Chapter 169 – The Exam Ends
When Senju Tobirama posed the question, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help but chuckle.
The very Konoha Police Force Tobirama had established to curb their power… ended up shielding the Uchiha in the long run.
Meanwhile, the Senju Clan—Tobirama's own bloodline—was whittled away by his own disciple's schemes, sent off to battle one after another until there was nothing left.
Poetic irony, perhaps?
Still, since Tobirama asked, Fugaku was more than happy to "educate" him. If nothing else, he wanted the Second Hokage—who'd always tried to suppress the Uchiha—to witness firsthand what became of his own legacy.
"Lord Second, you mean you really don't know? Then allow me to—"
But before Fugaku could finish, Orochimaru interrupted coldly.
"That's enough."
"If you truly want to know what happened after your death, Lord Second… then wait until you're fully resurrected. Ask Hiruzen yourself. Just remember—right now, you're not the Hokage. You're not even a Senju. You're a dead man."
Orochimaru's tone was sharper than usual—clearly irritated.
He turned to Fugaku and added, "Clan Leader Fugaku, I suggest you don't stir up unnecessary trouble."
Orochimaru's words brought Tobirama back to his senses. He had forgotten for a moment.
He was no longer the Hokage of Konoha.
He was just a reanimated soul.
No matter what happened to the Senju Clan now… what could he possibly do?
"Let it be for now," Tobirama thought. "Once the experiment is complete and I'm properly revived, I'll settle all accounts then."
Fugaku, despite being a proud Uchiha, wasn't a fool. He had gone toe-to-toe with Tobirama only because he knew Orochimaru wouldn't stop him—the provocation had started with Tobirama, after all.
But now that Orochimaru had spoken, continuing the argument would only be reckless.
The Uchiha were already entangled in the Makoto affair. Alienating Orochimaru on top of that would be suicidal.
So Fugaku fell silent.
Orochimaru's mood lightened slightly once he saw the two had calmed down.
He turned to Tobirama and said, "Lord Second, continue your experiments here. I'll take them back to the office."
Though still somewhat displeased, Tobirama didn't object. He quietly returned to his research.
Orochimaru led Minato and Fugaku back to the Hokage's office.
Once seated, Orochimaru looked at Fugaku, clearly unhappy.
"Clan Leader Fugaku, what is the deal with Uchiha Makoto?"
"He was your disciple, wasn't he? And are you absolutely certain Obito didn't lie to you? That all of this isn't just some elaborate story?"
Orochimaru still remembered Uchiha Makoto clearly.
It was Makoto's fight with Kazane during the Academy's combat exam that had first caught Orochimaru's attention.
Back then, Jiraiya kept singing Makoto's praises—his genius, his strength, his potential.
Just to shut Jiraiya up, Orochimaru had supported Kazane.
He never expected Kazane to utterly crush Makoto.
That was when Orochimaru became interested in Kazane, eventually discovering his terrifying potential and taking him as a student.
Later, during the Third Shinobi World War, Makoto had followed Fugaku into battle, defeating Chūnin-level enemies and even escaping from Jōnin.
So when Fugaku brought up his name, Orochimaru remembered him instantly.
And yes—Orochimaru could believe that Makoto had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The boy had talent. At his age, Orochimaru himself hadn't been nearly that powerful.
But Wood Release?
That was much harder to accept.
Orochimaru and Danzō had performed countless human experiments just to create one successful Wood Release user: Yamato.
Even then, Yamato's strength was… underwhelming.
Currently, Yamato was stuck in Konoha's construction department—wasting away.
It wasn't that Orochimaru's techniques were lacking. It was that Hashirama's cells were too invasive.
Once integrated into the human body, those cells would rapidly devour nutrients and transform the host into a tree.
Even Tobirama hadn't held back when experimenting on his brother's cells. In pursuit of science, he too had conducted mass experiments.
But unlike Orochimaru, Tobirama hadn't even had a single success.
At least Orochimaru had Yamato.
Orochimaru simply didn't believe Makoto could train himself into using Wood Release.
The Uchiha were inherently Fire-natured.
And although conventional wisdom claimed that Wood Release was the fusion of Earth and Water chakra, Orochimaru's experiments had shown otherwise.
Water + Earth ≠ Wood.
Hashirama's Wood Release came from something entirely different—an unknown, highly active chakra unique to him.
Orochimaru had tried to analyze it. Failed.
He could combine chakra types in the lab to create new elements—but reverse-engineering the source of chakra? Impossible.
No one—not even Tsunade, Hashirama's granddaughter—had inherited it.
