-So, since there's nothing to say, let's begin. - Hayate said lightly. - Next, the names of the first two opponents will appear on the screen.
Everyone looked at the screen with interest.
Jugo thought. If he were Konoha, wanting Sasuke to fight quickly, he would put him against an easy opponent.
But here, the easiest opponents were Sakura and Ino.
Sakura was Sasuke's teammate and doing that would look bad. Ino was from Inochikacho and with Shikaku as the Hokage's advisor, it wasn't a good idea either.
Aside from those two, Choji and Shikamaru had the same problem as Ino. Hinata was a Hyuga heiress. Shino might be quiet, but his record doesn't lie. Especially with his insects devouring his chakra, he was even more likely to lose control. Lee would wipe the floor with him if he were serious.
Kiba and Ten Ten were good options, but it wasn't really necessary with the two Konoha genin who luckily passed, Kabuto's teammates.
At their age and having taken this exam more than once, even if not as often as Kabuto, they still made better targets.
Among the teams from the other villages, Kin was the weakest, but they didn't know this, so choosing a Konoha genin with complete information and weak strength was the best option.
Kabuto's two teammates were better suited to this arrangement, unfortunately, they didn't know that the duo had been enhanced by Orochimaru and had awakened new abilities.
Just as Jugo expected, two names appeared on the screen, Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi.
Yoroi is actually a poor choice to face Sasuke right now. Sasuke is having trouble controlling the curse using his own chakra, so he can't waste much.
Yoroi, on the other hand, can siphon chakra.
This is a rare ability, but if it was so easily dismissed by Orochimaru, it must have serious limitations.
-The first chosen. Akado Yoroi, Uchiha Sasuke, any objections? - Hayate asked calmly.
Yoroi: No
Sasuke: None.
-Alright, then let's begin the first match. - Hayate said. Jugo noticed Sasuke twitching occasionally, clearly in pain, but even though the other examiners and teachers in the room noticed, no one said anything.
-Everyone except the two opponents, leave the area and go to the upper floor. - Hayate pointed to the platforms on the sides of the arena..
Jugo gave the pair one last look, then glanced at a smiling Orochimaru and turned around, walking calmly toward the platform.
Dosu and Kin quickly followed and soon everyone was heading there, some walking calmly, others simply jumping up.
Almost as if by consensus, the Konoha people stayed on the right platform, while the Sound and Sand people stayed on the left.
Orochimaru quickly approached and stood with them. He didn't speak, just looking at Sasuke with evident interest.
-Nah... Jugo-kun, what did you think of Sasuke?- He asked without looking away.
Dosu and Kin already knew it was, so they stayed as quiet as possible.
Jugo still pretended to be a good, peaceful boy, so he responded calmly. -Well... he has a lot of potential, but he's really in trouble now. You made him another copy of me. If he uses the mark, he could easily win, but Konoha shouldn't just stand by and watch him do it.
Orochimaru glanced at Jugo sideways and smiled wider. -I see, I think so too.- Then he looked back at the match about to begin.
As for Kin and Dosu? Orochimaru didn't even remember they existed. Too weak, too useless. Just be a good backdrop and you might live, if you're lucky.
Jugo wasn't well regarded before either, despite his power. He was a ticking time bomb, not much use, but now? He's shown himself increasingly capable of controlling himself.
Jugo's strength is still far from Orochimaru's, but he's still a very good chess piece. He just needs a little polishing and he could become the new Kimimaro. After all, Kimimaro won't last much longer.
That's why Orochimaru has started paying more attention to Jugo lately.
On the other side, the battle was about to begin.
Hayate got into position and spoke. -Then... you can begin.
-Let's go. - Yoroi shouted, making a hand signal.
-Ah! - Sasuke agreed, pulling out a kunai.
The next moment, the fight began. Yoroi threw some shuriken at Sasuke, who deflected them back at Yoroi with his kunai. It was a clear display of skill, but Jugo felt like they were moving in slow motion.
The mark seems to have affected Sasuke again, because he fell to the ground in pain right after hitting it, Yoroi took advantage of this moment to get closer, when Sasuke noticed him, he was already on top of him, hitting him with a hand wrapped in chakra, Sasuke managed to dodge and Yoroi opened the ground throwing fragments of stone everywhere.
