That Snake Is Mine Too!

[Ding! Successfully completed a one-star mission: Defeat Orochimaru head-on]

"Turn on the lights, turn on the lights, turn on the lights!"

Uchiha Sen struggled nonstop inside the snake's belly, covered head to toe in slime.

Haku and Zabuza sensed that something was wrong and searched in the direction the two had just left.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura chose to hide nearby and wait for Naruto to return. Unlike Zabuza, they were here to take the exam, and Sasuke also needed some time to recover his chakra.

"Why isn't he back yet... Don't tell me Naruto fell into another team's trap?"

Sakura was worried. The rules required all three members of a team to bring the Heaven-and-Earth Scrolls to the designated location to pass. If anything happened to Naruto, their team would automatically lose its qualification to advance.

"Let's wait a little longer. Stay alert. Didn't we agree on a signal?"

Sasuke Uchiha said calmly as he sat cross-legged on the ground.

On the other side of the forest, Zabuza followed the trail left on the ground and found the python that had swallowed Uchiha Sen.

"Hm? It's just a summoned beast... Does Lord Sen find this amusing...?"

Haku looked puzzled and couldn't help glancing at Zabuza beside him, seemingly asking whether they should step in to help.

Zabuza noticed a clear bulge in the middle of the python's body. It was probably the commotion Uchiha Sen had been making.

"I don't know what's going on, but let's get Lord Sen out first."

He pulled the Executioner's Blade from his back and swung it twice with clean, decisive motions.

Swish! Swish!

The cuts were perfectly precise. Uchiha Sen stopped struggling and blinked.

Huh?

The lights were on?

He swiftly crawled out. Thoughtful as ever, Haku formed hand seals, and a gentle breeze swirled around Sen's body. Before long, that sticky feeling had completely disappeared.

"Lord Sen, why were you inside the python's stomach? Did someone ambush you?"

Haku's words were like a fuse, igniting Sen's powder keg.

"I remember now! A snake-meat ball came looking for me! I thought he was the meat-delivery guy from the end of the street! Then the lights went out! That damned muggle was actually a despicable sneak attacker! I'll beat him up every time I see him!"

Snake-meat ball?

The meat delivery guy from the end of the street...

Forget it. At least he was fine...

Unable to understand Sen's bizarre language, the two could only comfort themselves that way.

"Oh, right. Nico Robin, let's set up the pot. I'll see whether this snake meat tastes good."

Huh?

Fine...

You're the boss...

"Lord Orochimaru, you... couldn't beat that guy?"

Sakutos and the three-man team immediately brought Orochimaru to a safe location. Two of them stood watch while Dos waited quietly for Orochimaru's orders.

"Mm, I was careless. Every Mangekyō is truly extraordinary..."

Orochimaru still felt lingering fear. The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's genjutsu had been terrifying beyond belief. Thinking back on the battle, he had only made eye contact with Sen once at the very beginning. Yet at that time, he hadn't seen the other party use the Mangekyō Sharingan at all. There was only one possibility—he had already fallen under genjutsu from the moment they met...

In that case... with such outstanding battle instincts, was that guy really a madman?

Hehehe, the Uchiha Clan... They were becoming more and more interesting.

Orochimaru's train of thought perfectly embodied one saying: your imagination was the source of my power.

His battle with Sen had also completely stirred Orochimaru's desire for the Sharingan. He forced his not-yet-recovered body up and headed toward the lakeside.

There was more than one pair of Sharingan in this forest, after all...

At that moment, Uchiha Sen and the others had set up a meal around a small stove. Any passing genin teams could only leave in bitterness upon seeing the three of them.

Damn it, wasn't anyone going to do something about this?!

They had just eaten barbecue, and now they were stewing soup!

They weren't even exam participants, so why were they here?!

The worst part was that no one could beat them. Everyone present knew that the boy wearing a striped bedsheet was an incredibly powerful ninja.

"Hahaha, why does this meat taste a little like chicken? Still, it's pretty good. Slurp, slurp."

"Mm-hm, it's really good. Mostly because Haku's cooking is so good."

Zabuza hadn't eaten much earlier, but now he couldn't stop. After much persuasion, he had finally made Sen believe that soup tasted best when simmered over charcoal.

Whew, at least he wouldn't be treating me like a tool for making soup from now on. T-T

After drinking this bowl of soup, he couldn't help remembering the boy he had chased beneath the sunset. That had been his lost youth.

