"Seiryū, who was that?"
Kakashi looked at Ryosuke, who had already left the exam hall, and asked Seiryū, "Do you have some kind of grudge with that Uchiha?"
He had naturally heard the cold words and undisguised malice in the other party's voice.
That inevitably made him curious.
Although Seiryū could be a little unreliable at times, he was usually still quite easygoing.
So how had he ended up provoking someone from the Uchiha clan?
"Uchiha Ryosuke, Uchiha Ryota's older brother. Back then, he was unhappy that I, the genius of the Ninja Academy, stole his little brother's spotlight, so he came looking for trouble with me. In the end, I beat him up..."
Seiryū did not take Ryosuke's threat seriously, and shrugged helplessly. "It's already been three years, and I didn't expect him to still remember it. What a lunatic!"
He had almost forgotten about that whole matter.
Who would have thought the other party had been keeping it in mind all this time.
So this was his three-years-later revenge today, huh?
Some people in the Uchiha clan really were lunatics!
"Uchiha Ryota's older brother?"
Kakashi frowned slightly.
Uchiha Ryota was their classmate. Kakashi had been the eternal second place, while the other had been the eternal third.
So of course he was not unfamiliar with him.
He had not expected something like this to have happened to Seiryū.
Well.
He did not seem all that surprised either.
There really were a lot of lunatics in the Uchiha clan. Ryota was one, Ryosuke was one, and Obito was one too. Nothing they did would be strange.
"He has killing intent toward you. If he gets the chance, he really might try to kill you, so be careful, Seiryū. People from the Uchiha clan are not easy to deal with!"
Duy's expression became somewhat serious.
Although he acted a little unreliable in daily life, he was still an adult who had experienced quite a lot.
That Uchiha held intense killing intent toward Seiryū!
As for the arrogance of the Uchiha clan, anyone from Konoha more or less knew about it.
"If he comes looking for trouble with me, I don't mind letting him experience what pain means all over again!"
A cold smile curled at Seiryū's lips, and a trace of icy color appeared in his eyes.
Seiryū would not go easy on enemies.
Even if the other party was from the Uchiha clan, since he had spoken those words and shown killing intent toward him, Seiryū would not hesitate to kill him!
So what if he was an Uchiha?
Konoha was not his family's village!
The cold smile vanished in an instant, and Seiryū returned to his usual self. Smiling at the two of them, he said, "Uncle Duy, Kakashi, let's go. We should head back and prepare some things..."
Kakashi and Duy both responded.
But a strange feeling rose in their hearts.
Just now, Seiryū seemed a little different from the Seiryū they knew.
As for exactly how he was different, they could not quite say.
The three left the exam hall.
And headed to Seiryū's house.
Several familiar little friends were already there, and even Asuma, who had not shown up earlier, was there too.
Time passed as they chatted.
Soon, it was noon.
They went to support Teuchi's Ichiraku Ramen business.
After eating and drinking their fill.
The three of them headed toward the Forest of Death for the second preliminary exam.
Not long after.
The three arrived at the Forest of Death.
Quite a lot of people had already gathered there.
All the Genin from the major shinobi villages who had passed the first written exam were present.
Glancing around, Duy could not help but sigh, "There are quite a lot of people. I didn't expect so many people to pass the written exam..."
Kakashi's expression was relaxed as he said, "That's normal. After all, the first written exam did not test whether you could answer the questions, but your ability to cheat and gather intelligence. Still, with this many people, the Genin from the other villages can't be underestimated."
"Some of them might just be there to make up the numbers, but there are definitely elites among them too. Still, more than a hundred people got eliminated..." Seiryū said while also observing the surroundings.
There really were quite a few familiar faces among them.
Of the Kiri team they had encountered that morning, several people were already gone, leaving only nine.
Among them, Mei, Kisame, and Shimaichirō were all still there.
At another spot.
There was a red-haired boy who caught Seiryū's attention.
This person was none other than Suna shinobi, Sasori of the Red Sand.
His appearance was not too different from how he looked in the original story, he just seemed a little younger.
There were also several people standing next to Sasori, and one of them looked familiar.
After thinking carefully, Seiryū realized.
It seemed to be that Suna Jōnin who had led the team during the Chunin Exams in the original story, called Baki, if he remembered correctly?
On Iwa's side.
There were also several somewhat familiar-looking people. Judging from their appearance, they were young men around twenty years old, definitely at least ten years older than Seiryū...
From what he could sense, the chakra fluctuations of these people were not weak either, clearly beyond the Genin level, and their sharp aura also showed they were no simple figures.
These guys were Genin too?
On Kumo's side.
There were twelve people in total, both male and female, though judging from their age alone, none of them seemed over twenty.
Among them, there was also a little blonde, blue-eyed girl who looked somewhat familiar to Seiryū.
She seemed to be Samui, the future Kumo Jōnin from the original story. Right now, she looked only about eight or nine years old.
As for the smaller villages like Kusa, Taki, Takumi, and Ame, although quite a few of them had also passed the written exam.
There was no one worth paying attention to.
The chakra fluctuations he sensed from them were also unremarkable.
Not worth worrying about...
In the end, Seiryū made this evaluation: "Yeah, the other villages really do have quite a few talents."
By rough estimate, there were around eighty or ninety people here.
Although there were a lot of people in the area, it did not seem particularly noisy.
As shinobi.
Their profession naturally specialized in assassination and combat, so observing opponents and judging their strength was the most important thing.
Everyone was silently observing the others.
And at that moment.
Some movement suddenly came from inside the Forest of Death, which was sealed off by iron fencing.
Making many people look over instinctively.
The commotion grew louder and louder, and drew closer.
Then, many people only felt a blur before their eyes, as a dark shadow shot out from within the Forest of Death.
It was a gigantic gray snake.
Its cold eyes swept across everyone present, its tongue flicking in and out with a hiss.
Its sheer size alone was enough to make many people feel an inexplicable pressure.
And atop the giant snake's head stood a person.
Golden vertical pupils, purple eyeshadow extending to the sides of his nose, pale skin, a dark purple belted outfit, and a Konoha forehead protector. A man with an effeminate appearance...
"I am the examiner for the second preliminary round of the Chunin Exams."
Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils swept over everyone present, and a meaningful smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
Habitually licking his lips, he spoke in a hoarse voice, "My name is Orochimaru!"
Seeing Orochimaru standing atop the giant snake, Seiryū's brow could not help but rise, and he thought to himself: So it's actually Orochimaru?
Having one of the famous Sannin, Orochimaru, act as the examiner for the second preliminary exam?
Wasn't that a bit of an overqualified use of talent?
Or was there some purpose behind it?
To intimidate the people from the other villages?
After all, the name of Orochimaru, one of Konoha's Sannin, really was quite a famous one.
(To be continued.)