Jugo watched the fight progress, his initial interest quickly fading. It's like watching two children fight. It's interesting at first, but it quickly loses its appeal.
It's hard to see Sasuke's direct improvement at the beginning of Shippuden, but watching this fight, Jugo thought that Sasuke, who could defeat Jugo with relative ease just two or three years later, now seemed to move like a snail.
Of course, the original Jugo hadn't progressed at all, he himself is a sequence 8 now, meaning he is much stronger than the previous Jugo. Even so, he didn't believe he stood a chance against the Sasuke of the beginning of Shippuden.
Sasuke does get beaten up a lot, but who did he fight? Itachi? Clearly a Kage level. Killer Bee? A perfect Jinchuuriki...
But in terms of strength, it took him that short time to rise from the strength of a Genin to an Elite Jonin.
It's truly impressive, he truly is this generation's Indra heir.
Of course, when Sasuke was finally caught by Yoroi and had his chakra drained, Jugo raised an eyebrow in interest. The boy seemed to be in even more pain, unable to escape while Yoroi held his head by the hair.
This made Orochimaru smile even more happily, waiting for Sasuke to use the mark.
As the mark pulsed, Jugo could still feel it faintly. It was strange. He had noticed it before, but it was still very faint, like seeing a light flashing randomly from miles away. You think you see something, but when you concentrate to see, it seems like you haven't seen anything.
That was his current feeling.
Sasuke soon managed to escape, but the difficulty only grew, having to use only taijutsu and bukijutsu to face Yoroi.
Sasuke has always been a ninjutsu ninja, which is why he's suffering so much now.
Naruto quickly became enraged, seeing Sasuke's growing weaker and weaker, and shouted. - Hey, what the hell are you doing?! You still call yourself Uchiha Sasuke?!
Sasuke looked back wearily, staring straight at Naruto.
Naruto wasted no time in shouting. - Are you going to let that idiot knock you down?! Come on, enough of this and finish him off!
-That guy... - Sasuke looked at him, too tired to be angry, but as he looked at Naruto, he saw Lee standing next to Naruto. At that moment, his eyes widened.
Yoroi seized this moment to approach. - I'll teach you not to turn your back on others. It was your big mistake, and it ends here!
But Sasuke caught his breath and began to dodge Yoroi's hand, which was absorbing his chakra.
It was while constantly attacking that Yoroi lost sight of Sasuke, but from the outside, he could see Sasuke taking advantage of the limited human field of vision to advance from below.
Lee was shocked when he saw that, because that was one of his moves!
Using his hand as leverage, Sasuke lifted his leg with all his strength and kicked Yoroi's chin upward.
Jugo clicked his tongue. That must have broken some teeth, right? But then again, the physique of this world is much stronger than the previous one, at most, it should have hurt a little.
Blood flew as Yoroi was thrown upward. Sasuke quickly positioned himself and jumped after Yoroi.
-Shadow of the Dancing Leaf. - Orochimaru said lightly, still smiling.
Jugo raised an eyebrow slightly, finding the name a bit too artistic.
Still in midair, Sasuke couldn't control the curse for a moment. At that point, Kakashi thought he would have to intervene, but Sasuke quickly regained control, gritting his teeth and launching a series of rapid attacks as Yoroi tried to defend.
With a sideways movement, his arm connected with his chin, unbalancing Yoroi, only for Sasuke to use all his strength to deliver a downward kick with the back of his leg to Yoroi abdomen with all his strength.
The fall to the ground, propelled by Sasuke's kick, finally made Yoroi see stars.
Orochimaru seemed very pleased with what he saw, trembling slightly.
Jugo could understand, to them, Sasuke was just a weakling, but at that age, he was already quite good. Besides, he could barely use chakra now, so it was practically all physical. Such a robust physique, even away from Lee, still attracted the snake deeply.
Perhaps Orochimaru could already see the scene of facing Itachi with Sasuke's face, this time daring to look directly into his eyes, Sharingan against Sharingan.
Jugo only glanced sideways before ignoring him and returning his gaze to the arena. Hayate approached Yoroi and saw him faint, quickly declaring the match over.
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+10 chapters of Jugo - Father of Devils on P_treon.
+21 chapters of The Legendary Mechanic - Triple Six on P_treon.
P_treon: March_Rain