"No objections, Gen. Here, take this."
Sarutobi Enjun stripped off his coat and the pendant at his waist, tossing them to Uchiha Gen. He then pulled two bottles of lamp oil from his ninja pouch and pressed them into the boy's hands.
"I have no objections either."
Uzuki Ruri shook her head, producing a handkerchief she kept close along with a few other small personal items and handed them over.
Good—Gen had firmly secured the right to speak for this squad.
With Orochimaru absent, command fell to him.
Uchiha Gen then removed several items of his own and passed them to the Ninja Crows.
"Then—scatter!"
At the order, Sarutobi Enjun and Uzuki Ruri leapt toward opposite sides without a moment's delay.
Most of the Ninja Crows seized the objects carrying the trio's scents in their beaks and talons, flying off in every direction through the forest.
Uchiha Gen wasn't worried about the crows' safety.
The fact that the Forest of Death was regularly used as the site for the Chunin Exams meant it posed real danger for the average Genin; poisonous insects and ferocious beasts roamed everywhere, including animals capable of molding chakra.
Though far weaker than the famed Ninja Beasts of the Three Great Sage Lands, they were still sought out by Konoha ninja hoping to sign suitable summoning contracts to shore up their combat shortcomings.
But since these crows had signed a summoning contract with him, they could simply release the summon the instant danger appeared and escape unharmed.
Sixteen crows in total; four remained at Uchiha Gen's side, including the largest and most chakra-dense of the flock.
"Stay around me. Watch for threats beyond my field of vision and sensory range. Locate water, mud, anything similar—and keep an eye out for snakes."
Uchiha Gen spoke softly to the four crows circling him.
Searching for snakes was obvious: Orochimaru excelled at serpent Ninjutsu.
Water and mud were needed to mask their scent.
For now… Gen walked a short distance, killed a huge python coiled in a tree, stripped masses of leaves, and crushed them in his fingers. He smeared the pulp over his body.
The stench was sharp and revolting, but it would help.
Next came the waiting game—what move would Orochimaru make?
Fifteen minutes flashed past.
While Gen team scrambled, Orochimaru had already slipped into the forest.
Beneath his dangling sleeve, a torrent of snakes poured to the ground and fanned out.
Serpents were his best scouts.
Minutes later.
Orochimaru studied a coat hanging from a distant branch with interest, sliced a charging boar in half with a wind blade, and then glanced skyward.
Wisps of smoke still lingered there.
Gen crows were keeping watch; the moment they spotted Orochimaru, they would dispel themselves, alerting Gen that the Sannin was near so he could pull back.
"A clever little trick to cloud my judgment. It buys you a bit more time, but it won't be enough."
Orochimaru smiled faintly and performed another summoning.
Several enormous pythons appeared; he pointed at the coat that belonged to Sarutobi Enjun.
"Track this scent. Catch him."
In a corner of the forest.
Uchiha Gen sat by the river that cut through the Forest of Death, slapped a ball of mud he'd just mixed onto his body, and then hurried off in another direction.
By his count, Orochimaru had been inside for a little over twenty minutes.
Thanks to his preparations, no teammate had been eliminated yet.
Suddenly, Gen eyes sharpened; he formed a hand seal and summoned a crow.
"Where is Orochimaru-sensei now?"
He looked into the crow's bright black eyes and asked quietly.
The bird hopped in place, turned in a circle as if orienting itself, and then faced a direction and croaked a long series of caws.
"That way—only seven kilometers off."
The crow bobbed its head.
"Still too close. Rejoin the flock and keep watch. I'll add extra rations tonight."
Gen stroked the crow's head, stood, checked his bearings, and sprinted away.
The crow flapped off, merging back into the scattered murder.
Now, nine crows patrolled within a hundred meters of him.
Seven kilometers was far too near.
The Forest of Death spanned twenty kilometers across, but ninja move far faster than ordinary humans, let alone Orochimaru.
Though barely in his twenties and not yet famed as one of the Sannin, he was already nearing Kage level. Even while testing three Genin, he wouldn't exceed what they could conceivably handle, yet overestimating him was the safe bet.
Keep running! To be safe, they needed at least ten kilometers of distance.
Yet while Gen raced away, only three or four kilometers off, Sarutobi Enjun sprang through the trees using his clan's taijutsu, as agile as a monkey.
One of Gen crows clung to the leather shoulder guard, cawing warnings of hazards ahead.
Behind him, a massive twin-headed serpent, ten-plus meters long, crashed through trunks at an impossible speed, closing in.
The snake was far weaker than Orochimaru, but more than enough to pin Enjun down; once Orochimaru arrived, he was finished.
