The first written test had ended. For Team 7, Ibiki's psychological gambit posed no difficulty at all—the methods they learned from Shinju and Kakashi were more than enough for this arena. Even Naruto, unlike in another timeline where he had no idea what to write, now leaned on tight teamwork and passed smoothly.
The real trial began the next morning.
Training Ground 44—the "Forest of Death."
Chief examiner Anko explained the rules for the second exam.
It was a scroll-snatching survival match. Twenty-six teams would each receive either a Ten no Maki, the Heaven Scroll, or a Chi no Maki, the Earth Scroll. Over the next five days, they had to survive in the forest, secure both Heaven and Earth, then reach the central tower.
"Alright, brats," Anko eyed the gathered genin, wearing the look of someone waiting for a good show. "Good luck. Try not to die in there."
Orders given, twenty-six teams entered the forest from their assigned gates.
Team 7 drew the Earth Scroll.
The moment they stepped under the canopy, Naruto was all fire and momentum. "Our goal is simple—find a team with a Heaven Scroll and take it!"
Sasuke was far more guarded. "Don't get careless, dead last. The enemies here aren't just examinees." His Sharingan was already active, scanning every twig and shadow.
Sakura gripped her kunai and kept tight behind them, shoulders taut.
In the Namikaze study, Shinju sat before a wall of light-screens.
The display was split into twenty-six tiles—each showing a different team's live feed. The footage came from micro scout-insects seeded through the forest—creatures refined with the Aburame clan's secret techniques.
Shinju watched like a casual viewer of a massive broadcast, but his focus stayed on two frames: Team 7, and a trio wearing Kusagakure headbands.
He smiled faintly. The moment he'd anticipated was about to arrive.
Team 7 moved for roughly thirty minutes, dispatching a few oversized beasts along the way with smooth coordination. It was almost easy.
Just as they were about to cross a marsh, a crushing wind pressed down from above.
All three halted instantly and took defensive stances.
A figure dropped onto a branch ahead of them.
Long black hair. Grass ninja uniform. A face so androgynous it defied easy reading.
"So, you're the brats holding an Earth Scroll?" the newcomer rasped, tongue sliding out to wet his lips.
Sasuke met the stranger's eyes—and saw vertical, golden pupils.
His body locked.
A sensation he had never known seized him—spiking up his spine and spreading through every limb. Fear. Raw and absolute, burning thought to ash. He hadn't felt this even before a jōnin of Zabuza's caliber.
It was like some incomprehensible lifeform had fixed him in its gaze. Chakra slowed to a crawl in his coils; the tomoe in his eyes wobbled and blurred.
Sakura fared worse. One instant's eye contact with those golden slits and her legs gave out; she dropped to the damp earth, mouth open without a sound.
Only Naruto remained on his feet. The Kyubi's chakra stirred, dulling the pressure. But even he could tell: the person before them was on a plane utterly different from Zabuza. A true monster.
"Hehehe… what a fine sapling."
Orochimaru's gaze slid past Naruto and Sakura, fastening with feverish hunger on the trembling Sasuke. His expression was the sick light of a collector finding a perfect piece.
"Genius of the Uchiha… Your body is reserved by me."
He finished speaking, opened his mouth, and—throat writhing—swallowed his own Heaven Scroll whole. The motion was grotesquely inhuman.
Then he dropped from the branch and advanced on the trio, whose will to fight was collapsing.
"Fear makes people grow. Sasuke-kun, show me your capacity."
"Damn it!"
Naruto moved first. He roared, hands flying through seals.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)!"
Dozens of Narutos surged in from every angle.
Sasuke forced his body to move. Crushing his reflexive dread, his fingers formed seals.
"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)!"
Serpents of flame roared from his mouth, syncing with Naruto's clones to cage every lane of Orochimaru's movement.
Orochimaru's lips curled in disdain.
"Sen'eijashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)."
Scores of snakes burst from his sleeves, skewering every clone; white smoke popped and faded. The serpents plowed on and smashed through Sasuke's fire in a spray of embers.
Orochimaru's figure blurred and vanished.
The next instant, his neck stretched and twisted at an unnatural angle, his face snapping up before Sasuke's eyes.
Those golden slits nailed Sasuke to the spot.
He couldn't move. His hands wouldn't seal. His feet were stakes in the mud. Even lifting a finger felt impossible. This wasn't a matter of will—it was suppression from a higher rung of life.
Orochimaru opened his mouth, fangs bared, ready to brand Sasuke's neck.
In the study, Shinju watched the feed. Sasuke and Sakura were utterly defenseless; Naruto was about to be broken. His own expression did not ripple.
He was evaluating.
Measuring how far Naruto and Sasuke could push themselves facing this predator.
He saw the red chakra leaking from Naruto's body—the Kyubi's power shielding its host by instinct.
He also saw the tomoe in Sasuke's eyes shifting—fear goading the Sharingan's evolution.
From Orochimaru's every move, the target was clear: Sasuke's neck, not their lives.
All of it slotted into Shinju's mind—signs, timings, intent. This encounter was a test. A pressure trial on his pieces.
So far, the data satisfied him.
Since the intel was gathered and the analysis complete, the test could end.
He lifted his wrist to a tiny communicator and spoke a single line.
"Father—your cue."
The Forest of Death.
Orochimaru's jaws opened, fangs poised at Sasuke's throat. Sasuke could feel the intruder's breath on his skin.
And then—a towering golden silhouette bloomed behind Orochimaru.
(End of Chapter)
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