The Gap

The Ninja Academy only taught the three basic Body Techniques: the Clone Technique, the Substitution Technique, and the Transformation Technique. None of these possessed any offensive power. Therefore, even though Ye Zi's chakra reserves had surpassed the Genin level, without offensive ninjutsu, his chakra would be far less useful. His only means of attack were taijutsu and ninja tools.

Considering both sides' conditions, this assessment seemed inherently unfair, especially with Orochimaru swallowing the bell.

Kushina pondered for a moment before leaping from the tree to Ye Zi's side. Since the bell had been swallowed by Orochimaru, waiting for an opportunity to snatch it was no longer possible. The current problem was how to subdue Orochimaru, but the vast difference in their strength made that incredibly difficult. Cooperation would only slightly increase their chances of winning.

As soon as Kushina appeared, Bei Xingye, who had also intended to cooperate from the start, quickly jumped down from his tree.

"Let's cooperate," Kushina said sternly, looking at the two beside her.

Bei Xingye nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Only by cooperating do we have a chance."

Ye Zi glanced at his teammates, his brow furrowed. Cooperation was feasible, but they had never worked together and lacked any synergy. Still, it seemed to be their only option.

Seeing all three appear, Orochimaru remained calm. He didn't attack and even tossed aside the kunai in his hand.

This was merely his Shadow Clone. If the damage inflicted by Ye Zi and the other two could break his Shadow Clone, the bell would still drop. In other words, passing the assessment wasn't as difficult as it seemed.

"Attack."

Although they agreed to cooperate, the three had no synergy. There wasn't even time to discuss a plan, so Ye Zi shouted as a signal to his teammates and charged at Orochimaru first, kunai in hand.

His upper body leaned forward, like a cheetah crouching to sprint.

"Good eyes."

Orochimaru was quite appreciative of the look in Ye Zi's eyes as he charged, but his movements were still too clumsy. There were no feints whatsoever, making such an attack akin to suicide, especially a frontal assault.

Ye Zi, who had taken this action, understood this principle as well. However, he knew Orochimaru wouldn't inflict fatal damage on him. Under these circumstances, he wanted to test the gap in their abilities during close-quarters combat.

Day after day of training, opponents in the Ninja Academy assessments who posed no challenge—these couldn't truly gauge his progress.

Seeing Orochimaru still standing in place, Ye Zi's legs exploded with power, kicking up clouds of sand from the ground. Just as he closed the distance, he swung his arm, throwing the kunai towards Orochimaru's face.

Swish!

Orochimaru tilted his head expressionlessly, as if he could see the kunai's trajectory. He easily let the kunai whiz past his neck, turning into a black blur as it shot into the woods.

At this moment, Ye Zi had closed the distance. He ducked down in front of Orochimaru. Under Orochimaru's condescending gaze, he placed his hands on the ground, using the counterforce to propel his right leg, which carried the most power, in a kick towards Orochimaru's jaw.

Since the purpose of the assessment was to test the three's abilities, Orochimaru chose to take the hit, even though he could have easily dodged it.

Ye Zi's right leg swung with a gust of wind, and Orochimaru met it with his hands, blocking the incoming foot.

Bang!

The moment the powerful force transmitted through his palms, Orochimaru realized he had underestimated Ye Zi's strength. He was sent flying by the kick.

"Good strength."

A flicker of surprise crossed Orochimaru's eyes as he flew through the air. Before he could think further, his sharp ears caught the sound of shuriken slicing through the air.

Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw over a dozen shuriken shooting out from the dust cloud, their target clearly him in mid-air.

The sand in this area was fine and loose, easily kicked up to obscure vision. This was a disadvantage for both sides, but the opponent could accurately pinpoint his location, which puzzled him.

Despite his confusion, even if it was just a Shadow Clone, Orochimaru wouldn't be easily defeated by a dozen shuriken arriving one after another.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Mid-air, Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals and unleashed a gust of wind from his mouth towards the incoming shuriken.

The howling wind instantly dispersed the dozen shuriken, then swept towards the dust cloud on the ground and Ye Zi.

Whoosh!

The strong wind arrived in an instant. Caught off guard, the three were blown away by the gale with no way to resist.

Bei Xingye flew backward and slammed into a tree trunk, letting out a cry of pain. Ye Zi and Kushina, however, with their good taijutsu, managed to adjust their postures in the wind, using their feet to brace against the tree trunk and land steadily.

But...

As soon as they landed, a kunai landed in front of each of them.

The two stared blankly at the kunai stuck in the ground at their feet, feeling a wave of frustration.

If this were a real fight, those two kunai would have already pierced their hearts.

Ye Zi and Kushina exchanged glances, seeing the unwillingness in each other's eyes.

Ye Zi turned his gaze from Kushina and walked towards Bei Xingye, who was lying on the ground. Kushina did the same.

Seeing each other's actions, they were surprised again. Ye Zi suddenly stopped, letting Kushina walk towards Bei Xingye.

They both wanted to check on Bei Xingye's condition. Seeing Kushina's move, Ye Zi abandoned the thought of checking on Bei Xingye. One person was enough for that.

Kushina, walking towards Bei Xingye, tilted her head slightly. She couldn't see Ye Zi's expression from the corner of her eye. With a strange feeling, she arrived at the tree and helped up a dejected Bei Xingye.

This assessment was a complete failure, meaning they would have to return to the Ninja Academy to repeat their studies.

Their faces, their hearts, their movements—all carried a sense of loss.

Just then, Orochimaru dissolved into a puff of white mist with a bang. After the mist dissipated, three small silver bells fell to the ground.

"A clone?" Ye Zi looked at the white mist and the bells on the ground, his expression changing. Had even a clone been unable to resist?

Thinking this, Ye Zi's face turned slightly grim.

"I'm curious, how did you know my location through the sandstorm?"

A hoarse voice suddenly rang out from behind them. The three of them jumped, spinning around, only to see Orochimaru standing calmly behind them.

The thought of someone standing silently behind them without them noticing sent a chill down their spines.

Bei Xingye said weakly, "My hearing is very good. I heard Lord Orochimaru's low voice, which allowed me to determine his position. Then I had Kushina follow me and throw shuriken in Orochimaru's direction."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of realization crossed Orochimaru's face. So that's why those dozen shuriken arrived in sequence. However, the time difference between them wasn't significant. To achieve such accuracy and speed from different directions and with blurred vision... this child...

Orochimaru glanced at Kushina, thinking to himself. The purpose of this test was to assess the three of them. He was quite satisfied with the outcome. Although he hadn't seen everything, it was enough.

"Gather here again tomorrow at the same time."

After uttering this cold remark, Orochimaru vanished without a word of explanation, leaving the three of them exchanging bewildered glances.

Ye Zi immediately understood Orochimaru's words, his expression growing incredibly complex. The assessment had failed in terms of results, but the outcome wasn't a return to the Ninja Academy for retraining as Orochimaru had implied.

Despite being spared from retraining at the Ninja Academy, Ye Zi felt no joy. His mind was consumed by the events that had just transpired. The thought of how weak he still was after three years of training filled him with disappointment.

When would he ever get a glimpse of that uncertain future? When would he finally see an opportunity?

Gritting his teeth slightly, he ignored Bei Xingye and Kushina and walked towards his residence.

A moment later, Bei Xingye, having recovered from his shock, cheered, "Great!"

Kushina also let out a sigh of relief. She watched Ye Zi walk away, lost in thought.