Since they were only announcing the exam rules, the gathering dispersed before long.
As Hyuga Kagami walked back to the inn, he kept thinking about the Grass Ninja who had smiled at him earlier, and a wave of frustration rose in his heart. Why do I always run into him whenever I want to stir something up?
There was no doubt that the Grass Ninja was Orochimaru in disguise.
In the original timeline, Orochimaru had also posed as a ninja from Kusagakure to take part in the Chunin Exams. He had observed Sasuke's performance throughout the exams while looking for an opportunity to place a Curse Mark on him.
Yet in this timeline, Orochimaru had made the very same choice.
This showed that he still had not given up on the Uchiha Sharingan. He had merely learned from his past mistakes and realized that targeting an Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan was too much of a gamble and too likely to fail. So, he had set his sights on Sasuke instead—a gifted prodigy who had yet to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
That also explained why Kimimaro had revealed killing intent toward Sasuke earlier!
Clearly, Orochimaru had arranged it deliberately. Hyuga Kagami knew very well that Orochimaru preferred the most direct and cruel methods when judging whether a ninja had value. Having Kimimaro test the mettle of Sasuke, the Uchiha genius, was standard practice for Orochimaru.
Even Hyuga Kagami himself had been influenced by Orochimaru quite a bit in that regard.
"This was already chaotic enough, and now Orochimaru's joined the mess too. What a headache!"
Hyuga Kagami sighed inwardly.
Because Living Corpse Reincarnation had flaws, Orochimaru's spirit body was not only weaker than that of shinobi at the same level, but his combat strength also fluctuated irregularly.
However, his current