"By the way, do you think snake meat would taste good grilled?"

Sen looked at the two of them excitedly, as though he had discovered something interesting.

Uh...

Haku didn't really mind, but he turned to look at Zabuza's gloomy face and said against his conscience, "Well, Lord Sen, we've never tried it either, but we don't have any ingredients left. We already ate all the snake meat from earlier."

Haku pointed at the pool of blood on the ground and the scattered sections of bone. Even the cleverest housewife couldn't cook without rice. Lord Sen probably wouldn't blame him, and Lord Zabuza wouldn't have to work so hard. I'm such a clever little genius.

"Mm, in that case, how about we go find that snake-meat ball? I remember he had two snakes earlier. The other one would be perfect for grilling!"

No sooner said than done. Before long, every team in the Forest of Death suffered. The Hidden Leaf Village teams were doing relatively well, but teams from other villages were miserable. Wherever Uchiha Sen went, cries of agony followed.

After tonight, everyone would surely remember that boy who smiled as he asked whether they had snake meat...

At the southeastern corner of the Forest of Death, Naruto, having finished his disguise, emerged from the forest and arrived at the riverbank.

Heh heh, this time I definitely won't give myself away. They're just a bunch of children. Let's see how I'll toy with them.

Orochimaru quickly got into character. He raised one hand behind his head and scratched it, then walked out with a silly grin and greeted the pair standing by the lake.

"Hahaha, I was gone for a while, but I finally feel refreshed now~ By the way, why isn't Sen back yet?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and said nothing more. Sakura's expression darkened as she complained, "Seriously, why were you gone for so long? And don't talk about that stuff in front of a lady!"

"Zabuza and the others went looking for you. Didn't you see them?"

Before Sakura could finish, Sasuke threw a punch at Naruto's cheek.

Bang!

As he spun through the air three times, Orochimaru thought of many things.

How had I been exposed?

I clearly hadn't done anything yet.

Why?

No, someone as proud as me would never admit it!

It was a probing attack! That's right!

"Even if he was a little late... there was no need to hit him so hard..."

Sakura looked nervous as she tried to ease the tension between her teammates.

Thud!

Naruto crashed heavily to the ground, then got up and rubbed his bruised cheek as he complained, "What was that for? That really hurt!"

Sasuke took out a kunai from the ninja pouch on his leg and chuckled. "Heh heh, that's enough to reveal the problem. Naruto would never call him Sen."

Sakura also came to her senses. That was right—ever since they had met, Naruto had never directly called Sen by his name.

I see...

Having learned the truth, Orochimaru knew the game was over. A cloud of smoke rose, revealing his true appearance.

"I didn't expect you to understand those people so well. But as a proud Uchiha, it's strange that you'd care about such trivial details."

Perhaps because he had suffered last time, Orochimaru did less probing this round. He immediately overwhelmed the two with crushing strength. After defeating the late-arriving Naruto, he finally revealed his true self.

He formed hand seals and rushed straight at Sasuke with his maw wide open.

Hehehe, I've planted a seed, and soon it will bear fruit. Today is a great day~

"Zoro! That guy's the snake-meat ball! Hurry, ask him for snake meat!"

A familiar voice came from nearby.

Whoosh!

Bang!

Zabuza Momochi used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Sasuke. With one hand, he twisted the blade and swung the Executioner's Blade with all his strength, making the flat of the weapon intimately greet Orochimaru's cheek.

Orochimaru felt dizzy and disoriented. Zabuza was no Sasuke—his strength was no joke.

Looking at the traces of battle around them, Zabuza frowned...

This was bad... Did this count as interfering with the exam?

Wait! This aura!

Zabuza Momochi realized something was wrong. Once someone reached jonin-level strength, they naturally developed a certain instinct. That spine-chilling feeling was unmistakable. This was a Kage Level powerhouse!

Snake-meat ball... snake... Kage Level powerhouse...

It was Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin!

Forget it. Lord Sen was standing in front anyway.

He quickly came to terms with it. A Kage Level powerhouse was all it was—Sen should be able to handle him, right...?

As Zabuza mentally calculated his odds, he kept sneaking glances toward the woods. The figure that would put him at ease still hadn't appeared.