And this mysterious chakra wasn't like a standard Kekkei Genkai either. It had no traceable formula or composition. It was simply… there.
Which is why Orochimaru believed true Wood Release couldn't be trained.
Even attempting to replicate it through science was near impossible.
So when Fugaku claimed that Makoto had mastered Wood Release, Orochimaru dismissed it as nonsense.
Fugaku, hearing this, hesitated. Truth be told, he too had doubts about Obito's story.
After all, he'd watched Makoto's body be buried with his own eyes.
Hearing now that Makoto was alive… it was hard to believe.
But after a moment of thought, Fugaku's eyes hardened.
"I trust Obito," he said. "He wouldn't lie about something like this."
Seeing Fugaku's conviction gave Orochimaru a headache.
Normally, he'd have sent Obito straight to the interrogation unit.
But Obito wasn't just anyone—he was Uchiha, he had awakened the Mangekyō, and worst of all… he was entangled with too many people.
Even if Fugaku allowed it, the Yamanaka clan's mental probe would struggle to bypass a Mangekyō user's will.
Forget it.
Orochimaru thought it over and decided to let Minato handle things for now. They would wait for Kazane's return to deal with the rest.
Obito wasn't just a Uchiha—he was Minato's student and Kazane's friend.
Kazane was the ANBU Commander. He could take responsibility when he got back.
"Minato," Orochimaru said, "you can stop investigating this for now."
He turned to Fugaku. "Clan Leader Fugaku, let Obito rest in the hospital. We'll deal with the rest when Kazane returns."
"Yes, sir." ×2
With that, Orochimaru waved them off.
"If there's nothing else, you may go."
But just as they reached the door, Orochimaru stopped Minato.
"Minato, wait. You stay. I'll head out."
…
Kirigakure – Chūnin Exam Testing Grounds
On a remote island—
The Kirigakure proctor had just signaled the end of the exam. What was meant to be a seven-day survival trial had ended in only a day and a half.
Why?
Because while scouting the island, Fourth Kazekage Rasa stumbled upon a horrifying sight.
His village's ninja—future pillars of Sunagakure—were strung up in trees, bound by vines. Some even appeared dead.
Rasa couldn't take it. He announced Suna's forfeit on the spot, stripped all his ninja of their eligibility, and rushed to save Maki and the others.
Once they were back on the boat, Rasa interrogated Maki.
What he heard left the deck in chaos.
Kumogakure became the target of everyone's fury.
This exam had been B's idea. Yet not only did they fail to coordinate an attack on Konoha, as agreed—they had turned on their own allies.
According to Maki, by the time they arrived at the valley, all of Kirigakure's ninja had already been slaughtered—by Kumo.
Then, under the guise of trust, Kumo had surrounded and ambushed them.
If Konoha hadn't intervened in time, they would've all died.
To the other Kage, it now looked like the entire exam had been a trap—not for Konoha, but for them.
Only Onoki, having heard nothing about Iwagakure casualties, remained calm.
But Yagura and Rasa were enraged. They surrounded B and the Fourth Raikage, ready for a full-blown battle.
Yagura was livid—his village had provided the venue, and his shinobi were the first to die.
Given Kirigakure's fragile state, he wanted B dead.
Rasa was furious too, though not at Konoha. His ninja had simply lost.
And honestly, if the roles had been reversed, Suna wouldn't have spared Konoha's team either.
But Kumo's betrayal? That was unforgivable.
This was their plan, and instead of targeting the enemy, they had stabbed their allies in the back—with dirty tactics, no less.
Even B was stunned. He'd told Darui and the others to support the other villages in eliminating Konoha.
So how did it end up like this?
In the end, it was Onoki who stepped in as peacemaker. He didn't want Kazane or Hiruzen laughing at them.
Thus, he stopped what could've become a Three-Kage Brawl.
But the damage was done. The fragile alliance between the Four Great Villages shattered completely.
With only Konoha and Iwa ninja left on the island, there was no point continuing the exam. Everyone agreed—it was over.
~
Upon seeing the signal flare, Konoha's six-man team arrived at the rendezvous first.
Not long after, Zabuza showed up.
Then, limping and barely upright, Darui finally appeared after half an hour.
But with Darui accounted for and no Iwa shinobi in sight, Onoki grew suspicious.
He stared hard at B.
Could it be Kumo again?
He stormed over to Darui, grabbed him by the collar, and demanded:
"Where are our Iwa shinobi?!"
"Did you ambush them too?!"
Darui: ???
Wait—I didn't even see any Iwa ninja...
B couldn't watch anymore. Darui was in no shape to take a beating.
"Enough, Onoki," he said. "Let's all calm down and talk."