I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 36 Taunting Ninjutsu

"Why is it the two of you again?"

Three days later, at the Third Training Grounds of Konoha, in the corner where Tatsuma and Minato often trained, Kushina looked at the two who had arrived early and were already warming up and said with some dissatisfaction.

Tatsuma didn't answer, because he knew his goal today was to be the villain, and there was no need to explain too much to Kushina. Minato, on the other hand, scratched his head and said:

"It might be a coincidence, but Tatsuma and I also applied for early graduation."

"Hmph, as long as you two don't get in the way of my ninja life, it's fine."

Kushina snorted, and just as Minato was about to say something, two figures landed. The three looked over and saw that one of them was their teacher, Sarutobi Akira, and the other was Orochimaru, one of Sarutobi Hiruzen's three disciples.

"Sakamoto Tatsuma, Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina."

Orochimaru called out to the three in his distinctive tone, and they immediately stood up straight and said, "Lord Orochimaru." *3

Orochimaru nodded, his golden eyes sweeping over the three of them, before he spoke: "I am the examiner for your graduation exam, and Sarutobi Akiura Chunin is your witness for this exam."

Hearing Orochimaru's words, Kushina nodded solemnly, her competitive spirit surging once more, and she shouted, "I will definitely pass the test, become a ninja, and avenge my clan!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Kushina seemed to have deciphered something from Orochimaru's words, and she swung her fist at him. Tatsuma and Minato exchanged bewildered glances, wondering if they had missed something.

Sarutobi Awaura's expression was also quite interesting. Even Orochimaru, who was usually the most composed in the team, was stunned for a second. However, when he saw Kushina rushing in front of him, he shook his head and sighed.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough"

Facing the attacking Kushina, Orochimaru calmly formed a hand seal with one hand, then exhaled a gust of wind that sent Kushina flying back.

"Damn it! I'm not just that!"

Kushina got up from the ground, clenched her fists, and unleashed her chakra, about to charge at Orochimaru again. But Orochimaru said calmly, "Attack the examiner. I can declare you a failure at any time."

"What?!"

This time, Kushina was dumbfounded, and her forward momentum came to a halt. Seeing this, Orochimaru said, "I never said that the test had started, nor did I ever say that the test would consist of fighting me."

"Then how should we assess it?"

Kushina snapped out of her daze and asked. Orochimaru glanced at Tatsuma and Minato, who had been watching him without making a move but were ready, and smiled. Then he looked at Kushina and said:

"First of all, three graduates are far too many."

Orochimaru paused deliberately as he spoke, allowing Kushina, a girl with a somewhat slow mind, to react. The moment Kushina understood, she looked at Tatsuma and Minato with a hint of hostility.

In her opinion, if these two people hadn't suddenly applied to graduate early, there wouldn't have been so many graduates.

When Tatsuma saw Kushina's performance, he couldn't help but want to complain. Orochimaru's excuse was too perfunctory. Everyone knows that Konoha is now in a one-against-three situation.

The best arrangement would actually be for three graduates. They could graduate together and be assigned to the same team, eliminating the need to change the number of team members or find a team with missing members. What's even more terrifying is that Kushina was actually fooled.

"It seems you understand now. That's right, in the first round of assessment, at least one of you will need to be eliminated."

Although Orochimaru doesn't look as cold and sinister as Tatsuma remembered him, his current sinister way of speaking still gives him a villainous air.

This kind of aura might be able to sway Kushina, but Tatsuma and Minato, who already knew part of the inside story, were unmoved. The two of them looked at Orochimaru, waiting for him to continue his performance.

"Next, you will need to fight in pairs. Each of you needs to win at least one match to advance to the next round of the assessment. First up is Kushina versus Tatsuma."

Hearing this, Kushina looked at Tatsuma and said, "Bring it on! This time, I absolutely will not lose!"

Tatsuma didn't act immediately. Instead, he looked at Orochimaru and asked, "Lord Orochimaru, are there any other rules? Or can we begin now?"

Orochimaru admired Tatsuma's earnest and thorough personality, nodded and said, "Form the opposing hand seals, and then we can begin."

Tatsuma nodded and glanced at Minato beside him. Minato immediately teleported to Sarutobi Akira's side. This skillful use of the teleportation technique surprised Sarutobi Akira.

Although Minato only demonstrated a D-rank Body Flicker Technique, it was still incredible that this could be performed by an eight-year-old ninja academy student.

The thought that Minato was his student, yet he didn't even fully understand his strength, made Sarutobi Akira feel ashamed, realizing that he was somewhat unqualified as a teacher.

However, if Minato knows the Body Flicker Technique, then... Sarutobi looked at Tatsuma, who had always performed better than Minato, had he also mastered it?

At this moment, Tatsuma had arrived in front of Kushina, raised his right hand in front of his chest, forming a contrasting hand seal, and said, "I just saw that your speed and strength have improved a lot. As expected, you are also a genius with remarkable talent."

"Hmph, you're always spouting empty words; I won't go easy on you!"

Kushina always felt that Tatsuma's praise of others was sarcastic, even though Mito Uzumaki had told her about Tatsuma's sincerity. Kushina still didn't quite believe it.

However, the two had already formed opposing hand seals and began refining chakra in perfect unison. Orochimaru nodded and said, "We can begin."

"Bang!"

The moment Orochimaru finished speaking, Kushina stepped forward and threw a punch. But the instant her fist hit Tatsuma, Tatsuma turned into a cloud of smoke, and at the same time, a wooden stake shattered into pieces.

Seeing this, Kushina suddenly felt a little angry, not because Tatsuma used ninjutsu. After all, she had learned some ninjutsu and sealing techniques and didn't mind Tatsuma using ninjutsu.

Aside from the substitution technique.

Because the Substitution Technique is a ninjutsu used to toy with others, and it's a trick used only when someone of higher power is against someone of lower power.

The principle of the Substitution Technique is not to swap positions between oneself and the "substitute," since that falls under the category of space-time ninjutsu. The Substitution Technique is simpler: at the moment of impact, one replaces oneself with something else and makes a quick escape.

This means that the person using the Substitution Jutsu must be faster than the opponent in order for the Substitution Jutsu to work. Calling it a ninjutsu for toying with the opponent is absolutely correct.

"You come out here! If you're so capable, don't try these petty tricks!"

Kushina said angrily, and behind a large tree, Tatsuma, still wearing the Seal of Opposition, stepped out and said, "Alright, I also want to see how much strength I can unleash when fighting others."

(End of this chapter)