After that shout, Asuma vanished in a flash, as though the wind had swept him away.
He had no intention of staying even one second longer.
"He's leaving already?"
"He hasn't even told me whether I passed!"
Gojo Satoru held the fragment in his left hand, his words almost poetic and his face the picture of innocence.
Oh well.
So young, and already so fragile.
Nowhere near as tough as he had been back then.
Speaking of back then...
Ahem. Better stop right there.
He had no such glorious history.
Absolutely not!
After a brief, guilty pause, he headed out of the examination room too.
Only after he left did Orochimaru lead Anko away.
"Asuma actually lost!"
"This guy's ridiculously strong!"
"Is this what a genius looks like?"
Mitaraishi Anko muttered to herself, full of amazement.
Orochimaru did not respond. His mind was busy replaying the fight.
Appearing behind his opponent in an instant-was that the Flying Thunder God Technique?
No, something was different.
The Flying Thunder God required a Cursed Technique mark to be placed on something first.
Only through that mark could the user teleport himself, or an object in contact with his chakra.
He had not seen a single mark during the fight.
He had not even sensed a trace of chakra.
Orochimaru frowned, sinking deeper into thought.
Meanwhile, the examination room from earlier had erupted into a frenzy, everyone chattering about what had just happened.
"Oh my god!"
"Ahem, calm down, calm down."
"Who knew that brat Asuma had such a nice physique?"
"That's what he gets for showing off all day! Finally fell flat on his face!"
"You said it. He really went too far this time."
"That test just now was beyond chunin level, wasn't it?"
"If that counts as chunin level, I'll be stuck as a genin for the rest of my life."
"Lord Hokage will definitely give him a good thrashing when he gets back."
"Hahahaha, serves him right."
"Anyway, Uchiha Satoru is almost too strong. That Shurikenjutsu just now..."
"Such precise control. A genius through and through!"
"He could practically make those shuriken dance!"
"The Uchiha Clan really lives up to its reputation."
"Making every single throw skim someone's clothes without hurting them is practically impossible."
"Not to mention the ninja inside that shuriken formation was moving around. How did he make sure he wouldn't get hurt?"
"Can this guy read minds or predict the future?"
"Are you kidding?"
"Did anyone get a good look at his footwork? How exactly did he sneak up behind Asuma?"
"I couldn't figure it out either."
Meanwhile, back home, Uchiha Satoru was enduring a joint lecture from his father and older brother.
"Ahem. You were a little reckless this time, but your skills were certainly impressive."
Uchiha Fugaku coughed twice, suppressing the pride welling up inside him.
"All right, we'll leave it at that."
He hastily finished speaking and left the room with a spring in his step.
"That's what you get for fooling around, Satoru." The corners of Sasuke's mouth curled upward.
"I'm not the one who's wrong. The world is." Uchiha Satoru wore a solemn expression.
"I'll make the world know pain."
"Who do you want to make know pain?" Itachi asked leisurely from the doorway.
"Uh, I want to try Chuchu's unbeatable, limited-edition, extra-large spiral combo." Gojo Satoru immediately changed his tune.
Standing off to the side, Itachi's eyes flickered with amusement.
"By the way, I'm taking a C-rank mission tomorrow. I might be away for a few days."
"Big brother, what about our promise?" Sasuke's face fell.
"Sorry, Sasuke. Next time." Uchiha Itachi looked a little apologetic.
"Huh? What's wrong with having me teach you?" Gojo Satoru immediately protested.
"No thanks. I'm afraid your tomato juice will leak out again." Sasuke rejected him outright.
What he had suffered that day had left him deeply traumatized. He still had not forgotten the sight of his second brother with a shuriken stuck in his forehead.
"Damn it. They're looking down on me." Gojo Satoru puffed out his cheeks again and grumbled indistinctly.
Before long, Sasuke and Itachi both left, and the room fell quiet again.
Speaking of this whole affair, the system had awarded him quite a few roleplay points.
Gojo Satoru opened the System Shop and browsed through its assortment of items.
He had bought two scrolls here before.
One was the Large-Scale Spatial Teleportation Array, and the other was the Mass Forgery Technique.
Both abilities were useful to him.
He had alternative methods, but the scrolls were still the quickest to use.
After carefully browsing the shop, he casually selected a few items, then closed the interface.
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