The examiner waited until the last teams finished their matches, then stepped forward and clapped his hands loudly, drawing everyone's attention.
"All participants who have passed the second stage, come down."
A quiet murmur rolled through the stands. Those who had only moments ago been discussing the previous fights now hurried down to the arena. The examiner swept his gaze over the gathered genin and spoke.
"Based on the results of the second stage, eighteen participants have passed," he said. "The next and final stage will consist of individual duels."
The hall grew noticeably quieter.
"Each of you will now draw a number that will determine the order of matches and your first opponent."
One by one, the genin approached the table and drew slips of paper. Some frowned, others smirked, already running through possible scenarios in their minds.
When it was Kuro's turn, he reached out without hesitation and unfolded the paper with the number six.
The young man narrowed his eyes for a brief second before looking up at the examiner.
"Number six," the examiner confirmed. "Your opponent will be announced after the drawing is complete."
Once everyone had drawn their numbers, it became clear that Kuro would be fighting a ninja unknown to him by the name of Yukio. He appeared to be around sixteen years old, with long light-brown hair tied in a ponytail. His specialization was genjutsu.
It also became clear that even in the first round there would be several interesting matches: Namikaze Minato versus Inuzuka Tsume, Uchiha Mikoto versus Yamanaka Inoichi, Hyuga Hiashi versus Nara Shikaku.
The announced pairs made the participants exchange glances. Surprise mixed with youthful excitement flickered in their eyes. The remaining matchups did not cause much stir.
When everything was settled, the examiner rolled up the list and continued.
"The third stage will take place in five days. Use this time wisely. That is all."
The genin gradually began to disperse, discussing what they had heard. Some were already developing strategies, while others remained silent, lost in thought. After returning to the balcony, Kuro's team immediately approached Orochimaru.
"Well, only the final stage remains for you," he drawled, sliding his gaze over his students. "We have five days. More than enough."
"For what?" Nawaki asked.
Orochimaru smiled slowly.
"For training, of course."
Kuro felt anticipation stir within him, while a cold sweat ran down Nawaki's back under their teacher's intense gaze. The third stage promised to be entirely different—only the strongest genin of Konoha would participate.
By the time Kuro returned home, the sun had long since disappeared beyond the horizon. The Nara household was quiet; only a dim light from a couple of candles illuminated the living room.
Enzo sat at a low table, slowly sipping sake. Hearing his grandson's footsteps, the old man looked up.
"Judging by your expression, the first two stages went well," he noted calmly.
Kuro nodded as he sat down opposite him and briefly recounted the events—from the written test and team battles to the victory, the drawing, and the name of his next opponent.
"So your opponent specializes in genjutsu," Enzo said thoughtfully. "Quite an unpleasant type of enemy."
"Indeed," Kuro replied, pausing for a moment. "To be honest, I've hardly paid any attention to genjutsu."
This was largely due to his chakra. Tsunade often said his reserves were enormous, and to the Senju princess's surprise, his chakra was almost always in a chaotic state. On one hand, this should have made proper control difficult, yet his natural talent seemed to overcome that barrier.
Still, such a trait would greatly hinder others from influencing his chakra flow. And although difficult did not mean impossible, Kuro doubted his opponent would have even the slightest chance of trapping him in an illusion.
Enzo looked at his grandson carefully, as if reading his thoughts.
"A large chakra reserve is not absolute protection. Overconfidence in that matter could cost you your life—and I'm not talking about the exam."
Hearing this, the young man smirked.
"I understand, old man. Believe me, I'll be careful."
In truth, he already knew that in the future his shadow would become Mahoraga—a being capable of adapting to any technique, any illusion. Theoretically, genjutsu would cease to be a problem for him.
But unfortunately, that would not happen anytime soon. For now, he had to protect himself.
"Starting tomorrow, Orochimaru-sensei will handle our preparation," Kuro said, rising to his feet.
"Good. Try to absorb as much as possible. It's hard to say how many more opportunities you'll have to train with him."
"I will."
