The First Exam (Extra-Long Chapter)

The day before the Chunin Exams.

Land of Rice Fields, underground base.

Orochimaru stood in the center of the base's main hall, his shadow stretched long beneath the cold, dim lights. Before him, five people stood in a row—the Sound Five.

Kaguya Kimimaro stood at the very front, white hair hanging over his forehead, not a ripple of emotion in his green eyes. At his side stood Sakon and Ukon, Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Jirobo in turn. Every one of them was a trusted subordinate carefully cultivated by Orochimaru, and every one possessed strength far beyond that of an ordinary jonin.

Yunju stood in a corner of the hall, waiting quietly.

He did not know why he had been summoned. Orochimaru had not informed him beforehand, merely sent a guard with a message—"Come to the main hall."

"Yunju." Orochimaru's voice rang out as his golden snake eyes turned toward the corner. "Come here."

Yunju stepped forward and knelt on one knee beneath the gazes of the five, his head lowered.

"Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru said nothing more. He merely extended a hand and placed it on Yunju's shoulder. That hand was ice-cold, like some sort of mark.

"For the next few days, he will be acting with me." Orochimaru addressed the Sound Five in a tone as casual as if discussing the weather. "Kimimaro will manage the base in my stead."

"Yes." Kimimaro lowered his head slightly, his voice steady.

Orochimaru turned and left with Yunju, vanishing into the shadows of the corridor.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Sakon was the first to speak, his voice carrying a teasing flippancy. "Tsk, tsk. Lord Orochimaru really does care about that brat. He's even taking him along to the Chunin Exams personally."

Kimimaro did not respond. He simply gazed toward the end of the corridor, his eyes deep and unreadable.

Leaning against the wall, Sakon tilted his head toward Kimimaro, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "Kimimaro, don't you find that kid an eyesore? Lord Orochimaru hadn't bothered with him in a long time, but lately he's been calling for him more and more. Could it be..."

"No." Kimimaro cut him off, his tone still calm.

Sakon raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Kimimaro turned his back to the others. His voice carried an unquestionable certainty. "Everything Lord Orochimaru does is correct."

He paused, as though choosing his words.

"I am too strong."

There was no boasting, no pride, not even the slightest emotional fluctuation when he said it. Kimimaro was merely stating a fact, as naturally as saying that the weather was nice today.

"People like us are not suited to being exposed at Lord Orochimaru's side." Kimimaro continued, lowering his gaze slightly. "We have more important tasks to handle. The troubles Lord Orochimaru cannot conveniently deal with himself, those that require us to hide our identities to resolve... those are our duties."

Sakon did not tease him further, because he knew Kimimaro was telling the truth.

"As for Yunju..." At last, a trace of emotion entered Kimimaro's voice—disdain, but not merely contempt. It was more like the judgment of someone seated high above on a judge's bench. "His strength is nothing special. He has no Kekkei Genkai, no particularly outstanding combat ability. But his chakra reserves are decent, and his potential in all five basic natures looks presentable enough on the surface."

Kimimaro turned around, his white hair appearing almost translucent beneath the lights.

"Lord Orochimaru needs a card to place in the open. It cannot be too strong, strong enough to draw attention; nor can it be too weak, weak enough to crumble at the first blow." The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, though it was hard to tell whether it counted as a smile. "Yunju is just right."

Sakon whistled. "So you're not worried at all?"

Kimimaro did not answer.

He was not worried, because he never questioned Orochimaru's decisions. If Orochimaru believed Yunju was useful, then Yunju had value in existing. If one day Orochimaru decided Yunju no longer had value, then Kimimaro would not care whether he lived or died.

"Dismissed." Kimimaro said flatly. "Attend to your duties."

One by one, the members of the Sound Five disappeared into the corridors.

Meanwhile.

In the secret passage leading to the surface, Orochimaru and Yunju walked one behind the other.

Orochimaru did not walk quickly, yet every step carried a rhythm that instinctively made people want to follow. Yunju kept about three paces behind him, maintaining a respectful posture with his gaze lowered.

"We are ready." Orochimaru suddenly spoke. "Your identity will be that of a genin from Kusagakure. Your name remains Yunju. Your surname must be concealed. Do not mention the word 'Senju' for the time being."

"Yes."

"You will have two teammates." Orochimaru continued. "One will be me, and the other will be a native genin from Kusagakure. You do not need to speak much with that girl. The less she knows, the better."

