Orochimaru jumped back rather awkwardly. At the last moment, he managed to dodge the attack, though he still took some of the shockwave.
Just as he was about to counterattack, his mind suddenly grew foggy, and the world in front of him began spinning.
Poison?
His body should already be immune to most toxins.
Clink.
A kunai landed behind him. Akira instantly swapped places with it using his substitution technique.
Orochimaru had already been caught by Flame Hunger.
"Now!"
One second.
Akira's arms suddenly became boneless, soft and flexible like whips. His hands blurred into countless afterimages as they struck Orochimaru's body.
Living Snake: Whip Strike.
Orochimaru's body was too abnormal for chakra-point sealing techniques to work.
So Akira simply chose to beat him unconscious.
The whipping strikes were infused with Gentle Fist, the strength of Demon Back, and the enhancement of Clone Technique.
Even steel would be crushed under such power.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of flesh colliding with flesh echoed repeatedly.
Akira's real arms and their phantom afterimages became a storm of strikes, continuously distorting Orochimaru's body.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Four seconds.
Five seconds.
The stun ended.
Orochimaru's warped mouth suddenly split open.
Another Orochimaru emerged from inside it, holding a broken blade that extended forward like a spear, stabbing straight toward Akira.
Akira tilted his head.
The lengthened blade still sliced across his cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood.
Blue flames surged violently from Akira's body.
His kunai flashed toward Orochimaru's face, but Orochimaru twisted midair and flipped backward, landing smoothly on the ground.
Orochimaru wiped the slime from his eye and sighed.
"Akira-kun, I think you misunderstood your objective."
"You're supposed to take the bell… not defeat me."
This kid's strength was way too outrageous.
If he entered the Chunin Exams like this, he'd basically be bullying the competition.
Even Orochimaru himself wouldn't have an easy time defeating Akira right now.
Of course, he still had many ninjutsu he hadn't used.
But most of those techniques were designed to kill enemies.
They weren't suitable for testing a new student.
"…Oh. Right."
Akira scratched his face awkwardly.
Feeling the massive depletion of chakra in his body, he realized that continuing the fight might actually lead to defeat.
An elite jonin was worth more than fifty thousand experience.
Looks like he wouldn't be getting that this time.
Except for his weapon and his awakened skill, he had already gone all out.
Even then, he had only managed a draw.
He completely forgot! Orochimaru roared internally.
This was supposed to be a test, not a life-or-death battle!
Orochimaru sighed.
"Akira-kun, you pass."
"Your strength is already sufficient to qualify as a jonin."
The purpose of this test had been to evaluate teamwork and combat roles.
After that, Orochimaru planned to provide training.
But Akira's strength clearly exceeded the standard.
Which idiot decided this kid should still be a genin?
Oh right.
His teacher.
Never mind then.
"Alright."
Akira nodded with visible disappointment.
So he really couldn't farm Orochimaru's experience points.
Why are you disappointed?!
Orochimaru maintained his gentle smile.
Then he turned toward the bushes where Nawaki and Mushi-hime were hiding.
His smile slowly became terrifying.
Fighting Akira was exhausting.
But those two little ones?
Hidden in the bushes, Nawaki swallowed nervously.
He suddenly had a bad feeling.
"But seriously…"
"Big brother's strength is totally cheating."
It had only been one year since Akira graduated from the Academy.
And yet he could fight Orochimaru-sensei evenly.
"So cool…" Mushi-hime whispered dreamily beside him.
Nawaki immediately looked at her with suspicion.
This was bad.
A dangerous woman was targeting his big brother.
Big brother Akira needs my protection.
(Akira: I absolutely do not, thanks.)
As the sun set—
Okay, that sounded too dramatic.
Akira sat on a tree stump, watching Nawaki and Mushi-hime.
Both of them were bruised and battered.
They were also tied up with rope.
But the bell hanging from Mushi-hime's hand proved that they had passed the test.
Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction.
"Your strength and teamwork are both decent."
"Nawaki, you excel in close combat and Earth Release."
"Mushi-hime specializes in support."
Thinking about her fighting style, Orochimaru couldn't help smiling strangely.
The Aburame clan's methods were already unusual.
But Mushi-hime's combat style was especially… strange.
Still, she was indeed well-suited to become his student.
Originally, the Aburame clan had planned to send Mushi-hime to the Kumogakure battlefield.
But when they heard Nawaki was forming a team, they transferred her here instead.
They claimed she was particularly suited to study under Orochimaru.
Orochimaru glanced at Akira, who was sitting on the stump staring blankly.
That one was the real monster.
Only thirteen years old, yet already possessing strength not inferior to his own.
This team was ridiculously powerful.
Maybe…
They could attempt some dangerous missions.
Orochimaru began having some questionable ideas.
"Orochimaru-sensei," Nawaki raised his hand.
"Were you… a little more violent today than usual?"
He remembered Orochimaru being much gentler before.
The kind of injuries he had now usually only happened when training with his sister.
"Cough, cough."
Orochimaru coughed awkwardly and restored his usual gentle smile.
"Well, a proper test requires proper seriousness."
"…I feel like you were just venting your frustration from fighting big brother onto us," Nawaki muttered.
Orochimaru pretended not to hear.
He would never do something like that.
"Orochimaru-sensei," Akira suddenly raised his hand.
"Yes, Akira-kun?"
Orochimaru treated Akira as an equal.
In the ninja world, strength determined status, and Akira had already earned the right to stand on equal footing.
"Since our team just formed, shouldn't you treat us to a meal?"
"That's Konoha tradition."
Orochimaru looked at Nawaki's hopeful face.
Then he remembered the boy's bottomless stomach.
Suddenly, a giant red "DANGER" symbol appeared in his mind—right over his wallet.
But…
If it was just Nawaki alone, it shouldn't be too bad.
The other two probably didn't eat much.
…Right?
Inside the barbecue restaurant—
"Wow… that was amazing."
Akira rubbed his round belly.
Beside him was a mountain of empty plates.
A ninja's appetite grew with their chakra reserves.
Akira's chakra capacity had already reached 9,000, about the same as Nawaki's.
Naturally, his appetite had grown accordingly.
Across the table, Orochimaru stared at three mountains of empty plates.
His gentle smile remained on his face—
But it was starting to look strained.
Why can these two eat so much too?!
A murderous aura appeared in the air.
Mushi-hime, who had been eating silently, looked up in confusion.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/KuroTL