The preparations for the Chunin Exam in Konoha were proceeding unusually calmly. The village lived its ordinary life—merchants shouted in the streets, children played with a ball, and shinobi ran across rooftops, hurrying to their missions. For Orochimaru's team, however, this time became a test of emotional resilience.
Konoha Hospital, as always, smelled of medicine and the faint aroma of sakura drifting in from the inner courtyard. In one of the rooms on the second floor lay Nawaki Senju, covered in bandages. He was trying to read a scroll with Doton techniques, but every movement brought a painful grimace to his face.
The door burst open with a loud bang.
"NAWAKI!!!"
Tsunade stormed into the room like a hurricane. Her long blonde hair was disheveled, and her eyes burned with real fury. Orochimaru entered behind her with a strained smile.
"You idiot!" Tsunade was instantly at her brother's bedside. "How many times have I told you not to engage a jonin in close combat when you don't even have a chunin vest yet! And what did you do?! Three broken ribs and a fracture in your arm!"
Nawaki smiled guiltily.
"Big sis, I won though…"
"Won?! You almost died!"
Tsunade turned to Orochimaru and jabbed a finger at him.
"And you! Have you completely lost your mind?!" She grabbed Orochimaru by the collar and pulled him closer. "I entrusted you with my little brother, and you brought him back half-dead?!"
Nawaki tried to lift himself up.
"Big sis, I'm fine, really…"
"STAY DOWN!" she barked.
Orochimaru raised his hands in mock surrender, but the smile never left his face.
"He's alive. And that's what matters. Don't act as if I sent them to their deaths. It was precisely because of that battle that they gained experience others pay for with their lives."
"Experience?!" Tsunade clenched her fist and threw a punch that Orochimaru deftly avoided. "If he comes back like this one more time, I'll personally tear your head off!"
Nawaki winced quietly from the pain but still managed to lift himself slightly.
"Big sis… don't scold sensei. I really… wanted to prove that I can be just as strong as you."
Hearing this, Tsunade let out a heavy sigh, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently ran her hand through her brother's hair. Her voice softened instantly.
"Idiot, lie still. I'll personally oversee your treatment. And no training until you've fully recovered."
Meanwhile, on the Uchiha clan grounds, at the training field behind the main estate, Mikoto had been practicing combinations of kenjutsu and genjutsu for the third hour straight under her father's relentless gaze.
"Too slow!" the Clan Head thundered. "The Sharingan gives you the ability to react a fraction of a second earlier—so use it! Again!"
Drenched in sweat, her hands trembling, Mikoto once again formed hand seals and rushed forward. Her katana flashed, followed by a weak but precise pulse of genjutsu. Her father parried the strike with a kunai and countered with an open palm, barely brushing the recently healed scar.
"Better. But still not enough."
Breathing heavily, Mikoto pushed herself up from the ground, leaning on her katana. She could no longer feel her legs, yet she stubbornly kept her eyes on her father.
"Your body cannot keep up with your mind. Again!"
She tried to form seals once more.
"Katon—"
"No techniques," her father interrupted. "Kenjutsu only."
Mikoto clenched her teeth and dashed forward.
From a distance, among the shadows of old trees, a youth of about sixteen watched the training. Black hair, high cheekbones, a cold gaze. In his eyes, three tomoe of the Sharingan rotated slowly. He did not interfere in the duel—he simply observed intently.
Deep within the Forest of Death, Kuro sat in the lotus position atop a massive fallen tree. His eyes were closed, his breathing steady. Around him, a dense, almost tangible concentration of chakra swirled.
"29%…"
After the last mission, progress had finally moved forward. He felt that he stood on the threshold of something important—a new shadow was already close. But instead of simply waiting, Kuro decided to squeeze the maximum out of what he already possessed.
He slowly raised his hand, and from it burst a thin violet bolt of lightning—exactly like the one Nue used. The bolt struck a nearby tree, leaving behind a deep scorched mark.