Yunju nodded, though a question had already arisen in his heart. Orochimaru was personally participating in the Chunin Exams?

He did not ask.

Some things would get you killed the moment you asked about them.

The two emerged from the passage and arrived at a hidden camp on the surface. A ninja wearing Kusagakure attire stood there, his build somewhat similar to Orochimaru's—no, it would be more accurate to say that this "person" was the "shell" Orochimaru had prepared for himself.

Orochimaru glanced at Yunju, then suddenly reached out, gripped his chin, and shoved a pill into his mouth.

Before Yunju could react, the pill had already slid down his throat.

"A Transformation Technique requires chakra to maintain, so it is far too easy to expose flaws." Orochimaru released him and explained, "This pill will allow you to maintain a fixed transformed form for three days without consuming chakra. Of course, the side effect is... if you do not cancel it within three days, your face may never change back."

Yunju felt a strange numb itch spread across his face. His skin squirmed, his bones subtly shifting. A few seconds later, the sensation faded. He drew a small mirror from his waist—a strange face appeared in it, ordinary and unremarkable, the kind that would never earn a second glance in a crowd.

"This is... the one you..." Yunju asked tentatively.

"Mm." Orochimaru answered carelessly. "A male genin from Kusagakure. Mediocre in strength, quiet by nature. As long as you remain silent, you will not give yourself away."

Orochimaru swallowed a pill himself. His body changed, becoming a Kusagakure ninja of average build and ordinary appearance.

The two headed deeper into the camp.

At the center of the camp, a red-haired girl crouched beneath a tree with her head lowered, seemingly lost in thought.

Yunju approached and finally got a clear look at her.

She was fourteen or fifteen, with long dark-red hair hanging messily over her shoulders. She wore a Kusagakure uniform, but it was stained and torn, as though she had been through something unpleasant.

What drew the eye most were her arms—her exposed forearms were covered in densely packed scars. They were not cuts or burns left by battle, but round, reddened marks, looking exactly like rows of teeth marks.

Bite marks.

All over her body.

Something stirred faintly in Yunju's heart, but he did not show it. He merely stood quietly to one side without speaking.

The red-haired girl lifted her head, glanced at him, then at Orochimaru's transformed appearance. There was not a trace of warmth in her eyes. She said nothing and showed neither doubt nor discomfort. She simply stood up silently and dusted herself off.

The three stood together in silence like unrelated strangers, forcibly bound into a team by some invisible force.

No one spoke.

No one asked questions.

On the road to Konoha, the silence between the three was like a wall, solid and impenetrable.

Yunju walked at the very back of the group, observing the backs of the two people ahead.

Orochimaru's transformed Kusagakure persona walked with steady steps, his posture exactly like that of a real chunin—not hurried, not slow, with the easygoing air of an old hand. He left no flaw in any detail, as though he truly had been the man he killed.

The red-haired girl walked in the middle. Her steps were light, though she occasionally limped slightly, as though her leg was injured as well. She never looked back at anyone and showed no intention of speaking first.

Yunju had many questions.

Who was this girl? Why was she covered in bite marks? Why had Orochimaru chosen a local like her as a teammate?

But he did not ask.

The more one said, the more likely one was to make a mistake.

He remembered every word Orochimaru said.

Konoha Hidden Village.

When Yunju first saw those enormous gates, he froze for a moment.

The two towering wooden gates stood open, the symbol for "Fire" carved above them, radiating a warm glow beneath the sunlight. Beyond them lay a broad main street, lined with tightly packed houses and shops. People came and went, and the place bustled with life. In the distance, the faces of past Hokage were carved into the massive mountain wall, looking down over the entire village.

This was Konoha.

The "decaying" Konoha Kimimaro spoke of. The Konoha founded by Hashirama Senju.

Yunju did not know what words could describe how he felt at that moment. He only thought silently to himself: So a village can become something like this.

Not because it was large, nor because it was prosperous—but because it had a certain kind of sound.

Children's laughter, merchants' cries, ninja greetings, the rustle of wind through the leaves.

None of those sounds existed in the underground base in the Land of Rice Fields.

Orochimaru walked ahead. The instant he stepped onto Konoha's soil, his stride paused slightly.

For less than half a second.

But Yunju noticed.

Orochimaru's expression did not change at all. He still wore the indifferent face of an ordinary Kusagakure ninja. Yet in his eyes... something flashed.

It was not nostalgia, not sentiment, not hatred.

It was too complicated. Yunju could not understand it.

