"No way... Water jutsu? In a place with no water?"
Orochimaru's expression darkened as the wall of water surged toward him.
He had no choice but to dive underground.
After a few minutes, he realized this kid was trouble-but not the kind he had expected. The trouble was on another level entirely. As soon as he went underground, the earth itself began to tremble violently.
"He's a sensory ninja too? This is getting out of hand."
Orochimaru knew he had miscalculated.
He had been detected immediately upon arrival. Every movement underground was tracked perfectly.
A veteran of countless battles, his reactions were sharp. He had only been slow because he underestimated the new generation. He assumed the village's standards had slipped, that these kids hadn't seen enough blood to be dangerous.
He was wrong.
"I can't stay here. For the plan's sake... I'll have to retreat." Orochimaru licked his lips.
He glanced at Sasuke, who was running toward Noah, and sighed.
"Fine. I'll let the Uchiha brat go for now."
With that, he vanished. But he made a mental note of Noah.
Just you wait, kid. I'll make you pay for this humiliation.
Noah didn't realize his miss was being read as a deliberate insult. Even if he had, he wouldn't have cared-it was too embarrassing to explain. He was just confused why his enemy had vanished.
"He ran?" Noah rubbed his chin.
He had been planning to break out his "Spectral Armor" for fun.
"Oh well."
He wasn't worried. The guy wouldn't leave the village without doing something.
Noah turned to see Sasuke running toward him. The kid had dodged a bullet.
Naruto was fine too. Knocked around by the wind, yes, but not swallowed by a snake.
"Noah! Who was that?" Sasuke landed next to him, his eyes red from activating his sight.
"Are you okay? Where's the enemy?"
"Gone," Noah said, waving it off. "But watch out. I think they were after you."
"After me?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"Think about it. Out of the three of us, who's worth that kind of attention?" Noah looked at him like he'd missed the obvious.
"You're the one with the legendary eyes."
Noah left it at that. Sasuke got the warning.
Being a bloodline ninja always carried risk. He looked genuinely angry about being targeted.
They needed to get out of the forest and finish the test.
With Orochimaru gone, the rest of the trial was simple.
They ran into other teams, but Noah and the others moved like beacons. It didn't matter. Naruto charged forward, flattening anyone in their path.
He'd improved. Still a bit goofy, but starting to look like a real fighter. Missing only his signature "Spiral Sphere" to finish the job.
They collected the scrolls and made a beeline for the tower.
Noah avoided "Old Actor" Kabuto and never ran into the Sound ninjas. Orochimaru probably decided not to waste "materials" on a lost cause.
Their early return shocked the staff.
Iruka congratulated them, gave his usual speech, and sent them to rest.
Noah knew the forest was just a warm-up. The real test started with the preliminaries.
I wonder who my opponent will be. Maybe Ino?
His presence had shifted things. He was curious how it would play out.
He locked himself in his room. He had held back too long. It was time to let loose.
He hadn't used Spectral Armor yet. But he was planning on it.
Power was meant to be used. He was already exposed. No point in staying low-profile anymore.
Eventually, he'd leave this world. It would be a shame if he never showed what he could do.
Plus, the jutsus he learned here might not even work back home.
I've been quiet long enough. Time to have some fun.
He didn't feel bad about "bullying" locals as a demi-god. He valued his friends but didn't mind a little healthy competition.
Besides, I have a few 'bright ideas' to test out.
He wondered if he could combine internal energies to make life-based jutsus or wood-based constructs. He had been too focused on "Holy Light" and "Void Darkness" before.
Now, with his understanding of his magic nearly complete, he wanted to see what this world's system could offer.
Let's start with an energy-shroud mode. Maybe try some wood-shaping later.