In the forest.
After hearing Naruto's inspiring words, Sasuke and Sakura's agitated hearts instantly calmed down.
That's right. They had endured two months of arduous training, and their strength was on a completely different level than before.
Even if the opponent's ki was clearly stronger on the surface, did that mean they would definitely lose?
Goku-sensei had told them that while ki could help judge an opponent's strength, it didn't mean that the person with the stronger ki would always win.
In a real battle, the outcome is determined by many factors!
"Hmph, I didn't expect us to run into such a strong opponent so soon. Looks like this is going to be a tough fight."
Although his words spoke of a hard battle, Sasuke's expression showed no sign of backing down.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The three of them removed all their weighted wrist guards and leg bands, letting them crash to the ground with a loud noise.
"Still wearing training weights?" The woman had not attacked again after her Wind Style jutsu, instead watching with curiosity as the three of them removed their gear.
"Hehe, how interesting. You're still training even during the exam. I'm becoming more and more interested in this fight."
Hearing her taunt, Naruto, having removed his weights, pointed at her and yelled, "I don't care who you are, we're going to take you down!"
"Then by all means, show me this strength of yours."
A smirk crossed the woman's lips. She bit her thumb and slammed her palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"
POOF!!
A cloud of white smoke erupted at her feet, and in the next instant, a giant gray snake rose, coiling around her.
"What a giant snake!" Naruto and the others stared wide-eyed at the behemoth before them.
The snake was easily two meters thick and dozens of meters long, leaving no doubt as to its immense strength.
"Hmph, just because it's big doesn't mean it's strong. Watch me take it out!"
Snapping back to his senses, Sasuke instantly formed a ki blast in his hand and threw it at the giant snake.
"Rasengan? No... It's not." The woman, leaping from the snake's head, narrowed her eyes as she watched the ki blast fly.
BOOM!!
Just as she cleared the snake, the ki blast struck its head with perfect accuracy, blasting a bloody hole in it.
"HISSS!!"
Wounded and enraged, the snake lunged, its coiled body shooting forward like an arrow from a bow, straight at the three genin!
It opened its massive, bloodthirsty maw, clearly intending to swallow them all in one bite! The three of them leapt up as one, dodging the attack.
The snake slammed into the ground where they had just been, creating a large crater. With perfect coordination, they all launched their own ki blasts.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Several ki blasts streaked through the air like meteors and, as if guided by a targeting system, all slammed directly into the snake's bleeding wound.
BOOM!!!
The combined power of the explosions was extraordinary, instantly blowing off half of the giant snake's head.
"HISSS!!"
The snake reared up, let out a final, mournful cry, and then its head crashed to the ground, lifeless.
'That isn't chakra... How is that possible?!'
The woman, now perched on a tree branch, felt the residual energy from the ki blast explosions.
Her pupils contracted in shock. No matter what kind of ninjutsu it was, there was always a chakra fluctuation, but those energy blasts had none.
Although the energy signature was similar to chakra, her long years of experimentation meant she knew everything about chakra, and she was certain that what she had just sensed was absolutely not a chakra-based fluctuation.
"Hey! If you have any other moves, bring them on!" Naruto shouted arrogantly, pointing at her after landing back on the ground.
Hearing his voice, the woman snapped out of her shock. 'I must focus on the task at hand.' She glanced at Naruto.
'What an adorable little boy. A bit of a nuisance, though.' In the next second, her mouth suddenly stretched wide, and a horrifying scene unfolded.
Rustle, rustle...
Countless venomous snakes began to pour from her mouth, slithering rapidly across the ground toward Naruto.
"So disgusting! What is this?" The sight made all three of them break out in goosebumps, a wave of nausea rising in their stomachs.
"Naruto, these snakes are only coming for you. You and Sakura handle them; I'll take on the woman," Sasuke said, his eyes sharp.
He planned to face the more dangerous opponent alone.
"Hey! Don't just make decisions on your own!" Naruto yelled, angry that Sasuke had charged off alone immediately after speaking.
He thought it was too dangerous for Sasuke to go by himself.
He tried to follow, but the massive wave of snakes had already reached him, blocking his path and forcing him to deal with them first.
"Hey, Sakura, go help Sasuke! I can handle these things by myself!"
"Alright, be careful!" Sakura, knowing full well that Naruto was strong enough to handle the snakes, nodded firmly and rushed after Sasuke.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With Sakura gone, Naruto instantly created a dozen shadow clones.
He and his clones all began forming ki blasts, blasting them into the surrounding swarm of snakes.
Although this would consume much ki, time was of the essence, and this was the fastest way to wipe them out.
Meanwhile, Sasuke had closed in on the woman and threw a dozen shuriken at her.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
The woman's figure flickered, and all the shuriken missed, embedding themselves in the surrounding trees.
"You fell for it!"
However, Sasuke had, at some point, silently appeared behind her, and he slashed at her neck with his kunai. Her previous attacks had shown she was out to kill, so he showed no mercy!
The attack was incredibly sharp and swift. The woman, seemingly not expecting Sasuke's speed, was only able to dodge the fatal blow at the last second. The kunai grazed her cheek.
Rip!
After the attack, Sasuke quickly leaped back, preparing for his next move. But when he looked at the woman again, his pupils dilated in horror at the gruesome sight.
Where he had cut her, not a single drop of blood trickled out.
But that wasn't the strangest part.
The strangest part was that a piece of her face was peeling off, revealing another, different face hidden underneath!
"You're definitely not a candidate! Who in the world are you?!" Sasuke demanded, steadying himself.
"Heeheehee, my name is Orochimaru. I didn't expect you to expose my true face so quickly. Your skills are quite impressive," Orochimaru said, ripping off the rest of the female disguise with a sinister smile.
Before the second exam, he had killed three Grass ninja, used his jutsu to take on their appearance, and infiltrated the exam.
His goal was to meet the vessel he had chosen for himself and plant a curse mark on it.
And that vessel was the boy standing before him, Sasuke.
"Orochimaru..." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, searching his memory. He had no recollection of the name.
Although Orochimaru had once been one of Konoha's famed Sannin, he had defected from the village, and his name had become taboo.
He had defected when Sasuke was just an infant, so it was perfectly normal that he wouldn't recognise him.
"Sasuke, I'm here to help—Ah! What's wrong with that person's face?" Just then, Sakura, arriving a moment later, was also startled by Orochimaru's appearance.
"Sakura, be careful. This person says his name is Orochimaru. I don't know who he is, but one thing is for sure: he's not a candidate like us."
He's a dangerous person who snuck in here in disguise. And the fact that he's come for us... probably means..."
Sasuke didn't finish his sentence, but Sakura understood his meaning. This person had infiltrated the exam, and he had come specifically for them!