Konoha: From the moment I was adopted by Tsunade

Chapter 19 Orochimaru's New Disciple

The ninja school playground.

All the students in Class A of Grade 1 formed a large circle.

Naoto Yamanaka stood inside the circle, holding a roster, and was giving a pep talk.

"This test is both because Lord Orochimaru is accepting disciples and because it's a test for the school, so I hope everyone will give it their all. Understand?"

"clear!"

Natsume and the others answered in unison.

"Good, very energetic."

Naoto Yamanaka flipped through the roster and said, "Those whose names I call, step forward and begin your duel. The winner will advance to the next round."

Natsume sat down cross-legged.

To be honest, the situation on the field can only be described in four words: a battle of idiots.

The graduation standard for ninja academy is to master the Three Body Techniques.

It's easy to imagine how bad the first graders were.

Natsume has now mastered five ninjutsu.

In addition to the Three Bodies Technique, there is also the Body Flicker Technique and the Water Release: Water Chaos Wave.

He could have easily pointed at them and said: "Uchiha Itachi, stand up first. Everyone here is trash."

Natsume observed for a while and noticed the pattern.

The winners were mostly students from the ninja clan.

Unfortunately, ordinary students are inherently disadvantaged and cannot access more advanced ninja knowledge in advance.

For example, Sakura Haruno.

His performance in the early part of the story was just so-so. He would call on Sasuke when there was nothing to do, and Naruto when there was trouble. He was a complete burden.

But she was already an outstanding student among ordinary students, a true academic superstar.

The others are even worse.

"Natsume vs. Kenji Kuzuryu".

Naoto Yamanaka glanced at the roster and called out.

Upon hearing his name called, Natsume immediately stood up and gracefully walked into the circle.

"Go for it, Natsume!"

A group of girls cheered him on.

"Damn it! Does being good-looking make you superior?"

Kenji Kuzuryu, his face filled with resentment, declared, "I will definitely defeat you!"

"Do you know how to play shogi?" Natsume asked.

"What...?" Kenji Kuzuryu was stunned.

Please, be serious!

I'm talking trash to you, and you ask me if I know how to play shogi?

Can't you show some respect?

Do you know how to play shogi?

Natsume repeated himself, saying, "I have a friend whose surname is also Kuzuryu. He's really good at shogi and is known as the Dragon King."

"Won't!"

Kenji Kuzuryu said curtly, "Trying to build connections now won't do you any good."

Fine.

Natsume stopped talking nonsense.

Instantaneous movement technique.

Chakra swirls around his legs, and he suddenly appears in front of Kenji Kuzuryu. He kicks out, catching Kenji completely off guard, and lands in a "sandslide" style.

"Natsume wins."

Seeing that Kenji Kuzuryu was unable to get up for a long time, Naoto Yamanaka immediately made a statement.

Itachi Uchiha, who was not far away, nodded.

The Instantaneous Movement Technique is alright.

But he's nowhere near as good as Brother Zhishui.

"Uchiha Itachi vs. Uchiyama Neko"

Natsume sat down again and looked at Uchiha Itachi.

Yeah, a three-second man.

He then saw Itachi Uchiha enter the arena and then leave.

The unconscious Uchiyama cat was left on the playground.

The movement was so fast that most people didn't even see it clearly.

Natsume estimated that Uchiha Itachi was now close to the level of a Chunin.

One battle after another.

In the end, only two people remained in Class A of the first year.

Natsume and Itachi Uchiha.

Naoto Yamanaka was not surprised.

The former was Tsunade's apprentice, and the latter was Fugaku Uchiha's son.

It can be described as having unique advantages.

While their peers were still playing in the mud, they were already learning ninjutsu.

"The two of you will fight, and the winner will represent our class in the competition against other classes. The final ten will have the opportunity to become Orochimaru's apprentices, so good luck!"

After offering a few words of encouragement, Naoto Yamanaka stepped off the stage and handed it over to the two of them.

