The Second Stage of the Chunin Exams Ends

"Well, not bad. You got out of there so quickly. You're quite good at analyzing strategy in battle. Looking at you, I almost see myself back in the day. But your personality doesn't quite suit mine. I can hardly bear to kill you now. What a shame. You just had to refuse to see reason. Your Flame Body is almost out of time too, isn't it? What a troublesome brat. If I want to kill you, I'll have to use some of my bigger moves. But if I make too much noise now, the old man will react. What a bother!" Orochimaru said with a smile. If he really used any big, noisy moves against this brat here, his Konoha Crush Plan might be difficult to carry out, and he wouldn't get to appreciate Sasuke's potential either. But if he left without teaching the brat a lesson, the name of Orochimaru would be ruined at his hands.

"Hmph, you can try. If you simply assume I'm just a brat, you'll get hurt, Senior Orochimaru," Issui said calmly as he stepped out of the earthen prison. He's going to be hard to deal with.

Time gradually passed, and Issui grew more and more anxious. Flame Body was almost out of time, and he had yet to hurt Orochimaru in the slightest. Indeed, when it came to combat experience, Orochimaru was far stronger than him.

It looks like the longer this drags on, the worse it'll be for me. But once I attack, Orochimaru will take the chance to look for an opening. Then I'll just show him an "opening" on purpose.

Issui formed Hand Seals with both hands at once, then roared, "Ram, horse, snake, dragon, rat, ox, tiger! Fire Style-Fire Dragon Flame Bullet! Lightning Release-Four-Pillar Bind Technique!"

Four enormous stone pillars rose around Orochimaru, trapping him in their midst. Powerful lightning wrapped around him, followed immediately by a massive fireball.

Boom...

A tremendous explosion rang out, and Orochimaru's agonized screams came from within.

"Did it work?" Anko cheered from the side. Issui's two powerful Ninjutsu were enough to kill a person, but Orochimaru probably wasn't that weak. It would still be good if he was badly injured.

"Tch, brat, didn't your teacher tell you at school not to attack a prepared opponent head-on? I took a little injury, but now you should be within my attack range. You can't escape. Wind Release-Great Breakthrough! Wind Release-Great Breakthrough!" Orochimaru burst out of the ground behind Issui and launched a fierce attack at him.

Poof...

Shadow Clone Technique. This Issui wasn't the real Issui at all, just a Shadow Clone. Orochimaru had guessed wrong.

"Ram, horse, snake, dragon, rat, ox, tiger! Fire Style-Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" Issui leaped down from a tree behind Orochimaru and spat a huge fireball at him. There was no way Orochimaru could avoid this Ninjutsu now. I finally caught him for once. Let's see him act cocky with me again. Hmph, hmph, let's see if you can still talk big.

"Ah, brat, I'm going to kill you! Damn it..." This time, Orochimaru really was injured.

When all the flames had dissipated, a charred corpse remained. But then a new Orochimaru emerged from the old Orochimaru's mouth. That's disgusting. He really lives up to the name "giant snake."

"Hmph, brat, I'll remember you. We'll meet again." The instant Orochimaru crawled out of his skin, he used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.

"Ah..." Anko suddenly clutched her stomach and cried out.

"Ah, Senior Anko, are you all right? Is the Cursed Seal acting up again?" Issui hurried to her side and supported her.

Up close, Anko's body was truly voluptuous, especially the pair of little white rabbits on her chest. They kept swaying until Issui's eyes went dizzy. What a pity. Wrapped in her fishnet outfit, the little white rabbits kept bouncing restlessly, eager to get out.

"Hey, do they look good, brat?" Anko's eyes twitched with anger. What is this? You're still sneaking perverted peeks, right in front of me, the great Anko? Do you have a death wish?

"Yeah, they look good." Issui paid no attention to anything else. They really do look better the longer I look. I want to touch them and feel how soft they are.

Bang!

Anko used the last of her strength to knock Issui to the ground.

Issui's face reddened as he lay on the ground. Why did I blank out at a crucial moment? What if there were enemies around now? I've never been like this before. Am I developing and starting to feel attracted to women? I can't restrain my wickedness when I see an adult body. Sure enough, there's a wolf in every man's heart, and that wolf is a lecher.

"Hey, stop spacing out. Get over here and help me up, then let's leave immediately. We need to report to Lord Hokage." Anko rubbed her head. Why am I getting angry with a kid who's barely grown? Does he even know what those are? He's probably just curious. Sure enough, he's starting to develop. Men really are all rotten.

"Well, Senior Anko, aren't you angry? I won't dare do it again." Issui stuck out his tongue and helped Anko up.

