Sipping at his miso, Orochimaru listened with half an ear to Kabuto and Kimimaro's conversation about their most recent research project. He'd have to search his children's rooms soon to make sure they were keeping to the strict house rule: no experiments inside the compound. He didn't care what kind it was, even if it was Tenzo cross breeding plants, Orochimaru had walked in to see far too many body parts lying around his home. Normally, he wouldn't mind, but when one of his younger children had a tendency to blow himself and others up, he decided on the rule for safety reasons.

Safe to say, he nearly had to face down a mutiny when the rule had been implemented. Not that Anko was great at following any rules, for that matter.

It had been two days since he had spoken with Minato and set the requirements of his apprenticeship. Tomorrow morning, all twelve Rookies would be taking the series of tests he had arranged, even if one of them was on track to becoming a chunin soon. He couldn't simply let a Nara slip past. However, while the genin had assumed that the tests would begin tomorrow, Orochimaru had already begun his own research on the twelve.

Glancing down at the small snake that was twisting itself around his free hand, Orochimaru had to admit to himself that he was surprised any of the genin had passed that little test.

"Why am I helping you, small one? Because we must respect nature."

"You need to be careful. The rainy season is coming and the benjo ditches will carry you away."

Only two of the genin had shown awareness to something so significant, while also showing compassion to an animal that many would shy away from. Orochimaru had met far too many shinobi and civilians alike who had stared in disgust at his summons, some even going as far as running from them. These two had shown that they were more accepting of the more unsettling parts of nature, which would be needed if they were to put up with Orochimaru himself.

The Aburame heir and the civilian born, Haruno, had been quite interesting in their approaches. By the way Yua kept hissing about pink hair and treats being sneaked to her, he could guess who she preferred. Yua had been one of his first summons and the one he would always ask for advice on such affairs. She had been the one to hiss in his ear about Anko's fears when she had just begun her own apprenticeship, so he suspected she would want to have a say in his newest student.

When Yua had reported back, Orochimaru had dug up both genin's files to comb through them and had frowned at what he had found. The Aburame was doing quite well under his current sensei, from what she had kindly told Orochimaru over tea. He had always had a soft spot for Asuma, and thus extended to Kurenai. Aburame Shino was intelligence and a master of his clan's justu, which had him nearly winning the Chunin Exams. It would be interesting to have the boy as a student.

However, it was the girl, Haruno Sakura that had him a bit vexed.

Hatake Kakashi was a renowned genius and war hero in his own right, but Orochimaru had soon learned he followed closely in his father's footsteps—he was atrocious at following up with paperwork. There was little to no reports on his students' growth, which was suspect since he was teaching the Hokage's very son. But, it wasn't surprising that Minato wouldn't worry. Jiraiya would be able to fill any gaps in Naruto's education, and the younger Uchiha had his clan to support him. Both boys had extra training at their finger tips.

Which should have meant Hatake could focus more on the civilian born girl. She should have received extra tutoring at the Academy, but Orochimaru suspected because the girl had shown no struggles academically, they hadn't bothered to give it to her. From what her file stated, she was intelligent and a genjustu type, but there wasn't much more to describe the girl's abilities. Perhaps if he had known about this before hand, he would have hurried home to witness the Chunin Exams and seen her skills for himself. Oh well, that was exactly what tomorrow's exercise would be.

"Oro-sama?"

"Hmmm?"

"You need to eat."

Blinking, Orochimaru glanced up at both Kabuto and Kimimaro staring at him utterly unimpressed. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts, the bowl of miso was halfway to his lips and had grown cold. Setting the bowl down, he smiled at his boys. While they weren't blood related, they had grown to be so similar, Orochimaru had to wonder sometimes, no matter how improbable that was. Out of his children, it was these two that would mother-hen him, which always brought a smile to his lips. How the tables had turned, indeed.

"I'm simply thinking about tomorrow's genin."

"Hopefully they'll be interesting to watch." Kimimaro nodded thoughtfully. Orochimaru could see both of them thinking about having a new sibling running around the compound, and honestly, he himself was curious as to who he would pick. Even if most had failed his first test, that didn't mean there wouldn't be any surprises tomorrow.

He could see Kabuto was about to comment when they all paused, feeling a familiar chakra signature flaring to life right outside the compound.

"Oh, kami…" Kabuto grumbled under his breath.

SLAM!

"Are you fucking replacing me?!" An ungodly screech filled the small living room. Anko stood panting in the doorway to the engawa, hair having fallen out of its ponytail, and eyes wild with anger.

"About time somebody did," Kabuto continued under his breath.

"What'd you say, you little shit?!" In a flash, Anko had her arm wrapped around Kabuto's throat as she scrubbed a fist into his hair roughly. Passively watching, Orochimaru waited for his children to stop squabbling. "If there's anyone we should be replacing, it should be you!"

"Without me, you'd be dead ten times over!" Kabuto clawed at her arm, but she didn't seem to notice in the least, instead whipping her head up to glare at Orochimaru.

