The Tradition of Grabbing Bells

No one knew when the tradition of grabbing bells had begun; the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Hokage had all done it.

Back then, Orochimaru had also grabbed Hiruzen Sarutobi's bells together with Jiraiya and Tsunade.

As for whether Hiruzen Sarutobi had grabbed bells from the Second Hokage or the First Hokage, Orochimaru did not know.

To be honest, Orochimaru had already sensed a special kind of sensory Chakra.

If nothing unexpected happened, Hiruzen Sarutobi was using the Crystal Ball to observe his son's performance.

Fortunately, he probably had not seen the part where Asuma had been hung from a tree by a snake.

"It's ten in the morning. I'll give you two hours to arrange your tactics."

After saying that, Orochimaru left. He did not particularly expect Asuma and the others' tactics to produce any outstanding results.

Still, it would be best if they could surprise him.

He planned to go see how Kakashi was doing.

After Sakumo's death, Kakashi had once fallen into doubt.

Which was more important: comrades or missions?

Orochimaru had told him, "As long as you're strong enough—stronger than your father, the White Fang, and stronger than me, Cold Lord Orochimaru—you won't have to struggle over it."

A real adult should have it all. Only children had to choose.

With Orochimaru, his adoptive father, sheltering him from the storm, and a companion like Guy by his side, Kakashi no longer fell into confusion.

All he could think about now was getting stronger. Women and the like were all obstacles to his growth!

Though Kakashi was still very young, his strength had already surpassed many veteran Chunin. He had even nearly made Minato Namikaze, who had been holding back, suffer a humiliating defeat.

Orochimaru thought anyone who used Flying Thunder God to grab bells was trash. He certainly would not do that himself.

He was fairly satisfied with Kakashi's performance. His strength had improved considerably, and his awareness of team combat was gradually taking shape.

Even more rare was that the combat awareness and fighting instincts he had developed under the training of two powerful figures—Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru—had begun to show their effects.

His command was appropriate, and his grasp of combat opportunities was quite accurate. With the three working together, even ordinary weaker Special Jōnin might not be their match.

Orochimaru nodded at Minato, who was watching him from afar, then left.

The time was about right. It was time to see how his three Little Radish Heads had arranged things.

"Teacher Orochimaru, we've been waiting for you for so long!"

Anko Mitarashi waved and called out from ahead.

Orochimaru watched with interest. At a glance, he could tell that the figure ahead was not real.

This Genjutsu had some skill to it. It was probably something Yūhi Shinku had taught Kurenai Yūhi.

Since the one ahead was an illusion, there was definitely a trap.

He slightly raised his foot forward, then withdrew it again under the expectant gazes of the three hiding in the shadows.

A thin wire had been stretched taut and secured amid the grass ahead.

Only Genin who had just graduated would fall for and trigger a trap of that level.

"Teacher Orochimaru, the trap I set up isn't that simple~"

Hidden in the shadows, Anko imitated Orochimaru by sticking out her tongue to lick the corner of her mouth, then used a Kunai to cut a rope beside her.

A log with both ends tied to trees came flying at Orochimaru from the side.

Clearly, they had accounted for his possible movements as well.

Once Orochimaru dodged, there was a high chance that he would be tripped by the thin wire beneath his feet, triggering the traps that followed.

"Interesting."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. If he had to use ninjutsu before they did, he would find it embarrassing.

He stepped back with his left foot, turned sideways, planted his foot on the ground, and threw a punch along with the rotation of his waist.

Wood chips flew everywhere. In all of Konoha, only Might Duy was probably superior to him in taijutsu; even the Third Hokage might not be stronger than him.

"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Kurenai Yūhi and Asuma sprang out of the grass and unleashed two ninjutsu in succession.

Their tactical arrangement was fairly reasonable as well: Kurenai's Genjutsu for control, Asuma's Fire Release as the main attack.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

Orochimaru merely used Water Release to block Asuma's Fire Release.

As for Kurenai's Genjutsu, it could not affect Orochimaru, who had already mastered Observation Haki and possessed powerful spiritual energy.

Using her teammates' ninjutsu as cover, Anko Mitarashi leaped down from a tree, charging forward with a miniature Tachi identical to the one used by Mito Uzumaki.

"Leaf Style Swordsmanship!"

Orochimaru did not draw his sword to trade blows.

He had given one of his Kusanagi Swords to White Fang—who was now Snake Shadow.

Snake Shadow's swordsmanship now lacked something compared to before, but it was still formidable. Combined with his extreme speed and Kage-level Lightning Release, he could hold his own even against an ordinary Kage-level opponent.

But he still had another Kusanagi Sword, called the Sky Sword.

Taking that thing out would be a bit of bullying.

Orochimaru merely shifted slightly to the side and avoided the slash.

After roughly gauging Anko's swordsmanship, he extended two fingers and caught her second downward slash between them.

In a direct fight, even with Orochimaru holding back, it was difficult for them to last more than a few moves against him.

Fortunately, Kurenai Yūhi and Asuma Sarutobi rushed over just then, breaking Anko out of her predicament.

Orochimaru's response was rather mocking.

He propped his chin up with his left hand, chatting about what to eat that night while using only his right hand to fend them off.

He shifted slightly, dodging Kurenai Yūhi's punch with his right hand, then avoiding Anko's slash, then evading Kurenai Yūhi's second punch before catching Kurenai's arm in passing.

Twisting at the waist, he directly changed the direction of Kurenai Yūhi's punch and drove it into Asuma's face just as he was about to sneak up from behind.

"Asuma!"

"Kurenai! I'm fine!"

Another slash came, but Anko Mitarashi's strike was also redirected by Orochimaru, chopping down between Asuma's legs, barely missing little Asuma!

"Anko Mitarashi!"

"Didn't you say you were fine?!"

"I said it was fine if Kurenai hit me, not you."

Asuma, the simp, said with blatant double standards.

"This won't work, Asuma. Teacher Orochimaru is too strong. Even though he's already holding back, we have no chance of defeating him."

"What we need to do isn't defeat him! It's grab the Bell."

Orochimaru had brought only one Bell. It was the one he had snatched from Hiruzen Sarutobi back then.

So they only needed to take that one.

"What we need to do isn't defeat Teacher Orochimaru. Our target is only the Bell!"

Asuma said, panting heavily.

The three of them now stood side by side in a line, watching Orochimaru stretch with both hands clasped behind his head.

"Kurenai, use Genjutsu to interfere. I'll provide ninjutsu cover. Anko, look for an opening! Scatter!"

With a leap, the three split apart and re-formed their formation, surrounding Orochimaru.

"Ninja Art: Fox Heart Technique!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Orochimaru also felt that he had not gone easy enough. At this rate, the three of them would definitely have no chance.

He decided to go really easy on them, releasing a Water Fang Bullet to cancel out the Great Fireball, then pretending to be controlled for a fraction of a second.

"Got him!"

A smile appeared on Anko's face.

A smile also appeared on Orochimaru's face. Going easy on them did not mean he would let the three of them clear the test so easily.