From the stands, Hiruzen Sarutobi closely watched Jiraiya and Orochimaru's fight. He knew how long Jiraiya had prepared to defeat Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru was his favorite student, he also cared about Jiraiya. Therefore, he was truly curious if Jiraiya could defeat Orochimaru.
When he saw Jiraiya use shuriken to conceal his movements, then create three shadow clones to surround Orochimaru and simultaneously use Fire Release, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but marvel. This usually impulsive boy had now learned to use tactics, and his technique was quite good.
"That Fire Release, you taught it to him, didn't you, Hiruzen?" Beside Hiruzen Sarutobi was a woman, Koharu Utatane. She stared at the Fire Release Jiraiya was using and said.
"Ah, it just so happened that his natural chakra affinity was fire, so I taught him Fire Release," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "Although I can use all five chakra natures, I'm still best at Fire Release and Earth Release."
"After all, those are the ninjutsu passed down in your family," Koharu Utatane said. In Konoha, besides the Uchiha clan, the Sarutobi clan of Hiruzen Sarutobi was also skilled in Fire Release.
Watching Orochimaru completely engulfed by the Fire Release, Koharu Utatane said, "This kid is really ruthless. Aren't you afraid Orochimaru might accidentally get caught?"
"Don't worry, En will definitely stop him immediately. He's closer and sees things more clearly than us," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi said, after Jiraiya's Fire Release lost its power and had to stop, only a barely recognizable wreck remained, but it wasn't Orochimaru's body; it was a log.
Jiraiya immediately jumped back, and then a person emerged from the ground in front of him. It was Orochimaru, who had already formed hand signs. The exploded soil instantly twisted like a living creature, transforming into the shape of a snake, and charged towards Jiraiya.
"Earth Release: Earth Snake Bullet," Orochimaru said calmly.
"Is that... an improved ninjutsu of Earth Dragon Bullet?" Koharu Utatane said in surprise when she saw this scene. She could tell that the principle of this ninjutsu came from Earth Dragon Bullet.
"Ah, this is Orochimaru's improvement based on his own situation," Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze was very gentle. "This ninjutsu requires fewer hand signs and less chakra than Earth Dragon Bullet, and because of its small size, although its power is not as great as Earth Dragon Bullet, it is more unexpected in a surprise attack."
"To be able to research such a ninjutsu at such a young age, this kid is not simple," Koharu Utatane said thoughtfully.
"Masaki also said that Orochimaru's talent is very good at improving ninjutsu, and he thinks he can be called to the research department in the future. I also have this idea, and Orochimaru seems interested," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"A very good career path. Orochimaru seems to be from a commoner background. He can completely serve as a role model for the new generation of ninjas, and it's likely to attract other students to the research department," Koharu Utatane said. She knew that the research department was a place the village prioritized supporting, and what it needed most were ninjas willing to learn, further their studies, and showcase their talents.
While the two were talking, Jiraiya had already used the Substitution Jutsu to avoid the attack of the earth dragon snake, and then Orochimaru closed the distance. Orochimaru had a slender figure, appearing delicate and fragile. If viewed from behind, he could easily be mistaken for a girl. However, his movements were precise, with every move aimed at a vital point.
In terms of strength alone, Jiraiya was stronger than Orochimaru, but he lacked flexibility in his movements. For a time, he was forced to retreat repeatedly by Orochimaru, taking several heavy blows to his cheek and abdomen. Fortunately, due to his carelessness in daily training, he often suffered unnecessary injuries and had long since developed a durable body.
However, no matter how durable a body was, it couldn't endure indefinitely. Jiraiya's face was already very pale, clearly on the verge of collapsing. Just then, after taking another punch to the cheek from Orochimaru, he fell to the ground in a very awkward posture,
but he used that force to roll away, getting behind Orochimaru.