"It worked…" Kuro whispered with a predatory smile. "That means I can already extract the abilities of the shadows and use them independently."
For him, this was extremely important, because Nara understood that the only way to tame Mahoraga—besides Domain Expansion and Divine Flame—would be an immensely powerful ninjutsu. The first two techniques that came to mind were Rasenshuriken and Kirin.
Each of these techniques was incredibly powerful, but Kuro was not sure that only one of them would be enough to completely destroy Mahoraga, so he decided to begin studying both. Immediately, he ran into problems: to maximize Rasenshuriken, he would need Sage Mode, while Kirin required the Lightning Release nature, which Nara did not possess.
These thoughts led him to the idea of extracting Nue's ability and, through it, attempting to develop his own Lightning Release nature. So while a pair of his clones practiced with spheres of wind for the Rasengan, he himself trained with the Ten Shadows Technique.
After succeeding with lightning, he decided to go further and focused on his sense of smell, attempting to extract the Divine Dogs' ability. Taking a deeper breath, Kuro suddenly perceived the world around him differently: the scent of blood somewhere ten kilometers away, sweat, the aroma of rare herbs, even the faint trace of his own chakra left from a previous training session.
Kuro opened his eyes, filled with excitement.
"If I manage to fully master all the available abilities, then even without summoning the shadows, I'll become far more dangerous."
Moreover, he could feel that a new shadow was already very close.
A month passed in this pace of training. Each day brought new challenges: Nawaki gradually recovered under Tsunade's supervision, Mikoto pushed herself to exhaustion at the Uchiha training grounds, and Kuro delved deeper into the mysteries of his power within the Forest of Death.
And then the day arrived.
The morning of the Chunin Exam was clear and cool. A strange tension hung over the village—not anxious, but dense, as if Konoha itself was holding its breath.
Orochimaru's team gathered at one of the training grounds.
Nawaki stood straight, without bandages or any signs of recent injuries. His posture was confident, and the usual Senju excitement burned in his eyes. He clenched his fist, feeling his body finally respond fully to his will.
"Finally! I'm tired of lying in that hospital room. Ready to crush everyone?"
Mikoto, her katana strapped to her back, nodded, her gaze focused.
"Yes. But don't relax. This isn't training, so try not to be the first to jump under a blade."
"Hey, that was a tactical maneuver," Nawaki snorted.
Kuro merely huffed softly, sweeping his team with a calm, focused look. Over the past month, they had truly changed. They had grown stronger. And more dangerous.
At that moment, Orochimaru stepped out from the shadows of the trees.
"I see everyone is here," he said, looking over his students. "Good. The Chunin Exam is not just a test of techniques. It is a test of thinking, composure, and the ability to survive. Do not strive to stand out. Strive to win."
For a moment, he smiled—subtly, almost imperceptibly. Nawaki straightened and proudly declared,
"We won't disappoint you, sensei!"
Orochimaru nodded and gestured forward.
"Good. Go."
The location of the first stage was already buzzing with the presence of shinobi. Dozens of teams had gathered—familiar faces, sharp glances, and concealed rivalry. The atmosphere resembled that moment before a storm, when it is still quiet, but everyone knows something is about to begin.
"Oh, look who showed up," a cheerful voice called out.
Team Six approached them.
Namikaze Minato smiled warmly, as if they had come to an ordinary training session. Beside him stood Uzumaki Kushina, her eyes sparkling with lively determination, and a short distance away—the reserved Hyuga Hizashi.
"So," Kushina said, "ready to become chunin?"
"If you don't get in our way," Nawaki replied with a grin.
"First we all need to pass the first stage," Minato noted calmly.
"Don't underestimate us, Namikaze," Mikoto added.
Other participants were present in the hall as well, many of them older and already seasoned by battle experience. The atmosphere grew heavier—everyone knew this exam would become their first significant step into the dangerous world of shinobi. After all, behind the scenes, the sparks of a great war were already smoldering.