In a flash, Sasuke, who had been brimming with confidence, was effortlessly overpowered by the mysterious intruder, leaving Sakura in shock and at a loss.
She had heard Sasuke's earlier words.
The incident in the Forest of Death, where Sasuke, Shinji, and several academy instructors were attacked by a mysterious figure, had caused a stir at the academy.
Confirming the intruder's identity, Sakura realized this wasn't a village-arranged test but a real threat to her and Sasuke's lives!
"I need to call for help!"
With her mind made up, Sakura pulled a distress flare from her ninja pouch and rushed toward the mine's exit.
Every student in the assessment knew there were proctoring Jonin nearby, so Sakura believed that if she could launch the flare, help would arrive swiftly.
Seeing Sakura dash out with the flare, the mysterious figure glanced at her, a smirk curling their lips.
Noticing the figure's indifference, as if unconcerned about Sakura signaling for help, Sasuke's heart sank, sensing something was wrong. The intruder was clearly prepared, and the proctoring Jonin outside were likely preoccupied.
But Sasuke didn't despair. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he spat out a mouthful of blood and said to the figure, "You messed with the wrong person!"
Boom.
His furious eyes turned crimson, and a purple silhouette projected from his body!
The silhouette quickly formed into a ribcage, shielding him. Then, one end of the ribcage extended into a skeletal arm, seizing the mysterious figure!
"So this is Susanoo…"
Held by the skeletal arm, the figure showed no panic, instead studying Sasuke's Susanoo with interest.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke's face darkened, urging his Susanoo forward.
Splatter.
With a squeeze, the skeletal hand crushed the figure, splattering blood across the mine!
Staggering to the twisted corpse, Sasuke stared coldly for a moment before muttering, "Repent in hell!" as he dispelled his Susanoo.
Huff, huff.
As the Susanoo faded, Sasuke, mentally exhausted, collapsed to one knee, panting heavily.
Already gravely injured, he had taken a punch and a kick from the figure, worsening his condition. Forcing himself to use his Mangekyo dojutsu again left him in a dire state, struggling to breathe.
"Going to hell? I'm not planning on that just yet!"
Suddenly, a mocking voice pierced Sasuke's ears.
He froze, staring in horror at the mangled corpse, only to see the figure—crushed beyond recognition by his Susanoo—casually stand up, a smirk on their face.
"Damn it, a ghost?"
Having crossed into the Demon Slayer world, Sasuke wasn't rattled for long. He quickly rallied, preparing to stand and fight again.
But as he tried to rise, a wave of dizziness hit him from all sides, sapping his strength.
The mysterious figure approached, scrutinizing Sasuke as if weighing a decision.
Forcing himself to stay alert, Sasuke asked, "I'm poisoned?"
The figure nodded. "Not entirely stupid, but compared to Itachi, you're still far behind!"
Barely conscious, Sasuke snapped awake at the mention of Itachi, his Mangekyo Sharingan flaring. "What did you say!? What's your connection to Uchiha Itachi?"
The figure marveled at Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan. "What captivating eyes!"
Sasuke hesitated, debating whether to use Izanami no Mikoto.
His Mangekyo's dojutsu power was nearly depleted. Using Izanami no Mikoto might mean a permanent loss of power, or at least a long recovery.
Just then, the figure shook their head, abruptly turned, and walked toward the mine's exit, ignoring Sasuke.
Stunned, Sasuke shouted, "Who are you? Why did you attack me?"
The figure paused, as if struck by a thought, then whipped around. Their neck extended like a snake, their head shooting toward Sasuke, and they bit down on his neck!
"You!?"
Sasuke, shocked, prepared to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan again despite his condition.
But before he could act, the figure released him, their neck retracting. With a smile, they vanished from the mine with a whoosh.
Sasuke clutched the wound on his neck, stumbled a few steps, and collapsed against the mine wall, slipping into unconsciousness.
The ambush came and went swiftly, lasting only a few minutes.
By the time it ended, Sakura had just rushed out and launched the distress flare.
As the flare exploded in the sky, Kakashi, who had followed Naruto, sensed something was wrong and hurried back with him toward the mine.
Meanwhile, Kakashi's two teammates outside the mine fended off their attacker and rushed inside.
Finding the unconscious Sasuke, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Elsewhere, the two mysterious figures who had attacked inside and outside the mine rendezvoused in a forest far from the site.
One respectfully said, "Orochimaru-sama, how was the harvest this time?"
Undoubtedly, the one who had stalled Kakashi's teammates outside was Kabuto, Orochimaru's subordinate, while the one who attacked Sasuke inside was Orochimaru himself!
Orochimaru shook his head, somewhat disappointed.
Sasuke, on his own, was indeed impressive.
His defeat was due to Orochimaru's layered trap: first, Kimimaro gravely injured him. Then, his teammates and backup were drawn away. Finally, Orochimaru disguised himself as the attacker from years ago, causing Sasuke to underestimate him.
Against one of the Legendary Sannin, Sasuke's loss wasn't unjust.
But having seen Itachi's strength, Orochimaru couldn't help comparing Sasuke to him, and the gap was glaringly obvious.