Naruto :I will survive

Chapter 17: Chapter 17



The Ninja Academy only teaches three basic techniques: the Clone Technique, the Substitution Technique, and the Transformation Technique. None of them have any offensive power. Therefore, even though Kano's chakra volume already exceeded that of a genin, the lack of offensive techniques significantly reduced its effectiveness. Therefore, the only means of attack were taijutsu and ninjutsu.

Given these conditions, the exam seemed inherently unfair, especially considering that Orochimaru had swallowed the bells.

Kushina, after thinking for a moment, jumped down from the tree next to Kano. Since the bells had been swallowed, it was impossible to steal them without being noticed. Now they had to figure out how to immobilize Orochimaru. But the difference in strength was too great, and it seemed incredibly difficult to do. As for their cooperation, it only slightly increased the chances of success.

After Kushina appeared, Haru, who was initially determined to work together, also quickly descended from the tree.

"Let's work together," Kushina said firmly, looking at her comrades.

"Only by cooperating do we have a chance," Haru nodded quickly.

Kano, looking at his partners, frowned slightly. Cooperation was a good idea, but they had never worked together before, there was no mutual understanding between them. However, it seemed there was no other choice.

Seeing all three of them show up, Orochimaru kept a calm expression. Not only did he not attack, he even threw away his kunai. After all, it was just his shadow clone. If Kano and his comrades managed to deal enough damage to dispel the clone, the bells would fall out. In other words, passing the test was not as difficult as it seemed at first glance.

"Forward!" Despite the agreement to cooperate, there was no coordination between the three. There was not even time to discuss. Therefore, Kano, shouting to warn his comrades, was the first to rush at Orochimaru, clutching a kunai in his hand.

He leaned his upper body forward like a cheetah preparing to pounce.

"Good look," Orochimaru praised, impressed by Kano's focused gaze during the attack. However, the latter's movements were too clumsy, without any feints. Such a direct attack was tantamount to suicide, especially in a head-on collision.

Kano knew this perfectly well when he made this attack. But he also knew that Orochimaru would not inflict mortal wounds on him. In such circumstances, he wanted to check how big the difference was between him and Orochimaru in close combat. After all, daily training and easy victories in the Academy exams did not give a real assessment of his abilities.

Seeing Orochimaru still standing, Kano kicked off with force, raising a cloud of dust. Running close, he swung his arm and threw a kunai at Orochimaru's face.

Shukh!

Orochimaru, without changing his expression, tilted his head slightly, as if he could see the trajectory of the kunai, and easily allowed it to fly past his neck and stick into the tree behind him.

Kano was already there. Crouching down in front of Orochimaru, under his gaze, he planted his hands on the ground and, using the force of his push, kicked his right foot with maximum force into the opponent's jaw.

Since the purpose of the exam was to test the abilities of all three genin, Orochimaru decided to take the blow, even though he could have easily dodged it. Kano's right leg whistled as it landed, and Orochimaru crossed his arms to block it.

Bam! - the moment a powerful force hit his palms, Orochimaru realized that he had underestimated Kano's strength, and the blow sent him flying backwards.

"Not bad power," Orochimaru thought to himself as he was in mid-air. Before he could think about it, his keen ears caught the sound of shuriken cutting through the air. He followed the sound and saw more than a dozen shuriken flying out of the dust cloud, aimed straight at him.

The sand in this area was fine and loose, easily rising into the air, forming a curtain that obscured the view of both sides. However, the enemy somehow accurately determined its location, which caused him some confusion.

Despite the surprise, even as a shadow clone, Orochimaru wasn't going to give in so easily to a handful of shuriken: "Futon: Gust of Wind!"

While in the air, Orochimaru instantly formed hand seals and exhaled a powerful gust of wind towards the flying shuriken.

The howling wind instantly dispersed the shurikens and rushed towards the cloud of dust and Kano.

Shukh! - the wind blew suddenly, and the three genin, without having time to react, were thrown back.

Haru crashed into a tree with a scream, and Kano and Kushina, thanks to their good physical training, managed to change their body position in the air and, resting their feet on the tree trunks, landed.

However…

As soon as they touched the ground, kunai were stuck at their feet. They looked at the kunai stuck in the ground next to their feet in shock, feeling disappointed. After all, in a real fight, these kunai would definitely pierce their hearts.

Kano and Kushina exchanged glances of obvious annoyance. Kano turned away from Kushina and walked towards the fallen Haru, and she followed his example.

Seeing each other's actions, both of them froze. Suddenly, Kano stopped, allowing the girl to walk towards Haru. After all, although they both initially wanted to check on their comrade's condition, seeing her intention, he abandoned that thought. After all, one person could handle it.

Kushina turned her head slightly as she walked towards Haru. But even so, she couldn't see Kano's expression out of the corner of her eye. Finally, with an incomprehensible feeling in her soul, she walked towards the tree, helping the depressed Haru up.

A complete failure of the exam meant a return to the Ninja Academy. Disappointment was visible on their faces and in every movement.

At that moment, Orochimaru turned into a cloud of white smoke, from which three silver bells fell.

"A clone?" Kano's expression changed as he looked at the smoke and bells. Couldn't they even deal with a clone?

His face darkened at the thought.

"I'm curious, how did you detect my location through the sand curtain?" A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind them. The trio jumped and turned around abruptly. Orochimaru was standing behind them, his expression calm.

A chill ran down their spines at the thought that someone could have approached them so silently, and so close, without them noticing anything.

"I have very good hearing," Haru answered timidly, "I heard your whisper, Orochimaru-sama, and determined your location. Then I told Kushina to throw shurikens in your direction along with me."

Hearing this, Orochimaru thought for a moment. That was why those shurikens flew one after another, and although the time difference was small, even with poor visibility and from different positions, they achieved such precision and speed… This child…

Orochimaru looked at Kushina, thinking. He was satisfied with the results of the exam. Even if he hadn't seen everything, it was enough.

"Meet here tomorrow at the same time," he said in an indifferent voice, without giving any explanation, and disappeared, leaving the trio perplexed.

Hearing his words, Kano understood everything. His face took on a complicated expression. Technically, the exam was a failure, but they would not have to return to the Academy, as Orochimaru had said before.

However, Kano felt no joy at this news. The events of the last few minutes were spinning in his head. The realization that after three years of training he was still so weak filled him with deep disappointment. When would he be able to even touch his uncertain future? When would his chance come?

Gritting his teeth, he walked towards the house, ignoring Haru and Kushina. And just a moment later, having come to his senses, Haru joyfully exclaimed, "Excellent!"

Kushina also sighed with relief and looked after Kano as he left, lost in her thoughts.


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