Orochimaru Attacks!

"Hmph... Sasuke, you've been getting fired up lately too! I'm looking forward to it myself. I really want to see just how strong the Uchiha Sharingan is!"

I'd also like to know whether the Sharingan, which can copy Ninjutsu, see through Genjutsu, and enhance dynamic vision, can beat me to the ground!

The next day, Kakashi gave us the application forms and told us to turn them in before ten the following morning. Then he left with a Body Flicker Technique.

A little after nine the next morning, in the school building where we were to submit our forms.

"It hasn't been long since we graduated, but it feels like we haven't been back in years. This brings back memories! But... it looks like we're a little late. There's nobody left out here." I was surprised to find that there wasn't a soul in the building. "They must already be inside the classroom!"

"No, there's still one person!" Sasuke said.

No... there are two! I silently corrected Sasuke. There was also a familiar feeling of being watched, just like when Hinata looked at me with her Byakugan. That was probably Neji Hyuga!

"I've been waiting for you for a long time! You're Sasuke Uchiha, aren't you?" A young ninja with thick eyebrows and a bowl cut appeared before us, asking the question with his fists raised in an opening stance.

"So what if I am?"

"My name is Rock Lee! I wanted to have a match with you. I wanted to see just how strong the so-called Uchiha Clan really is...! I didn't expect you to come so late. There's no time for a match now, and registration is almost over! But that's all right. There'll be opportunities during the exam. I'll prove to you and everyone else-"

Lee suddenly vanished from sight!

"-that I'm the strongest Genin in Konoha!"

His voice came from behind us!

So fast!

"Lee, are you done yet? Stop dawdling and hurry up!" A handsome boy with long black hair appeared on the second floor and called Lee up.

After the two of them left, we were silent for a moment.

"Hmph..." Sasuke forced a smile. "Neither of those two is easy to deal with! That bowl-cut Lee is astonishingly fast! And that white-eyed guy behind him, I think he's even stronger than Lee! Those two are monsters! But... as long as I use my Sharingan, I can definitely beat them!"

"I'm not so sure about that!" Naruto looked unusually serious. "It's hard to say about the white-eyed guy in back, but did you notice Lee's hands?"

"Naruto, you mean the medical bandages, right?" I picked up where Naruto had left off. "Those are the kind of bandages only someone who trains incredibly hard needs! That thick-browed guy is a super hard worker!"

"That's all there is to it... Meeting so many strong people taking the exam, this so-called Chunin Ninja Exams is getting more and more interesting!" Sasuke's expression shifted from gloomy to a confident smile. "Naruto, Sakura! Let's go!"

After we turned the corner, on Lee's side-

"Well, Lee... how strong are they?"

"Without the Uchiha secret techniques, Sasuke can't keep up with my speed! The other one couldn't keep up either, so she should be a little weaker than Sasuke..."

"Don't let your guard down, Lee! The power of the Sharingan is no joke! As for the other one..." Neji stopped, turned around, and looked seriously at Lee. "Lee, you misjudged her..."

"Though she couldn't see your movements, her Chakra had already reacted when you moved behind her!"

"And that shortest one, the enormous amount of Chakra inside him... This year's newcomers really aren't simple!"

"Ah-ow!" I woke from the darkness, my entire body trembling. Intense pain came from every part of me, and I couldn't help crying out!

What on earth happened...? Did I transmigrate again?

"Thank goodness," I heard a soft female voice beside me say-

"Original, you're finally awake!"

I forced myself to sit up, and my memories slowly welled up from the depths of my mind. To take Sasuke's body, Orochimaru had attacked us during the second exam, just as in the original story. That was why I was lying here, covered in injuries. Ever since transmigrating, I had been especially concerned about this part of the story, because it might have been the closest I would come to death in the "plot." Though I had wanted to change it, there were two things I was powerless to alter. The first was the plan to attack Konoha. Something so significant surely wouldn't change just because Konoha had one more outstanding newcomer than in the original. The second was Orochimaru's desire for the Sharingan. Given how obsessed he was, I dared not hope I could change his mind. As for why Orochimaru attacked us during the second exam, it was because surveillance there was limited, allowing him to do whatever he pleased! So unless we skipped this year's Chunin Ninja Exams, we were bound to run into that psycho Orochimaru during the second exam. But if we didn't participate, that would mean we'd meet Orochimaru somewhere else...!

