"What's wrong? Still not moving?"
"Summoning Technique!"
Seeing the many rookies still frozen in place, Gekko Chizan pressed one hand to the ground.
A second later, five massive pythons burst forth and launched the attack in his stead.
Only then did the remaining twenty-eight ANBU react; Gekko Chizan hadn't been joking—this trial had already begun.
"Release!"
Nobody knew who shouted it, but the next moment everyone bolted straight into the forest.
Anyone chosen for ANBU was at least an elite Chunin, so even when faced with giant pythons suddenly appearing, the shock only lasted a heartbeat before they fled at full speed.
As for the five pythons, they continued their pursuit.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Go home and see my son."
"What????"
Gekko Chizan stood off to the side, watching the ANBU rookies rush into the Forest of Death. Beside him stood another man—the familiar mask belonged to the current ANBU captain, Shinnosuke.
Hearing Gekko Chizan's words, Shinnosuke was completely stunned.
This guy was an instructor… and he wanted to go home to see his kid?
"What? They're just a bunch of little chicks. Let them run for a bit."
"My snakes will give them enough trouble."
With that, Gekko Chizan turned and left. But the moment he stepped away, a series of sharp cracking sounds filled the air.
Crystal clones materialized one after another, then rushed headlong into the Forest of Death.
Seeing the Crystal Release clones appear, Shinnosuke understood there was no point saying anything more.
The man known as one of Konoha's Twin Stars had clearly turned into a full-time doting dad.
Shinnosuke could only shake his head helplessly and focus fully on monitoring the rookies' trial.
Meanwhile, when Gekko Chizan returned home and stepped through the door, he immediately saw Pakura holding their son in her arms, enjoying the sunlight.
He hurried over instantly.
...
Inside the Forest of Death, the rookies had already found places they felt were reliable.
Kakashi and Shisui arrived together at the edge of a river.
"Kakashi-sempai, how do you think Captain Chizan plans to deal with us?"
Just thinking about Gekko Chizan's methods made Shisui shiver all over.
Kakashi was much calmer. He crouched by the river and dipped his hand into the water.
The icy chill helped settle his thoughts.
But even after thinking for a long time, he found nothing useful.
"No clue. Sensei's actions have no pattern at all."
"The Forest of Death has completely turned into a battlefield. We can only stay alert."
Kakashi rose and looked into the distance—when suddenly a massive shadow appeared among the trees.
A giant python slithered out toward Kakashi and Shisui, its tongue flicking.
"Sensei's summoned beast, huh…"
"And… is that a Crystal Release clone?"
Gekko Chizan had created only three clones in total; one of them now stood before the two.
But that wasn't all. Suddenly, a cold chuckle echoed:
"You two… If I don't personally make things difficult for you, wouldn't that be disrespecting my own teachings? Don't you think so?"
Gekko Chizan walked out slowly, the python and the crystal clone arriving beside him.
Seeing the real Gekko Chizan, Kakashi froze for a moment, then relaxed.
"Sensei, I can still tell your shadow clones apart."
"You should be at home right now."
Exposed immediately, Gekko Chizan laughed.
These were his own students—of course they knew how he thought.
This shadow clone was a backup he'd left long beforehand.
The Crystal Release clones were powerful, but without the real body's command, they were nothing more than glittery targets.
Only with a shadow clone present did they have enough deterrence.
"Go on. Capture them."
With a casual wave, the crystal clone and python charged.
"Split up!"
Kakashi made a snap decision and sprinted upstream.
Shisui dashed downstream.
Gekko Chizan smiled faintly.
The python and crystal clone split apart as well to chase each of them.
The other rookies faced similar situations.
Not everyone managed to escape.
"Ah!! What is this?!"
Somewhere deeper in the Forest of Death, an unlucky rookie touched a crystal clone and felt his body slowly being encased in crystal.
"Damn it, am I turning into crystal?"
"No!"
With a final scream, the crystal-encased man collapsed.
Moments later, several ANBU arrived, picked up the crystallized rookie, and carried him away.
When Shinnosuke saw it, his eyelids twitched.
Crystal Release crystallization…
This guy—he isn't even here in person and he can still pull this off… What a terrifying man…
At this rate, very few would survive the full three days.
This was exactly the method Gekko Chizan had invented earlier: let clones crystallize targets directly. Once crystallized, the victim completely lost mobility.
The chakra contained within the crystal kept them alive, simply immobilized.
By the end of the first day, ten people had been carried out. The cost was two dead pythons.
Night brought no relief—snakes were nocturnal, after all.
...
The second evening, just after sunset—
While Gekko Chizan was relaxing at home, he suddenly sensed that the remaining three pythons were being killed off one after another.
And that wasn't all—a moment later, one of the crystal clones was destroyed as well.
That genuinely surprised him.
Flying Thunder God took him to the forest's edge.
He glanced at the rows of crystal statues but ignored them, turning his gaze toward the forest.
Shinnosuke saw that the real one was back and walked over curiously.
"What brings you here?"
"All my snakes have been killed. And one crystal clone was destroyed."
"Oh, that must have been Kakashi. I just heard a massive explosion."
"Lightning?"
"Yeah."
Hearing this, Gekko Chizan nodded slowly.
...
At the same time, Kakashi's entire body was wrapped in lightning. His left hand crackled with electricity, while his right hand gripped the Lightning Blades.
He was panting heavily.
The one who destroyed Gekko Chizan's crystal clone—was him.
"Hah… hah…"
"Using Lightning Armor with one Gate open is still too much strain on the body…"
"But the power of that strike was more than enough."
"Even Sensei's crystal couldn't withstand it."
"Chidori is complete."
Yes—this strike was Chidori.
But Kakashi's Chidori had now taken a completely different path.
If the original Chidori relied on the eye to support the body, then this version relied entirely on the body.
Lightning to temper the flesh. Lightning as the guide. With overwhelming physique, he had turned Chidori into a ninjutsu for high-speed assassination—one that would never lose track of its target.