Orochimaru appeared

It was not yet midnight, but the darkness was thick as ink.

Uchiha Makoto and Obito were still sweating away on the training ground.

Lately, besides tinkering with those "self-created" Six Powers, Makoto had also started seriously practicing basic ninjutsu.

After all, he needed a few "normal" tricks he could show people.

"Watch this!" Obito shouted, letting a shuriken fly.

Then... whoosh.

It missed the target perfectly and lodged in the tree trunk behind it.

Uchiha Makoto: "..."

Obito scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "The wind. The wind was too strong."

"There's no wind tonight," Makoto pointed out expressionlessly.

"Then the moon was too bright! It got in my eyes!"

"The moon's behind the clouds."

"Then, then it was..."

"You just suck."

That blunt remark from Uchiha Makoto left Obito thoroughly deflated.

Uchiha Makoto sighed and was about to offer a few more pointers when every hair on his body suddenly stood on end.

It felt as though something cold and slimy had fixed its gaze on him.

He spun around.

At some point, a figure had appeared in the shadows at the edge of the training ground.

He wore a standard jonin vest, with long hair falling to his shoulders and pale skin.

Most unsettling were his eyes-narrow and golden, like a snake's-studying him with keen interest.

Orochimaru.

Uchiha Makoto's heart lurched when he saw who it was.

What was he doing here?

And wasn't this entrance a little too classic?

Silent, appearing out of nowhere-just what one would expect from one of the legendary Sannin.

He had not defected yet, but that chilling aura was already taking shape.

"Makoto?" Obito sensed something wrong too. He followed Makoto's gaze and froze. "Who's that? He looks pretty cool..."

Before he could finish-

Obito's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed with a thud, unconscious.

Uchiha Makoto: "???"

He had not even seen how Orochimaru had attacked. Or rather, Orochimaru had not attacked at all.

His mere presence, some kind of chakra pressure, had been enough to knock out someone at Obito's level.

Only he and Orochimaru remained standing, and the silence was terrifying.

"Heh heh..." Orochimaru laughed, his hoarse voice carrying a slick quality that raised goosebumps. "Uchiha Makoto... correct?"

Uchiha Makoto said nothing. He quietly steadied his breathing as chakra began circulating through his body.

Life Return mode was ready to activate at any moment.

Orochimaru approached slowly, his footsteps almost soundless. "An ordinary Uchiha orphan. Good taijutsu, mediocre ninjutsu, average theoretical knowledge... a meticulously crafted performance."

He stopped three meters in front of Uchiha Makoto, his serpentine eyes scanning him up and down as though examining an intriguing test subject.

"Unfortunately, too meticulous." Orochimaru licked his lips, a gesture that made Makoto's stomach churn. "Someone who could easily overwhelm the Hokage's son in actual combat couldn't even throw a shuriken accurately during regular school training? Uchiha Makoto, your acting... still needs work."

Uchiha Makoto cursed inwardly.

He knew it!

He had gotten carried away beating Asuma that day. Though he had held back as much as possible, that effortless control could fool the students and ordinary jonin, but not an old fox on the Hokage's level.

Still...

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

This was the training ground on the edge of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Orochimaru was a Konoha jonin and the Third Hokage's student.

In broad daylight!

Fine, it was night!

But on Uchiha territory, Orochimaru could not kill him. At least, not openly.

"Lord Orochimaru," Uchiha Makoto said, keeping his voice as steady as possible. "Did you come to the Uchiha Clan Compound this late just to spy on children training?"

He deliberately stressed the word "spy."

The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled upward into a smile that looked disturbing from any angle.

"Spy? No, I'm watching quite openly." He seemed utterly unconcerned. "Besides, you're no ordinary child, Uchiha Makoto. There's... a very interesting scent about you."

"What scent?"

"Vitality." Orochimaru's golden pupils contracted slightly. "An abnormally abundant vitality, along with a strange, indescribable presence. As though something is developing, growing."

Uchiha Makoto tensed inwardly.

Life Return?

Or the system?

He could not be sure, but Orochimaru's perception was truly frightening.

The man had probably already begun his research into life and souls.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Makoto chose to play dumb. "I'm just an ordinary Uchiha. At most, I'm a little better at taijutsu."

"Ordinary?" Orochimaru gave a hoarse laugh. "Easily evading every one of Asuma's attacks, completely overwhelming a child personally instructed by the Hokage in taijutsu... you call that ordinary?"

He took a step forward.

Uchiha Makoto instinctively retreated half a step, every muscle tightening.

"Don't be nervous." Orochimaru stopped and spread his hands. They were pale and slender, with neatly trimmed nails. "I'm merely curious. Teacher Sarutobi asked me to see whether there were any promising talents in this class worth watching. It seems I've found one."

The Third?

Uchiha Makoto quickly assessed the situation.

Of course. After that day, the Third must have noticed him.

Sending Orochimaru to "take a look" made perfect sense.

After all, Orochimaru was currently one of Konoha's strongest fighters and the Third's prized student.

But had Orochimaru really come just to look?

His eyes plainly held the excitement of someone who had discovered rare experimental material.

"So, have you finished looking, Lord Orochimaru?" Uchiha Makoto asked. "If you have, I need to take Obito home. We have class tomorrow."

"No hurry." Orochimaru licked his lips. "It's not every day I find such an interesting 'prospect.' How could I leave without testing your quality?"

