His sword was cold, his blade was cold, his heart was cold, and his blood was cold too...
In the dense forest, Shin'un looked at Orochimaru before him and felt that this classic line suited the man perfectly.
After all, snakes were cold-blooded animals...
"Now, I need to make one thing clear. I have absolutely no intention of babysitting a team of Ninja Academy students."
"The only reason you were assigned to me was because the old man insisted on it for one particular person among you."
At that, Orochimaru glanced at Shin'un.
"I don't care what impression others have of you. Before you officially become my students, I will give you a test. Anyone who fails my test will have to return to Konoha."
As Orochimaru spoke without expression, a chill radiated from his entire body, making them shiver involuntarily in the dark forest.
Shin'un, however, was not at all surprised that Orochimaru would test them.
In the current Shinobi World, where ninja villages were the largest organizational units, the relationship between the team leaders and the Genin assigned to them upon graduation from the Ninja Academy was less that of superior and subordinate and more like the master-disciple relationships of the past.
Just like the Sannin and the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake and Minato Namikaze, or Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi Hatake.
Though they did not outwardly bear the titles of master and disciple, they had long since become exactly that in practice.
Given that, Orochimaru would naturally prepare some means of testing them. After all, once Shin'un and the others became his students, they would carry Orochimaru's name wherever they went.
It was like having a son. Whether they would lead humanity to the pinnacle of its species or end up so miserable that they snatched lollipops from bratty kids on the street to fill their bellies, whether they brought honor or disgrace, it would all be closely tied to Orochimaru.
Since Orochimaru and the others had yet to actually become master and disciples, he would naturally test them beforehand to see what talent they possessed.
He would see whether to accept them as inheritors of his legacy or take emergency precautions ahead of time, "shoot these unborn disciples onto the wall," and send them back to Konoha.
"Hm?"
Noticing someone tugging at the back of his clothes, Shin'un looked back. It was Shiina Kō.
"Is he serious? Will he really send us back if we fail the test?"
Shiina Kō looked somewhat anxious, her free left hand clenched tightly, her long, slender legs rubbing against each other involuntarily.
"Of course. Team leaders have the authority to send students back. It's just that people generally don't do it." Shin'un raised his eyebrows and looked Shiina Kō up and down, focusing on her legs as he asked, "Speaking of which, what's wrong with you? Are your legs itchy?"
"What? I'm just a little nervous. Stop staring!" Shin'un looking her up and down made Shiina Kō nervous and embarrassed. When she realized he was staring particularly at her legs, blood rushed to her head, and she immediately blushed.
Then Shiina Kō said worriedly:
"Besides, isn't the teacher we've been assigned way too scary? What if he deliberately makes the test harder to send us back?"
Shin'un couldn't help laughing at Shiina Kō's words.
Shin'un knew better than anyone what Orochimaru would be like in the future. With a wide grin, he could sweet-talk you into a laboratory and onto an operating table, then dissect your entire body with a gentle expression.
So, by comparison, Shin'un preferred the present Orochimaru, who had yet to pursue immortality. He was merely cold on the outside and looked scary.
"Well? Should I give you two some privacy so you can have a nice, long chat?"
Orochimaru's distinctive raspy voice sounded beside Shin'un's ear without warning, startling him into a cold sweat. He hurriedly twisted around to look behind him.
At some point, Orochimaru had come up behind Shin'un and leaned close to his ear to say those words.
"I'm sorry, Sensei. It won't happen again." His wealth of experience from being caught spacing out by schoolteachers countless times in his previous life immediately came into play. Shin'un instantly put on a serious expression, faced Orochimaru, sincerely admitted his mistake, and corrected it.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Orochimaru looked at Hirakawa Shin'un's earnest expression and inexplicably felt something strange. Since this brat had already admitted his mistake, continuing to pursue the matter somehow seemed a little excessive...
Dismissing that strange feeling, Orochimaru looked at Shin'un again. Recalling his own teacher's detailed assessment of the boy, an idea immediately sprang to mind, and he discreetly reached toward the ninja tool pouch behind him.
He wanted to test whether Hirakawa Shin'un truly deserved such high praise from his old man.
Finding the right moment, Orochimaru struck without hesitation. Like a phantom, an exceptionally sharp kunai defied all reason as it shot silently toward Shin'un.
"Hm?" Shin'un's serious expression suddenly shifted. Relying on the extraordinary perception granted by his [Extreme Reaction], he detected a faint trace of killing intent emerging, while his exceptional powers of observation picked up Orochimaru's subtle movement in advance.
Seeing the sharp kunai in Orochimaru's hand, Shin'un's brain reacted swiftly. The trace of chakra he always kept in his body flowed to his feet at tremendous speed, instantly activating the Body Flicker Technique.
With a faint rush of wind, Shin'un moved rapidly.
Though his still-undeveloped body limited his performance, he ultimately managed to leave his original position when Orochimaru's kunai was still a fist's width from his neck, reappearing beside a thick tree not far away.
Everything happened in an instant. By the time Yūichi and Shiina Kō, standing nearby, could make out the situation, Orochimaru was already standing in Shin'un's original position with his kunai raised, while Shin'un had used the Body Flicker Technique to reach a thick tree, clinging to its trunk perpendicular to the ground.
"What's going on? Since when was Shin'un this fast?" Yūichi was somewhat bewildered. He had seen nothing clearly in that instant. One moment, Shin'un and Orochimaru had been standing calmly where they were; the next, the situation had changed abruptly.
"Shin'un!" Shiina Kō didn't think much of it. To her, Shin'un displaying such inconceivable speed was perfectly normal.
But once she worked out from the situation that Orochimaru was attacking Shin'un, she had no time to think. As though acting on reflex, she drew a kunai and moved beside the trunk of Shin'un's tree, facing Orochimaru.
Orochimaru remained where he was and put away his kunai, inwardly marveling at the speed Shin'un had displayed. Though he had not put his full strength into that attack, an ordinary Chunin or even a somewhat subpar Jonin would have had no chance to react. Their throat would have been slit before they even noticed.
Raising his head, he looked at Shin'un clinging to a tree branch.
For a student who had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy to accomplish something like this, the only explanation was an innate talent for combat.