Naruto: I Became a Sword Saint in Konoha Chapter 21 21: Orochimaru’s Advancement Match

The tenth-lowest ranked student in Class A was a chubby boy nad Saitō Masaru. He looked at Orochimaru with open hostility, clearly offended by the situation.

Back ho, he was always praised as a prodigy. Sure, he'd been at the bottom of Class A since enrolling, but even so—being challenged by so random guy from Class C? Unacceptable.

So what if he got crushed in ranked matches? Against scrubs like this, he was still a living legend.

Trying to step over him for a promotion? Not a chance!

Driven by pride, Saitō quickly agreed to the challenge. As for how embarrassing it'd be if he lost?

Please—he didn't believe for a second that he would.

After exchanging a look, Instructor Mitsui and the other two teachers turned to Orochimaru and said:

"Since Saitō has agreed, you two can go ahead and spar.

If you win, we'll allow you to advance straight to Class A. But if you lose, you'll stay in Class C—you won't even move up to B. That's the consequence for underestimating others.

Are you okay with those terms?"

Orochimaru didn't hesitate. He nodded firmly.

"I accept. That's fair."

The three instructors examined the two boys and gave the nod.

"Since you're both ready, begin when you're set."

At the teachers' signal, Orochimaru and Saitō each stepped forward to retrieve a practice kunai, then walked to opposite ends of the sparring arena.

Unlike the others who doubted Orochimaru, Hoshiyomi had a hunch. He knew Orochimaru wasn't the type to fight without a plan. So he watched his every move carefully.

That's when he noticed sothing odd—Orochimaru seed dissatisfied with the practice kunai.

He spent an unusual amount of ti examining the weapons, rubbing his fingers along their edges before finally choosing one. Then, without warning, he grabbed five more at once.

Hoshiyomi suspected Orochimaru had done sothing to the kunai, but he was too far away to see exactly what.

After both participants completed the traditional seal of confrontation, the match officially began.

Saitō clearly didn't take Orochimaru seriously. He didn't even bother using chakra. He just charged forward like a bulldozer, muttering under his breath:

"How dare you look down on —Saitō the Great! I'll show you what real strength looks like!"

Facing him, Orochimaru seed flustered. He froze for a mont, then hastily threw a kunai.

Whether from nerves or sothing else, his throw was pitiful—off-target and weak.

Saitō didn't even bother dodging. The kunai brushed past him and landed limply on the ground.

Seeing this, Saitō burst out laughing.

"You challenged with that kind of skill? I actually thought you were strong or sothing! Let teach you how to throw a kunai properly!"

As he said this, he continued to advance, pulling a kunai from his pouch and hurling it at Orochimaru. His aim was much better, and the weapon whistled through the air with power.

Orochimaru's face went pale. He dodged at the last second, barely avoiding the kunai. But his troubles weren't over—Saitō was closing the distance fast.

Seeing Orochimaru within reach, Saitō grinned and swung his fist.

Orochimaru, clearly panicked, rolled across the ground to dodge. It wasn't graceful, but it worked.

It looked like this was his first ti facing soone so aggressive. His confidence collapsed. He didn't even try to counterattack—just scrambled away in a chaotic ss.

The crowd couldn't help laughing at Orochimaru's clumsy performance. The whole arena was filled with a cheerful, mocking atmosphere.

Jiraiya laughed so hard he doubled over, struggling to breathe.

"Ahahahaha! I can't take it anymore—this is the so-called genius you were hyping up? You said he was stronger than ?

Give a break. He's a total joke! That cool-headed act earlier? All fake!"

But when he turned to Sakumo and Hoshiyomi, he was surprised to find neither of them laughing.

Instead, they were looking at him like he was the fool.

Hoshiyomi patted Jiraiya on the shoulder, expression serious.

"Just watch. And learn."

anwhile, Orochimaru was still being chased around by Saitō, looking absolutely helpless. He didn't even have the courage to fight back. He just kept running in circles, occasionally throwing a wildly inaccurate kunai.

Even the one that was close enough to land was easily swatted aside by Saitō.

At first, Saitō was cautious—wondering if this was so kind of trap. But after chasing Orochimaru around three tis, he let his guard down.

Yeah, this guy's no threat. He's just bad!

Feeling triumphant, Saitō began to toy with Orochimaru, like a cat playing with a mouse.

Listening to the jeers from the crowd and seeing Orochimaru fleeing in panic, Saitō felt like his old self again—the prodigy everyone once admired.

Look at that loser. He's so pathetic, he won't even turn around to fight. Just running and running…

Wait—did he just trip? On flat ground?

Unbelievable. I wanted to draw it out a little longer, but if he's gonna fall on his own, I guess I'll just end it here.

Saitō picked up the pace, charging in for the final blow.

Seeing this, Hoshiyomi shook his head.

"It's over."

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, it's over. That Orochimaru guy is—"

Halfway through his sentence, he froze in shock.

Because right then—THUD!—Saitō suddenly tripped and slamd into the ground.

And Orochimaru, who had been rolling around monts ago, calmly stood up.

In one hand, he held a kunai. In the other—sothing bundled around his fingers.

Jiraiya squinted. Upon closer inspection, he realized that Orochimaru was gripping a fine steel wire, coiled around his hand.

Thanks to the sunlight, they could now see the wire stretching from Orochimaru's hand all the way to Saitō's leg. The wire was looped tightly around his shin—and the other end was connected to one of the kunai Orochimaru had thrown earlier.

Saitō had finally realized he'd walked right into a trap. He scrambled to free himself.

But Orochimaru's speed was nothing like before. In a flash, he closed the distance, kunai pointed directly at Saitō's throat.

Ga over.