Thinking carefully about the three people attacked in the original, Sasuke had the precious Sharingan bloodline, while Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, making it inconvenient to harm him. That left only me, with no background or value. Whether to kill me or not was entirely up to Orochimaru! The reason I hadn't been killed in the original was probably that I was so weak Orochimaru wasn't interested in killing me, and he needed someone to look after the unconscious Sasuke! So, to safely get through this, all I had to do was stay out of the fight like in the original, right?

Despite that deduction, when I actually encountered Orochimaru, I still chose to fight alongside Naruto and Sasuke—I just couldn't live on by being that "smart"! People sometimes made foolish choices, yet never regretted them. Perhaps that was human nature!

Still, since Sasuke had fallen unconscious after receiving the Cursed Seal, I was fairly confident Orochimaru wouldn't kill me, because I still had "value" to him—the value of looking after his precious test subject for him...

Now it seemed my deduction had been correct. I had made it through, though at the cost of injuries all over my body!

"What time is it?" I asked, sitting on the ground.

"It's almost sunrise, probably around five in the morning. Original, you've been unconscious for more than ten hours! I've already given you and those two some preliminary treatment. I cleaned all the wounds and used Water Release to set the fractures again. There shouldn't be any serious problems in the short term. I used the Hidden Mist Technique to cover this place. It's a little conspicuous, but it won't stand out much by the river at night."

The Shadow Clone's eyes sparkled, reflecting the faint starlight.

I had discovered this special Shadow Clone, which could continue acting independently even after I fell unconscious, while learning Naruto's Multi Shadow Clone. My mental strength was seven times that of an ordinary person. Five parts came from my soul before transmigration, and two from the soul originally belonging to this body. My soul was a fusion of the two, like a dual-core CPU, while an ordinary person had a single-core CPU. When an ordinary person suffered severe injuries, they would fall unconscious and sleep to protect themselves. I, however, could leave the five-part "core" to bear all the damage and let it sleep, while the other "core" projected its mental strength onto the Shadow Clone to control her actions. This was also how I could divide my attention between two tasks.

In normal activity, doing this was meaningless. The only consequence of splitting my mental strength in two was weakening myself, while the reduction in mental consumption was negligible, a mere drop in the bucket compared with my enormous mental strength. But when I was injured and unconscious, doing this could at least provide me with some crucial care and protection while I was insensible!

However, this also made the special Shadow Clone more girlish in temperament. Both her speech and her face were more feminine. Looking at her like this, it didn't feel like I was looking at myself, but admiring a beautiful woman...

"O-Original, why are you staring at me?" The Shadow Clone actually grew shy under the original's gaze.

"Nothing... whew, thanks for the effort! Come back for now!"

After dispelling the Shadow Clone, I lay quietly against a tree, keeping watch over the still-unconscious Naruto and Sasuke while silently checking my condition. I had overdrawn my Chakra earlier, so my meridians still ached faintly, and I couldn't draw out much Chakra. But overall-

"I guess that guy Orochimaru let me off easy!" I muttered to myself with a wry smile.

I recalled our encounter with Orochimaru the previous afternoon...

During the first exam, Naruto had indeed erupted under the mental pressure imposed by the examiner!

"Even if I'm a Genin for the rest of my life... I'll still strive to become Hokage! I'm not backing down now! Don't underestimate me! Give us the question!"

Those bold words, together with Naruto's determined expression, had also steadied many wavering hearts. Seeing that further pressure would have no effect, the chief examiner, Ibiki Morino, decisively announced that everyone remaining had passed!

Then, led by Mitarashi Anko, who wore a sexy, skintight fishnet outfit, we entered the grounds for the second exam...

We followed the river because I was stronger in battle near water.

"Sasuke, Naruto! Something's wrong! Do you feel it?" A sense of unease rose in my heart, and I suddenly stopped. "It feels like someone's watching us! And... they're strong!"

"I feel it too..." Sasuke nodded gravely!

"Heh heh..." Three ninja emerged from hiding in front of us. The tall one leading them spoke. "Good senses, kid! You actually noticed us! If you want to live, hand over your scroll!"

"Get lost... I don't have time to deal with small fry like you right now!" These ninja weren't wearing Forehead Protectors, but judging by their clothes, they were probably from Amegakure. We had noticed them long ago; it was only the growing sense of danger in my heart that had kept me from paying them any attention. I hadn't expected them to be so blind as to dare come out and provoke us!

"...Out of the way, Amegakure uncles!"

"You little brat, acting so cocky when you've got no skill!" The one-eyed ninja in the lead hurled the umbrella on his back into the air. "Let me teach you a lesson!"

"Ninja Art: Rain Shower Senbon!"

The spinning umbrellas in the air showered hundreds upon thousands of needles down at us like a torrential rain!