"Is it true that you're getting a new apprentice? How could you get rid of me that easily?!"

"Anko," Orochimaru sighed. "You haven't been my apprentice in years."

"What! I've always been your apprentice."

"As soon as you became a tokubestu jonin, you stopped being my apprentice. That is how apprenticeship works in Konaha."

"Oh…" Anko dropped her arm and slumped to the floor, sitting next to her little brothers. "So, you're not replacing me?"

"At this point, I think that'd be impossible," Kimimaro drawled. Next to him, Kabuto continued to glare at her while massaging his throat.

"No, Anko. I'm to receive another apprentice since the Council has twisted the Hokage's arm." Orochimaru explained. "If you wish you may come and observe the tests I will be conducting tomorrow to choose my next apprentice."

"Who're you testin'?"

"The twelve Rookie genin that have recently taken the Chunin exams. Did you see them while proctoring?"

"Yeah," Anko nodded, face twisted in thought. Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth. Jiraiya had teased him that she had gotten that little tick from Orochimaru, but he full heartedly disagreed. "A few of them stood out to me, but there was one little genin who was really interesting."

"Oh? How so?" He could see Kabuto and Kimimaro both leaning in to listen.

"I don't know names, didn't care at the time, but it was a fight between Inoichi's brat and some civilian born. The girl used the Yamanaka mind transfer technique, and you'd think that would be the end of it, right? Nope! That little, pink haired shit pushed Yamanaka out! I've seen Inoichi use that technique dozens of times and never seen someone do that."

Orochimaru's eyebrows rose. Someone so young showing such strength to resist the mind transfer technique was truly special. How had that not ended up in her file?

"Was she investigated to see how she had done so?"

"Nah, I don't think so," Anko shrugged. "I think the higher ups were more interested in the Hyuuga match more, so that fight slipped through the cracks."

"That's stupid." Kabuto huffed. "Just because there's clan infighting doesn't mean things should go unnoticed."

"Perhaps this will be in our favor then."

"Oh? Have you already decided on your apprentice, Oro-sama?" Kimimaro asked.

"Not yet. I wish to see all of their skills tomorrow." Even as he said that, he could feel Yua twist tighter around his fingers.

"Put 'em through hell, Oro-sensei," Anko cheered.

It had been years since Orochimaru had stepped inside Konaha's Academy. The building had been greatly improved since he had been a child; the classrooms had been expanded, training grounds improved, and natural sunlight was able to stream into almost every corner. The educators had truly done their best to create a better learning environment for their students, which Orochimaru could appreciate.

The Academy students were currently out for summer vacation, which left the building free for his use. And even though there weren't any little ones running around, the halls were still filled with gossip and whisperings as he approached the large crowd outside one of the classrooms.

Honestly, he wasn't surprised in the least that most of the clan heads had decided to come to observe the tests. They were all invested in their own children, and all of them were dead set on the idea their child would be the one to be his next apprentice. Ever since it had been discovered that Danzo had stolen the kekkai genkai from both the Uchiha and Hyuuga, many of the clans had warmed up to Orochimaru. Many of them valued his input greatly when he did attend Clan Council meetings, while most trusted him to give them information on any other shady happenings around the village.

Quietly approaching the crowd, he nearly smirked when they all parted and allowed him easy entry into the classroom. He didn't meet any of their curious gazes, instead focusing on the youthful faces that greeted him on the other side of the doors. All twelve genin had shown up, all of them looking mildly anxious to down right excited. A smile pulled at his lips when he spotted the young Uzumaki nearly vibrating in his seat. He would be a great student under Jiraiya.

"Orochimaru-sensei," Minato greeted him warmly. Nodding graciously, Orochimaru let his eyes sweep over the genin and let his eyes linger on Aburame and Haruno. Just like the rest of his clan, Shino Aburame wore sunglasses and a high collar to better hide his thoughts. On the other hand, Haruno was worryingly pale and looked ready to faint. "They are ready when you are."

Turning to address the genin, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "The first test will be written, and unlike the Chunin Exams, if you are caught cheating, then you will be disqualified. And you will be able to explain your disqualification to your clan head immediately."

He could see fear enter their eyes as he spoke, and he didn't bother hiding his sadistic smirk at the sight. One of the chunin watching over the test handed the tests out and soon enough all twelve genin were writing furiously.

Hiding in the rafters of the classroom, Weasel was part of the Hokage's guard that shift. He might have convinced another Anbu to switch a shift with him so he would be able to watch Orochimaru's test in progress, but that was neither here nor there. Staring down at the genin, he had a clear view of each of their tests and answers.

So far, none of them were promising.

Leave it to Orochimaru to give a challenging test that not even some jonin could answer completely. Weasel himself wasn't sure if he could successfully answer correctly on a few, and he had been considered a genius at the age of seven.

Keeping an eye on the Hokage, Weasel kept the rest of his focus on a particular genin.

