Night settled over the central tower of the Forest of Death.
Fujimoto Tōma sat cross-legged inside, eyes closed, chakra flowing in a steady, controlled rhythm. The Chūnin Exams had already reached the second stage, the survival trial in the forest. That was why he was here.
The first stage had tempted him, if only a little. Ibiki Morino's written exam was famous for its psychological brutality, and Ibiki had his own way of doing things. Tōma had no intention of stepping on that territory, nor did he feel like dealing with the hassle.
Still, after the exam ended, curiosity got the better of him.
He checked the papers of the people he knew.
As expected, Sakura had scored full marks. When the questions were easy, the gap wasn't obvious. Once they became difficult, the difference showed clearly. Sasuke was sharp, but academically, he still fell short of Sakura.
Naruto's score, however, made Tōma pause.
Perfect. Identical to Sakura's.
The moment he saw Ino's paper, it all clicked.
Because of Tōma's presence, Ino had never fixated on Sasuke. Without that rivalry, there was no friction between her and Sakura. During the exam, Ino had almost certainly used her clan technique to communicate with Sakura, who then passed the answers along to Naruto. Probably to Sasuke as well.
Ino wouldn't refuse Sakura, and she got along well with Naruto and Sasuke too.
Sasuke, on the other hand, likely refused help out of pride. He preferred relying on himself.
Tōma checked Chōji's paper next. As expected.
Shikamaru's, though, was clean and efficient. Almost all correct, with fewer words than even Sakura's answers.
Ibiki later told him about the exam itself, including Naruto's infamous outburst that turned the entire test on its head. The effectiveness of the exam had dropped sharply because of it, leaving Ibiki with a headache.
Tōma could only smile and shake his head.
So it still happened.
Truly the ninja of unpredictability.
For the second stage, Tōma had personally requested permission from the Third Hokage to be stationed at the candidates' destination, the central tower.
Along the way, he'd naturally encountered the second-stage proctor.
Mitarashi Anko.
And the moment he saw her, something felt wrong.
Disgust. Rejection. A visceral sense of filth.
The reaction startled even Tōma himself.
He didn't dislike Anko. In fact, in his memories, she was lively, blunt, and oddly charming. A dango-obsessed glutton. In fiction, food lovers were rarely bad people.
So the revulsion had to come from something else.
He searched his memories and found the answer.
Orochimaru.
Anko had once been Orochimaru's student.
That meant she carried a curse mark.
The moment that clicked, everything made sense.
The thing his instincts rejected wasn't Anko. It was the curse mark itself.
Calling it a curse was misleading. In essence, it was a twisted imitation of Sage transformation. Proper Sage Mode, like the kind from Mount Myōboku, balanced natural energy. Orochimaru's version was a malformed shortcut, a contaminated conversion of natural energy into something unstable.
Anyone who used it underwent physical mutation. Just like Sage Mode changed the body, only… wrong.
Which raised a troubling question.
Why did Tōma instinctively reject it?
He'd actually been curious about Orochimaru's research. The ability to absorb natural energy externally and convert it into usable power was impressive. In a world where chakra storage techniques were rare and difficult, like Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal, it was tempting.
But if his instincts revolted against it…
Even if he mastered it, carving something like that into his body would mean living in constant conflict with himself.
That was not a good path.
Tōma sighed and refocused on the exam.
If things followed the original timeline, Sasuke and Naruto would encounter Orochimaru during this stage.
And no matter how much they'd improved, to Orochimaru, that growth meant almost nothing.
The gap was still enormous.
He needed Orochimaru exposed during the second stage. Without that, he had no justification to mobilize Konoha's forces. Even with Flying Thunder God markers spread across the village, there was only so much one person could change.
This required the village itself to move.
Hopefully… it wouldn't be too late.
Tōma closed his eyes, sinking deeper into his empty, silent perception. His "void state" felt close to another breakthrough.
The Forest of Death was pitch-black, heavy with secrets.
Orochimaru had already found his prey.
Sasuke and Naruto stood before him, still moving despite the crushing killing intent pressing down on them. Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with interest.
An Uchiha… and the Nine-Tails' host.
Excellent.
What surprised him more was Naruto.
Each of Naruto's attacks was wrapped in cutting wind, making Orochimaru wary of taking them head-on.
Wind Release… Gale Palm?
No.
This was far more refined. At least B-rank level.
Combined with shadow clones, Naruto's talent was undeniable.
Still, his attack patterns were crude.
Orochimaru slipped past everything with ease.
Yet Naruto wasn't panicking.
He was smiling.
"What?" Orochimaru's eyes widened as a deafening cry of a thousand birds erupted behind him.
So that was it.
Naruto's attacks were a feint, buying time for Sasuke.
"Chidori…" Orochimaru licked his lips. "Kakashi's technique."
Fear never crossed his face. Only greed.
To learn Chidori so soon after graduation… truly an Uchiha prodigy.
The body would be perfect.
With a flicker of movement, countless snakes burst from Orochimaru's sleeves, collar, mouth, even his hair. A living nightmare.
Sasuke's Chidori lost its target. Against swarms like this, the technique was useless. His chakra ran out, lightning fading as he retreated, searching for an opening to use Fire Release.
Naruto's clones were shredded in an instant.
The original was caught by the throat.
The difference was absolute.
"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted.
Hidden nearby, Sakura clamped a hand over her mouth. She couldn't move. Entering now would only make things worse.
"Let go, you freak!" Naruto struggled, pounding Orochimaru's arm to no effect.
Orochimaru tilted his head, intrigued by Naruto's eyes as they began to redden. Then he lifted Naruto's shirt.
There it was.
The seal.
Already weakened.
The Third Hokage's work? How bold.
Then Orochimaru noticed something else. Another seal layered above it.
"…What is this?"
A sense of danger flared.
He looked up.
A black-clad figure had appeared above him, a spinning sphere of chakra in hand.
"Rasengan."
Orochimaru shouted in disbelief. "The Fourth Hokage's jutsu?!"
Fujimoto Tōma descended like a blade.
The Rasengan smashed into Orochimaru's face.
The impact drove him into the ground with a thunderous crash, earth exploding outward. Tōma grabbed Naruto and vanished to safer ground.
Naruto collapsed, coughing violently.
"Tōma!" Sakura cried out in relief. "You're here—!"
"Stay alert," Tōma snapped.
He didn't believe for a second that Orochimaru was finished.
Sure enough, a severed head shot out of the smoke, neck stretching unnaturally toward Sakura.
Tōma blurred forward.
Too slow.
The head changed direction mid-air, lunging toward Sasuke instead, its twisted grin horrifying.
Sasuke froze. His chakra was depleted, muscles stiff. He couldn't dodge.
A flash of lightning cut through the darkness.
"Chidori: Spear."
A blade of lightning pierced Orochimaru's elongated neck.
At the other end of that lightning stood Tōma.
Reliable. As always.
The battlefield fell silent.
With Tōma's arrival, every deadly turn had been neutralized.
Everyone present knew the truth.
If they'd faced this alone…
They would already be dead.