After speaking with Nawaki, Kuro quickly made his way to his training clearing, barely managing to contain his excitement. The system notification about unlocking 15% of his power wouldn't leave him alone. He already knew what it meant — a new shadow. The Great Serpent.
He formed the familiar hand signs, calling forth his loyal companions. Divine Dogs began emerging from his shadow, and behind him loomed the massive toad. As soon as Yuki and Yami noticed Nara, they rushed toward him, rubbing against him and demanding attention. He smirked and patted their scruffs one by one.
"Enough, you're fearsome shadows, not household pets," he muttered, though there was no strictness in his voice.
Gama turned her head to the side and let out a short croak, as if confused why Kuro had summoned all of them. After giving a brief explanation, Nara positioned his shadows and focused on the upcoming battle.
He formed a new seal — its shape somewhat resembled the head of a snake. His shadow expanded sharply, darkened, and began to shift, as if peeling away from him. For a moment, the forest fell into a tomb-like silence.
And then something enormous burst out of the darkness.
A gigantic white snake with a yellowish-brown underbelly. Dark markings covered its body, and on its massive forehead shone a black symbol. Its fangs glinted in the sunlight, and in an instant it lunged forward, jaws wide open to swallow Kuro whole.
Only he didn't even flinch, observing his new companion with interest.
Just as its teeth were about to close on him, Gama shot out her tongue, wrapping it around the serpent's body and holding it in place with great force. Yuki and Yami charged in, sinking their fangs into the creature's scaly flank.
But their strength clearly wasn't enough. Their fangs couldn't pierce the thick hide of the Great Serpent, and Orochi shook them off with a single violent motion, flinging them aside.
Gama tensed, trying to restrain the snake, but it began twisting harder, coiling around the toad's tongue and forcing her to retreat. Freed, the reptile straightened slightly, preparing to attack again.
Seeing how the situation was developing, Kuro immediately recalled his shadows. Yuki, Yami, and Gama dissolved, slipping back into the darkness, while Orochi turned, rising high above him, its golden eyes shining dangerously.
"You seem much stronger than the one Megumi has," Nara muttered, stretching his neck. "Though it still won't change anything."
The snake hissed sharply, its massive body tightening like a drawn bowstring — then it shot forward with wild speed, crushing tree roots and sending clouds of dust into the air. Its jaws opened wide, exposing long, venomous fangs as it tried to swallow Kuro whole. But he dodged with ease, taking only a few steps to the side, then leaping gracefully into the air. With a powerful sweeping kick, Nara slammed the serpent's jaws into the ground.
Pushing off from it, he leapt toward a nearby tree and raised his hand, pointing two fingers toward the reptile — sending invisible slashes flying.
The air filled with a faint whistle, and Orochi's body trembled — the first cut sliced through its side, then the second, the third… Bloody stripes appeared one after another across the giant snake, making it hiss and thrash in agony.
But Orochi was stubborn. It launched itself into a final attack, ignoring the blood running down its scales. A lightning-fast dash — all its strength, speed, and rage focused into this one strike.
Kuro merely smiled. He extended his open palm forward, and at that moment the air around him erupted.
Hundreds of intersecting slashes flashed like a web of deadly threads, instantly wrapping around Orochi. Its scales tore apart, muscles split, and purple blood sprayed in all directions. The giant snake didn't even manage a final scream before its body burst into pieces.
Fragments of the reptile dropped to the ground for a moment, then melted into a black puddle, turning into a shadow that slowly flowed back to Kuro's feet.
He lowered his hand and let out a satisfied hum.
"Well, that's that." Kuro slowly surveyed the battlefield.
The clearing that had been an ordinary forest spot that morning now looked like the site of a recent jonin fight. Splintered trees, deep gouges in the ground, scattered patches of torn grass, shattered rocks.
He frowned, running a hand over his neck.
"Damn… looks like I overdid it," Nara muttered, crossing his arms.
Of course, no one would blame him for simply training, but this level of destruction would attract unwanted attention. Kuro wouldn't be surprised if an ANBU squad was already headed his way to investigate.
