"How is this even possible?" she whispered angrily and hurled two kunai.
Without wasting time, the Uchiha leapt back and in the very next second formed hand seals:
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
A volley of small fireballs shot toward the enemy, each hiding a shuriken inside.
"You like fire techniques?" Orochimaru asked with a hint of irony and used his ninjutsu. Without forming a single hand seal, he blew onto his outstretched palm, creating a powerful stream of fire that completely engulfed Mikoto's technique. Even the thrown weapons were blown away and sent back toward the shocked kunoichi.
The Uchiha barely managed to dive behind the nearest tree, whose bark exploded from the heat of the flames. She was breathing heavily, her hands trembling slightly, fear and anger churning in her mind.
"Damn it, is he trying to kill me?! Even without seals his fire technique surpassed mine, just like his taijutsu—by simply copying my movements he completely overwhelmed me, and this is only a clone. So irritating!"
Her chakra was nearly depleted, and only one chance at victory remained—the Sharingan's genjutsu. She peeked out from behind the tree and looked at her new sensei, who was simply waiting, arms crossed over his chest.
"Don't underestimate me!" Mikoto shouted and, gripping a kunai, dashed forward. A couple of feints, three thrown shuriken—and now she was already behind Orochimaru. The moment he turned, their gazes met.
"Got you!"
"An excellent idea. I would have done the same in your place," a calm but frightening voice spoke—and the most terrifying part was that it sounded as if it were inside the Uchiha's mind.
"What the—?!" Mikoto realized in horror. "I didn't even notice when I ended up in his genjutsu!"
The world around the kunoichi wavered for a moment. The nearest tree branches melted, turning into snakes that wrapped around her arms. She tried to break free, but it was useless—this was the end. The ominous Sharingan faded, her chakra completely exhausted. The illusion dispersed, revealing a tired, battered girl pressed back against a tree.
Her clothes were scorched, her hair disheveled, but her eyes still burned with determination. The sensei's clone slowly approached.
"You have good fundamentals. Decent chakra control, but that's not enough to become the strongest in the Uchiha clan. I think you yourself understand that we still have a lot of work ahead to achieve your goal."
Without waiting for an answer, the clone turned and vanished in smoke.
Mikoto slowly slid down the tree, breathing unevenly and clenching her fists.
"Then I'll become stronger. No matter what!"
Meanwhile, on another part of the training ground, Orochimaru slowly approached the rather relaxed Kuro, who stretched his neck a couple of times and loosened up. The boy's gaze was focused, showing no hint of nervousness.
"Ready?" the clone asked calmly, watching the genin with interest.
Kuro didn't answer. Instead, he used Shunshin and vanished in a swirl of leaves.
The next instant, their fight exploded into a cascade of blows. Nara's fists clashed with his opponent at such speed that even the approaching Mikoto didn't immediately catch their movements. A punch, a block, an elbow to the ribs, a roll, a knee strike to the stomach—Kuro worked like a combat machine, surprisingly forcing the clone to retreat. Every strike was filled with chakra, measured down to the millimeter, his legs moving with a predator's grace.
Orochimaru parried, dodged, and deflected the attacks, but not with the same ease as in his fights against the other two genin—here, he truly had to put in effort. One of Kuro's blows broke through the defense: a fist slammed into the clone's chest, accompanied by a dull crack and clouds of smoke. For a second, it seemed the target had been hit—but beneath the force of the blow was a writhing mass of snakes.
"Excellent," the Sannin hissed behind his student. "I didn't expect such strength."
Kuro jumped back sharply, forming seals:
"Water Style: Raging Wave!"
A torrent of water burst from his mouth, sweeping everything in its path. Orochimaru formed seals with inhuman speed:
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A massive blast of air, powerful enough to topple trees, blew the water wave aside and nearly struck Kuro himself. But he vanished again using Shunshin and appeared at his teacher's side, attacking once more at close range.
A sharp thrust toward the stomach—the clone blocks. A sudden sweep—the clone evades with an elegant jump and throws several shuriken. Kuro quickly draws a kunai, deflects the attack, and presses forward, giving no moment of respite. At one point he ducks low and, with a slash of his kunai, nearly grazes the clone's leg—but focusing too much on the attack, Nara takes a knee strike straight to the head, sending him flying. Refusing to give up, enduring the pain, the youth flips in midair, gradually forming seals.
"Water Style: Water Bullet!"
A sphere of water shoots from his mouth toward the clone. Orochimaru snaps his hand forward:
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter Technique"
The techniques collide in an explosion that kicks up clouds of dust, from which wind-charged shuriken fly toward the Sannin—one of the techniques Kuro had learned recently.