Like most of the genin, Sasuke seemed to be struggling to answer any of the questions. With the threat of disqualification, he wouldn't be allowed to use his Sharingan at all to help him, not that Weasel would encourage such actions. One must be able to have enough knowledge to face any challenge, however, he knew Sasuke hadn't had the opportunities to study the same things he had at his age. But, even with that disadvantage, he should do just fine on the test.

Glancing over to the Sannin, who was now wandering the classroom and looking over the terrified genin's shoulders, Weasel wondered who he would pick. No doubt many of the clan heads had already tried to put their own bid in for their child, but it seemed unlikely that would sway the Snake Sannin. He had never striked Weasel as someone who cared if they garnered favors with the influential clans, especially not when Orochimaru was a legend in of himself.

Satisfied Sasuke would be fine, Weasel let his eyes wander over the other genin. It was a bit shocking the Nara was actually writing instead of napping, but Weasel could spot a bead of sweat forming at his temple as even he seemed to struggle with a question. None of the other genin seemed to be fairing well, either. While both Hyuuga didn't seem intimidated, both had a small hesitancy as they answered. Meanwhile the Inuzuka and Naruto seemed to be struggling, both still on the first page, with Akimichi had only just starting the second page.

The rest were dull to watch, showing that they were exactly the rank they should be at. The Aburame might be holding his own, while the Yamanaka was clearly struggling. She was gripping her hair harshly while scribbling away in incoherent sentences. The older Hyuuga's teammates were fairing a bit better, but it was clear they were struggling with the later questions.

Dismissing them, Weasel looked back at Sasuke's teammates and frowned when he zeroed in on the girl's test. Wait, why wasn't she working on it?

Instead of scribbling away, she sat rigidly in her seat and staring forward. Her hands were folded neatly on top of her test. Curiosity sparked, Weasel allowed his own Sharingan to activate. And had to resist the urge to let his jaw drop in shock—how had she finished so quickly and nearly perfectly?! The genin had only been working for half an hour!

Thinking back, Weasel knew nearly nothing about the only kunoichi on Team Seven. While Naruto was a constant presence in the Uchiha district, with his mother being best friends with Mikoto, neither boy had invited their third teammate over for dinner. Perhaps, if none of Team Seven was chosen for this apprenticeship, Weasel would…gently persuade Sasuke to bring her to the compound. The girl had too much natural talent to not be on anyone's radar.

Within the next hour, every genin completed their test to the best of their ability, with Sasuke being the third one to finish. He seemed to be irritated with this fact as he glared daggers at his teammate and the Nara. Which, perhaps he had some justification in doing so since both of them had scored higher than him. Weasel would have to find some books to help improve Sasuke's theoretical knowledge.

"For the next test, I will hand each of you a piece of paper. When I tell you to do so, gently channel chakra into it. This will tell you what element your chakra nature is aligned to." Weasel frowned. While this wasn't particularly a test, it wasn't normal for genin to learn their what element their chakra was until they were about to become chunin. However, he had to admit he was curious.

Of course, it wasn't shocking that Sasuke had the Uchiha element of fire, but it was pleasantly surprising to see he had a secondary element in lightning. Naruto had his in wind, while their third teammate had an equal control over earth and water. Interesting. Weasel had never seen a team have all five elements. They would truly become powerful as a team if they were allowed to stick together.

During this little exercise, Orochimaru's face didn't reveal anything as he instead handed out a different device. It looked like a piece of wood with a series of dots that were all connected through thin pathways. The device was used to help pinpoint the kind of chakra control a person had, something that Tsunade and Orochimaru had created together. But, why was he testing them for chakra control? They were still children after all, they needed time and training to naturally improve their chakra control. Surely none of them would have anything truly note-worthy before they had meditated and trained for a few years.

As predicted, none of them had anything more than below average, or simply at average. However, when the device was handed to Sasuke's other teammate, her hands shook as she took the device from Orochimaru. Weasel had never seen any shinobi with pink hair before, so she must not come from a clan, even a small one. If she was civilian born, then this must be the first time she's ever been around someone higher in rank than her jonin sensei. It must be quite nerve racking.

However, as the pathways on the device lit up with chakra and continue to climb higher and higher, Weasel let his mouth fall open this time. The only time he had ever seen the device was when his own chakra control had been tested, but even so, he had a feeling that the girl must have insane control to be able to fill each hole with chakra. What was Tsunade's chakra control? In the 97 percentile? Could it be possible this girl had something similar, maybe even higher than the legendary Senju?

Shaking himself of his thoughts, Weasel forced himself to instead focus on the Hokage as he stepped forward once more.

"Now that this portion has been complete, the next test will take place outside. Your theoretical skills have been tested, but now it is time test your physical skills. Like the Chunin Exams, there will be a series of fights between the twelve of you to allow us to evaluate your skills in battle."

Tournament style matches? Had the Hokage truly allowed Orochimaru to recreate the Chunin Exams?

Sending one more glance over to Sasuke, Weasel signaled to his team to follow him as the Hokage led the genin out to the training grounds to being the final part of the test.