky. The world before his eyes began to spin.
Poison?
His body should have been immune to most toxins.
"Clack."
A kunai landed behind him. Hyuga Arin swapped places with it using the Substitute Technique.
Orochimaru had been caught by Pyromania.
"Now!!"
One second.
Hyuga Arin's arms seed to lose their bones, turning soft and pliable. His hands transford into countless afterimages, striking Orochimaru's body in a storm of blows.
Serpent Life · Whip Strike.
Orochimaru's body was special—his chakra flow couldn't be sealed through tenketsu strikes.
So instead, Arin chose brute force to knock him out.
The whip-like strikes fused Gentle Fist, the raw power from Demon Back, and the boost from Clone Technique. Even steel would be pulverized under this assault.
Bang bang bang!
The sounds of flesh colliding rang out. Arin's arms and clone afterimages blurred together, striking so fast that Orochimaru's body visibly deford under the barrage.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Four seconds.
Five seconds.
The stun ended.
Orochimaru's distorted mouth suddenly split open, and another Orochimaru erged from within, holding a broken blade. He stabbed straight toward Hyuga Arin.
Arin tilted his head—yet the elongated short blade still carved a line across his cheek, drawing blood.
The blue flas around Arin flared violently. His kunai slashed past Orochimaru's face, forcing Orochimaru to twist midair and flip back to land safely.
Orochimaru wiped the sticky fluid from his eye and asked with so amusent,
"Arin-kun, aren't you aiming at the wrong objective? The goal isn't to defeat —it's to take the bells."
This kid's strength was absurdly over the standard.
Taking the Chūnin Exams with this level of power would just be bullying.
Even Orochimaru himself wouldn't find it easy to defeat Hyuga Arin now—and many of his techniques were outright lethal, not sothing to use on a newly accepted student.
"Oh… is that so?"
Hyuga Arin scratched his cheek awkwardly, sensing that most of his chakra was already gone. If the fight continued, he really might not be able to beat Orochimaru as he was now.
An elite jōnin was worth over fifty thousand experience points—
Looks like he wouldn't be getting that this ti.
Aside from his weapon and Awakening Skill, he'd truly gone all out. And even then, it was only a rough stalemate.
He completely forgot!!!
Orochimaru roared internally.
THIS WAS A TEST!!
NOT A LIFE-AND-DEATH BATTLE!!!
With a sigh, Orochimaru said, "Arin-kun, let's say you pass. Your strength is already enough to serve as a jōnin."
This test had been ant to evaluate teamwork and individual specialties so he could tailor his teaching afterward.
But Arin's strength was simply off the charts.
Just who was the idiot that let him remain a genin?
…Ah. His teacher.
Then never mind.
"Alright."
Hyuga Arin replied with a face full of regret.
Looks like he really wasn't getting Orochimaru's experience points.
Why do you look disappointed?!
No—maintain the persona.
Orochimaru put on a gentle smile and turned toward the directions where Nawaki and Abura Mushi-hi were hiding. The smile gradually grew sinister.
Arin was troubleso to deal with—but those two little brats?
Hidden in the bushes, Nawaki swallowed nervously. A bad feeling crept up on him.
But still—
"Big bro's strength is way too illegal, isn't it?"
Only one year out of the Ninja Academy, and he was already evenly matched with Orochimaru-sensei.
"So cool…"
Beside him, Abura Mushi-hi let out a soft moan of admiration.
Nawaki shot her a wary look.
Not good. There's a temptress eyeing big bro.
Big bro needs my protection.
(Hyuga Arin: Not needed, thanks.)
…
As the sun dipped westward—
—never mind, wrong genre.
Hyuga Arin sat on a chopped tree stump, looking at Nawaki and Mushi-hi, both bruised and swollen, tied up with rope.
However, the bell in Mushi-hi's hand proved that the two of them had passed.
Orochimaru nodded at them in satisfaction.
"In terms of strength and coordination, you both perford well. Nawaki, you excel at close combat and Earth Release. Abura Mushi-hi, you're suited for support."
Thinking back on Mushi-hi's fighting style, Orochimaru's smile turned a bit strange.
That Abura girl's combat thods were… peculiar, to say the least.
Still, she was indeed suitable as his student.
Originally, the Abura clan had planned to send Mushi-hi to the Kumogakure battlefield. But after hearing that Nawaki was forming a team, they redirected her here, insisting she was perfect for Orochimaru.
Orochimaru glanced at Hyuga Arin, who was sitting on the stump spacing out.
This one was the most outrageous of all.
Only thirteen years old, yet already rivaling him in strength.
This team was absurdly powerful—perhaps they could attempt so truly dangerous missions.
A dangerous thought crossed Orochimaru's mind.
"Orochimaru-sensei," Nawaki raised his hand. "Weren't you… more violent than usual today?"
He rembered Orochimaru-sensei being gentler in the past. These injuries—he usually only got them when sparring with his sister.
"Cough."
Orochimaru coughed twice to hide his embarrassnt, restoring his gentle smile.
"Well, I needed to be a bit more serious for your test."
"I feel like you were venting your frustration with big bro on us," Nawaki muttered.
Orochimaru chose to pretend he hadn't heard that.
Of course not.
How could he be that kind of person?
"Orochimaru-sensei."
Hyuga Arin suddenly raised his hand, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Arin-kun?"
Orochimaru addressed him as an equal. In the ninja world, strength determined status—and Arin had earned the right to speak on equal footing.
"Since our team just ford, shouldn't you treat us to a al? That's a Konoha tradition."
Orochimaru looked at Nawaki's eager expression and thought of that bottomless stomach.
A massive red DANGER symbol seed to flash over his wallet.
But if it was just Nawaki, it should be manageable. The other two probably didn't eat that much… right?
…
Inside a barbecue restaurant.
"Wow, that was so satisfying."
Hyuga Arin patted his bulging stomach.
Beside him stood three small mountains of empty plates.
A ninja's appetite grew with their chakra capacity. With Arin's chakra nearing nine thousand, he could probably eat as much as Nawaki now.
Naturally, his food intake had skyrocketed.
Orochimaru sat nearby, staring at the three plate mountains. He still wore his gentle smile—though it was starting to twitch.
Why can these two eat so much too?!
A killing intent seeped into the air.
The hard-at-work Abura Mushi-hi lifted her head in confusion.
"Huh?"
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◇ You can read 90 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon/CanonBreaker
Reviews
All reviews (0)