Anko stood confidently with her hands on her hips, facing Kagetsu. She raised her chin and said, "Kagetsu, this time I'm definitely going to win!"
"Can I just give up?" Kagetsu weakly raised one hand.
"Of course not!" Anko firmly rejected Kagetsu's surrender request. Her eyes eagerly scanned the training ground, glancing at Orochimaru outside.
"Let's start. I have something to tell you both afterward," Orochimaru said, nodding, wearing his Jonin vest.
With Orochimaru's permission, Anko quickly formed a hand sign and, without waiting for Kagetsu's response, threw a few shuriken that whistled through the air.
"Who do you think will win, Anko or Kagetsu, Shisui?" Orochimaru asked, glancing at Uchiha Shisui beside him.
"I think Kagetsu," Shisui replied with a smile.
The battle quickly escalated, with Anko moving almost like a dancer. She stomped her feet rapidly on the ground, darting around to attack Kagetsu.
As her teammate, she knew that the best strategy against Kagetsu was to keep her distance and use long-range jutsu to attack and suppress. However, this approach had already proven ineffective in their past matches.
At least against her, it didn't work!
Anko had only a few long-range jutsu at her disposal, and the only effective one was the Dragon Fire Technique. Against Kagetsu, it would simply turn into a chakra consumption contest.
Instead, she was better at close combat, giving her a higher chance of winning.
The only thing she needed to be careful about was not stepping on Kagetsu's shadow. As long as she moved quickly enough, Kagetsu's shadow would struggle to catch her. Content originally comes from n0velfire.net
"It's about to be decided!"
Shisui focused his Sharingan on Kagetsu, noticing the chakra inside her rapidly gathering and then exploding.
Suddenly, Kagetsu's shadow split into dozens of tentacle-like lines, enveloping Anko like a giant web from all directions.
The black shadows even lifted off the ground, transforming into real entities that wrapped around Anko's limbs tightly.
"Damn it!" Anko's face flushed red as she struggled against the sudden binding, but the shadow held her firmly in place.
"What is that?" Shisui had never seen Kagetsu use this shadow technique before. Although he was young, being an Uchiha meant he had a deep understanding of ninja basics and techniques from a young age. With the insight of his Sharingan, he could grasp the complexity of this jutsu.
"Shadow Sewing Technique. It's a secret technique from the Nara clan that can solidify shadows to attack and capture enemies. It has a short activation time and a long duration," Orochimaru explained to Shisui.
Shusui watched in amazement as the two people in the arena settled their match. Unlike many other Uchiha in his clan, who looked down on all clans and bloodline limits apart from the Senju, he had come to understand a broader world after joining Orochimaru's team.
For example, he found it difficult to see through Kagetsu. Based on their chakra and their performance in training battles, he should be stronger than Kagetsu, yet a voice in his mind told him that if it came down to a life-or-death struggle, the one who would survive might not be him, despite being the stronger one. Though this voice felt unfounded.
"Alright. That's enough training for today. I have something important to tell you all," Orochimaru said as he watched Anko reluctantly finish the reconciliation seal with Kagetsu.
"Anko and Shusui have both graduated from the ninja academy for over a year now, and they've gained plenty of mission experience. So, I recommend you participate in this Chunin Exam," he continued.
"Chunin Exam?" Shusui and Anko looked up at Orochimaru in surprise.
"This time, it's being hosted by Konoha, which is why I can recommend you. If it were being held by another village, you would need a different team leader to participate," Orochimaru explained.
He was currently immersed in developing and researching techniques and gathering promising assistants and materials from his external base. He had no time to waste.
"But Kagetsu hasn't graduated from the ninja academy yet. He's not even a Genin!" Anko suddenly leaned down and stared at Kagetsu, who was shorter than her, playfully poking his forehead.
"There's no need to worry. If you participate, I can arrange for the ninja academy to hold a test so he can obtain his Genin status," Orochimaru assured them.
Given the amount of knowledge Kagetsu had and his chakra foundation, passing the graduation test wouldn't be difficult. With Orochimaru's endorsement, he wouldn't have to stay in academy for six years to take the exam.
"I'm fine with that," Kagetsu said, feeling it might be a hassle, but he didn't object.
"Then get ready. I will recommend all three of you," Orochimaru said, nodding when he saw no one opposed the idea.
In fact, Orochimaru didn't place much importance on this Chunin Exam. If necessary, he could have arranged an internal promotion exam for Kagetsu and the others. He was merely conscripted by his own teacher this time.
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