You're Too Weak

So when it came to competing for the Hokage Position, his Uchiha heritage wouldn't hold him back too much.

After listening to the three introduce themselves, Orochimaru suddenly formed Hand Seals and slapped his hands against the ground.

Bang!

A gigantic purple-patterned snake, over thirty meters tall, suddenly burst out of the ground.

"The Genin exam starts now. You can use any method you like to defeat my summoning beast, Manda. If you can't defeat him within two hours, you'll have to repeat your studies at the Ninja Academy." Orochimaru gave the three bewildered faces before him a strange grin.

"R-repeat?" Nohara Shin stared blankly. "Weren't we supposed to become Genin as soon as we graduated?"

"You want the three of us to defeat a snake that huge?!" Kushina Uzumaki glanced at Manda, who towered into the sky, and swallowed nervously. "How is that any different from sending us to our deaths...?"

What the hell? Was this some kind of joke? After hearing Orochimaru's exam requirements, even Uchiha Matsuri, usually so "aloof," wore a grim expression.

After cursing Orochimaru in his head over and over, Uchiha Matsuri broke out in a cold sweat.

In the original Naruto story, Manda was a monster who could destroy an entire city with a single sweep of his tail. If he actually had to fight this beast, he probably wouldn't last through even one blow.

"Hm? Orochimaru, are we fighting again? This time, I want to eat a hundred people!" Manda asked Orochimaru after being summoned.

"Heh. We're not fighting this time. You're just here to help these brats train." Orochimaru's voice was cold. He didn't seem to have a very good relationship with the giant snake.

"Hm?" Manda glanced at the three beside him, who were dripping with cold sweat, and sneered. "Hmph! I thought you were going to do something interesting. You summoned me just to train these three brats? Orochimaru, you've gone too far."

Before Orochimaru could say anything, Manda vanished with a whoosh.

"That guy..." Orochimaru said calmly, showing no anger.

"Since Manda doesn't want to train you, I'll do it myself." Orochimaru gave them a strange grin.

Hearing they wouldn't have to fight Manda, Nohara Shin and Kushina Uzumaki both breathed a sigh of relief. But unlike the two of them, Uchiha Matsuri knew full well that the man before them was even more dangerous than Manda.

"The rules are the same: you can use any method to defeat me within two hours. Now, begin!"

At the word "begin," all three pulled Kunai from their scrolls and assumed fighting stances.

"Drop dead!" Nohara Shin shouted, throwing three Kunai before charging at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru didn't move when Nohara Shin attacked. He simply stood there. With a slight reach of his hand, he caught the Kunai Nohara Shin had thrown between two fingers.

"Too weak."

A thick mass of chakra suddenly gathered around Orochimaru and blasted Nohara Shin, who was charging toward him, a hundred meters away.

"Wh-what incredible chakra..." Uchiha Matsuri gritted his teeth as he stared at Orochimaru. The power Orochimaru had casually displayed was already enough to fill him with fear.

"Naoya, let's attack together!" Kushina Uzumaki signaled to Uchiha Matsuri, then charged at Orochimaru.

At the same time, Uchiha Matsuri, having received Kushina Uzumaki's signal, charged at Orochimaru too.

The two of them attacked Orochimaru from opposite sides.

"Too bad. You're still too weak."

A long, snake-like tongue suddenly shot from Orochimaru's mouth, striking the two at a speed no ordinary person could see. They were sent flying and crashed hard to the ground.

"Damn, he's too strong." Uchiha Matsuri wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Just as the two were sent flying, Orochimaru suddenly moved toward Kushina Uzumaki and slapped her on the neck. She immediately passed out.

"Kushina!" Nohara Shin shouted.

"Don't worry, I only put her to sleep." Orochimaru turned his back to the two and licked his lips. "If the thing inside her woke up, it would be troublesome."

"But you two little ants won't be so lucky." Orochimaru gave a strange laugh.

The next moment, Orochimaru suddenly appeared in front of Nohara Shin and punched him. Nohara Shin was sent flying, crashing to the ground hundreds of meters away, his life hanging in the balance.

"You're the only one left. Looks like you don't deserve that first-place ranking after all." Orochimaru turned to Uchiha Matsuri, whose body was trembling slightly. "For a brat from the Uchiha Clan, you're a disgrace."

Hearing Orochimaru's contempt, Uchiha Naoya realized that if he didn't fight Orochimaru with everything he had, he might really be a corpse within seconds.

As Orochimaru suddenly turned and charged toward him, Uchiha Matsuri rapidly formed Hand Seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall!"

A tall wall suddenly rose between Uchiha Matsuri and Orochimaru.

But the very next moment, the wall shattered, and Orochimaru was already right in front of Uchiha Matsuri.

Thud.

Uchiha Matsuri was kicked away and slammed into a tree hundreds of meters off. The tree trunk snapped in half, and Uchiha Matsuri fell beneath the branches that crashed down around him.

Ptooey.

Uchiha Matsuri spat out a mouthful of blood.

That kick made Uchiha Matsuri realize that his ribs had definitely broken. But he didn't think his injuries were life-threatening.

First, Uchiha Matsuri could clearly tell that Orochimaru hadn't been holding back enough to kill him during their exchange. Second, if Orochimaru really wanted to kill him, he wouldn't have done it so openly inside Konoha.

In the middle of the Training Ground,

Orochimaru looked expressionlessly at the three lying on the ground.

"Heh. You have two weeks. Train hard. Two weeks from now, at eight in the morning, I'll test your abilities again at this Training Ground." Orochimaru spoke lightly, then headed out.

As he lost more blood, Uchiha Matsuri's consciousness gradually faded. He didn't know how long passed before he felt several doctors in white coats lift him onto a stretcher. Reassured, he closed his eyes.

Hokage Office.

Using the Telescope Technique, the Third Hokage monitored the exams of several teams through a Crystal Ball. When he saw Orochimaru summon Manda, the Third Hokage couldn't help frowning.

What was Orochimaru up to?

Orochimaru's next actions took the Third Hokage by surprise. When he saw Uchiha Matsuri and the others lying on the Training Ground, their lives uncertain, the Third Hokage slammed his hand on the desk. "That Orochimaru is going way too far!"

"Sensei, were you calling me?" Orochimaru suddenly appeared in the office doorway.

"Orochimaru, what on earth did you do? They've only just graduated. Why did you have to be so rough with them?" the Third Hokage demanded angrily.