The three made their way along the main street toward the registration area. Orochimaru suddenly spoke in a low voice, as though talking to himself, or perhaps to Yunju.

"It has been a long time since I came here."

Yunju tilted his head slightly and looked at him.

The corner of Orochimaru's mouth lifted faintly. To Yunju, that curve seemed strange—no, not strange. Dangerous.

"I never expected that this time, I would be here to send off my teacher."

Yunju's heart suddenly clenched.

Send off... his teacher?

The meaning of teacher raced through his mind—who was Orochimaru's teacher? The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Send him off? What did that mean?

Alarm bells blared in Yunju's heart, but he did not reveal anything unusual. He merely nodded slightly, putting on a confused expression without asking further, and gave a vague laugh.

"I see..."

He did not know what else he could say.

Orochimaru did not continue the subject. He merely quickened his pace.

The red-haired girl walked at the front, her head lowered the entire time, as though she had heard nothing.

The first venue of the Chunin Exams.

The examination hall was inside a tall building. Yunju followed Orochimaru and the red-haired girl through the entrance, where a wave of air mixed with sweat and tension hit him head-on.

The hall was packed with genin from various villages.

Konoha's green flak jackets were the most numerous. Sand Village, Mist Village, Cloud Village, and Stone Village each clustered together, while examinees from smaller ninja villages were scattered throughout. Yunju gave the room a sweep and roughly estimated fifty or sixty people. Including those on the second floor, the total was likely close to a hundred.

At some point, Orochimaru had quietly left the team and blended into the crowd. Yunju looked around but could not find him, and his heart sank slightly.

He could only act on his own now.

"Everyone, take your seats according to your numbers! Silence!"

A booming voice came from the front. Yunju looked up to see a stern middle-aged ninja standing on the examiner's platform, a forehead protector wrapped around his head and sharp eyes fixed on the room.

Ibiki Morino.

Yunju did not know him, but he could sense that this man was no ordinary person.

The seats in the examination hall were spread far apart, requiring examinees to sit at intervals to prevent cheating. Yunju's assigned number was in a corner. He walked over and sat down, discovering someone seated to his right, an empty seat to his left, and two Konoha genin in front of him.

He paid no attention to anyone else. He simply sat quietly and waited for the exam to begin.

Just as the oppressive atmosphere in the hall reached its peak, a commotion broke out at the entrance.

A blond boy with six whisker-like markings on his face swaggered in, looked around, and shouted loudly enough for half the examination hall to hear:

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I'm going to defeat every last one of you!!"

The air in the hall froze for a moment.

Then the place erupted.

Some laughed aloud, some snorted in disdain, and some looked at the blond boy as if he were an idiot. Several Konoha examinees covered their faces, apparently long accustomed to this behavior from their teammate.

Yunju looked over as well.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Uzumaki.

He withdrew his gaze, only to accidentally glimpse the seat number of the red-haired girl beside him—and the completed label on her exam paper.

Karin Uzumaki.

Yunju's pupils widened slightly.

Uzumaki.

The same surname.

Was it a coincidence? Or were they... family?

He did not know, nor did he care. At this moment, what concerned him more was the exam paper spread before him.

The written test had begun.

The first question was moderately difficult. After reading it, Yunju found that while it was not simple, his own knowledge should be enough to handle it.

Just as he was about to write, his peripheral vision caught Karin's exam paper beside him.

Only for a moment.

He wanted to confirm how quickly she was answering, to see what level a "local" from Kusagakure was at.

But that single glance caused a problem.

"Examinee over there! Number forty-seven!"

A sharp gaze shot toward him.

Yunju looked up and saw Ibiki staring at him, his eyes as sharp as blades.

"Where are you looking?"

Dozens of eyes in the examination hall turned toward Yunju at once.

Yunju's heart sank, but his expression did not change. He merely lowered his head, pretending to admit fault.

"I..."

"No explanations needed." Ibiki cut him off coldly. "First rule of the Chunin Exams written test—anyone caught cheating will be disqualified on the spot. You, get out."

"Where are you looking?"

Dozens of eyes in the examination hall turned toward Yunju at once.

Yunju's heart sank, but his expression did not change. He merely lowered his head, pretending to admit fault.

"You cheated." Ibiki said coldly. "Disqualified. Get out."

There was no chance to defend himself.

There was no collective punishment for his teammates.

Yunju alone was pinned in place by those eyes.

He stood up and walked out of the examination hall under everyone's watchful gaze.

Yunju stood in the corridor, his face burning.

