I switched myself out with a Moku Bunshin as soon as Kosuke and Kabuto weren't looking. He'd run with them and focus on passing the dumb Exam. I had a number of plans to enact while everyone was here in the Forest of Death.
First was making sure none of the Rookie 9 died. This would prove extremely difficult in the case of Team 7, since Orochimaru himself was targeting Sasuke and all. So my highest priority was tracking down the Missing-nin and eliminating the threat, or at least scaring him to the point he ran away to fight another day.
Second was getting to Gaara and stealing the Yang half of Shukaku. It probably wouldn't kill him to only lose half his Bijuu, and I could start reaping the benefits of being a Jinchuuriki. Besides, there was probably no safer way to become a Jinchuuriki than taking half of the Ichibi, the weakest of them all.
Third, I needed to save Karin. She was in the Exams as part of a Kusa team. Once I had her in my debt, I could see about getting her transferred to Konoha. Naruto deserved to have his cousin in his life.
Goals in mind, I made 3 dozen Kage Bunshin and had them Shunshin to various points around the Forest of Death. We'd use a grid pattern to find everyone.
5 minutes later, I felt one of my Hiraishin kunai get thrown. I flashed to it and saw my Kage Bunshin on a branch next to me. He popped, letting me know he'd gotten Orochimaru on the edge of his minimap.
I activated the Sneaking Skill and made as fast as I could for the Snake Sannin.
I finally found him and his 'team' leaping through the trees. I eyed them assessingly. The two mooks didn't even know I was there. Orochimaru gave no outward sign he was aware of my presence, but I was paranoid.
Well, I'd gotten Raiga with a sneak attack. I set my Gravity Seal back to 1.0x Earth's gravity, making me feel light as a feather. I made 2 Moku Bunshin and rushed forward as fast as I could. I grabbed all 3 'Kusa-nin' and used my Hidden Blade to pierce them right in the aorta from behind.
The two mooks collapsed dead, but Orochimaru dissolved into mud. I tensed and used my minimap and all my sensing skills to try and find him.
"Kukukuku. Not a word of warning. Rather ruthless of you, Kichirou-kun," came a directionless voice. It sounded like a woman, but the tone and inflection were pure Orochimaru.
I raised a Henge of my ordinary appearance and activated Sage Mode. He'd know I raised the Henge, but hopefully my eyes wouldn't give away I was in Sage Mode and I could take him by surprise. "Who the fuck are you? You're too good to be some Kusa Genin," I called, playing clueless.
"Let me give you a hint," he said from a position to my 8 o'clock before a massive Snake Summon charged at me.
My two Moku Bunshin acted in unison, making hand seals at light speed. "Scorch Release: Scorch Dragon Jutsu!/ Plasma Release: Plasma Dragon Jutsu!" The Fire-Wind and Fire-Lightning fusion dragons coiled around each other to form a unified Fire-Lightning-Wind dragon. It charged right through the Snake Summon, melting it to less than ash on contact, and went towards where Orochimaru had been when he summoned it. There was a violent explosion.
My sensory powers granted by Sage Mode let me know that Orochimaru made a couple dozen Doro Bunshin in response to that. "You are not to be underesti–" he started.
One of my Moku Bunshin threw a Hiraishin kunai straight at the original Orochimaru and flashed at him to engage him in Taijutsu. My other Moku Bunshin made a number of Kage Bunshin and they went to engage the Doro Bunshin. I personally bit my thumb and summoned Enma.
"What is it?" the Monkey Boss asked.
"Orochi-fucking-maru, that's what," I growled.
"Shit. Even Hiruzen would have trouble with him," Enma growled even as he transformed into the Adamantine Staff.
I turned to where Orochimaru was facing my Moku Bunshin. I used Kawarimi with him and took over. I channeled Wind chakra through the Adamantine Staff, opened the First Gate, and swiped at the man's neck.
