Orochimaru

Gaara's group and Neji's group were all stained with varying degrees of blood.

Apart from Gaara and Neji, the clothes of the other four were somewhat tattered.

"It seems they also reached this place by defeating the proctors."

Ye Fan touched his chin, a smile on his face.

In reality, their strength had long reached the Chunin level, especially Gaara and Neji.

"Hi! Ye Fan!"

As soon as Rock Lee saw Ye Fan, he waved excitedly, a look of reverence in his eyes.

Watching Ye Fan spar with the proctor so easily, he only realized how difficult it was when he faced them himself.

After sparring with the proctor, Rock Lee's admiration for Ye Fan's strength grew even more.

From the moment he won, Rock Lee had a new goal to chase.

Before, he had always considered Neji his goal, but after Ye Fan appeared, the name Ye Fan ranked ahead of Neji.

"Congratulations, congratulations. It seems you also have Chunin-level strength."

Ye Fan replied to Rock Lee with a smile. This generation of Konoha 11, apart from Sasuke's defection and Sakura, the rest were actually quite trustworthy individuals.

They all had their own ninja way, their own beliefs.

"Ye Fan, you're really too strong. Who did you learn your Taijutsu from? Can you teach me sometime!"

Rock Lee bared his teeth, his eyes showing sincerity, truly seeking guidance.

Neji, who was proud and arrogant, saw this and remained silent, but it was evident from his expression that he highly recognized Ye Fan's strength.

Tenten was very excited and couldn't walk past Ye Fan.

Ye Fan, who was handsome and strong, perfectly matched her ideal partner criteria.

Gaara and the others stood on the other side, observing the situation.

Gaara's eyes showed excitement and anticipation, his body already restless with excitement.

He was eager to nourish his sand with Ye Fan's blood.

He hadn't encountered a pure Taijutsu expert like Ye Fan in many years.

"My Taijutsu? I learned it from Jiraiya, I suppose. Ever since I left Konoha, I've been by his side, and he taught me many things."

"Jiraiya? Is it the legendary Sannin, Lord Jiraiya?!"

"That's right, it's him."

Everyone was utterly shocked after hearing Ye Fan's answer.

Even the usually aloof Gaara looked up at Ye Fan with newfound respect.

Jiraiya's reputation was renowned throughout the world, a famous figure in the entire ninja world.

In the current world, anyone who was a ninja had basically heard of his name.

Ninja from other villages even considered Jiraiya to be Konoha's strongest fighter.

They unanimously believed that Konoha's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was old and no longer a match for Jiraiya.

Many people speculated that Jiraiya might become the next Hokage of Konoha.

"Wow! No wonder your Taijutsu is so strong. So you're Lord Jiraiya's disciple!"

Tenten's eyes widened, feeling like everything could now be explained.

"He's one of the legendary Sannin!" Rock Lee exclaimed excitedly.

Neji's doubts were also resolved.

He had been wondering why Ye Fan possessed such strength, and hearing that he was Jiraiya's disciple made everything seem logical.

Jiraiya himself was exceptionally powerful and traveled extensively, inevitably encountering many dangers.

And Ye Fan, always by his side, naturally had many opportunities for practical combat, unlike them who stayed in Konoha the whole time.

Frequent practical combat led to rapid growth in strength.

Seeing Rock Lee's excited demeanor, Ye Fan smiled, "Teacher Guy is also very strong. You probably can't imagine the extent of his strength!"

Ye Fan's eyes showed a hint of respect as he thought of the man who almost ended everything with a single kick.

Although Might Guy appeared unreliable in everyday life, he was an extremely dependable man in crucial moments.

He shared a common trait with Jiraiya: neither of them took things seriously in normal times, but they never faltered when it mattered!

"Is Teacher Guy really that strong?"

Neji couldn't help but ask himself, seeing the sudden respect in Ye Fan's eyes.

Initially, when he learned he was assigned to Guy's team, he was very displeased.

He believed it was the Hyuga main family suppressing him, preventing his smooth development.

After all, as far as he knew, Might Guy was purely a Taijutsu user and couldn't provide him with guidance in Ninjutsu.

In their long time together, although he had grown accustomed to life in Guy's team, there was still a knot in his heart.

Until now, seeing Ye Fan, a person so arrogant, with respect for Guy in his eyes, he was completely flustered.

Suddenly, an unbelievable thought surfaced in his mind: it seemed the Hyuga main family hadn't deliberately suppressed him!

Ye Fan seemed to see through Neji's thoughts, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke:

"Actually, perhaps some things aren't as you imagine.

Perhaps, some people's choices aren't forced, but voluntary."

Rock Lee and the others heard this and were somewhat confused, but Neji understood the implied meaning behind Ye Fan's words.

Ye Fan's words clearly alluded to the Hyuga clan, the issue of the main and branch families.

Neji frowned, not believing Ye Fan's words at all.

He didn't believe his father would willingly die!

Just as Neji was about to say something, Ye Fan interrupted him, "Some things, you'll know one day. It won't be too late to refute me then."

After saying this, Ye Fan began discussing Taijutsu with Rock Lee.

Although it appeared to be a discussion on the surface, Ye Fan was actually guiding Rock Lee.

After Ye Fan's down-to-earth explanation of some problems, Rock Lee had a sudden realization.

Three to four minutes later, Naruto and their group also arrived.

Naruto and Sasuke's condition was much more disheveled compared to Neji's group.

Their clothes were covered in dust and bloodstains, clearly indicating they had been through a difficult battle.

In contrast, Sakura had not a speck of dust on her.

Looking at her, it was obvious that Sakura had stayed in the back and hadn't fought at all!

Since Naruto and the others arrived, more and more people began to show up.

Ye Fan took a rough count; including his own group, there were a total of 27 groups, 79 people.

Ye Fan also spotted Orochimaru among these groups!

Ye Fan looked at Orochimaru and found that Orochimaru was also looking at him.

Orochimaru's gaze flickered between him and Sasuke.

Ye Fan knew that Orochimaru was considering them as his vessels and was deciding which one was more suitable.

Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue at Ye Fan, who responded with a cold smile.

Both of them were contemplating capturing the other!

"Yo, quite a few rookies this year!"

Anko Mitarashi, wearing fishnet stockings, shorts, and holding a skewer of dumplings in her mouth, suddenly appeared on a large tree and laughed loudly.