After fighting for a few minutes the two parties started to get into a stalemate, and not because of the fact that the three-leaf Genin managed to match Orochimaru's power but because the latter temporarily halted putting pressure on the three and thought about his next action.
Right now the news of his appearance in Training Ground 44 isn't known by many people yet, but it wouldn't last long. Once Minato finds out about him, without a doubt he will immediately appear in the forest to kill him.
'Should I start marking her right now? ' Orochimaru thought to himself.
Satsuki and Sasuke weren't the only people that he targeted for this day but also included Hikari Uchiha.
At first he didn't really place any importance on Hikari Uchiha and mostly focused on Satsuki and Sasuke since Orochimaru believes that as the younger siblings of Itachi they should be at least talented.
They might never be on the same level as Itachi, but they are still talented compared to their peers.
Of course it wouldn't be obvious for others since this generation of ninjas from all five Great Ninja Villages has geniuses appearing one after the other.
Of course the news he heard from the ninja villages can be considered publicity for the higher-ups to attract clients throughout the Elemental Continent, but Orochimaru partially doubts that since it will definitely be a huge problem for the Five Great Ninja Villages if they release such news in the long term and may even destroy the trust clients had in the villages.
'I can't yet,' Orochimaru added while glancing at Naruto, who was watching the whole fight.
'I still don't know his intention about this. If I push too hard, it might result in him joining the fight. Not that I wouldn't refuse to fight him. Orochimaru's eyes flashed for a moment, and Naruto felt great killing intent from Orochimaru, but he ignored it as if it were just a wind breeze.
As Orochimaru was about to make a decision, he suddenly noticed a group of people coming towards their location, and a sinister smile appeared on Orochimaru's face, causing the three girls who were still trying to catch their breath to frown.
Moments later, three Leaf Genin appear at the top of one of the branches, staring at the area with shock and serious expressions on their faces.
'Why the hell did someone appear in this area at the worst possible time?! Kaori screams inwardly, full of frustration.
Everyone knows who just appeared, as they were none other than Team 12.
Keimei, who was at the center of the formation, stared at Grass Ninja and noticed the abnormality he had in his face. Keimei's eyes locked at the Grass Ninja for a moment before scanning the area and seeing Satsuki, Hinata, and Kaori injured, which was definitely caused by the Grass Ninja.
Her eyes finally landed on Naruto, who just glanced at her and her teammates for a moment before staring at where the three girls were currently positioned.
"What the hell happens here?" Hikari whispers while observing the surrounding area.
He already knew the reason behind the injuries his previous classmate suffered, but the question still bugged his mind. Why? It was clear that the Grass Ninja objective isn't the scroll but something else entirely.
'Karin did warn us about the danger of this area, but it seems we greatly underestimated the danger,' Hikari thought while glancing at Karin, who started to tremble in fear while staring at the Grass Ninja.
Hikari thought that Karin was afraid of the Grass Ninja, but he couldn't be wrong. Karin is indeed afraid of the Grass Ninja after sensing his wicked chakra, but that's not the reason why she is trembling at this moment.
What causes her to tremble is none other than Naruto. Others might not sense it, but how can she not with her incredible sensory abilities?
If the Grass Ninja had wicked charka surrounding him, making everyone feel chills at their bone marrows, but Naruto is completely different league entirely.
'How can this be...' Karin thought to herself.
Karin felt death around Naruto, and this was the first time she felt this despite being classmates with Naruto for years. With her sensory ability called the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, she had great senses compared to the typical sensory ninja.
She can even detect slight disturbances far away, unlike other sensory ninjas, and throughout their school life she didn't detect any abnormality in Naruto—until today, that is.
At this moment she felt she was slowly entering the afterlife, and she didn't dare to make any moves at this moment, fearing it would attract Naruto's attention and end her life.
Orochimaru amuses himself after seeing the reaction of Karin. He heard about Karin from Kabuto and had an initial plan of abducting her for his experiments but quickly put the plan aside since he knows Karin's personality and he will definitely be chased by Minato at that moment.
It was too risky to abduct Karin in the past, but now it's a different story altogether.
"Heavens truly bless me today," Orochimaru whispers while licking her lips with his long tongue. His voice resounds throughout the area, making those who are unfortunate enough to hear it shiver to their bone marrow.
Orochimaru slightly turned his head towards Satsuki, who is close to Hinata and being helped by the latter. He originally wanted to mark Satsuki with the Cursed Seal like Sasuke before targeting Hikari, but with Naruto around, he couldn't act like he originally wanted, as he couldn't predict any kind of action the latter would do.
If he doesn't act, it will definitely be good news, but if not, then it will be trouble affecting his grand plan. Satisfying his desire to know more about Naruto isn't worth it if it causes his years of planning to go astray.
Naruto remains silent on the branch, watching the going-ons like a movie spectator watching the newly released movie. He really didn't care what was going to happen since it wouldn't really affect him personally.
He can fail this exam for all he cares since the reason why he joined was just on a whim and to complete his side project before he proceeds with his plan.
Naruto didn't care about the newly arrived Team 12 and acted as if they hadn't appeared. Naruto also noticed Karin's abnormality and believes it was due to Orochimaru.
In this intense situation it was a perfect opportunity for Orochimaru to achieve his goal for today, especially with the arrivals of Team 12 making it easier for him to complete than he initially expected.
'I can no longer waste any more time.'
Orochimaru was clear about the fact that he didn't have much time since his former student will definitely learn of his arrival in the Forest of Death, and without a doubt she will report it to Minato.
Minato's arrival was only a matter of time, and Orochimaru didn't have the thought of facing him yet.
His gaze slowly landed on Hikari, and his smile grew bigger and more sinister.
Without warning, Orochimaru suddenly moved with speed far faster than he had previously showcased.
Instantly Orochimaru appeared in front of Hikari, who still had confusion plastered on his face, and just as Orochimaru was about to bite Hikari's neck and place the Cursed Seal, at the corner of his eyes he saw a fist flying at his face.
'What-?!'
Orochimaru didn't have time to even dodge the punch as the fist already connected with his cheek, and the force behind the punch was so terrifying that Orochimaru's head violently twisted to the side before his entire body flew like a cannonball.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Several massive trees shattered instantly as Orochimaru's body crashed through them one after another before finally skidding across the ground, leaving a long trail of destruction.
The entire forest fell into silence.
Satsuki, Hinata, and Kaori, who had shocked expressions after seeing Orochimaru vanish, suddenly heard the commotion and turned their heads to the source and saw Orochimaru sent flying by Keimei, who was currently standing in front of Hikari.
'What... just happened...? ' Kaori thought in disbelief.
Kaori always knows that out of all the female ninjas that managed to pass in their class, Keimei is without a doubt the strongest, but how much stronger she was compared to them is still up for debate.
But after seeing the result of Keimei's punch, Kaori realizes that Keimei is far stronger than she and others ever imagined.
Hinata shares the same sentiment as Kaori and is slightly happy to see her friend this strong and within ignite a competitive spirit she never knew she had.
Satsuki, on the other hand, clenches her fist tightly, letting blood flow from her hands. She thought that she would finally catch up with Keimei, especially after she awakened her Sharingan, but the world would give her a reality check.
She didn't catch up with Keimei, as there was still a huge gap between them.
Hikari, on the other hand, was shocked and confused after suddenly seeing Keimei appear in front of him, but his confusion turned to understanding after seeing the destruction caused by Orochimaru flying.