The moment he finished speaking-

Rustling came from the surrounding grass.

One, two, three... over a dozen snakes emerged from the shadows, flicking their tongues, their golden slit pupils gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

They were not giant summoned creatures like Manda, just ordinary snakes-but there were plenty of them.

And Orochimaru had summoned them.

Uchiha Makoto swore inwardly. The test had begun.

He knew he would not get through this without showing some of his real abilities.

A lunatic like Orochimaru had an obsessive fixation on "interesting" things. The more you hid, the more interested he became.

Then... no more hiding.

He had already been exposed anyway. He might as well use this opportunity to find out exactly how strong he had become.

"Sorry, Obito. Sleep for a while." Makoto glanced at Obito lying on the ground, then turned toward Orochimaru, his gaze changing.

No more concealment. No more pretending.

Orochimaru's eyes lit up.

"Interesting..." he murmured, as though he had discovered a treasure.

Uchiha Makoto wasted no words.

Life Return, full power!

The chakra in his body instantly surged, racing wildly along specific pathways.

Muscles, bones, organs... every part of him became more active under the stimulation of chakra. His strength, speed, and perception all rose.

The ground beneath his feet burst into a small crater.

He had already vanished.

Shave!

It was not the Body Flicker Technique, but pure explosive physical speed.

Fast enough to leave an afterimage. Fast enough that even Orochimaru raised an eyebrow slightly.

In the next instant, Uchiha Makoto appeared at Orochimaru's left side, raising his right leg high, then-

Tempest Kick!

An invisible vacuum slash tore through the air with a shrill whistle, cutting straight toward Orochimaru's neck!

Orochimaru did not dodge.

He merely tilted his head slightly.

The Tempest Kick skimmed past the tips of his hair and slammed into the trees behind him, severing two bowl-thick trunks with a crack.

"Impressive taijutsu," Orochimaru remarked, making no attempt to hide his appreciation. "Not ninjutsu, but a vacuum slash produced purely through physical strength and technique... Uchiha Makoto, you're even more interesting than I imagined."

Uchiha Makoto's heart sank. His Tempest Kick had been evaded.

No, not evaded. At the instant the Tempest Kick was about to hit, Orochimaru had shifted his position by an almost imperceptible amount.

That millimeter-perfect evasion meant he had completely read the Tempest Kick's trajectory and speed.

Was this the strength of a Kage-level fighter?

"Continue," Orochimaru said, even clasping his hands behind his back. "Let me see how many more surprises you have."

Uchiha Makoto gritted his teeth.

Moonwalk!

The air exploded beneath his feet, launching him five meters into the air. Then he kicked repeatedly with both legs!

Tempest Kick: Chaos!

Seven or eight vacuum slashes descended from above, covering every escape route around Orochimaru.

This time, Orochimaru moved.

He twisted like a snake, weaving through the gaps between the slashes with the elegance of a dancer. Every Tempest Kick missed, carving deep furrows into the ground.

"You have enough speed and power," Orochimaru commented. "But you're too straightforward. Your intentions are written all over your face, and your trajectories are too easy to predict."

Uchiha Makoto landed and took a breath.

Life Return mode consumed considerable stamina and chakra. He could not sustain a prolonged fight.

"The warm-up is over." Orochimaru smiled, a manic excitement in that smile. "Now it's my turn."

He formed hand seals.

Very simple seals.

But every hair on Uchiha Makoto's body stood on end.

Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!

Seven or eight thick, enormous snakes suddenly shot out of Orochimaru's sleeves. Each was as thick as a thigh, and they lunged at Uchiha Makoto from every direction, their gaping jaws wide!

Every escape route was sealed. Uchiha Makoto's pupils contracted. He couldn't take this head-on!

He used Moonwalk again, leaping straight upward. The giant snakes missed, but immediately raised their heads and chased after him, snapping!

"You have nowhere to hide in the air," Orochimaru said leisurely.

Uchiha Makoto said nothing.

He adjusted his posture in midair and kicked repeatedly again!

Tempest Kick: Circular Slash!

A ring-shaped vacuum slash spread outward from him, sweeping across like an invisible blade!

Splat, splat, splat, splat-

Every one of the seven or eight giant snakes was severed at the middle!

Snake blood and shredded flesh rained over the ground.

Uchiha Makoto landed, panting lightly. That move consumed even more energy, but he had no time to rest.

Because Orochimaru's eyes were now shining like two golden lanterns.

"Good... very good!" Orochimaru's voice carried barely contained excitement. "Taijutsu of this caliber already surpasses an ordinary chunin's. Uchiha Makoto, you're only six... six!"

He took a step forward.

The surrounding air suddenly seemed to thicken.

It was not an illusion. Something really was moving.

From the grass, the shadows of the trees, the soil... densely packed snakes emerged.

Dozens, hundreds-snakes of every kind, large and small, patterned and green, all raising their heads and flicking their tongues, their golden slit pupils fixed on Uchiha Makoto.

A swarm of snakes.

A true swarm of snakes.

"Let me take a good look..." Orochimaru extended his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth. "How many more surprises can you give me?"

Uchiha Makoto stared at the snakes crowding around him, his scalp prickling.

But he did not retreat.

Instead, he took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance.

Life Return ran at full power.

Chakra surged through his body.

He knew the real test was still to come.

Orochimaru, too, had gone from amused to serious.

This battle between opponents so vastly mismatched...

had only just begun.