"This kid," Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but laugh when he saw Jiraiya's movement. It looked very ungraceful, but it was very much in line with Jiraiya's style. For a ninja, there was nothing to fault; as long as they could win, any means a ninja employed was not excessive.
"That's so ungraceful, Jiraiya," Orochimaru said in a slightly hoarse voice. "Is this the result of your training over the past month?"
Orochimaru's tone was a bit disappointed. It wasn't that he couldn't immediately follow up with an attack; he just wanted to see what other tricks Jiraiya had, but all he did was pant.
"You're amazing, Orochimaru. You've been holding back all this time, haven't you?" Jiraiya asked, breathing heavily to try and regain his strength.
"Sometimes yes, sometimes no," Orochimaru replied. "There's another reason: I've also been training desperately. Don't think you're the only one practicing."
"Yes, you're a genius, you've mastered more techniques than both me and Asumi, but why do you train so desperately?" Jiraiya asked. On one hand, he was stalling for time, and on the other, he truly had this confusion.
Orochimaru guessed that Jiraiya was stalling for time, but he seemed to enjoy letting him do so. Hearing Jiraiya's question, he looked up at the sky and said, "My strength isn't enough; I can't even pursue my goal."
"What's your goal, Hokage?" Jiraiya asked.
"That's just a short-term goal," Orochimaru shook his head slightly, glanced at Jiraiya, then turned to look at Asumi, who was worried in the audience, and said, "Before achieving my biggest dream, the first thing to complete are those small goals, and they also require strength."
"Tch, I really don't know what you're talking about," Jiraiya wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Because you're an idiot. You should be smarter in the future, or you might die somewhere," Orochimaru said.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Jiraiya seemed to melt, dragging him down completely. Jiraiya let out a cry, quickly stabilizing his body. Even so, half of his body was swallowed, this was Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld, a ninjutsu that could restrict an opponent's movements.
"So, while he was talking to Jiraiya, he was secretly casting this ninjutsu," Koharu Utatane said in surprise.
"Although he's a genius, he's still young. It takes time to secretly activate a ninjutsu of this scale without attracting attention," Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. If it were him, he could activate it instantly.
"It's over, Jiraiya. You don't have the strength to break free from this Earth Release," Orochimaru said calmly, then looked at Homura Mitokado and asked, "Can you announce the result?"
Homura Mitokado glanced at Jiraiya, but saw a cunning smile on his face. Then he saw Jiraiya quickly form a few hand signs and shouted, "You're too careless, Orochimaru!" With that, he slammed his hand on the ground.
A large number of black tadpole-shaped runes spread out, forming a jutsu formula. Then, with a bang, the swampy soil splattered everywhere. Orochimaru retreated, looking surprised at the front, only to see Jiraiya standing on a two-meter-tall toad, striking a proud pose.
"See, Orochimaru, this is the ninjutsu I've been hiding!" Jiraiya laughed heartily.
"This is the Summoning Jutsu." Orochimaru had learned this jutsu from Hiruzen Sarutobi a long time ago, but he looked down on the summoning animals trained by the village. He was determined to find a summoning animal family comparable to the monkey clan, so he had never signed a contract with a summoning animal. But now, Jiraiya had summoned a summoning animal, and it looked quite powerful.
The toad's cheeks puffed out, and then it spat out a water bullet. Orochimaru was caught off guard and hit directly, blasted against the wall, but only a log remained.
"So that's it, a toad that can use Water Release?" Orochimaru appeared on the other side, nodding slightly. The moment he saw the toad, he knew it wasn't simple, so he had already prepared to use the Substitution Jutsu.
"Damn it! He dodged it!" Jiraiya grabbed his hair, looking unwilling, and said, "One more hit!"
With that, the toad spat out another water bullet, this time even faster. Orochimaru immediately formed hand signs and said, "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
An earth wall rose, bravely blocking the water bullet spat out by the toad. As the saying goes, water is blocked by earth, and Earth Release is the bane of Water Release ninjutsu. Even so, the toad's powerful Water Release still caused the earth wall to collapse, but Orochimaru had already escaped.