Orochimaru leaps back, but Nara has no intention of letting him go. He anticipated this situation and takes advantage of the fact that his opponent is airborne.
"Shadow Strangle!"
From the clouds of dust, Kuro's shadow stretches out at incredible speed. He knows that while in the air, the clone won't be able to evade. The Sannin's eyes widen slightly, and the moment his feet touch the ground, the trap snaps shut.
"Got him?!" flashes through Nara's mind, though he himself doesn't quite believe it. And rightly so—the body of Orochimaru immediately crumbles into countless small snakes.
"Too slow, Kuro," the voice sounds again, right behind him.
But this time, Kuro doesn't move. He slowly smiles.
"I was waiting for you."
Two silhouettes burst from his shadow.
The Divine Dogs. After gaining the support of his grandfather—the clan elder—and Shikuma, the clan head, he no longer intended to hide this technique.
"What is that?!" their sensei's pupils dilate.
Yami lunges at Orochimaru, but on pure instinct he manages to knock it aside, immediately preparing to counterattack. However, Yuki, following after its brother, interrupts him—its claws slice through the air in a lightning-fast arc and strike the target.
A dull burst of smoke sounds. The clone disappears.
Silence falls over the clearing. Kuro lowers his hands with a smirk. Yuki's snout immediately nudges toward him, letting out a quiet growl as if confirming victory and awaiting its well-earned pats.
"He… did it," Mikoto whispered.
Nawaki remained standing in shock. The real Orochimaru, watching from the side, couldn't restrain a chilling smile.
"An interesting boy," he murmured. "Very… interesting."
The silence still lingered over the training ground when Orochimaru slowly approached Kuro. His eyes—usually half-lidded and languid—were now wide open. His pupils, thin as needles, carefully studied the young genin.
"What… was that technique at the end?" the sensei's voice was almost a whisper, but it vibrated with genuine interest. "That wasn't just shadow manipulation… did you use summoning?"
Kuro tilted his head slightly, surprised that the Sannin had arrived at the same conclusion as Shikuma.
"It's… my improved version of the Nara clan technique," he said, looking Orochimaru straight in the eyes. "Shadow manipulation, but not for binding—for creation. I use chakra to animate the shadow, giving it form."
He formed hand seals. The shadow beneath his feet flared, and a silhouette rose from it once more—a massive toad with a haughty grin. Its skin gleamed under the sparse rays of sunlight, and its eyes lazily regarded those gathered. Beside it, as if released from a leash, a horde of rabbits emerged—fast and agile, filling the clearing around Kuro.
"A toad and rabbits?" Nawaki muttered, stepping closer. "That's… that's incredible. Are they… real?"
"They're made of my shadow," Kuro replied calmly, offering no further explanation.
Mikoto stared at the beasts in amazement, a spark of hunter's interest burning in her eyes.
"Kuro…" she frowned. "Could you always do this?"
"No," he shook his head. "This is the result of… training. A lot of practice. And a pinch of natural talent."
"And you hid this from us?!" Nawaki exclaimed. "From us?!"
"I didn't hide it. There just wasn't a need to show it."
Mikoto crossed her arms, a smile playing on her face.
"Next time, give a warning before you summon a whole menagerie out of shadows, okay?"
Kuro shrugged, about to add something, when a dry, sharp clap of hands echoed.
"Enough," Orochimaru said. He was still looking at Kuro with wild interest, but authority had returned to his voice. "All of this is very… impressive. But now is not the time. We're training. And you three made many mistakes."
He walked along the line of students, looking each of them in the eyes.
"Mikoto. You're good at analysis, but you underestimate your opponent too much. Against a clone, it would have been enough to use a smoke bomb, retreat into the shadows, and strike from behind. Instead, you chose to test his strength head-on. That was a mistake."
"Understood," Mikoto nodded briefly.
"Nawaki. Your endurance is high, and you're not afraid of pain. But that's where the positives end. Charging into battle without tactics is suicide. Next time, think before rushing forward without knowing your enemy's capabilities."
"Yes, sensei…" he muttered, scratching the back of his head.
"Kuro." Orochimaru stopped right in front of him. "Your fight was good. Very good. But you rely too much on your instincts and give in to the thrill of battle too quickly. Against a clone, you could afford that—but in a real fight, that's unacceptable."
Kuro nodded. He had expected something like that.
"However," Orochimaru added with a sly hint of a smile, "you've piqued my interest."
He walked past and, without turning around, added:
"That's all for today. You may rest. We'll continue tomorrow."