"Well, looks like there was no need for us to come. That brat is here too. There was so much noise just now; it looks like a huge battle took place. There are still two powerful traces of Chakra energy in the air." Two Anbu wearing animal masks appeared before Issui and Anko.

"Why were you Anbu so slow getting out here?" Anko asked.

"Don't say that," one of the Anbu said.

"Ah..." The Cursed Seal on Anko's neck flared up again.

"Could that be... Orochimaru?" an Anbu asked in fear.

"That's right, it was him. But I just fought him. If he hadn't sensed you coming, he probably would've kept fighting me. Tch, you ruined my fun," Issui said calmly, as though the battle just now hadn't been worth mentioning.

"What? You actually survived? Impossible!" an Anbu said in surprise.

"Tch, are you looking down on me? There, that's the snakeskin Orochimaru shed after I injured him. But he really is strong, a truly powerful opponent. I hope I get to fight him again next time." Issui pointed at the snakeskin Orochimaru had shed.

An Anbu hurried forward to examine it, then nodded. "That's right, it's his presence. We have to declare a state of emergency and suspend the exam immediately."

"No... Anyway, we'll discuss the details here later. First, we need to see Lord Hokage," Anko said seriously.

"Well, it's all right. Let's go see Lord Hokage first. Orochimaru has already shed his skin once, and he's weak right now. He won't make any moves for a while." Issui helped Anko up and left ahead of the others.

The two Anbu followed closely behind.

The group headed straight for the central tower in the Forest of Death.

After reaching the central tower, Issui first helped Anko sit down, then poured her a glass of water.

"Although this is serious, the exam has to continue," Anko said as soon as she sat down.

"What's going on?" an Anbu asked why Anko wouldn't stop the competition.

"Excuse me?" An assistant examiner pushed open the door to the room.

"What is it? We're discussing something important here," Anko asked loudly, clearly displeased at the interruption.

"I'm sorry, but please take a look at this." The assistant examiner took out a videotape.

"A videotape?" an Anbu said.

The assistant examiner turned on the player. When the picture appeared, he pointed to its upper-right corner and said, "Please look here."

The time displayed in the footage was 16:37, and the three people in it were Gaara and his two siblings.

"Ah, what's this?" Anko asked in surprise.

"This was recorded inside the tower one hour and thirty-seven minutes after the exam began," the assistant examiner said.

"That happened?" Anko stood straight up in surprise.

"It took them only ninety-seven minutes. That's unprecedented. It's highly abnormal. Their strength has already surpassed that of Genin, and they actually broke the current record of four hours."

"That's not all..."

"You mean..."

"It's about ten kilometers from the entrance to the tower. There are wild beasts, venomous insects, and treacherous forest paths along the way, but they look completely unharmed. Especially the brown-haired kid in front."

"What about that kid...?"

"You didn't notice...?"

"I see. That's astonishing..." an Anbu interjected.

"What exactly is strange about him...?" The assistant examiner still didn't quite understand.

"Take a good look at him," Issui prompted.

"Oh, I see..." The assistant examiner finally spotted the problem. That guy's a bit too dumb, isn't he?

"Not a scratch on him, and not a speck of dirt on his body..." Anko said.

"Even we—no, not even any Chunin could make it to the central tower without a scratch," the assistant examiner concluded in surprise.

"It might have something to do with his ability," an Anbu said. As expected of the Anbu, that's a thorough analysis.

"It's been a long time since I've seen someone this impressive, even if I don't like the look in his eyes," the other Anbu remarked.

The morning of July 6, Konoha Year 60.

The central tower's monitoring room for the second exam.

"Grandpa Third, Orochimaru may have set his sights on Sasuke Uchiha. But even if he has some secret plot, I don't think he'll make a move now," Issui said to Third.

"Ah..." Anko's Cursed Seal was still hurting.

"How is it? Is the Cursed Seal still hurting?" Third asked with concern.

"It's much better, thanks to you," Anko said.

"Lady Anko, we've confirmed that twenty-one ninja have qualified. According to the Chunin Ninja Exams regulations, the third exam will use a test that hasn't been used in five years. The second exam is over." An assistant examiner on the monitor reported the final results of the second exam to Issui.

"Issui, you'll serve as the chief examiner for the third exam," Third said to Issui.

"What?" Anko said in surprise. She hadn't expected Lord Third to let this little pervert serve as examiner. He clearly trusted him a great deal.

"For now, that's what we'll do. Proceed with the third exam first, but keep an eye on his movements as well," Third said to Anko.

"Yes." Anko nodded.