The Leaf Village was bathed in the soft light of sunset as four shinobi walked along one of the central streets. Orochimaru walked in front, as always silent, his head slightly raised, his hands hidden in his pockets. Passersby often cast looks at him filled with respect and admiration. Behind him walked his three students, and judging by the noise, their conversation was quite lively.
"Come on, Kuro," Nawaki insisted for what felt like the tenth time that evening, clearly excited. "How did you even come up with that technique? Those dogs… the rabbits! The toad! What, do you go into the forest at night to catch them?"
"Or did you find a scroll of forbidden techniques?" Mikoto narrowed her eyes with playful suspicion. "Confess, Kuro—how many innocent people did you have to kill for that power?"
"And you can summon them… whenever you want?" Nawaki asked, still overflowing with energy.
Kuro sighed, but his expression showed not irritation, rather… weary acceptance. He knew that after today's sparring, such conversations were unavoidable.
"I already told you—the technique is mine. Developed from shadow manipulation. A bit of intuition, a bit of practice. And some… unconventional ideas. And no—each shadow requires maximum concentration and consumes quite a lot of chakra."
Though considering how much chakra I have, it's hardly a problem.
"Some…?" Mikoto repeated, unconvinced. "Creating something like that from a shadow… you didn't just expand the technique, you… you… I don't even know what to call it properly."
"It's creepy," Nawaki snorted. "But cool creepy."
Soon they reached a street-side restaurant. They ordered food and soon began enjoying meat, noodles, and endless conversation. An hour later, their teacher paid for the meal and decided to leave, letting the genin spend some time alone.
"You know," Mikoto said, finishing her tea, "no matter how strange Orochimaru-sensei is… that was the best sparring we've ever had. He showed us our weaknesses without the kind of mercy parents usually give."
"And nobody died," Nawaki snorted. "Considering what my sister told me about him, that's already pretty good."
"Well, Tsunade herself doesn't always calculate her strength properly," Kuro grimaced, recalling their last training session.
"Yeah…" Nawaki agreed, shuddering slightly. Mikoto, watching them, only smirked faintly.
Closer to late evening, Kuro headed home. The door creaked softly as he entered. He expected the old man to already be asleep, but the kitchen light was still on.
"You're back? How did it go?" Enzo asked, sitting at the table and sipping tea.
"I ended up on a team with Mikoto Uchiha and Nawaki Senju. Orochimaru was assigned as our sensei," Kuro said calmly, sitting down beside him.
A long silence followed. And then… Enzo chuckled. A light, almost approving smile crossed his face.
"Looks like you got lucky. Two heirs of great clans plus that genius boy. That's already good. Watch him. Learn. The Hokage used to brag about his students quite often."
Kuro was slightly surprised, but then remembered that the Snake Sannin had not yet earned his legendary title, and his reputation was still completely untarnished.
"Tell me what happened next."
And Kuro began to speak. Without embellishment. About every fight. And although they had already discussed that Nara would not hide his new technique, Enzo hadn't expected him to use it in the very first sparring match. Thus ended the young man's first day as a genin.
The next morning, Nara once again headed to the training ground. The sun was just beginning to rise when the team had already assembled. A slightly gloomy Nawaki, suffering from the early wake-up, and a focused Mikoto looked at Orochimaru standing beneath a tree.
"Today we'll have individual training," he said. "Each of you will receive your own task."
"Uh… sensei?" Nawaki raised an eyebrow. "What about team coordination training? My sister said we'd have D-rank missions and practice working as a group."
Hearing this, Orochimaru merely snorted disdainfully.
"D-rank missions? Walking dogs, lost cats, running trivial errands? How will that help you survive? I believe you yourselves can see that the situation in the world is heating up, and soon it may become truly dangerous."
He slowly turned, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"The strength of a team lies in the strength of each of its members. You are at an age when your progress is incredibly fast. And I have no intention of wasting this time wandering around the village with a net for catching stray dogs. Before you learn to work together, you must become people others can rely on. On missions, in battle… or on the brink of death."
