Assessment

Self-introductions and declaring one's dreams have always been a tradition of Konoha.

"My name is Uzumaki Kushina. I like salty ramen the most, and I hate bitter food and tomatoes. My future dream..." Kushina lifted her head slightly, speaking seriously, "I will become Konoha's first female Hokage."

Orochimaru turned his head at her words, nodded slightly, and gestured for the next.

Bei Xingye timidly glanced at Ye Zi, who was looking elsewhere. After a pause, he said in a low voice, "My name is Bei Xingye. I like rainy days the most, and I hate sweet things. My future dream... I hope to become a man who stands tall between heaven and earth."

Orochimaru observed Bei Xingye's weak demeanor from the inside out, frowned slightly, and looked at Ye Zi. The latter sensed his gaze, slowly turned his head, and straightened his eyes.

"My name is Ye Zi. My hobby is eating. I don't have anything I particularly hate." Ye Zi's eyelids drooped as he said flatly, "My dream is to find a way back."

The three of them were taken aback by Ye Zi's dream. A way back?

Kushina asked in confusion, "What kind of dream is that?"

Bei Xingye also looked puzzled.

Ye Zi glanced at Kushina but didn't bother to explain.

Orochimaru gave Ye Zi a deep look, his eyes calm. He didn't press the issue. Instead, he took three small silver bells from his pocket and said, "Try to take the bells from me by any means necessary. Use whatever method you want. Anyone who can't snatch a bell before sunset goes back to the Ninja Academy for retraining. If you don't want that, then give it everything you've got to grab the bells."

Hearing Orochimaru's words, Ye Zi and the other two were stunned. They thought graduating from the Academy would make them Genin, but it turned out they still needed to pass an assessment from their squad leader.

Orochimaru had never mentioned this to him. No matter what, he absolutely couldn't go back to the Academy—that would just waste another three years.

The expressions of the three shifted. Orochimaru watched these changes with a cold smile, stepped back a distance, and said calmly, "The deadline is sunset. The assessment begins now."

As the last word fell, the three immediately vanished from their spots at top speed, hiding in locations they'd thought of beforehand.

One of the key teachings of the Ninja Academy: being able to quickly find a hiding spot to complement techniques like the Substitution Technique and other practical uses.

After the three disappeared, Orochimaru's gaze didn't move, staring straight ahead. It looked like he hadn't tracked their movements, but in truth, the moment Ye Zi and the others moved, Orochimaru had already judged their hiding spots. After all, their body movements and speed were still quite immature.

Ye Zi hid in a low, dense clump of grass some distance away, gripping a Kunai tightly. He kept his gaze on Orochimaru, deliberately aimed below the waist.

Observing the legs could predict movement, and avoiding Orochimaru's eyes reduced the chance of being detected.

"How do I get the bells?" Ye Zi stared at Orochimaru while thinking of a plan.

Bei Xingye and Kushina had both chosen spots in the trees, observing from above to lower the risk of being spotted.

Kushina was also pondering how to snatch the bells from Orochimaru, while Bei Xingye was thinking about how to secretly contact Ye Zi and Kushina. In his view, the best way to get the bells was to work together.

Just as their minds were racing, Orochimaru made a move none of them expected. His lowered arm slowly rose, and Ye Zi couldn't help but follow the bell dangling from Orochimaru's fingers as it moved upward.

And then...

They saw Orochimaru tilt his head back expressionlessly, open his mouth, raise his arm, and toss the bell inside. With a gulp, they could see the bulge of a foreign object sliding down his throat, confirming that the bell had indeed been swallowed.

"What the hell!"

Watching this, Ye Zi couldn't help but curse under his breath, and in doing so, gave away his position. With no choice, he jumped up and out of hiding.

Bei Xingye stared dumbly at Orochimaru's throat, his thoughts snapping like a taut rope, breaking without hesitation. He was completely thrown off.

Kushina glanced at Ye Zi, who had jumped out, then looked at Orochimaru, who had made such a shocking move without changing his expression. She held her forehead, speechless.

How were they supposed to take a bell that had been swallowed? Would they have to kill him first and cut him open?

Ye Zi, now out in the open, stared at Orochimaru with a strange look. In the three years they'd known each other, this was the first time he'd seen Orochimaru be so... outrageous.

Facing Ye Zi's odd gaze, Orochimaru's expression remained unruffled. He rasped in his hoarse voice, "Restrain me, cut open my stomach, even kill me—it doesn't matter. The only thing you should consider is taking the bell. Don't worry about anything else!"

The calm voice spoke of a reality that was cold to the extreme.

This was just an assessment. Why did it have to go this far?

Bei Xingye and Kushina didn't understand, and Ye Zi didn't either. But since Orochimaru had said so, Ye Zi wouldn't hesitate for a second.

Besides, he didn't think he had the ability to kill Orochimaru. All he could do was give it his all and try every method. At the very least, he wouldn't give up, and he couldn't afford to.

Ye Zi raised his Kunai and charged straight at Orochimaru.

"Head-on?" Orochimaru watched Ye Zi rushing toward him silently, pulling out a Kunai of his own.

Ye Zi's free hand quickly grabbed a few Shuriken from his tool pouch. Using both hands, he flung the Kunai and Shuriken at Orochimaru.

The Shuriken spun rapidly through the air, carving three different arcs all heading in the same direction, while the Kunai flew straight forward.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Orochimaru swung his Kunai, precisely deflecting the three Shuriken and the single Kunai without a single wasted motion.

Taking advantage of the moment Orochimaru was distracted by the Shuriken, Ye Zi had already completed his hand seals. When he was just over a meter away from Orochimaru, his entire body suddenly burst into a puff of white smoke that vanished in an instant.

Whoosh!

The smoke cleared, and a handful of black sand appeared out of nowhere, flying toward Orochimaru in a cloud. At the same time, Ye Zi, clutching a Kunai, was hiding not far behind Orochimaru, his eyes locked onto him.

"Sand!? That should be..." Orochimaru leaped straight up to dodge the mass of sand. Ye Zi, seizing the moment, hurled his Kunai without hesitation at Orochimaru, who was still in the air. The latter didn't even look, catching the Kunai flying from behind with his bare hand before landing steadily.

After landing, Orochimaru switched the Kunai to his other hand, then opened his palm to look. There was a thin cut on his index finger, with a few drops of blood seeping out.

"That was undoubtedly the Substitution Technique. Usually, the replacement object should be an animal or plant. Using sand like that... and the goal wasn't even to avoid damage. If I hadn't been paying attention, getting sand in my eyes would have been quite troublesome."

Orochimaru silently watched Ye Zi, whose face showed clear disappointment, and felt rather speechless. He really didn't know how to evaluate Ye Zi's use of the Substitution Technique. If he had to describe it... it was downright thuggish.

Using the Substitution Technique like that also reflected just how few ninjutsu Ye Zi actually knew. Indeed, the Ninja Academy only taught a few basic techniques, none of which were offensive.