"I have no clue if Gen or Ruri are in trouble. Worrying is useless—I have to lose this thing."
Enjun cursed his bad luck.
He wasn't the unluckiest; after all, only one snake pursued him.
At the forest's center, Orochimaru smiled at the chaotic ground, eyed the girl darting into the underbrush with a kunai, and elegantly licked his lips.
My foolish student—your trap was textbook, far too predictable.
When facing an enemy whose experience and strength far surpass your own, traps cannot bridge the gap.
Setting one up is essentially telling the enemy, "I've been here."
Orochimaru lifted his head, studying the sky through the gaps in the trees to gauge the time.
No rush—there is plenty of time. Not even half has passed; I can keep hunting.
Since they didn't show much during the last mission, I'll use this chance to force out everything they've got, so I know what to train later.
Only a few minutes later.
Another Ninja Crow was summoned by Uchiha Gen.
So Ruri has been eliminated?
After the crow gave a confirming caw, Uchiha Gen's worry deepened.
Barely half the time had passed and a teammate was already out.
Worse, nearly all his crows had returned, meaning Orochimaru had already scouted most of the Forest of Death.
With Orochimaru's skill, Gen had no doubt the man had left scouts across every section of the forest.
Soon there would be nowhere left to hide; they would be reduced to running for their lives.
If Ruri is out, Orochimaru-sensei must be over there—fourteen kilometers away. I'm safe for now, but before he closes in, I have to shake the pest behind me.
Gen glanced at the cawing flock, then at the black-scaled giant snake racing toward him. He planted his feet and snapped through hand seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Clusters of flame blossomed outward like scattered fireworks and streaked toward the serpent.
The beast hissed; muscles beneath its black scales bunched as it twisted and weaved between the fireballs.
Gen had chosen the Phoenix Sage Fire technique precisely for its speed and spread.
Though weaker than his favorite Great Fireball, it packed enough punch at this range for a perfect probe.
Nearly half the fireballs missed, but the rest smashed against obsidian scales, spraying sparks.
Patches of once-glossy scales dulled, flaking away as the snake writhed.
Fast—hard to outrun. Tough hide, but Ninjutsu can breach it. Best bet: cripple or restrain it fast, then relocate.
Watching the enraged serpent barrel at him like a shrieking truck, Gen leapt back, hurling wire-wrapped kunai that bit into surrounding trunks.
Judging by its bulk and the way it splintered trees, close-quarters was suicide.
He had to exploit his smaller size, the cluttered terrain, and the explosive power of Ninjutsu to finish it quickly.
If the snake kept tailing him, it would broadcast his position straight to Orochimaru.
With a smooth hiss of steel, Gen snapped a bungee cord fixed to a trunk and swung clear of the lunge, flicking three kunai at the snake's eyes.
The serpent ignored them; lacking movable eyelids, it relied on transparent eye-scale shields—tougher than they looked.
Gen realized that only after the blades ricocheted.
But he had a fallback.
"Pop!" "Pop!" "Pop!"
Smoke bombs, carried by crows, burst overhead, belching black clouds across the ruined forest floor.
The smoke wasn't meant to blind—snakes have poor sight anyway—but to mask scent.
With its tongue useless, the creature lost track of him.
As for infrared senses, Gen thanked his earlier self for smearing wet clay over his skin; the moisture still cooled him.
Blinded and furious, the colossal snake thrashed, shredding trees and tangled itself in Gen web of elastic wire.
Now!
Gen sprinted through the thinning smoke, yanking several wires; even two were clamped between his teeth.
He could never hold the monster by brute force—the wires were just conduits.
"Oil!"
He mumbled through the steel strands to the lead crow.
The burliest, smartest Ninja Crow unhooked a flask from its neck, popped the cork, and tipped special oil into Gen mouth.
Enjun's lamp oil perfect timing.
Ordinary oil can't amplify a Fire Style jutsu like this mineral-blend, which pushes the flame's temperature sharply higher.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
A jet of flame laced with oil shot from Gen mouth, racing along the wires and splitting into thin, straight fire-drills that speared the trapped serpent.
Dragon Fire and Great Fireball are both basic C-rank Fire Release techniques among the Uchiha; mastering them is the gateway to higher, deadlier techniques.
True mastery means producing razor-thin, laser-precise jets.
Gen control wasn't quite there yet; hence the wire guide.
The upside: a guaranteed hit.
And Dragon Fire's piercing thrust outperforms the Great Fireball against heavily-armored foes.
The searing orange flames, fed by oil, blazed white at their core.
Smoke cleared to show the black-scaled giant snake wrapped in cords of fire, shrieking and thrashing as it burned.