"I… I understand, sensei," Nawaki muttered, feeling excitement mixed with a hint of fear.
Orochimaru looked at each of them and nodded to his own thoughts.
"Let's begin. Each of you will master the skills you need. We'll start with you, Nawaki."
The Senju lifted his head with interest.
"You have enormous chakra reserves, impressive endurance, and natural strength. But you waste all of it by charging into battle without tactics. Instead…" Orochimaru paused and, narrowing his eyes, continued, "you will master Shadow Clone Technique."
"What?!" Nawaki's eyes went wide, and then he laughed like a child promised a gift. "Yes, sensei, that's awesome! I've been asking my sister to teach me for ages, but she refused, saying it was too dangerous a technique for me to learn yet."
"I see you're eager," Orochimaru noted quietly. "Many jōnin, including your sister, often use shadow clones. But you… are not Tsunade. Your mind will suffer if you don't learn to properly distribute chakra. We'll start small—one clone. No more. You must feel and divide your energy exactly in half."
Nawaki listened with unprecedented seriousness, for the first time in a long while.
When it was Mikoto's turn, she already guessed what she would hear.
"You have good training and a flexible mind," Orochimaru said, "but you lack offensive power. High-level fire techniques consume too much chakra. Until you strengthen your body and reserves, they'll be of little use."
The Uchiha frowned slightly but did not argue.
"So you're suggesting I give up?"
"I'm suggesting a path that will bring results. Genjutsu and kenjutsu. You're an Uchiha—your dōjutsu is ideal for illusions and close combat, and with a blade, your strength will increase many times over."
He handed her a katana wrapped in cloth.
"It's yours now. Learn to wield it. Tomorrow we'll begin with basic forms, and for now we'll move on to illusions."
Mikoto carefully accepted the weapon and gave a short nod. Her eyes, however, burned with determination.
And finally…
"Kuro," Orochimaru said, looking straight at the boy. "You're already quite strong. Essentially ready to become a chūnin at any moment. Do you know the nature of your chakra?"
"Water, wind, and fire."
"Excellent. I'll help diversify your arsenal of techniques, but the most productive training method for you will be full-power combat."
"Against you?" Kuro raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Exactly. I need to understand how you adapt, to see whether you can improvise. A shinobi develops best in deadly battles," the Sannin said with a chilling smile. "Therefore, your main task will be sparring—every day. Under different conditions, terrain, and threats."
"Sounds fun," Kuro exhaled lazily, taking a stance. "Shall we begin?"
"Of course," the sensei replied, simultaneously creating two clones that approached Nawaki and Mikoto.
A month passed in this exhausting rhythm. Day after day, they trained.
Nawaki summoned one clone after another, often collapsing from exhaustion, yet never giving up. He learned to control his chakra, to use clones to distract and confuse opponents. Overall, his understanding of battle tactics improved significantly—though even so, he still liked trying to overwhelm enemies with strength and numbers.
Mikoto cut through the air with her blade to Orochimaru's rhythmic remarks, focusing on illusions during breaks. She learned to plunge opponents into deep stupor with a single Sharingan glance and even began studying Uchiha scrolls dedicated to genjutsu on her own.
And Kuro… he became far more dangerous, forcing Orochimaru to fight increasingly seriously. Nara perfectly combined his attacks with shadows, and he still hadn't revealed the full power of Sukuna.
After another training session ended, Orochimaru gathered them all and spoke seriously.
"Well, you truly are making progress. It's time to test yourselves in practice. Tomorrow, we depart on your first C-rank mission."
"A C-rank?!" Nawaki exclaimed.
"Just that. Considering how many times I've fought elite jōnin lately, I think it's fine to take a break," Kuro smirked.
Orochimaru merely narrowed his eyes slyly.
"We'll see. It's time to find out what you're worth… in the real world."