Early the next morning, thick white mist blanketed the Forest of Death.
The occasional roar of wild beasts echoed through the woods, venting the forest’s morning gloom.
Children in Konoha were strictly forbidden from approaching the Forest of Death.
Giant beasts roamed parts of it, making the place extremely dangerous.
A lone figure darted through the fog.
A black robe flickered faintly within the mist, and a pair of crimson eyes glowed for an instant.
Muzan moved with astonishing speed, using the Body Flicker Technique to flash to the edge of the forest.
“As expected of Orochimaru…
He’s actually holding our genin assessment in the Forest of Death.
Isn’t he worried the students might get killed?” Judging from this, Orochimaru had no intention of using Konoha’s traditional bell test to build teamwork.
After all, the Orochimaru of this era would have had no hesitation in killing even Jiraiya if a mission required it.
Fortunately, coming to the Forest of Death wasn’t particularly dangerous for Muzan.
For Anko and Mari…
That was another story entirely.
Before long, the morning fog began to fade.
Muzan pulled the hood of his black robe back over his head and suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Looking into the distance, he could make out two blurry figures.
“Muzan!
I can’t believe you got here so early!” Anko was fully equipped today, wearing a clean shinobi outfit with two explosive tags tucked into her waist pouch.
Unfortunately, the dango in her mouth ruined the otherwise intimidating image.
As expected of Anko.
She never stopped eating dango.
“This place is terrifying…” Mari shrank into himself as he stared at the mist-covered forest around them.
The twisted trees looked like demons waiting to drag him to his death.
His legs had already gone so weak he could barely walk.
“You idiot, Mari!
It’s just the Forest of Death!
What’s there to be scared of?
How are you supposed to pass Orochimaru-sama’s test if you’re acting like this?” Anko smacked him on the head, hoping to snap him out of it.
If they failed because of Mari and had to crawl back to the Academy in disgrace…
She’d probably cry herself to sleep.
Rubbing the bump on his head, Mari forced himself to suppress the fear inside him.
If he dragged the entire team down…
He would regret it for the rest of his life.
Even so, his body trembled uncontrollably as he followed behind Muzan.
“Don’t worry.” “As your teammate, the moment we run into danger…” “I’ll be the first one to run.” The tears Mari had just managed to stop immediately started flowing again.
On his very first day as a genin, he realized just how cruel the world could be.
“You jerk, Muzan!
Stop bullying Mari!” There was still some distance before they reached the meeting point.
Following the river that flowed out of the Forest of Death, the three of them headed upstream.
Soon, they spotted a lone figure already waiting in the distance.
“Oh no, oh no!
Orochimaru-sama got here before us!” Anko panicked.
She had thought she’d arrived early.
Now she was certain she’d already made a terrible first impression.
Orochimaru, however, showed no sign of dissatisfaction.
He simply took out a summoning scroll.
Combined with the icy aura surrounding him…
The three of them immediately sensed something was very wrong.
“The moment you became genin…” “You should have accepted that death would always be at your side.” “If you survive this test, you will truly become genin.” “If you fail…” “There will be no return to the Academy.” “What awaits you is…” Death.
Even though Orochimaru never spoke the final word aloud, all three of them understood.
Especially Mari.
Standing in the back, his legs shook uncontrollably.
“Orochimaru-sama’s methods are as ruthless as ever.” “But they suit a shinobi’s way of survival perfectly.” Muzan understood that the current Orochimaru was still an extremely rational man.
Rational enough to discard his humanity.
The weak would only bring meaningless sorrow to those around them.
In critical situations, they could even cause even greater casualties.
Better to eliminate them from the beginning.
Mari noticed Orochimaru’s eyes lingering on him.
Was…
Was he the reason?
Orochimaru gave them no opportunity to ask questions.
His hands flashed through seals before slamming onto the ground.
“shinobi Art: Summoning Jutsu!” A cloud of white smoke exploded outward.
Orochimaru rose high into the air.
Beneath him coiled a gigantic serpent, its enormous tongue flicking in and out as it stared at the three children with obvious amusement.
Muzan glanced at his teammates.
Both of them had collapsed onto the ground, their legs too weak to stand.
Unlike them, he remained calm.
Kunai gripped tightly in both hands, he watched the giant snake with cautious eyes.
“Thank goodness it isn’t Manda…” That alone was a blessing.
If Orochimaru had summoned Manda from Ryuchi Cave, Muzan would have suspected he intended to feed them to it.
Even so…
An ordinary giant snake from Ryuchi Cave was still far beyond what an average genin could handle.
“So the test has already begun, Orochimaru-sama?” Muzan pulled both teammates back onto their feet before raising his head to meet Orochimaru’s gaze.
The instant the giant snake appeared, his teammates had already lost the ability to fight.
This wasn’t so much a test of the squad…
As it was a test designed specifically for him.
“The examination has already begun.” “Either kill the snake…” “Or be killed by it.” To force them to reveal their true abilities, Orochimaru had sealed off the surrounding area with a barrier.
No one outside could sense what was happening within.
And no one inside could escape.
This narrow stretch of forest had become an arena where only life or death mattered.
“You really aren’t leaving us any way out.” “But Orochimaru-sama…” “I won’t disappoint you.” The only way anyone could observe what was happening inside the barrier…
Was through the Telescope Technique.
At that very moment, two people stood inside the Hokage’s office watching the crystal ball.
Orochimaru had actually summoned a giant snake…
Against three children who had only just graduated from the shinobi Academy.
Bang!
Tsunade smashed the Third Hokage’s desk clean in half before shooting to her feet in fury.
“What kind of joke is this?!” “Orochimaru has gone too far this time!” The Third looked mournfully at his shattered desk, his beard twitching.
At this point, he was still a man in his prime, the “Professor” whose imposing presence remained unquestioned.
Even so, he didn’t dare scold Tsunade.
If she got angry enough to demolish his entire office…
He’d truly be at his wit’s end.
“Calm down.” “Don’t forget, Orochimaru is their jonin instructor.” “The method of the test is entirely up to him.” “And Orochimaru knows where the line is.” As he spoke, the Third deliberately pointed toward the crystal ball, where Muzan and Orochimaru stared each other down.
“Don’t forget.” “When Muzan graduated…” “He completely overwhelmed a genin in only a few minutes.” More than a year had already passed since that graduation exam.
Kakashi’s strength was now approaching that of a chunin.
And Muzan…
Who had been even stronger than Kakashi…
“Hmph.” After that reminder, Tsunade reluctantly forced herself to calm down and continued watching the crystal ball.
After more than a year together, Tsunade had taught Muzan nearly everything she knew except for the Strength of a Hundred Seal and the Yin Seal.
For all intents and purposes…
He had already become half of Tsunade’s disciple.