Not because he had been expelled—though that was certainly humiliating—but because he realized just how foolish a mistake he had made.

Orochimaru had said, "The more you speak, the more likely you are to slip up." He had managed not to speak, but he had forgotten that even silent "observation" could cause problems. He had been too eager to understand everything around him, too eager to gather information, and had stumbled at the most basic hurdle.

His Chunin Exams had ended before they even began.

He left the building and began wandering through Konoha.

Since the exam no longer meant anything, he could at least make use of this time to do something useful—learn Konoha's terrain, the distribution of its buildings, the movement of its people, and its guard arrangements.

This information would be useful someday.

He passed Ichiraku Ramen and caught the aroma of pork-bone broth; passed a ninja tool shop and saw kunai and shuriken displayed in the window; passed a training ground and heard Konoha's genin shouting as they sparred; passed a residential district and saw ordinary Konoha villagers returning from grocery shopping with bicycles.

There was no killing intent, no tension, no chill.

Everyone was simply living their own lives.

Yunju walked for a long time, traversing every main road in Konoha and memorizing the relative positions of every important building.

One thought lingered in his mind: if one day he really managed to escape here... could he live this kind of life too?

The whistle marking the end of the first exam sounded in the afternoon.

The candidates emerged from the examination hall one after another, their expressions varied—some were brimming with confidence, some hung their heads in dejection, while others looked perfectly calm, betraying nothing.

Yunju stood quietly at the street corner opposite the examination building, waiting.

He saw Naruto come bouncing out, looking excited, apparently still unaware that he had nearly chosen to give up at the final question.

He saw Sakura and Ino chatting as they walked, both looking relaxed.

He saw Sasuke Uchiha walk past expressionlessly, followed by two silent teammates.

Then he saw Orochimaru.

The transformed Grass ninja emerged from the building with a livid face. Behind that ordinary appearance, genuine fury burned in his eyes.

He strode up to Yunju without saying a word, merely giving him a cold glance.

That look was colder than winter in the Land of Rice Fields.

The two silently walked to an empty corner. Orochimaru said nothing, but Yunju could feel his chakra churning, like a furious giant serpent searching for something to vent its rage upon.

"Do you know," Orochimaru began, his voice low, each word squeezed through his teeth like a blade, "how much time I spent arranging this identity?"

Yunju lowered his head and said nothing.

"Do you know," Orochimaru's voice dropped even lower, "how many samples I needed in that examination hall?"

Silence.

"And yet, because you were 'looking around,' you alone were disqualified. Your Grass ninja identity is completely ruined. We may have lost the chance to collect dozens of samples."

Orochimaru took a deep breath, seemingly forcing down some impulse.

Yunju knew Orochimaru would not kill him now.

Not because he could not bear to, but because killing him would accomplish nothing.

But sparing him did not mean he would not be punished.

"You still have your uses," Orochimaru said coldly. "So I will give you a second chance."

He pulled a scroll from his sleeve, tossed it onto the ground, and unfurled it.

A portrait was drawn on the scroll—a person whose head was wrapped entirely in bandages, with only one left eye exposed. His right arm was fitted with perforated armor. His face was indistinct, but his outline was clear.

"Dosu," Orochimaru spoke the name. "A genin from Otogakure, one of the test subjects I modified. His signature ninjutsu is Sound Burst. It uses high-frequency sound waves to shatter internal organs, rupture eardrums, and disrupt the nerves. He was originally a core member of Otogakure's team for the Chunin Exams."

Yunju looked at the portrait and roughly guessed what Orochimaru was about to say.

"From this moment on, you are Dosu," Orochimaru said. "You will join Otogakure's team under his identity and continue taking the Chunin Exams. The bandages, armor, and codename have all been prepared."

He crouched down until they were eye to eye. There was not a trace of warmth in his golden snake pupils.

"This is your last chance, Yunju-kun."

"If anything goes wrong again, you will no longer be my 'reserve.'"

Orochimaru rose and turned to leave. His voice drifted back from afar, carrying a chilling calm:

"You will become 'experimental material.'"

Yunju stood where he was, looking down at the scroll on the ground.

Dosu's face, and the hollow, numb gaze beneath those bandages, resembled an object marked with a serial number.

He reached out, rolled up the scroll, and put it away.

Then he raised his head and looked toward Konoha's blue sky.

The clouds were thick, and sunlight spilled through the gaps, falling across his face.

"Experimental material."

He repeated the four words softly, then closed his eyes.