Before Jiraiya could react, Orochimaru emerged from the ground again, took a deep breath, and injected his remaining chakra into it, shouting, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust of wind burst from Orochimaru's mouth, hitting the toad's abdomen head-on, flipping it over completely. Once a summoned beast takes a heavy blow, it can affect the summoning contract. Thus, the toad disappeared with a bang, and Jiraiya, who was thrown up, fell heavily to the ground, unconscious.
"That's why, Jiraiya, you really need to be smarter. Don't think everything will be fine just because you summoned a summoning beast. If you had known the weakness of the summoning beast earlier, it wouldn't have ended like this," Orochimaru's face was a bit pale. He had almost completely exhausted his chakra. If Jiraiya could have withstood that attack, the best outcome would have been a draw.
"The winner of the second round is Orochimaru." Homura Mitokado confirmed that Jiraiya was truly unconscious, and he immediately announced the result.
"Ah, even after signing the contract with Mount Myōboku, this is still the result?" Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, sighing. Although forcing Orochimaru to completely exhaust his chakra was already a very good result for Jiraiya, who wasn't particularly talented.
"The user still lacks experience. This kid still has a lot of potential, Hiruzen. What you need to do is increase his experience so he doesn't make such basic mistakes," Koharu Utatane said.
"Indeed," Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
Medical ninja carried Jiraiya away. Orochimaru let out a soft breath, recalling the toad Jiraiya had summoned. It must have been a very powerful summoning animal. He hoped for a summoning animal like that, but not like that guy Jiraiya.
His name was Orochimaru, and snakes were the natural enemies of toads. As Orochimaru walked back, he thought that if he were to sign a contract with a summoning animal clan, it should be snakes. He just didn't know where to find that summoning animal clan.
"As expected, this is the result. When I saw him summon that toad, I thought there might be a turning point," Tsunade in the audience kept shaking her head.
"Are you a little disappointed?" Satomi asked with a smile.
"How could I be! On the contrary, that guy lost, just as I imagined," Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, saying, "Forget it, don't worry about that guy. Next up is Sakumo and Heizo's match, that's the real deal."
"That's right," Satomi was naturally very concerned about the fight between Sakumo Hatake and Heizo Hattori, so she redirected her gaze back to the arena.
"Third round, Heizo Hattori versus Kiku," Homura Mitokado announced loudly.
Heizo Hattori and Kiku walked out from the waiting area. Kiku waved to Ran in the audience, indicating that he would definitely win. Seeing Kiku's actions, Heizo Hattori found it somewhat unbearable to watch. Being more reserved, he couldn't do such a thing. He quickened his pace, putting distance between himself and Kiku.
"Go, Kiku!" Ran shouted loudly. Now that Ii had lost, Kiku was the last Hidden Cloud Village examinee, and he couldn't be eliminated here.
"Go, Heizo! Beat that guy up!" Hearing the girl from Hidden Cloud Village cheer loudly, Tsunade was not to be outdone and also stood up to shout.
Led by the two of them, the rest of the audience also started cheering for their preferred examinees, and the atmosphere became lively.
"We finally meet. One could say it's fate that we two become opponents in the third exam," Kiku said to Heizo Hattori after they both stood still.
"The luck is indeed quite good. I can also end this match early," Heizo Hattori said calmly.
"Very confident, aren't you? Unfortunately, so am I. After special training with Sora-sensei, I've learned how to deal with your little tricks," Kiku raised his finger and traced it across his nose, revealing an arrogant smile. "You just watch and see the results of my training these past days."
"Ah, I'm really looking forward to it then," Heizo Hattori replied indifferently, seemingly not caring at all, then assumed a combat stance.
"Third round of the exam, begin!" Accompanied by Homura Mitokado's voice, both of them moved.