The Gap

The Ninja Academy only taught the basic Three Body Techniques: Clone Technique, Substitution Technique, and Transformation Technique. None of these techniques had any offensive power. Therefore, although Ye Zi's Chakra had already surpassed the level of a Genin, without any offensive ninjutsu, Chakra's usefulness was greatly reduced. His only means of attack were taijutsu and ninja tools.

Judging by the conditions on both sides, this seemed to be an unfair test from the outset—especially since Orochimaru had swallowed the Bell.

Kushina pondered for a moment before jumping down from the tree to Ye Zi's side. Since the Bell had been swallowed by Orochimaru, stealing it by waiting for an opportunity was no longer possible. The problem they needed to consider now was how to restrain Orochimaru. But the gap between their strengths was far too great. How could restraining Orochimaru be easy? Cooperation could only increase their chances slightly.

After Kushina appeared, Bei Xingye, who had intended to cooperate from the beginning, hurriedly jumped down from the tree as well.

"Let's cooperate." Looking at the two beside her, Kushina spoke in a low voice.

Bei Xingye nodded repeatedly in agreement. "We'll only have a chance if we cooperate."

Ye Zi glanced at his teammates beside him and frowned slightly. Cooperation was feasible, but they had never worked together before and had no understanding of one another. Still, it seemed to be their only choice at present.

Seeing all three of them reveal themselves, Orochimaru remained calm. Not only did he not attack, he even tossed aside the Kunai in his hand.

This was only his Shadow Clone. If the damage inflicted by the three of them broke through his Shadow Clone, the Bell would still fall out. In other words, passing the test was not actually as difficult as they had imagined.

"Go."

Although they were supposed to cooperate, the three had no coordination at all. There was not even time to discuss a plan, so Ye Zi shouted to notify his teammates before gripping his Kunai and charging at Orochimaru first.

His upper body leaned forward, like a cheetah crouched low as it sprinted.

"Your eyes are good."

Orochimaru was rather impressed by the look in Ye Zi's eyes as he charged, but his movements were still too immature. There were no feints whatsoever. An attack like this was practically the same as throwing his life away, especially with a frontal assault.

Ye Zi naturally understood this as well, but he knew Orochimaru would not inflict a fatal injury on him. Under these conditions, he wanted to test the difference between his close-quarters combat and Orochimaru's.

Day after day of training and opponents who posed no pressure during the Ninja Academy tests—none of these could reveal the true result.

Seeing that Orochimaru still stood in place, Ye Zi's legs erupted with force, kicking up waves of sand from the ground. When he was nearly upon him, he swung his arm and hurled the Kunai toward Orochimaru's face.

Whoosh!

Orochimaru expressionlessly tilted his head to the side. It was as though he could see the Kunai's trajectory, allowing it to pass effortlessly beside his neck as a black shadow before shooting into the woods.

By then, Ye Zi had already closed in. He lowered his body and arrived in front of Orochimaru. Under Orochimaru's downward gaze, he planted both hands on the ground and used the recoil to make his strongest right leg explode with even greater force, kicking toward Orochimaru's chin.

Since the purpose of the test was to assess the strength of the three, Orochimaru chose to endure the attack despite being able to dodge it easily.

Ye Zi's right leg came in with a fierce gust of wind. Orochimaru crossed both hands and blocked the foot that struck toward him.

Bang!

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

"Not bad strength."

A trace of surprise flashed through Orochimaru's eyes as he hung in midair. Before he could think further, his keen ears caught the sound of Shuriken slicing through the air.

Following the sound, he looked over and saw more than a dozen Shuriken shooting out from the dust cloud. Their target was clearly him in midair.

The sand here was fine and loose, making it easy to stir up dust thick enough to block one's vision. This was equal for both sides, yet his opponents had accurately pinpointed his location. That puzzled him.

