Just as dawn was breaking, several Otogakure ninjas followed the traces of Chakra left by Orochimaru to find Sasuke and Sakura.
Their leader, Dosu, raised his Resonating Echo Speaker at Sakura's head, while Zaku stood beside him, ready to unleash his Decapitating Airwaves, which was powerful enough to tear the ground apart.
Then Rock Lee and Choji appeared.
Rock Lee used Leaf Great Whirlwind to kick away Zaku's Wind Release strike aimed at Sakura.
But the trio's attack methods were too tricky. Lee's leg showed obvious bruising after taking a soundwave head-on, and the fabric on Choji's left shoulder was also slashed open by a Decapitating Airwave, leaving a bleeding gash.
Just then, Sasuke, who had been twitching on the ground, stood up.
His entire left arm and half of his face were covered in black patterns, and the Chakra on his body diffused outward with a density completely different from that of an ordinary person.
Before Dosu could aim his sound-wave gauntlet at Sasuke, he was sent flying by a punch from Sasuke, snapping three trees in the process.
Zaku tried to counterattack but Sasuke's body twisted in a serpentine angle to dodge the air blades. Then, he cut in from a blind spot and used a shuriken to slice through Zaku's forehead protector, along with the tree trunk behind him.
The third Otogakure tried to run, but Sasuke dragged him back by grabbing his ankle, and slammed him into the ground with a single punch.
After the battle ended, Sasuke rummaged through all the ninja tools and supplies on the three Otogakure ninjas and found the Earth Scroll.
He then walked past the three fallen Otogakure ninjas with an expressionless face, went up to Rock Lee, who was being protected by Neji, and tossed down a bottle of medicine he had scavenged from the Otogakure ninjas.
...
When Naruto found the two, Sasuke was leaning against the roots of a large tree, clutching the Earth Scroll in his hand.
Sakura was swaying as she stood guard by Sasuke's side.
Seeing Naruto jump down from the direction of the forest, Sakura was stunned at first, and then felt a sense of relief in her heart.
"Naruto, you're finally back!"
Then, finally feeling relieved, she leaned backward and passed out.
Sasuke was quick to react, reaching out to support the back of Sakura's head so she wouldn't hit the stone.
Naruto checked Sakura's eyelids, and took her pulse. After confirming it was just exhaustion and extreme mental tension causing her to faint, he leaned her against Sasuke's knee. He then stood up and faced Sasuke head-on.
Sasuke's gaze fell on Naruto, and he discovered that not only was he uninjured, but he didn't even have a single minor scratch.
That monster-level existence from yesterday—Naruto had tangled with him for so long, yet he didn't have a single injury on his entire body.
Yet he himself had been bitten on the neck by that person and had laid on the ground all night.
Thinking of this, the Curse Seal inside Sasuke suddenly surged, and the pattern of the Cursed Seal began to spread outward from his neck.
"Sasuke, control yourself. Otherwise there is no difference between you and a beast."
Hearing this, it was as if Sasuke had been splashed with a bucket of cold water. He gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead throbbing several times.
Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the black lines on his face were already receding bit by bit.
The Cursed Seal retreated entirely back into the bite mark on his neck, leaving only a small circle of black tomoe.
After waiting for Sasuke to suppress the Cursed Seal, Naruto turned around and nodded at Lee and the others, who hadn't left yet.
"Thank you all for your help. After the Chunin Exams are over, I'll treat you all to a meal. We'll meet at the Central Tower."
"Naruto actually discovered us." Shikamaru, hiding in the shadows, looked surprised.
Choji shook his head, indicating that they were friends.
Lee gave a thumbs up, revealing his gleaming teeth as he said to Naruto, "This is youth."
After saying that, he disappeared into the forest.
Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. "Sasuke, since we have the Earth Scroll, let's head to the Central Tower at top speed."
Sasuke picked up Sakura on his back and threw the Earth Scroll to Naruto. Then he followed Naruto as they leaped onto the tree trunks.
Naruto quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.
Orochimaru had already accomplished his goal for this infiltration of Konoha: planting the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke.
Next, his attention would turn to the final part of the Chunin Exams, and the subsequent deployment of the Konoha Crush Plan.
Naruto and Sasuke leaped at high speed between the trees, the sound of their feet hitting the branches repeating continuously in the forest.
After a moment of silence, Sasuke asked, "Naruto, do you know that guy?"
Naruto landed on a branch and proceeded to the next tree without turning back.
"Yeah, his name is Orochimaru, a student of the Third Hokage. He was once known alongside Jiraiya and Tsunade as the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. Later, because he was caught learning forbidden jutsu by the Third Hokage, he defected from the village."
Sasuke frowned.
He had heard of the title of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha back in the Ninja Academy. They were legendary figures on par with the Third Hokage himself.
For such a person to suddenly appear in the Forest of Death just to bite him?
That's not right!
Then how did Naruto survive after tangling with him earlier?
Could it be that Naruto's strength has already reached Kage-level?
Thinking of this, Sasuke immediately became uneasy.
"Did you defeat him?"
Naruto shook his head. "No. I fought him for a while, just testing each other out. He probably didn't think it was worth it to keep fighting, so he left first. I couldn't catch him, and he couldn't kill me for the time being."
Sasuke didn't ask any further. He followed Naruto, crossing the forest step by step.
Every word Naruto said sounded flawless, but he felt like something was off. However, he didn't have the strength to delve deeper into it now.
The Cursed Seal on his neck was still faintly burning. He needed to reach a safe place as soon as possible to suppress it. It wouldn't be too late to ask Naruto for clarification afterward.
***
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