The next morning, when he arrived at their training field, Orochimaru was already there.
"You're first," the sensei said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Then we won't waste time. Let's begin immediately."
Kuro stopped a few steps away and gave a slight bow.
"I'm ready, sensei. I would also like to ask you to teach me how to properly counter genjutsu."
On one hand, it might seem this was not the future Sannin's strongest field—after all, Itachi needed only a single glance to defeat him—but that was due to the incredible power of the Sharingan, capable of controlling even a monster like the Nine-Tailed Fox. Against ordinary illusions, however, the Hokage's student clearly knew how to act.
"Very well. Let's start with practice," Orochimaru smiled predatorily, forming several hand seals.
The world around Nara immediately began to blur.
The ground beneath his feet turned viscous, the air heavy, and the shadows stretched and began moving against his will. The next second, his entire body started sinking into the earth, as if he were drowning in quicksand.
He instantly attempted to disrupt his chakra flow. Usually, his chaotic structure dealt with foreign interference on its own, but now the illusion cast upon him was too strong.
"Not enough," Orochimaru's voice echoed from afar.
Kuro intensified his chakra output, trying to break the imposed control while forming a seal and using dispel.
"Kai!"
The world around him cracked like glass and shattered. He stood once more on the training ground, sweat streaming down his face, his breathing unusually deep.
"Not bad for a first attempt. But far from enough." Orochimaru stepped closer, his voice lowering, almost instructive. "Genjutsu is not merely a technique you can 'overpower' with a crude burst of chakra. It is deception of the mind. While you are thinking about how to fight the illusion, you are already becoming vulnerable. Your chaotic chakra does interfere with most illusions taking hold—but only most. If the opponent is skilled enough, he will not try to break you by force. He will simply make your own mind believe the lie."
Kuro was about to respond, but Orochimaru had already formed a seal with one hand.
The surroundings changed again.
Kuro found himself on a battlefield. Before him lay a clearing strewn with the corpses of his comrades—everyone he was close to: old man Enzo, Mikoto, Nawaki, Shikaku, Kushina, Minato.
He felt himself becoming weak and defenseless again, as that suffocating helplessness from the past returned—the very feeling he had sworn never to experience again. He tried to use dispel, but his chakra did not respond. The illusion was too deep, too real.
In the real world, only a few seconds had passed, but for Nara, time stretched into hours before he finally managed to break free, falling to the ground with a hoarse exhale.
Orochimaru looked down at him.
"Now that is closer to reality. Remember this feeling. Genjutsu is not dangerous when you notice it. It is dangerous when you can do nothing about it."
Kuro slowly rose to his feet, breathing heavily.
"I understand."
At that moment, Mikoto and Nawaki stepped onto the field. Both looked slightly concerned.
"Sensei, we're here!" Senju announced energetically.
Orochimaru nodded and shifted his gaze to all three of them.
"Good. Since everyone is here, we'll begin the real training."
The next few hours turned into a continuous whirlwind of sparring, technique drills, and harsh corrections. Orochimaru spared no one—not Mikoto, whom he forced to combine kenjutsu with genjutsu and fire techniques while in motion, nor Nawaki, whom he drove nearly to exhaustion, demanding perfect chakra control in every strike.
As the sun began to dip toward the horizon, Kuro approached Mikoto, who had just finished practicing stances with her katana. She wiped sweat from her forehead, breathing heavily.
"Mikoto," he called quietly.
She turned.
"What?"
Kuro hesitated slightly, then spoke directly.
"I want to ask for your help in training genjutsu. I've already started learning with sensei, but I need a regular partner—not only to practice resistance, but I also want to learn how to cast them myself. I have an idea for a new technique, but for that I need to thoroughly understand how illusions work."
Mikoto raised an eyebrow in surprise, then interest flickered in her eyes.
"All right. I can help you with the basics. But I'll warn you—most of my techniques are cast using the Sharingan. That might be useless for you."
Kuro nodded, and an almost predatory smile appeared on his face.
"I'll try anyway."