Although he was puzzled, Orochimaru was not about to be defeated by more than a dozen Shuriken arriving one after another, even if he was only a Shadow Clone.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

While still in midair, Orochimaru formed hand seals in an instant, then opened his mouth and exhaled a violent gale toward the incoming Shuriken.

The howling wind instantly scattered the more than a dozen Shuriken before sweeping toward the dust on the ground and Ye Zi.

Whoosh!

The gale arrived in the blink of an eye. Caught off guard, the three of them were blown away without being able to resist.

Bei Xingye flew backward and slammed into a tree trunk, letting out a cry of pain. Ye Zi and Kushina, however, had excellent taijutsu. They forcibly adjusted their postures amid the gale and landed safely by bracing their feet against a tree trunk.

But...

The moment they landed, a Kunai fell in front of each of their feet.

The two stared blankly at the Kunai stuck into the ground beside them, their hearts filled with dejection.

If this had been a real battle, the two Kunai would already have pierced their hearts.

Ye Zi exchanged a glance with Kushina. They both saw unwillingness in the other's eyes.

Ye Zi turned his gaze from Kushina and walked toward Bei Xingye, who lay motionless on the ground. Kushina did the same.

Seeing each other's actions, the two froze again. But Ye Zi suddenly stopped, allowing Kushina to walk toward Bei Xingye.

Both of them had wanted to check on Bei Xingye's condition. When Ye Zi saw Kushina's actions, he abandoned the idea of checking on him himself. One person was enough for that.

As Kushina walked toward Bei Xingye, she slightly turned her head. She could not see Ye Zi's expression from the corner of her eye. Carrying indescribable emotions, she reached the tree and helped up Bei Xingye's dejected form.

This test had ended in complete failure, which meant they would have to return to the Ninja Academy and repeat their training.

Their faces, their hearts, and their movements all carried dejection.

Just then, Orochimaru suddenly transformed into a cloud of white smoke with a bang. After the smoke dispersed, three small silver Bells fell to the ground.

"A Clone?" Ye Zi looked at the cloud of white smoke and the small Bells lying on the ground, his expression changing. Could they not even withstand a single Clone?

At that thought, Ye Zi's expression turned slightly grim.

"I'm curious. How did you determine my location through the sandstorm?"

A hoarse voice suddenly sounded behind them. The three felt their hearts leap and spun around, only to see Orochimaru standing calmly behind them.

The thought of someone silently appearing behind them without them sensing anything sent a chill through them.

Bei Xingye said weakly, "My hearing is very good. I heard Lord Orochimaru's low voice and used it to determine Lord Orochimaru's location. Then I had Kushina throw the Shuriken toward Orochimaru's position along with me."

A trace of realization flashed across Orochimaru's face. No wonder the more than a dozen Shuriken had arrived in sequence. However, the difference between their arrival times was not large. To achieve such accuracy and speed from different directions while their vision was obscured... this child...

Orochimaru glanced at Kushina and thought silently. The purpose of this test was to assess the strength of the three, and he was quite satisfied with the results. What he had seen was not everything they were capable of, but it was enough.

"Gather here at the same time tomorrow."

After leaving behind that cold remark, Orochimaru did not even offer an explanation. His figure flashed and disappeared from the spot, leaving the three staring at one another.

The moment Ye Zi heard Orochimaru's words, he understood. His expression became extremely complicated. In terms of the result, they had failed the test, but the outcome was not what Orochimaru had said about returning to the Ninja Academy to repeat their training.

Although Ye Zi did not have to return to the Ninja Academy, he felt not the slightest joy. His mind was filled with everything that had just happened. When he thought of how he had trained for three years yet remained so weak, he felt utterly dejected.

That unclear future—when would he finally be able to touch even a corner of it? When would he finally see an opportunity?

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

After a moment, Bei Xingye came back to himself and cheered, "That's great!"

Kushina also let out a sigh of relief. As she watched Ye Zi leave, she wondered what he was thinking.