The apparently female Kusa-nin's head went flying. Disturbingly, a pale hand reached out of her throat and the form of Orochimaru pulled himself out of the old body, like a snake shedding its skin. He hopped away from me and grinned disturbingly at me. "Such promise at such a young–"
"Storm Release: Rasenshuriken!" My Moku Bunshin shouted before tossing the S-rank Jutsu straight at the Missing-nin. I used Hiraishin to get out of the blast radius. Even as a good square half-mile of the forest went up in a bright explosion, I was swiveling towards where my minimap and Sage sensing told me Orochimaru had scurried off to. He'd used Kawarimi with one of his remaining Doro Bunshin.
"It's impolite to interrupt people, Kichirou-kun!" Orochimaru scolded me even as I ran straight at him.
"You want to waste time talking, that's on you," I said flippantly before opening the Second Gate and engaging him with Enma. He drew the Kusanagi and met my attacks.
"Four Red Yang Formation!" declared 4 of my Kage Bunshin, who had rushed to surround us in a box. The red Barrier Ninjutsu sprang into being.
"Are you sure it's wise to trap yourself in close proximity with me, Kichirou-kun?" Orochimaru said playfully, but his eyes were worried. Even he would have trouble breaking out of this thing, and the size of it prevented him from summoning Manda or using the Eight Branches Jutsu.
"I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me," I couldn't resist quipping before I opened the Third Gate. The surge of chakra disrupted my Henge, revealing my yellow irises.
"A Sage at 13?!" Orochimaru gaped.
"Sage Art: Monkey Lotus!" I said before rushing forward. I used Enma to basically bat him around like a hacky sack, moving so fast I was able to catch him before he got too far. In the end, I brought Enma down in a crushing overhead blow that should have turned his brain into so much pulp.
Before the blow could land, a white snake with Orochimaru's face burst out of his mouth. It knocked me back with the force of its charge and wrapped me in its coils. "Your body, that power… it will be mine!" he declared before his head rushed for my mouth.
I used Kawarimi with one of the Kage Bunshin maintaining the Four Red Yang Formation. He went up in an overcharged Clone Great Explosion, singing and stunning the White Snake. I charged a Rasenshuriken and saw the other 3 Kage Bunshin forming the barrier and those left over from fighting the Doro Bunshin do the same.
"Sage Art: Rasenshuriken Barrage!" I shouted before we all threw the devastating attacks at the physical manifestation of Orochimaru's soul.
I was caught in the explosion, blowing me back and taking a good half of my HP with it. I landed, dazed, but got back to my feet as soon as I could. I had to be ready for Orochimaru's next…
[Quest Complete! White Snakeskin Wallet! Defeat Original Orochimaru! +40000 EXP, Acquire Kusanagi, +1 Blessing point.]
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 100! +25 All Attributes, Tertiary Class Unlocked, +1 Blessing point.]
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Achievement: Triple Digits
Your Level is 100 or higher. Wishes unlocked.]
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer, Rising Star, Monkey Sage
Occupation: Apprentice (Sarutobi Hiruzen)
Class: Tank, Fuinjutsu Specialist
Level: 100
EXP: 200/10000
HP: 10000/10000
SP: 6355/6355
CP: 266137600/266137600
Attributes:
STR: 638
DEX: 633
VIT: 1000
INT: 667
WIS: 661
LUK: -77
Available Attribute points: 100
Available Perk points: 3
Available Blessing points: 2
Available Wish points: 1
I blinked, reading the screens blankly. "I… actually won?" I gaped.
Enma groaned, having reverted to his natural form from the shock of the explosion. "Next time you decide to obliterate someone, be a bit further from ground zero."
"I killed Orochimaru. On my first try," I said blankly.
"You spent 8 months with my father and you train like no human I've ever seen or heard of. Not too hard to believe, Kichirou," Enma shrugged.
He didn't get it. Orochimaru was a Boss. Arguably the weakest one, but he'd been up there with the major threats to the village with the likes of Pein and Obito. And I'd beaten him.
I burst into hysterical giggles. "That! That right there! That made all those months and months of grinding to my very soul worth it!" I called out. To myself, to anyone listening, to God himself, I couldn't tell you.
And then Anko was there, hugging me like I'd vanish if she let me go. "Kichirou-kun! You're alive!"