After a while, Sen emerged, planted his hands on his hips, and gave Orochimaru the middle finger. He said with arrogant dominance, "I was wondering what you were. So you ate the Gum-Gum Fruit like Luffy, huh? You long-necked monster, I'll give you one chance. I want snake meat. Hand it over obediently, or I'll show you how fearsome Natsu the Fire Dragon, the Dragon Slayer Mage, is!"

???

Everyone present wore different expressions.

Haku was confused: wasn't that a character Lord Sen had made up himself?

Zabuza was dumbfounded: could you please stop fooling around at a time like this...

System: [If you'd just say something normal for once, do you believe I could make it happen?!]

Orochimaru began to hesitate when it came to Sen. Zabuza was also watching him like a tiger from the side, and the situation seemed unfavorable...

Forget it. There would be plenty of time in the future. Sasuke was destined to be his eventually, so there was no need to rush now.

"Hehe, Sasuke-kun, I believe we will meet again."

Orochimaru licked his lips, left behind those cryptic words, and departed.

"Whew..."

Zabuza let out a sigh of relief. Even he still felt lingering fear when facing a Kage Level powerhouse. Perhaps because he had once experienced death, he had lost that fearless momentum from before.

"You bastard! You've got the guts to show up, but not the guts to stop running?!"

Uchiha Sen stood with his hands on his hips and cursed, while the considerate Haku immediately stepped forward to calm him down.

Sasuke Uchiha, who had just gone through a fierce battle atop a tree trunk, was somewhat exhausted but still forced himself to jump down.

"Sakura, hurry and check Naruto's injuries."

"O-okay."

After sending Sakura away, Sasuke slowly approached Sen's group, only to hear Zabuza and Haku speaking quietly.

"That was really dangerous. That guy wasn't simple," Zabuza said with lingering fear.

"Even you weren't confident you could defeat him, Lord Zabuza?"

Seeing Haku's expression, Zabuza mocked himself. Damn it, don't I know exactly how capable I am?

"One of the Legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf Village, a Kage Level powerhouse—Orochimaru of the Cold Wind."

"Kage Level..."

Haku covered his mouth in horror, finally realizing what they had faced. Kage Level was the highest known level of combat power in this world.

Hearing this, Sasuke looked toward the figure by the lake.

He slowly walked over.

"Sen..."

Sasuke had barely opened his mouth before he was ruthlessly interrupted.

"Call me Big Sen. A little brat like you dares call this warrior by name?"

Sen didn't even look at Sasuke, but the disdain in his tone was impossible to miss.

I'll endure...

Sasuke clenched and loosened his fists, then clenched them again.

"Big Sen, can I discuss something with you?"

"Speak!"

Sasuke was still answered by that round back of Sen's head. His messy hair had somehow formed three stiff spirals.

Endure it...

I need his help, I need his help...

Sasuke kept reminding himself inwardly.

"Help me kill someone. From now on, I'll treat you to barbecue every day. How about it?"

Now you had no reason to refuse me, right?

Sasuke thought smugly. He had already figured out Sen's tastes quite thoroughly, but the result was beyond his expectations.

[Ding! Special mission triggered outside the plot: Uchiha's Hatred. Mission: Find Itachi Uchiha, the Uchiha sinner who slaughtered the clan, and kill him. Reward: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (automatically awaken advanced bloodline)]

"No."

Sen refused without even thinking.

"Why?"

Sasuke was a little flustered. After all, among everyone around him, only Mori had that kind of strength...

"Don't you want to avenge your clansmen? Some of them were your relatives too, weren't they?"

Unable to suppress the longing in his heart, Sasuke spoke anxiously.

"I don't have any relatives."

[Ding! The host refused to accept the mission. Mission removed.]

Those words struck Sasuke right in the heart. When he looked at Mori again, he suddenly realized that he seemed never to have understood this clansman before him. Mori had always seemed out of place from a very young age. He often looked up at the moon in the sky like he was doing now, as if he had never belonged here...

That loneliness from the depths of his heart infected Sasuke.

I should rely on myself... I carry the honor of the entire Uchiha Clan... I absolutely can't be defeated here!

Sasuke warned himself.

Without another word, he silently returned to the team. I'll begin conquering from this forest.

By the lake, Zabuza approached with Haku.

"Lord Mori, it's time for us to go back."

Zabuza nodded frantically. Yeah, yeah, if they didn't go back soon... who knew what kind of trouble might happen again...

Actually, staying at home wasn't so bad...