It wasn't until the first class was almost over that the distinctive, raspy voice finally rang out.
"Team One, follow me."
Orochimaru's figure appeared at the classroom door.
His Yin-like aura instantly silenced the entire classroom. No one dared to speak.
Orochimaru-sensei was indeed Orochimaru-sensei; this aura was not something an ordinary ninja could possess.
Orochimaru-sensei had finally changed out of his unchanging kimono. He was now wearing a black ninja outfit with a Jonin vest over it.
He scanned Nishimura-sensei with his somewhat deep, golden serpent eyes, then turned and left the classroom.
Tatsumi and the other two hurriedly stood up. After exchanging greetings with Kushina and Minato, they hastily chased after him.
However, Orochimaru's speed increased. They had no choice but to accelerate to keep up.
In fact, this speed was not a problem for Tatsumi.
Nawaki, who was good at taijutsu, could also barely keep up, but Mikoto was having a little difficulty.
Soon, the group ran to the gates of Konoha.
Tatsumi breathed a sigh of relief. Mikoto and Nawaki should be able to rest a little now.
After all, this speed was too strenuous for them.
Unexpectedly, Orochimaru didn't show any signs of slowing down.
Without any apparent movement, a mission scroll suddenly appeared in his hand.
With a flick of his wrist, the mission scroll flew directly towards the wall next to the gate guard and pierced it deeply.
Cool! This card-throwing, ah no, paper-throwing technique was really cool.
You couldn't learn this skill without twenty years of being single.
But couldn't you consider the feelings of the gate guard? Who could pull this out after you stuck it in the wall?
Then, the four of them, without saying a word, brazenly dashed out of the gate.
Two Chunin-like guards were at the gate. Before they could react, they saw four people fly out.
"Hey! Who are they, so arrogant?" A twenty-year-old Chunin was somewhat indignant.
After all, in his heart, he always felt that he was a very honorable gate guard.
"Shh, keep your voice down, do you want to get fired? That's Orochimaru; he has people above him. His teacher is the Hokage; don't provoke him," explained a middle-aged uncle beside him.
"That's still not right. What happens if something goes wrong? In the end, it'll all be blamed on temporary workers like me."
"....."
After leaving the gate, the group headed directly east.
Four figures began to move at speeds beyond the limits of ordinary human vision.
Orochimaru glanced sideways at the three people behind him with his golden eyes.
"Not bad."
Not far behind him, Tatsumi was still keeping up with ease. Mikoto and Nawaki were also still following closely.
Although both of them had fine sweat on their foreheads, their breathing was still very even overall, and they showed no signs of falling behind.
It seemed that in these three years, everyone besides Tatsumi had grown.
What surprised him most was Mikoto. She was usually very low-key in class, but she could actually keep up with his speed.
Her strength three years ago was still very poor, especially in terms of stamina.
He had mentioned it to her once, and she had remembered it ever since.
Orochimaru glanced at Tatsumi, then smiled, licking his lips with his long tongue.
"Interesting. So many excellent people are gathered around you. What kind of storm will you stir up? I'm looking forward to it."
Then Orochimaru immediately increased his speed.
Time quickly began to pass slowly.
At this time, Tatsumi behind Orochimaru still looked completely at ease.
However, Mikoto beside him was having some trouble holding on.
And Nawaki was already panting a little.
Orochimaru shook his head, it seemed that this was their limit.
In his opinion, the Third Hokage should have released these geniuses for training long ago, just as Danzo Shimura had said.
Although Danzo Shimura was a bit radical, what he said was not without reason.
A fledgling eagle in a cage, no matter how beautiful, is just a pet in captivity. If a fledgling eagle wants to fly to a higher sky, strong wings are very important.
Orochimaru slowly slowed down his speed.
Finally, after running for a long time into the afternoon, Orochimaru stopped.
However, their speed at this time was much slower than the initial speed.
"Stop," Orochimaru said in a hoarse voice, raising his hand.
Then, Nawaki collapsed directly on the ground and began to lie like a corpse. He gasped for breath, like a dead dog.
"I... can't... do it anymore. Even if you... kill me, I... won't... run anymore," Nawaki said to Tatsumi, panting heavily.
Tatsumi: "....."
Mikoto's condition was worse than Nawaki's, but she wanted to maintain her image in front of Tatsumi, so she was struggling to hold on.
"Here, have some salt water," Tatsumi handed his water bottle to Mikoto.
Nawaki looked at him expectantly from the side, also wanting a sip.
But no one paid attention to him.
"Let's rest here today," Orochimaru said after slightly observing the surroundings.
At this time, Nawaki began to rummage through his ninja pouch, taking out his own dry food to replenish his strength.
But Orochimaru licked his lips, then smiled sinisterly.
"Nawaki, you'd better throw away your dry food. I've already poisoned it."
Nawaki: "..."
"This is a forest east of Konoha. There are various animals here. Therefore, whether it is clean water or food, you need to work hard to obtain it yourself during this mission. Of course, that also includes my share."
"So, hurry up and go hunting after you've rested! I'm very hungry now and want to eat grilled meat. Go quickly!"
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