"Hey, Anko-chan," I said tiredly. Even though all my bars had been refreshed with my Level Up, I still felt exhausted from the combat with the greatest traitor to Konoha bar Madara or maybe Danzo. "I killed Orochimaru," I told her.
She froze. "You sure? He's slippery like that."
"He pulled his naked soul out of his body to try and possess me or something. I wiggled out and hit it with over a dozen Rasenshuriken. He's gone, Anko-chan," I said to her.
"Well… you're getting the good loving tonight, then," she said, though she sounded more incredulous than sexy in that moment.
"Did you forget I'm taking the Second Exam right now?" I asked, confused.
"Kichirou-kun, an S-rank Missing-nin snuck in and you confronted him!" Anko reminded me.
"Yeah, what's your point? I still need to get a Heaven Scroll and report to the tower," I pointed out.
Anko looked at me strangely before bursting into giggles. "What am I marrying into?!" she snickered. "Fine, you little maniac. You can keep doing the Exam. But give me a Kage Bunshin to take to Hokage-sama for a debriefing."
"Sure thing," I agreed. I got up, made the Kage Bunshin, and he grabbed her before using Hiraishin to get to the Hokage Tower.
Now that I had a moment to think, I reviewed my 'Status'. Vitality should be higher. 1000 must be the cap for an Attribute. Good to know. But I still wanted it higher. I checked the Perks and Blessings menus. There was a Blessing to raise the limit for each Attribute by another 1000 points. I also looked into Wishes. According to the brief explanation at the top of the menu, these were literal gifts from God as a reward for a major milestone. I'd only get one every 100 levels or very hard Achievement. Given how freaking hard I had to work just to get to Level 100, it could be years or even decades before I got to Level 200 and got another. I decided to bank it for a disaster scenario.
I allocated all my points and reviewed my 'Status'.
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Achievement: Well-Rounded (XIII)
All Attributes (except LUK) are 650 or higher. CP is passively doubled (stackable).]
[Achievement: More Powah! (XVI)
CP is 327680000 or higher. CP regen rate is passively doubled (stackable).]
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer, Rising Star, Monkey Sage
Occupation: Apprentice (Sarutobi Hiruzen)
Class: Tank, Fuinjutsu Specialist, Battle Medic
Level: 100
EXP: 200/10000
HP: 10190/10190
SP: 6660/6660
CP: 548864000/548864000
Attributes:
STR: 660
DEX: 660
VIT: 1019
INT: 680
WIS: 680
LUK: -77
Available Attribute points: 0
Available Perk points: 0
Available Blessing points: 0
Available Wish points: 1
[Perk: Healing Factor (IV)
HP regen rate is passively doubled (stackable).]
[Perk: Fast Recovery (IV)
SP regen rate is passively doubled (stackable).]
[Perk: Minimap (III)
Know your general location and position of those around you for 10000 yards in every direction.]
[Blessing: Vitality Plus
Increase cap on VIT Attribute to 2000.]
[Blessing: Extra Party Slot
You may invite one more person to the Party.]
"I enjoy being me," I grinned. Then I made fresh Kage Bunshin and returned to my self-assigned tasks: Gaara and Karin.
All told, it had been less than an hour since the Second Exam started. I found Gaara just as he was using Sand Burial on some unfortunate Ame-nin. Team 10 of Naruto, Kiba, and Ino were hiding nearby, probably waiting and hoping Gaara wouldn't notice them.
I sent out Adamantine Sealing Chains and wrapped Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. I jumped down to face Gaara.
"What the– hey, you're that guy from last week!" Kankuro gaped.
"Don't mind me. Just here to grab something," I said. I looked at Gaara and rushed up to him faster than he could blink. I laid a hand on his forehead and sent my Yin chakra into his head. I felt a tugging sensation and leaned into it.
I appeared in his Mindscape, which had a dark, blank black sky and a floor of sand.
"Oh, goody! A new toy to play with!" said a demented voice.
I turned and regarded Shukaku. I sent out Adamantine Sealing Chains and bound him up tight.
"What the devil?!" Shukaku gaped.
"This may hurt just a little," I warned. And then I laid a hand on his nose.
[Seal Shukaku (Yang) into yourself? Y/N]
I gave the affirmative.