Drill

"Orochimaru-sensei!"

While Uchiha Gen was still flipping through the booklet and sorting out his doubts, Sarutobi Enju and Utsuki Ruri spotted Orochimaru coming down the stairs and immediately called out.

"This is the mission payment. The three of you can divide it yourselves. I didn't participate in the mission, so I won't take the leader's half-share this time."

Orochimaru tossed a stack of silver notes in an envelope onto the table, signaling for the three of them to divide it themselves.

The payment for this mission was Sixty Thousand Ryo.

According to Orochimaru, he would receive a full Twenty Thousand Ryo himself.

Though twenty thousand did not seem like much, its purchasing power was actually fairly decent.

According to Kishimoto's account, one ryo in the Naruto world was equivalent to ten yen—roughly fifty cents when converted.

Even though prices in Konoha were high, with even a basic bowl of Ichiraku Ramen without extra toppings costing sixty ryo, Twenty Thousand Ryo was still no small sum for an ordinary person.

Ninja possessed great power and risked their lives. Taking on C-rank missions and above meant trading their lives for money, so such high incomes were only natural.

Not to mention the money spent on training and medical treatment, the upkeep of Shuriken and Kunai, Ration Pills, and Explosive Tags. All of it cost quite a bit, and without such high earnings, they could not sustain those steep expenses.

In the past, Uchiha Gen had relied on the inheritance left by his parents, the clan's subsidies for Ninja Academy students, and several sets of ninja tools drawn from the system. As long as he did not spend extravagantly, he had been fairly well-off.

But now, he had more than a dozen extra mouths to feed—the Summoned Ninja Crows.

Considering that he would definitely need to expand the crow population in the future to support the use of related secret techniques, and that as an official ninja, his increased battle frequency would accelerate the replacement rate of his ninja tools, his old savings would certainly not be enough.

However, with the additional Twenty Thousand Ryo from this mission and his current savings, it should be enough to pick up a decent Ninja Sword at the Ninja Cat Clan's ninja tool shop. If he wanted to practice Uchiha Style Swordsmanship, he definitely needed a suitable Ninja Sword.

The mission payment was quickly divided up.

"Orochimaru-sensei, are we heading out on a new mission today?"

Sarutobi Enju asked.

The experience of this mission had completely failed to match his former fantasies.

"No. Before you begin accepting missions again, there is one more thing you need to do."

Orochimaru looked at his three students as he spoke.

"Gather at Training Ground No. 1 in the Forest of Death."

Uchiha Gen closed the scroll and immediately noticed the three bells hanging from Orochimaru's waist, still swaying.

So this was what they were going to do.

Sarutobi Enju noticed the bells as well and repeatedly exchanged meaningful looks with Uchiha Gen and Utsuki Ruri.

As the Hokage's son, he knew about the tradition of the Bell-Stealing Test and had already told his two teammates about it. Orochimaru simply had not conducted the test until now.

But Uchiha Gen still had one question.

Why were there three bells instead of two?

One for each person?

A minute later, at the edge of the Forest of Death, Orochimaru gave them the answer.

"Perhaps you heard about the tradition of Bell-Stealing from your father. This was a test originally created by the Second Hokage to teach his students teamwork. Later, the Third Hokage used it to test Tsunade, Orochimaru, and me. But I think that approach is a little outdated, so I made some changes."

Orochimaru tossed out three bells, which the three of them each caught.

"You have fifteen minutes to prepare. Your range of activity is limited to the Forest of Death. After fifteen minutes, I will begin searching for you. The bells represent your lives and must not leave your persons. Once I take your bell, it means you have died.

"The first person I catch will write the report for the next mission and also submit a tactical summary of this drill. The second person caught will receive neither punishment nor reward. As for the last person caught, I will teach them a powerful ninjutsu and help them master it."

A wicked smile appeared on Orochimaru's pale face as he addressed the three of them.

In other words, this combat drill was actually a survival exercise.

More accurately, it was an escape exercise.

Thinking about it that way, Nawaki's death had really given Orochimaru PTSD. Afraid that his students might lose their lives on the battlefield in the future, he was doing everything he could to give them experience in this area.

"Now, begin."

Orochimaru took out a watch from his ninja tool pouch, his voice hoarse.

"Move!"

Uchiha Gen immediately spoke, gathering Chakra in his legs to enhance his explosive power. His figure instantly shot into the forest.

Sarutobi Enju and Utsuki Ruri followed close behind.

The three figures leaped swiftly through the woods, racing toward the depths of the forest.

"Gen, should the three of us split up? Orochimaru-sensei isn't an ordinary Jonin. Even if the three of us joined forces, we couldn't possibly be a match for him. We might as well split up. That way, if we encounter Orochimaru-sensei, we won't be wiped out all at once. At most, we'll lose one person in the short term, buying as much time as possible for those behind us."

Utsuki Ruri asked Uchiha Gen, who was leading the way.

This survival drill was no longer what Sarutobi Enju had described—something meant to teach Genin teamwork.

What Orochimaru wanted them to learn was how to survive on the battlefield.

"Of course we're splitting up, but wait a moment first."

Uchiha Gen glanced at the bandage wrapped around his left thumb, tore it off with his teeth, then used his canine tooth to bite open the thumb, which had only just healed and still bore a mark.

Blood flowed. He formed hand seals, and smoke billowed up.

More than a dozen Ninja Crows appeared beside Uchiha Gen, cawing loudly.

"The Forest of Death is densely vegetated. Even if I use Ninja Crows flying overhead to scout, their vision will be obstructed by the trees. Still, we can at least use them for basic communication.

"If any of us gets caught and loses a bell, the Ninja Crow will dispel its own summoning. I'll also be able to determine your location and condition through the summoned beast. If something happens to me, the Ninja Crows following near you will dispel their summons as well and inform you of the situation."

With a snap of Uchiha Gen's fingers, two crows flew out from the flock and landed on Sarutobi Enju's and Utsuki Ruri's shoulders.

"Also, Teacher Orochimaru specializes in Snake-Style Ninjutsu, and snakes are good at using their tongues to distinguish scents. You need to use the terrain to conceal your own scent. It'd be best if you gave me some personal items carrying your scent. I'll have the Ninja Crows carry them throughout the forest to create false trails and confuse Teacher Orochimaru.

"Anything else to add?"