This so-called written exam wasn't simply a test of basic ninja knowledge. Orochimaru understood that the moment he received the test paper—no, perhaps even when he heard that the exam required teams of three.
After all, if it were just a standard written test meant to evaluate individual knowledge, the requirement that all three team members must pass in order for the team to qualify was already suspicious in itself.
This raised an important question: Ninja abilities varied widely, and even when it came to the most basic knowledge, not everyone had it mastered. In fact, what a ninja needed to know could take a lifetime to fully learn, if that was even possible.
In such a context, choosing the right teammates who could pass the first round of the "written test" became incredibly important.
Orochimaru believed that was one of the test's hidden points. A qualified ninja, aside from possessing strength and extensive knowledge, also needed the ability to choose reliable allies.
Of course, there was always the risk of ending up with a hopeless teammate... like Jiraiya.
Speaking of which, if it was a written test, then Tsunade was obviously a liability too.
No one understood that better than Orochimaru. Especially after the First Great Ninja War, the major ninja villages began to emphasize team cooperation more heavily, encouraging two to five-man squads to work together and bring out better and more well-rounded results.
After all, not everyone could become a jōnin.
The proctor's statement about cheating—"Anyone caught will be disqualified immediately"—was also beyond question.
But passing by simply playing by the rules? Impossible. Orochimaru was certain Tsunade knew that as well.
So Orochimaru waited—for Tsunade to make the first move.
As long as they didn't get caught by the proctors, it didn't count as cheating!
After years of working together, Orochimaru knew Tsunade was a woman of action, not someone who would sit still and wait for fate.
And then it happened.
That familiar scent hit Orochimaru's sharp senses, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited.
Tsunade was always unpredictable, with an eclectic mix of jutsu in her arsenal. Every time, she would come up with some bizarre tactic that was as laughable as it was ingenious—yet it always worked in unexpected ways.
Water.
Seeing a corner of his test paper get wet, Orochimaru instantly recognized the liquid as Tsunade's.
He glanced sideways. Sure enough, a damp trail was spreading from beneath Tsunade's feet, slinking all the way over to him.
"Water Release: Hydration Technique." A jutsu that allowed the user to liquefy their body at will, making them immune to physical attacks. It also allowed them to slip through buildings, launch surprise attacks while in liquid form—its versatility was off the charts.
Orochimaru remembered this mysterious technique vividly. The first time Tsunade used it was also the first time she killed an enemy jōnin.
That jōnin, a taijutsu expert, had pushed their team into a corner. Both Orochimaru and Jiraiya were completely out of commission. Only Tsunade remained, barely holding on. Defeat was only a matter of time.
That jōnin had a twisted personality, a textbook villain. While attacking Tsunade, he didn't forget to taunt and harass her, clearly fond of psychological warfare. Simply put, the guy was a mouthy freak. In Orochimaru's eyes, Tsunade… wet herself during that encounter. Amidst the threats, a puddle of liquid formed beneath her.
With victory in his grasp, the jōnin moved in for the kill. His blade pierced Tsunade's frail body without hesitation. But in the very next instant, Tsunade taught Orochimaru an important lesson:
When someone thinks they've already won… that's when they're most vulnerable to a counterattack.
At that fateful moment, Orochimaru heard Tsunade scream at the top of her lungs—
"Tengen Toppa! Crimson Lotus Eye! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!?!?!"
A last-second counter!
Orochimaru couldn't describe what kind of jutsu that was—he just remembered that the jōnin's body erupted from the inside, torn open from bottom to top by a massive force. Even the storm clouds in the sky were ripped open, leaving a visible hole.
The rain stopped. The wind ceased.
He never found out what technique that was. All he saw was Tsunade reverting from her liquid state, soaked in crimson blood, hands frozen mid-seal toward the heavens, before collapsing and remaining unconscious for three whole days.
To Jiraiya, the most memorable part of that battle was the over-the-top, sky-splitting jutsu. But for Orochimaru, what stood out most was how Tsunade managed to deceive that jōnin with her Hydration Technique and Shadow Clone Technique.
Ever since then, Tsunade used Hydration Technique regularly—at least until she later declared Water Release to be the weakest element.
Now, she was using it again, and Orochimaru couldn't help but feel giddy.
Such a perfect liquid—crystal-clear, translucent, nothing about it suggested it had come from a human body. He really wanted to bottle some up and study it.
But that was just a fleeting thought. Right now, the priority was getting through the first round of the Chūnin Exams.
Substitution Technique, huh?
Realizing that Tsunade was tampering with his test paper, Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his lips in anticipation.
Then he looked at the trail of liquid reaching over to Jiraiya's side. Picking up his pen, Orochimaru began scribbling standard answers in Jiraiya's chicken-scratch handwriting—the questions were child's play for a top student like him.
Everything was going so smoothly, Tsunade couldn't help but praise her own brilliance.
Perfectly executed!
With Orochimaru's full cooperation, the plan moved fast. Tsunade soon swapped Orochimaru's completed test paper with "Jiraiya's" using the Substitution Technique. It was flawlessly done—no one noticed a thing. The sleeping "Jiraiya," who had conked out the moment the test started, was now miraculously passing.
By now, though, Tsunade's chakra was running low.
Having no Water nature affinity was a real pain—her chakra consumption was ridiculous. It took barely as long as Orochimaru finishing one test for her to feel overwhelmed. That's also why she'd tried to avoid using Water Release in the past.
Fortunately, Orochimaru picked up speed with the second paper. The first time was slow only because it was new. Now that he knew the answers, he breezed through it—though imitating Jiraiya's handwriting still slowed him down a bit. But he was almost done.
That was when a shadow loomed over Tsunade's liquefied form.
The proctor. The one Katō Dan referred to as "Uncle Hawk," a special jōnin.
He stood above her, looking down at the suspicious puddle with an expressionless face.
At that moment, Tsunade's heart almost stopped. Even the usually unflappable Orochimaru broke into a cold sweat.
Tsunade's disguise was flawless. A mere special jōnin shouldn't be able to see through it—unless he had some kind of special ability. The real issue was the liquid itself. Lying there so conspicuously on the exam floor, it was bound to raise suspicions.
Clearly, the proctor had his doubts.
He squatted down, dipped a finger into the liquid, and touched it to his tongue.
"…A little sweet."
(End of Chapter)
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