A high platform on the playground.

"Lord Orochimaru, the one on the left is Itachi Uchiha."

Vice Principal Yoshiyuki Nara introduced him with a respectful expression, "At school, he gets full marks in both theoretical and practical courses, making him the undisputed number one."

Orochimaru licked his lips.

Natsume didn't entirely believe it when he said that Itachi Uchiha could awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Regardless of whether it's real or fake, he wants to personally check its quality, so he must accept Uchiha Itachi as his subordinate.

"And the other one?" Orochimaru asked casually.

"Natsume, Tsunade-sama's apprentice," Nara Yoshiyuki replied.

Orochimaru became somewhat interested and asked, "What kind of bloodline limit does he possess?"

"No. His water-style talent is quite good."

Nara Yoshiyuki's words immediately extinguished Orochimaru's newly aroused interest.

It's not a bloodline limit, so it's of no use to him.

In addition, since he was Tsunade's apprentice, he couldn't be bothered to get involved.

As the two were talking, the battle on the field had already begun.

Uchiha Itachi stood still and threw out six shuriken.

Natsume retaliated without hesitation.

Crackle, crackle.

The sound of swords clashing in each other's hands.

But the next moment, Itachi Uchiha raised his hands slightly, and the six shuriken that should have fallen due to exhaustion suddenly spun around and fell like raindrops.

Natsume's eyes narrowed.

Only then did he notice the wire-like thing tied to Itachi Uchiha's finger.

This is the art of wielding a shuriken.

Even a typical genin wouldn't do that.

Body Flicker Technique!

Natsume suddenly accelerated, dodging the attack range of the shuriken.

However, Itachi Uchiha had anticipated this. As he accelerated, his shuriken also accelerated, transforming into a tracking bullet.

Water Release: Water Chaos!

Natsume appeared, his hands forming hand seals, chakra gathering in his mouth, and almost instantly, a stream of water gushed out.

The students watching suddenly exclaimed in amazement.

In the ninja academy, whoever can use the Five Elements Escape Technique is the coolest kid around.

Uchiha Itachi remained completely calm, severing the connection between his hands and the shuriken, and then instantly forming hand seals.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

A huge fireball hurtled towards the water.

Water Release is normally effective against Fire Release.

However, Itachi Uchiha's chakra far surpassed Natsume's, and he evaporated the water by reversing the chakra nature.

"I surrender."

Natsume used the Body Flicker Technique again, appearing at the edge of the circle.

It's perfectly normal that he can't beat Itachi Uchiha right now.

In addition, he couldn't use Wood Release.

"Natsume-kun has performed exceptionally well."

Naoto Yamanaka said with a smile, "Let's congratulate Itachi Uchiha. He will be participating in the next round of battles."

While the winner was decided in Class A of Grade 1, the other classes also did so.

Because it was Orochimaru who was taking on students, students from grades one to six all participated.

Under normal circumstances, younger students cannot beat older students.

But then the freak Itachi appeared, winning all the way to the end.

As evening approached, ten people were selected.

They stood on the high platform, their eyes filled with excitement as they looked at Orochimaru.

Aside from Itachi Uchiha, he was relatively calm.

Uchiha Shisui did not tell him about the attack he was subjected to by Orochimaru, and he still held Orochimaru in high regard.

Itachi Uchiha felt that being his apprentice was acceptable, as it would allow him to further learn the Will of Fire.

As the disciple of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, his Will of Fire must be quite powerful, right?

Orochimaru glanced at the ten people in front of him, casually pointed at them twice, and said, "Just the two of you."

At the same time, Natsume received a reminder from the Fate Ring.

[Because of your actions, Itachi Uchiha's fate has changed. You have gained 18 points of Fate Value.]

[Because of your actions, Uzuki Yugao's fate has changed. You have gained 49 Fate Points.]

Hey everyone, it's a new week, let's get some recommendation votes sorted out.

(End of this chapter)