Chapter 56: The Third Exam Begins
The former Konoha Sannin, Orochimaru.
He leaned casually against a moss-covered stone, his long, jet-black hair falling loosely over his shoulders. His eyes held a deep, unsettling confidence, a sullen malice lurking within their golden depths. The corners of his mouth curled into a wicked, knowing smile.
"You've done well," he hissed. "I was curious to see if he could serve as a potential... replacement container for Sasuke."
Orochimaru took the ninja info card from Zaku's trembling hand, his gaze scanning the information with a detached air.
But as his eyes moved down the card, his expression soured. His brow furrowed, and a cold aura emanated from him.
"Proficient in Fire Style ninjutsu. Highly skilled in the Body Flicker Technique. Actual combat ability: weak. Overall assessment: slightly above average genin," he read aloud, his voice dripping with disdain.
Crackle.
A surge of potent chakra erupted from his palm, and the info card instantly disintegrated into a fine, black dust that sifted through his fingers.
Zaku, Kin, and Dosu flinched, taking several hurried steps backward, their faces pale with fear. They knew all too well that while Orochimaru was powerful, he was also capricious and cruel. Their reverence for him was always tempered by a deep-seated terror.
"It seems I was mistaken," Orochimaru sighed, a look of genuine disappointment crossing his features. "He is merely... ordinary." He had ordered the reconnaissance on Aizen to assess his potential as a backup vessel for the Uchiha heir. The data on the card, however, was utterly underwhelming, forcing him to discard the idea.
"My lord, what are your orders now?" Dosu asked, bowing deeply, his voice a mixture of fear and fervent loyalty. To them, a command from Orochimaru was a sacred decree.
Orochimaru's cold, reptilian eyes settled on the trio. "He has lost his value," he stated flatly. "Eliminate him. Show no mercy."
The command was delivered with as much emotion as one would use to order the squashing of an insect.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" the three replied in unison, their heads still bowed.
Poof!
A thick cloud of smoke erupted, and when it cleared, Orochimaru was gone, leaving the three Sound ninja alone with their deadly new mission.
Over the next several days, the remaining teams scrambled to complete their objectives. When the five-day time limit finally expired, only eight groups, including Aizen's solo entry, had successfully gathered the scrolls. Out of the initial seventy-nine, only twenty-two genin remained.
The Top of the Tower
"What? Twenty-two people passed the second exam?" Mitarashi Anko complained, her hands on her hips. "That's way more than I expected!"
They stood in a vast, hall-like chamber within the central tower. In the center was a large, empty fighting platform, flanked on two sides by elevated stands for spectators.
The room was divided. On one side stood the twenty-two exhausted but triumphant genin. On the other side were the proctors and a host of Konoha's elite—several jōnin sensei. And standing at the pinnacle of this ninja hierarchy, clad in his white and red Hokage robe with the kanji for 'Fire' on his hat, was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Though advanced in years, the Third Hokage stood straight, his eyes sharp and clear, radiating vitality. More impressively, the sheer volume of chakra within him was like a calm, deep ocean, and his presence carried an authoritative weight that commanded silence and respect.
The candidates looked upon him with awe. In the presence of a man who stood at the very top of the shinobi world, they dared not even breathe too loudly.
"So many jōnin..." one of the genin from a smaller village whispered, his voice filled with envy and admiration. To see so many of Konoha's elite in one place was a stark reminder of the village's power. For every Konoha shinobi present, becoming a jōnin, and perhaps even Hokage, was the ultimate dream.
"There are quite a number of you," the Third Hokage's voice, firm and clear, echoed through the hall. His sharp eyes scanned each examinee, pausing for a fraction of a second longer on Aizen Sōsuke. He had maintained a cautious watch on the boy, suspecting he might be a spy, yet a month of surveillance had yielded nothing out of the ordinary. It was perplexing.
"You who have gathered here have already proven your basic capabilities," the Third declared. "However, to officially become chunin, you must pass the third and final examination." He paused, letting his words sink in before announcing, "Therefore, I hereby declare... the third exam... begins now!"
His words instantly electrified the atmosphere, a wave of tension and anticipation crashing over the twenty-two remaining genin. The final hurdle was here.