"That's it?"
A cold voice interrupted Sasuke's self-mockery.
The next moment, there was a loud 'bang' and Itachi was sent flying dozens of meters back.
Sasuke barely lifted his head, and when he saw the newcomer, his pupils contracted sharply, "It's you?"
"I told you before, matters between you and me are far from settled."
The person who appeared was Naruto, who is now called Yasuo.
Seeing the dramatic confrontation had reached its climax, Naruto knew that if he didn't step in now, Itachi might not have been able to handle the situation properly.
Turning his head to look at Itachi, Naruto remarked flatly, "I told you to leave him to me. Why did you act on your own?"
"Yasuo-kun, my apologies. That was my oversight." Itachi said in cooperation.
"Enough. Step back for now. I'll deal with you later." Naruto commanded coldly.
Relieved to have his role over, Itachi didn't argue. He disappeared in a flash, eager to leave the scene.
This scene, however, left Sasuke utterly shocked.
Despite his hatred for Itachi, Sasuke knew just how terrifying his older brother was. Yet, here he was, obediently following the commands of this so-called Yasuo.
'What on earth was going on?'
Before Sasuke could make sense of it, Naruto's voice shattered his thoughts.
"Uchiha Sasuke, I will remember you. Now that you are injured, I will not be shameful enough to take advantage of you. One year from now, I will come to this very spot to settle things with you. If you dare run away or fail to uphold the agreement, I will hunt you down… no matter where you hide!"
After saying that, Naruto sheathed his Zanpakuto and turned to leave, his figure exuding an air of daunting finality.
Though not particularly tall, his retreating silhouette left a massive impression in Sasuke's heart… a chilling shadow of dread.
'Yasuo… this man is terrifying!'
When Naruto and his group had seemingly departed, a pitch-black portal suddenly appeared, and Orochimaru emerged unscathed.
Seeing Orochimaru's pristine condition, Sasuke furrowed his brow and said, "I thought that Yasuo guy defeated you, but you're completely fine. What's going on?"
Orochimaru responded with a contemplative tone, "I was deceived by Yasuo's appearance. He's not a pure samurai, he's also highly skilled in Genjutsu. Realizing this, I hid in another dimension to wait for the right moment to strike. But before I could act, it seems your battle ended quickly."
After hearing Orochimaru's explanation, Sasuke finally relaxed his tightly furrowed brow.
Although the fight between him and Itachi just now was very exhausting, it actually only took three minutes from start to finish. Such a short time is indeed too short for a Shinobi who is waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"Forget it, since I couldn't stop them, then I couldn't stop them. They've already left, so I'm going back first."
Sasuke waved his hand and was about to get up, but his eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot.
After Orochimaru crouched to examine Sasuke's condition, he turned to seemingly empty air and called out, "Okay, come out now."
As soon as the words fell, several figures quickly appeared… it was Naruto and his group.
How could Naruto leave before signing in at Otogakure? The scene earlier had merely been a final act. While sparing Sasuke, Naruto wanted to plant a significant seed of pressure within him, giving him more motivation to grow stronger.
"How is he?" Naruto inquired.
Orochimaru explained, "Sasuke overexerted himself by activating the Cursed Seal and draining his Sharingan to execute the S-Rank Ninjutsu, Lightning Release: Kirin. His Chakra and Spiritual Energy are completely depleted. Now that the danger is gone, it's normal for him to collapse from exhaustion."
"As long as he's fine."
Naruto nodded slightly, then turned to Itachi.
"I didn't lay a hand on him." Itachi said indifferently, "From start to finish, I only used Genjutsu to evade and blocked with Susanoo. Sasuke simply overexerted himself and collapsed."
Hearing this, Naruto was quite speechless and said, "Why are you suddenly so defensive? I just wanted to ask: seeing Sasuke's rapid growth, does it make you happy?"
Itachi hesitated for a moment before nodding faintly.
"Good. As long as you're happy. I'm looking forward to watching Wartortle grow too."
Naruto said with a forced smile.
Whenever he saw Sasuke now, he would think of Wartortle, who was also kept in the dark and had the same fate as Sasuke.
'Poor Wartortle… I wonder how it's holding up.'
"Let's celebrate the perfect wrap-up of this show. Follow me into the village, so I can fulfill my duties as a host."
Orochimaru said with a soft chuckle, breaking the slightly somber atmosphere.
"Orochimaru, you're smart to suggest that. I've been starving." Hidan rubbed his stomach.
Kisame, however, snorted coldly. "Eat, eat, eat—that's all you think about. The challenge isn't over yet, the final hour is still ticking! Defeating the Demon King continues!"
Kisame's goal was straightforward: to defeat the Demon King and secure the first place.
"Let's keep going!" Kakuzu echoed, just as determined to seize the top spot.
Orochimaru's lips curled slightly, though a hint of annoyance flickered in his eyes, "I'm already prepared to play host, and yet you all want to play around?"
Without warning, his body transformed into a swirling mass of red origami cranes. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind Kakuzu.
Even though Kakuzu's reflexes were incredibly sharp, he was still too slow to avoid the attack. Orochimaru's black rods pinned him firmly to the ground. Kisame met the same fate, falling after just two exchanges.
Seeing this, Hidan burst into laughter: "You two idiots! Still want to keep challenging him?"
From the previous round, Hidan had already sensed Orochimaru's terrifying strength. If Naruto hadn't joined the fray earlier, Hidan wouldn't have even dared to take on a second round of damage.
Knowing it's a futile effort yet persisting… what's the difference between that and walking to your own grave?
"Hidan, say that again if you dare!"
Kisame couldn't move his body and could only glare at Hidan fiercely.
"What, did I stutter? I said you're an idiot. And you're mad about it? Get some self-awareness."
Hidan mocked mercilessly.
"Alright, let's end this matter here. The final winner is Orochimaru."
Naruto's voice cut through the bickering.
Naruto's intention had always been to make this a casual game to test Orochimaru's strength. At the same time, it served to show the Akatsuki's members that there's always someone stronger, deflating their arrogance.
Now that his goals were achieved, it was time to wrap things up.
Pfft! Pfft!
Orochimaru pulled out the black rods from Kisame and Kakuzu, and the next moment, Kisame rushed towards Hidan, as if he was ready to fight to the death.
Unfortunately for Kisame, Hidan was immortal, and Kisame himself possessed incredible regeneration. So if the two of them fight, they could probably fight until the end of time without a clear winner.
Kakuzu, meanwhile, walked over to Itachi and asked curiously, "Itachi, why didn't you take action earlier?"
In Kakuzu's opinion, Itachi's Susanoo powerful enough to turn the tide. And with proper strategy, a coordinated effort might have stood a chance of success.
Itachi replied coolly, "When you were knocked out, I tested it. Even if all four of us worked together perfectly, we couldn't win. Don't forget, Orochimaru has that black gate and the ability to appear anywhere after transforming into red paper cranes. If Orochimaru truly wanted to toy with us, we wouldn't even be able to touch him, let alone defeat him."
"This… That's true…" Kakuzu admitted, reluctantly agreeing with Itachi's analysis.
Meanwhile, Naruto, who was standing aside, couldn't help but frown as he looked at his subordinates devolve into chaos.
But before he could shout to restore order, a system prompt suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Friendly Reminder:…]