Veigar Koshima felt a fleeting temptation—but only for a moment. Becoming one of Orochimaru's experimental subjects was not part of his career plans.
Wearing the title of "future disciple of the Fourth Hokage"? Now that was a sweet deal.
Only a fool would willingly follow a known traitor.
Still, Veigar knew better. He had already caught Orochimaru's eye, and there was no way he could openly reject him.
Joking aside, Orochimaru wasn't just anyone—he was one of the Legendary Sannin, the embodiment of "Poison." Refusing him outright would be suicide.
"Whatever Lord Third decides," Veigar replied evenly.
His tone was respectful yet composed, like a sheep quietly bowing its head.
No one knew when that sheep might reveal the fangs of a wolf.
Orochimaru studied him with a cryptic gaze before finally speaking.
"Well then, Veigar-kun," he said slowly.
"Do your best in the Chūnin Exams. I have a feeling I'll be hearing of your promotion very soon."
With that, Orochimaru vanished right in front of Veigar.
"Whew…"
As the Sannin disappeared from view, Veigar exhaled deeply, tension melting from his body.
Their second encounter left Veigar feeling like cold reptilian eyes were slithering across his back.
The night passed quickly.
Veigar emerged from another tree hollow, not far from where he had camped the previous night.
After a good rest, his physical state was mostly recovered. A quick meal of preserved rations later, he was on his way toward the central tower of the Forest of Death.
Now that he had both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll, Veigar had no intention of lingering.
Sure, he could hunt down other Genin teams still wandering through the forest, harvest their Life Essence, and strengthen himself. But doing that would likely stir up a storm. After all, the other villages hadn't sent their young ninja here just to be slaughtered like livestock.
And it wasn't like there wouldn't be plenty of chances to kill in the future.
No, Veigar had a long-term plan. There was no need to go too far right now. There would be plenty of Life Essence to collect down the road.
His goal now was clear—get to the central tower, pass the second exam, and find a quiet place to study the power swirling within him—the Phenomenal Evil Rasengan—a new force he was eager to master.
The Forest of Death wasn't endless, but it was vast enough. As Veigar soared from branch to branch, he was suddenly attacked.
Mid-air, it felt like he'd flown straight into a trap.
Kunai came at him from three directions—left, right, and straight ahead. A perfect ambush.
Veigar was caught in the jaws of a carefully planned assault. If he kept moving forward at his current speed, nine kunai would skewer him all at once.
Reacting instantly, Veigar's hands flashed through hand seals. Just before the kunai struck, he activated the Substitution Jutsu, vanishing from their path.
Thud-thud-thud…
All nine kunai pierced the log he left behind.
"Explosive tags!"
Hidden in the treetops, Veigar spotted the glowing paper tags strapped to the kunai hilts.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
A chain of explosions engulfed the substitution log, shattering it mid-air before the splinters hit the forest floor.
Thinking they'd taken Veigar out with ease, the ambushers stepped into the open, smug.
"Heh… Didn't think it'd be that easy to kill him."
Three ninja emerged—by their forehead protectors, Veigar recognized them as shinobi from Kusagakure.
The one who'd launched the frontal attack was Naoto Ibuki, a Genin from Kusagakure.
"Let's grab the scrolls and go before anyone else shows up," said Takashi Hosokawa, approaching from the right.
The third one, Chiaki Awahara, remained silent, eyes sweeping the surroundings with practiced caution.
All three gathered around the shattered log that had served as Veigar's decoy—only to realize, too late, that it wasn't him.
In the next instant, Veigar appeared behind Takashi, moving like a shadow.
With one clean stroke of his ninjatō, he severed the boy's head from his shoulders.
Their faces twisted in shock.
Before the other two could fully process what had happened, Takashi was already dead.
Naoto and Chiaki immediately leapt back, trying to put space between them and Veigar.
But Veigar wasn't finished.
With blood still dripping from his blade, he lunged at Naoto.
Naoto drew a kunai mid-dodge, gripping it in reverse as he tried to block Veigar's slash.
Clang…
The clash echoed through the woods. Veigar's blow sent a surge of force through Naoto's arms—but that wasn't all.
In that moment, Veigar closed the gap and pressed his left palm against Naoto's chest.
A Phenomenal Evil Rasengan bloomed from his hand, bursting with swirling malevolence.
Crack—
Naoto's eyes bulged as blood sprayed from his mouth. The impact hurled him like a ragdoll through the air.
Chiaki had been on edge the entire time. Seeing his teammates taken out in seconds sent him into full retreat, hands flying through hand signs in desperation.
He wasn't thinking about revenge anymore. Survival was the only thing on his mind.
But Veigar's speed was beyond his expectations.
Before Chiaki could complete his jutsu, Veigar was already there.
One strike—his blade pierced through Chiaki's heart.
Just then, from Veigar's left—northeast, about 300 meters away—came a burst of chakra and a voice:
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
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