Sasuke formed Hand Seals without hesitation. "Naruto! Use that move! Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Wind and Fire Great Breakthrough!"

The two of them had used this combined attack against the Demon Brothers last time, but after everything since then, Sasuke and Naruto were no longer what they had been. This full-power attack was no longer a move that could be stopped by a simple Water Formation Wall like the one last time!

A fireball over twenty meters across, accompanied by a violent gale, swept the incoming Senbon back and surged toward the three Rain Ninja with a ferocity that threatened to burn everything!

"Aaaah!" Their hastily erected Water Formation Wall couldn't stop the fireball for even a second. The three Rain Ninja screamed as they were burned to ashes!

No, not three. At the last moment, the Rain Ninja in the lead escaped with a Substitution Technique, landing awkwardly on a hidden tree to one side. "Huff, huff! Damn Konoha Ninja! I'll kill-" The Rain Ninja suddenly realized in terror that an icy Kunai emitting a chill was already pressed against his neck!

"-You won't kill anyone!" My Water Clone swung her blade without hesitation, taking the Rain Ninja's life!

Boom!

We had just finished off the trio of Rain Ninja when a giant snake suddenly burst out of the ground!

"Whoa!" Naruto was caught off guard and knocked away by the giant snake, while Sasuke and I jumped at the same time, landing on the other side.

"Naruto! Are you all right?"

"If you have time to worry about someone else, I think you'd better worry about yourselves first!" The ninja who had suddenly appeared before us unleashed his killing intent directly at us! It was a hundred times more terrifying than Zabuza's!

In an instant, it felt as though countless needles had pierced my brain! Pain and fear assailed me without end! My body couldn't move at all, and I fell straight to my knees!

A full two seconds passed before I recovered from the paralysis gripping my body. Those two seconds felt as long as a lifetime!

Even then, I was still trembling all over, my strength seemingly drawn from my very marrow. Is this Kage Level killing intent?! It's terrifyingly powerful...

But... after adjusting to that pressure, my mind seemed to grow excited instead! The unusually powerful mental strength inside me was like a spring: once compressed, it would rebound violently!

"This kind of pressure... even an ordinary Jonin isn't this strong!" Faced with a desperate situation, I smiled instead. "There's only one powerful ninja in this world who uses snakes!"

"Hahahaha! How interesting! There are so many talented ninja!" The ninja before me gave me an interested smile. "It seems you already know who I am!"

"If I'm not mistaken," I said, standing as my trembling gradually subsided, "you're the Cold Lord Orochimaru, one of the Sannin! You betrayed the village long ago! What exactly are you doing here now?"

Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked his lips, answering us directly. "There's something here that I want!"

"Something? What?" Sasuke asked Orochimaru!

"It's you-" Orochimaru's body twisted like a snake as he lunged at Sasuke!

"-Sasuke Uchiha! You're the one I want!"

"Dream on!" With the strength and speed granted by Nintaijutsu, I collided with Orochimaru!

"Stay out of my way!" Orochimaru dodged the Shuriken Sasuke threw at the opportunity, jumped aside, and rapidly formed Hand Seals. "Summoning Technique!"

Several giant snakes descended, separating Sasuke and me into two battlefields! I was just about to rush over when several snake tails a meter thick came whipping down at me!

"You... are you that eager to die?!" With a few leaps, I jumped onto a giant snake's head. I filled the Kunai in my hand with wind-attribute Chakra, raised it, and brought it down! The giant snake's head exploded into a mass of bloody pulp! I leaped away again, deliberately changing direction several times in the air, making the giant snakes behind me pursue me in a straight line!

"Water Release: Super Water Cannon Technique!"

An enormous, full-powered Water Blade Technique fired from the air cut all the giant snakes down. Looking down from above, a large stretch of the lush forest had suddenly been cut short! Not far away, Orochimaru was just about to place the Cursed Seal on Sasuke when his body was sliced in two!

"Sakura, you're amazing!" Naruto's voice came from below me.

"Is it over?" Sasuke also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not yet... Can you feel it, this Chakra? The battle has only just begun!" Landing from the air, I stared intently at Orochimaru's body, split in two, and spoke in a low voice!

A figure, soaking wet all over, had already crawled out of the remains. Orochimaru appeared before us again, completely unharmed-

"It seems I won't be able to get Sasuke unless I deal with you..."

Orochimaru's expression was extremely grim! He seemed... ready to get serious!

[Sorry for the wait. I've had a lot going on these past two days, but I'll keep updating at a pace of 5,000 characters per day!]