Preliminary Round

"The time isn't right yet..."

Orochimaru murmured soundlessly, his slick tongue licking across his lips again as he suppressed the impatience within him.

"The forces we've infiltrated are still too thin."

His thoughts drifted to the next stage of the plan.

A cold, expectant gleam flickered in his eyes, as though he could already see the chaos descending.

Everything had to wait until the third stage... until those noble yet fragile Daimyos arrived. Their arrival would be the best opportunity for an invasion.

Orochimaru gave a hoarse chuckle.

Even someone as strong as Minato Namikaze could not fight without restraint.

Because as Hokage, he had to consider every consequence—for example, if even a single Daimyo died in Konohagakure...

The position of Hokage was both a responsibility and a burden.

After casting Sasuke Uchiha one last greedy glance, Orochimaru vanished into the Forest of Death.

After all, this was as far as he could follow them.

As a former Konoha Jonin, he naturally knew the arrangements for the next stage of the Chunin Exam. It would inevitably be one-on-one battles.

A battle conducted under countless watchful eyes was not what Orochimaru wanted.

With his strength, he could certainly win easily even without using his signature abilities, but...

There were still people in Konoha who were very familiar with his fighting style and behavior—such as that somewhat foolish disciple of his, whose endurance far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Orochimaru believed that a person's instinctive movements were difficult to change. If they could be deliberately controlled, then they were no longer instinctive.

Besides, even if he did not continue participating in the Chunin Exam, he still had an excellent vantage point from which to watch.

He had personally entered the Chunin Exam only to observe Sasuke Uchiha and the other two targets