"Time to go," he decided, turning around and heading home.
As he walked through the forest path, his thoughts drifted to a new problem. He needed a different training ground. His strength would only continue to grow, meaning he needed a place where he could train without holding back.
Fortunately, Konoha offered plenty of such locations. For example, the Forest of Death. A place full of predators, dangerous plants, and unknown threats — even experienced shinobi entered with caution. But Kuro only smiled as the thought passed through his mind.
"With my strength, I have nothing to fear there," he said to himself, leaping from branch to branch.
Along the way, his thoughts returned to the upcoming experiments with the new shadow. If Gama and the Divine Dogs were incompatible, perhaps their mixture with Orochi would produce a different result.
When he arrived home, Nara immediately found the old man.
"You're late," Enzo said quietly, not looking up from the scroll in his hands.
"I was practicing a new technique," Kuro replied with a smile, sitting down across from him. "By the way, expect the exam results tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be first, so get ready to teach me the Shadow Clone Technique."
The old man huffed, but his eyes showed a hint of satisfaction.
"We'll see."
The next day, after finishing his morning routine, Kuro headed straight for the Forest of Death, which had four entrances. The entire perimeter was surrounded by a metal fence with 44 gates.
Jumping over the barrier, Nara moved deeper inside, pushing through thick foliage as he scanned the surroundings intently. Fortunately, no one monitored what happened beyond the fence. If even Orochimaru had managed to slip inside undetected, then Kuro could certainly use the area without raising suspicion.
"Where should I set up…" he murmured, leaping over a fallen tree — and soon luck smiled upon him. Kuro spotted a cleared area deep within the 44th sector.
"Perfect."
He first tried merging Orochi and Gama. To his surprise, the result was a failure. The combined creature was enormous, clumsy, and heavy. A bulky elongated toad without limbs moved slowly, and its attacks were sluggish. Kuro clicked his tongue in annoyance as he watched the creature try to move, only to wobble helplessly as if unable to orient itself.
"What an ugly thing," he muttered, dispersing the shadow with a wave of his hand.
Next came the experiment with Yuki and Yami.
As soon as the merging occurred, Kuro felt the difference instantly. Unlike the previous combination, there wasn't even a hint of imbalance.
The Divine Dogs changed beyond recognition. Their fluffy fur vanished, replaced by dark-white skin covered in sturdy, scale-like plates. Their legs became slightly longer, their movement more slippery, faster, more snake-like. Instead of their usual tails, each now had a long serpentine extension swaying behind them, and their pupils had become vertical, like Orochi's.
But most importantly — their fangs. Kuro immediately understood they had inherited the Great Serpent's venom.
Seeing this, Nara smiled brightly, examining his first successfully merged shikigami.
"Now this is interesting."
He spent the rest of the day testing the abilities of the new Yuki and Yami, and training his own taijutsu and ninjutsu. Only when the sun began to set did he dismiss the shikigami. Kuro took a deep breath, stretching his shoulders, finally allowing himself to relax. The Forest of Death really turned out to be the perfect training place — spacious, with no extra witnesses, and most importantly, his massive shadows didn't stand out here at all.
Leaving the forest, Nara headed toward the village center. His training had taken longer than expected, and now his stomach growled loudly. He began walking toward Ichiraku Ramen out of habit, but a familiar figure stood ahead.
Nawaki, waving his arms energetically as he talked to his friends. Spotting Kuro, he immediately broke into a wide grin and waved at him.
"Kuro! I was just about to go look for you!"
"Did something happen?" Nara asked lazily as he approached.
"My sister came back!" Nawaki announced proudly. "And guess what? She agreed to train us in a couple of days!"
Kuro raised an eyebrow — in truth, he had doubted Tsunade would agree to train a random person like him. So the news was genuinely unexpected.
"Great, I'd be glad to learn something from such an outstanding shinobi as Tsunade."
Nawaki smirked.
"Oh, trust me, she won't go easy on us. After our last training session my whole body hurt for a week! So get ready!"
Kuro only hummed quietly, but inside him a small spark of anticipation had already begun to grow.