"You've passed the test."
Orochimaru dismissed the summoned snakes and freed the struggling Anko, announcing that the two had successfully passed his test.
The bell-grabbing test was a method used by the Third Hokage when he assessed them. According to the Third Hokage, they also went through this kind of test when they trained under the Second Hokage.
This testing method has become an unspoken tradition among the Hokage's line.
Although the test involves grabbing the bells, the real purpose is to observe whether the students' actions meet the examiner's expectations.
In this test, the highest-ranking person present is a Kage of the village, while the weakest is at least an elite Jonin.
And who are the participants? Most of them are Genin who just graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy, with only the rare Chunin among them.
Given this disparity in strength, if the examiners didn't go easy on them, no team would ever pass. Kakashi Hatake in the future is a good example.
Therefore, those who pass this bell-grabbing test usually do so because the examiner sees certain qualities in them and then allows them to succeed.
Every examiner has different expectations, which means that although the test method is the same, the way to pass it varies.
Some like those who use any means necessary, some value camaraderie, while others prefer those who are smart and think strategically, and so on.
For Orochimaru, he never expected the two of them to actually grab the bell from him. He just wanted to see what talents they would show during the process.
Once he saw what he was looking for, even if they didn't get the bell in the end, he would still let them pass.
And Kagetsu and Anko clearly surprised him.
"Did we pass?" Anko, who had just picked herself up off the ground, couldn't hide her joy, despite her disheveled appearance.
"You passed!" Orochimaru patted Anko's head and led them to the tree where the Ryūchi Cave scroll was placed. He spread it out in front of them and stopped at the last blank section.
"Before you sign the contract, I need to give you both some advice," Orochimaru said, his gaze intimidating as he looked at the two of them. The pressure in his eyes made Anko, who had been overjoyed, suddenly shiver. Her rosy face turned pale instantly.
"When you're not strong enough, don't summon the giant snakes from Ryūchi Cave lightly. Just because you're a contract holder doesn't mean they'll obey you. They're also a source of danger," Orochimaru warned.
Kagetsu and Anko nodded.
Orochimaru was just giving a reminder, knowing that with their current chakra levels, they couldn't summon any large summoning beasts anyway. At most, they could only call upon some ordinary snakes from Ryūchi Cave.
Those snakes were just cannon fodder in Ryūchi Cave, there were countless of them. A normal ninja could handle them easily as long as they weren't facing a whole swarm.
"Do you still have the strength?" Orochimaru asked, looking at the two of them.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sensei!" Anko raised her hand, but it was clear to anyone that she wasn't in great shape.
Kagetsu, standing beside her, looked even paler. The Shadow Coffin Technique he had used to restrain Orochimaru for that brief moment, along with the Shadow Imitation and Shadow Sewing Techniques, had almost drained all the chakra from his body.
"That's enough for today," Orochimaru said, seeing their poor condition. "We'll meet here again tomorrow. I'll teach you some new jutsu."
"What should we do next? How about we celebrate with some barbecue, Orochimaru-sensei?" Anko quickly nodded and suggested the next plan.
It was obvious that her admiration for Orochimaru was overflowing, her enthusiasm unhidden.
Orochimaru glanced at Anko, who was eagerly looking at him, and at Kagetsu, who finally showed some of the Nara clan's usual laziness. After a moment of thought, he nodded.
"Let's go then."
...
Lifting the curtain of the barbecue restaurant, Orochimaru led Kagetsu and Anko to a semi-enclosed booth. But halfway there, as if sensing something, Orochimaru paused and then lifted the curtain of another booth.
Inside, a trio consisting of a blonde, a redhead, and an elderly man with white hair stopped what they were doing and looked at the person who had just entered.
"Orochimaru?" Jiraiya, his white hair falling loosely, stood up in surprise when he saw who it was.
"Orochimaru-sama." The blonde in the booth also greeted him, pulling the red-haired girl beside him to do the same.
"It's Minato and Kushina," Orochimaru said, noticing that this was a long-awaited reunion between master and disciples. Just as he was considering whether to leave, a small head peeked out from behind him.
"Sensei?" Anko asked hesitantly, but when she saw who was in the booth, her expression first turned confused, then as if she realized something but wasn't sure, she looked up at Orochimaru.
"Sensei?" Jiraiya, noticing how Anko addressed Orochimaru, looked at him with surprise. "Are you leading a team again?"
"Jiraiya, this is Nara Kagetsu," Orochimaru said as he pulled Kagetsu out from behind him and pushed him forward. He placed a hand on both their heads, "He just became my disciple today."
"This is Jiraiya. You two should keep your distance from him! And this is Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya's disciple."
Orochimaru introduced everyone, but he skipped over Kushina Uzumaki.
Kushina didn't seem to mind being ignored. She was used to this kind of treatment by now. In the past, she would've lost her temper, but with Minato by her side, she felt unusually calm.
Besides, she never really liked Orochimaru, who always gave off a cold and creepy vibe.
****
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