Abnormal Attack!

Training Ground 44, or as it is more commonly known, the Forest of Death, was a far more fitting name.

Towering trees reached toward the clouds, casting dappled light onto the damp, rotting leaves below, while the air hung heavy with a pungent, metallic scent and the distant, monotonous chirping of insects was punctuated by the occasional roar of a beast.

It was gloomy, eerie, and unsettling.

"I'm telling you... this place is way too creepy!" Uzumaki Kushina complained, carefully trailing behind Hiroki while glancing left and right.

She was terrified that some bizarre monster might suddenly jump out at them.

"That teacher named Orochimaru really has terrible taste, picking a place like this for a meeting."

Hiroki didn't speak; his gaze swept calmly over the surroundings as he pondered why Orochimaru was subjecting them to another assessment.

Was it that the Third Hokage hadn't informed Orochimaru? Or did Orochimaru simply not recognize the results of Jiraiya's assessment?

Or perhaps, was this a conspiracy by that professional scapegoat, Danzo!? After all, in many of the Naruto fanfiction novels Hiroki had read, that was how it went—any inexplicable situation that arose was almost always linked to Danzo.

Just as Hiroki was deep in thought, and just as Kushina was about to complain again, they stopped.

Both of their gazes locked onto a thick tree trunk not far ahead.

A figure was standing there, though it was impossible to tell when he had arrived; he seemed to be a natural part of the tree's shadow, emerging only as the light shifted.

A pale, slender figure stood there, watching them like a terrifying phantom.

Kushina nearly let out a scream, subconsciously grabbing onto the back of Hiroki's clothes!

But upon closer inspection, the man was wearing a simple ninja outfit topped with a green Konoha flak jacket.

He was clearly a living ninja, not some ghost.

And yet, he didn't quite look human. That was Kushina's first impression of this teacher.

His skin was a sickly, deathly pale, reflecting a faint sheen in the dim light like fine porcelain.

Long, straight, jet-black hair draped over his shoulders, making his bloodless face appear even more striking.

But what drew the most attention were his eyes.

They were golden, with pupils slit like those of a snake.

When he looked their way, his gaze carried none of the emotions one would expect from a human—no curiosity, no scrutiny, only a cold, pure sense of inquiry, like a reptile observing its prey.

Indifferent, dangerous!

Kushina was so frightened she held her breath, not daring to move.

Was that Orochimaru!?

That was Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's lips curled slightly, forming an arc, but the smile held no warmth; instead, it made the temperature in the forest drop a few degrees.

He said softly, "You two..."

"The assessment begins!"

And the moment those words fell!

A blue window popped up abruptly in front of Hiroki, occupying his entire field of vision!

The [System Resource Monitor] floating window, which he had programmed himself, suddenly jumped into view, alerting Hiroki to an anomaly!

The values within the [System Resource Monitor] began to skyrocket without warning.

The |CPU Usage| progress bar instantly surged from a steady 15% to 99%, its bright red color blindingly intense.

The |Memory| usage followed suit, spiking almost instantaneously!

Hiroki could even "feel" his own thoughts experiencing a noticeable lag, like an old computer running hundreds of high-consumption programs at once; every single thought became an arduous struggle.

It's an attack!

It's Orochimaru!

Without needing to think or look for a reason, Hiroki subconsciously realized that this was Orochimaru's assessment!

But how did he do it!?

"Kushina, I like you!" Hiroki suddenly blurted out.

"Huh!?"

Uzumaki Kushina's brain instantly crashed, as if struck by a bolt of lightning.

She subconsciously scanned her surroundings; the gloomy Forest of Death was still the same Forest of Death, the distant insect chirps and beast roars hadn't ceased, and that teacher with the terrible taste—Orochimaru—was still standing on the tree trunk not far away, wearing that same unsettling smile.

Why would he confess at a time like this?

"W-what are you saying! You idiot!" Kushina's cheeks turned scorching hot in a flash. She took a sharp step back, waving her hands nervously in front of her, trying to hide her panic. "T-this is an assessment! An assessment! You... you shouldn't say things like that right now!"

Despite her verbal resistance, her heart was thumping uncontrollably, and a warm current mixed with shyness, secret joy, and bewilderment flooded her entire body.

Was he... was he joking? It didn't seem like it. But... but why now of all times?

"I'm serious." Hiroki stepped forward, his gaze locked firmly onto her, a focus that made it impossible for her to look away. "It's precisely because we're in the middle of an assessment, facing danger, that I realized... I don't want to keep these words hidden in my heart anymore."

"If I fail this assessment... I might... never have the courage to tell you this."

It's over, it's over, it's over...

Kushina felt as though her brain had turned into a pot of boiling porridge. She even forgot her fear, forgot that snake-like teacher; the entire world seemed to shrink down to only the boy standing before her, confessing his feelings.

"That... that..." She stammered incoherently, her face flushing so red it looked like it might bleed, her voice as thin as a mosquito's hum. "Can we... can we talk about this after the assessment is over!..."

This was the firmest rejection she could possibly muster.

However... a gentle smile appeared on Hiroki's face. He slowly raised his hand, as if wanting to touch her cheek.

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do!???

Inside Kushina's heart, a voice was screaming: Let him!

Kushina was just about to close her eyes and let it all happen.

Even if it's an assessment... but, there's no rush for this one time, right... even if we don't pass this time, we can always pass later.

Kushina subconsciously comforted herself with this thought.

But the next moment...

However, just as his fingertips were about to brush against her burning cheek, a sudden change occurred.

Hiroki's expression suddenly froze. His mouth snapped wide open as if he were about to let out a silent scream, but what crawled out from the depths of his throat was not a sound.

It was a slender, green snake, covered in slick, viscous slime.

The snake's eyes were two points of crimson light; it hissed, flicking its tongue, its cold scales scraping against the inner walls of Hiroki's throat.

Then, in a nauseating display, it slithered out from Hiroki's throat and rapidly coiled around his slender neck.

"Urgh..."

Hiroki reached out weakly, as if trying to call for help, but the green snake tightened its grip around his neck. His legs went limp, and his body fell straight backward, crashing heavily onto the rotting fallen leaves, with only his limbs twitching unconsciously.

"Ah--!"