Orochimaru, the Good Teacher

Seal the Three-Tails?

The members of Orochimaru Squad looked as though they had seen a ghost.

Nine-Tails Night was still fresh in their minds. To seal the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Hidden Leaf Village had even paid with the lives of the Fourth Hokage and the Jinchuriki.

And now, Hidden Leaf Village intended to take the initiative and seal Isobu, the Three-Tails, in Sea Country?

"People will die!"

Kurama Shion wore a miserable expression, her tone despondent. Hyuga Ryo looked equally grim.

"Sacrifices are inevitable for a ninja carrying out a mission. Haven't you prepared yourselves for that?"

Orochimaru was quite satisfied by the three of them being afraid.

It was precisely because people feared death and dreaded it that they desperately pursued even the slightest chance of survival in a crisis, and relentlessly sought immortality.

Other than Anko, the remaining three students suited Orochimaru's tastes quite well.

"However, you need not worry so much. We will carry out this mission alongside the ANBU. When the time comes, you only need to follow my orders."

"Sensei, I remember the Three-Tails had been missing for a long time. How did it suddenly appear?"

Mitaraishi Anko asked. The mission to seal the Three-Tails carried a scent of blood that thrilled her.

Orochimaru pondered for a while before answering Anko's question about the Three-Tails.

"No. According to the intelligence I received, the Three-Tails appeared in Sea Country this time without warning."

"I suspect the Three-Tails died during the previous Ninja World war and only now completed its rebirth."

"If the mission succeeds, the weakened Hidden Mist Village may not dare do anything to us."

"Of course, Hidden Mist Village will not stand by and do nothing. After all, when the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, distributed the Tailed Beasts, he entrusted the Three-Tails and Six-Tails to Hidden Mist Village's care."

That's where the trouble lies!

Uchiha Yuan muttered inwardly.

Before the Third Shinobi World War, there had been virtually no news of Isobu, the Three-Tails, in the Ninja World.

Yet Uchiha Yuan knew that Isobu had once been sealed inside Rin Nohara, a Hidden Leaf Village ninja. That had been part of Old Madara's deliberate plan to make Obito awaken his Sharingan.

Could it be that Hidden Mist Village had failed to retrieve it afterward, and Isobu had been reborn on some island in Sea Country?

Uchiha Yuan estimated the timeline and felt that possibility was highly likely.

At present, Hidden Leaf Village had just endured the Nine-Tails Attack, losing two Kage-level powerhouses and many Jonin at once. Its wars with Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Stone Village had not yet fully ended.

If it intervened in the matter of sealing Isobu now, it would undoubtedly intensify the conflict with Kirigakure.

At that point, Hidden Leaf Village would once again face the most difficult period of the ninja war: fighting on three fronts. Even Hidden Sand, which had become its ally, could betray it at any moment.

But it had to be admitted that successfully sealing Isobu would deal a devastating blow to Kirigakure.

Back then, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had captured every Tailed Beast except the One-Tail and Seven-Tails.

The Three-Tails and Six-Tails handed over to Kirigakure would naturally be regarded as its property.

After so many years, the Five Great Ninja Villages, including Kirigakure, had long grown accustomed to using Tailed Beasts as deterrent weapons.

Suddenly losing the Three-Tails would inevitably severely weaken Kirigakure's strength.

But sending Hidden Leaf Village ninja to carry out the mission of sealing the Three-Tails was practically a tightrope walk!

Who knew whether Kirigakure would quietly swallow this loss, or roll up its sleeves and fight Hidden Leaf Village to the bitter end?

Still, this was a helpless measure for Hidden Leaf Village as well.

For a hidden village to survive in troubled times, it had to be strong.

Otherwise, it would be like Hidden Sand—wanting to fight you one moment and become your ally the next. It might not gain much benefit, yet make itself look like a clown.

As for Kusagakure, which fanned the flames and stirred up trouble everywhere every day—

With that little strength, the Five Great Countries could not even be bothered to give it a proper look.

"Sensei, this mission is dangerous!"

After a long silence, Uchiha Yuan picked up where Orochimaru had left off.

"But Sensei, we only have Chunin-level strength. It should be very difficult for us to get involved in this mission, shouldn't it?"

Hyuga Ryo thought much the same as Uchiha Yuan. This mission was not meant for Chunin at all.

From the corner of his eye, Orochimaru pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"You lot, I would be satisfied if you had even half of Anko's courage."

"But Sensei, this mission really is dangerous, isn't it? We're facing Hidden Mist Village and a Tailed Beast!"

"Our strength simply isn't enough! Unless we master some new ninjutsu during this time."

Mitaraishi Anko looked over pitifully. She was hot-blooded and reckless, but she was not stupid.

On Nine-Tails Night, only Jonin had been able to join the battle against the Tailed Beast. Sealing the Three-Tails would be no different.

They could accept missions beyond their current strength, but their strength had to catch up first.

"I will naturally teach you those things. But after not seeing you for so long, I need to assess just how much you have grown."

Orochimaru spoke unhurriedly. Anko's change comforted him somewhat, but the other three made the snake feel regret.

"Great! Sensei will consider giving us specialized instruction after assessing our training?"

Kurama Shion clapped her hands.

"As expected of Sensei Orochimaru!" ×3.

At this point, Uchiha Yuan knew he could not refuse, so he simply took the initiative to join in.

In truth, Uchiha Yuan was still somewhat worried that Orochimaru would notice the changes in him. After all, he had fused with the genes of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path only recently.

As for the benefits he had gained from the Demonic Statue Fragment, Orochimaru had never paid special attention to any of his disciples throughout the entire Third Shinobi World War.

Uchiha Yuan figured that as long as he performed well enough, Sensei Orochimaru might not notice anything unusual.

"Then let's conduct a trial during this time."

"Ziyun, you are already a Special Jonin. I will be your opponent."

"Yuan-kun, Ryo-kun, and Anko, the three of you will engage in a free-for-all. It does not matter even if you fight with the intent to kill. The last one standing will be the victor, while the losers will receive my special punishment."

The rules of Orochimaru Squad had always been like this. A trial without the intent to kill one's opponent was meaningless.

However, Uchiha Yuan was not too worried. With Orochimaru, a Kage-level powerhouse, present, the worst outcome would be suffering severe injuries.

As for someone going too far and causing a death, that would be slapping Orochimaru in the face.

At present, Orochimaru was still a Hidden Leaf Village ninja. He had not yet become insane enough to organize a "battle royale" game.

As Orochimaru formed Hand Seals and created a Shadow Clone that walked toward Kurama Shion, the trial unique to Orochimaru Squad officially began.

Because they needed to rendezvous with the Hidden Leaf Village ANBU and avoid delaying the mission, the entire trial took place while they traveled.

The contest between Kurama Shion and Orochimaru's Shadow Clone was fairly ordinary.

Aside from using genjutsu to counter one another, the two occasionally clashed directly in taijutsu. Throughout the exchange, Orochimaru's Shadow Clone suppressed Kurama Shion, the Special Jonin.

Uchiha Yuan, Hyuga Ryo, and Mitaraishi Anko's battle, on the other hand, was quite fierce.

There was no need to mention Uchiha Yuan. As students of Orochimaru Squad, Hyuga Ryo and Mitaraishi Anko were both far more mature than ninja their age.

When it came to whether comrades or the mission took priority, the three had hardly needed to think about it.

After all, if one was too weak to even protect one's own safety during a mission, what was the point of talking about the mission or comrades?

That would just make one a fool walking to their death.

That was why Hyuga Ryo and Mitaraishi Anko were especially serious in every trial.

It left Uchiha Yuan with no choice but to get serious as well.