Sasuke leaned against the rail next to Naruto and Sakura.
Sakura immediately checked him over.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
He shook his head. "Nothing serious."
Naruto jabbed his elbow into Sasuke's ribs, grinning widely.
"You were so cool! Especially that teleport thing! Teach me that one!"
"You'd trip and face-plant," Sasuke said as he gave him a side glance.
"HEY! No way!" Naruto pouted exaggeratedly, making Sakura giggle.
"Well done, all of you."Kakashi appeared behind them like a shadow.
"I held back and didn't use my other jutsu." Sasuke turned slightly.
"I noticed. Good discipline." Kakashi's eyes curved happily.
Naruto leaned in close, trying to eavesdrop.
"What! What discipline?"
Sasuke and Kakashi ignored him.
As the next match was called down below, Naruto leaned back on the rail dramatically.
"Man, this is dragging on! I wanna fight already! Let me fight them!"
"Patience, Naruto." Sakura smacked him lightly on the head.
Sasuke didn't say much. He was watching the other teams, especially Gaara. The Sand Ninja had barely moved since arriving.
Strong and Dangerous. This was Sasuke's opinion of him.
"Sasuke… some opponents aren't what they seem."Kakashi followed his gaze and gave a quiet hum.
Sasuke nodded slightly, at Kakashi's advice.
Down in the arena, the next battle began but Sasuke's mind was already thinking ahead.
The Chunin Exams were only getting started.
And the real battles had yet to come.
….
Orochimaru POV
Hidden in the deep shadows of the tower, Orochimaru watched intently as the boy, Uchiha Sasuke walked off the battle platform, his dark eyes sharp and cold.
Impressive… far more than I expected.
His snake-like tongue flickered out instinctively.
Sasuke's speed, his control, and his poise were far beyond a normal genin. Even for a Uchiha.
Orochimaru's golden pupils narrowed with hunger.
He suppressed his true abilities… he's hiding something. And yet, even with those restraints, he dominated his opponent without any flaw.
He let out a soft, unsettling chuckle that echoed faintly through the stone halls.
The way Sasuke moved was calculated not a single wasted step. His instincts were honed, sharper than most seasoned chunin.
Orochimaru could feel it, even through the distance: a thick, heavy potential brewing inside the boy.
A perfect vessel.
His mind replayed the moments of the match carefully. Sasuke hadn't activated the full power of his Sharingan.
There was no Sharingan, Uchiha's unique fire jutsu, or anything else.
Instead, he fought with discipline.
Not like a child… but like a shinobi trained by an elite one.
Orochimaru could almost laugh aloud in delight.
He remembered their earlier encounter in the Forest of Death.
Even then, when he had pressed lightly, Sasuke had moved sharply, showing instinct far beyond his years.
The black flare, the summoning scroll, the red snake.
Garaga.
A creature that can use senjutsu and petrifying venomous fangs, hardened scales, and destructive power far beyond some snakes.
To have that beast obey a child-like Sasuke?
It was a declaration that someone powerful already had a contract with him.
Orochimaru's smile thinned.
He had sensed it then, and confirmed it now, watching from the shadows.
Orochimaru's lips curled into a slow, wicked smile.
"…Kakashi," he whispered.
His golden snake eyes flickered toward the silver-haired man standing near the observation deck, casually leaning against the railing, a faint smile on his face.
Kakashi Hatake, no longer the meek Copy Ninja, no longer the man dependent on a donated Sharingan.
The one-eyed slouch had evolved into something far more dangerous.
Orochimaru's sharp senses had immediately noticed the absence of the Sharingan under that wild silver hair. No chakra leak. No visual interference.
The seal over Kakashi's eye must have been intricate and absolute.
He sealed it away. Voluntarily.
Fascinating.
And clever.
Orochimaru licked his lips thoughtfully.
Without the Uchiha bloodline, the Sharingan had been a double-edged sword for Kakashi: draining his reserves, slowing his growth, and limiting his evolution.
Without it, the man's chakra signature had flourished, richer, more balanced.
Probably High Kage level.
'Kukuku… how interesting.' Orochimaru shivered in glee.
Still, as curious as he was about Kakashi's progress, Orochimaru's heart, and his ambition belonged to Sasuke.
The last pure heir to the Uchiha bloodline.
The boy walked now alongside the loud-mouthed jinchūriki and the pink-haired girl. His expression was blank. Focused inward.
A perfect seed, waiting only for the right soil to bloom.
Orochimaru almost reached out, fingers twitching with the phantom memory of his jutsu, the Cursed Seal of Heaven. How tempting it was to brand the boy now, bind him with the mark.
But he restrained himself.
No.
Sasuke had not been branded.
Not by him, or anyone else.
That strange, subtle pulse of chakra around Sasuke's body wasn't his work. It was something different.
Some kind of seal… but not mine.
And yet… familiar.
Orochimaru's mind worked swiftly.
Kakashi.
The boy's snake summon.
The hidden energy.
It clicked together.
Someone had gifted Sasuke some kind of seal, a mimicry of his own Cursed Seal, but cleaner, more harmonious. He couldn't sense the wild nature like his seal.
Orochimaru's thin fingers clenched lightly against the stone wall.
Jealousy prickled him hot and sharp.
Do they dare to mimic my creations? And how could they do it?
But soon, the jealousy faded and melted into excitement.
No matter.
Even if someone else had prepared Sasuke…
He would still be his vessel.
He would simply pluck the ripe fruit when the time was right.
A true vessel must be worthy.
Not broken or enslaved, but nurtured into magnificence.
Orochimaru chuckled low in his throat, earning a few uneasy glances from passing chunin.
Let them fear him. It was his nature.
His tongue flickered again, tasting the air.
Sasuke had not revealed his full power yet. His Sharingan and that strange seal were not used even against him.
Good.
Kakashi had taught him discipline.
Even if it was against his interests, he admired it.
Sooner or later, that tight control would crack.
Sooner or later, Sasuke would yearn for more.
And when that day came, Orochimaru would be waiting. With promises of boundless strength.
With whispers of vengeance fulfilled.
A slow, serpentine smile curved across Orochimaru's face.
You are mine, Sasuke-kun.
Not today, not tomorrow. But someday, you will seek me out.
And when you do…
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with predatory hunger.
I will give you everything you desire. And in return… You will give me everything you are.
The pale man finally turned away from the battlefield, his robe whispering across the stone.
He slipped through the shadows of the tower like smoke, his mind already weaving future paths.
The vessel was ready.
And in the end…
Sasuke Uchiha would become his perfect, immortal body.
No matter what Kakashi, or the pitiful ninjas of Konoha, tried to do.
The game had only just begun.