"Is that…Izayoi's own custom jutsu?"
Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki crouched behind a fallen giant tree, staring at the raging, whirlwind-like pillar of fire with awe written all over their faces.
"Gulp…"
Naruto swallowed hard. "That's…that's incredible!"
He'd assumed that his Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu plus Wind Release: Great Breakthrough was already a massive power move. But apparently, Izayoi also had a huge-area jutsu of his own—one he could pull off without clones and without even forming hand signs. This was on another level entirely, and Naruto's freshly inflated ego immediately deflated.
"Let's go!"
At that moment, Izayoi appeared behind Sasuke and Naruto, grabbed them, and used the Body Flicker Technique to get them out of there. Not long after they left, a scorched figure emerged from the ground nearby—Orochimaru, covered in burns.
"Urgh…"
Orochimaru made a retching sound, his mouth splitting wide open as if torn apart, until it resembled the mouth of a giant barrel. A slimy, mucus-covered body crawled out of it.
"Damn brat, ruining my plans!" croaked Orochimaru, voice rasping as he finished shedding his damaged body with a Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement. But then he broke into a grin. "Still…that chakra and the speed of those jutsu, what an incredible talent!"
He glanced at the firestorm rampaging through the forest. Left unchecked, it would engulf the entire area. "Such a familiar technique… I never expected that incomplete jutsu of Minato's and that idiot's to be perfected by a kid."
"Looks like the old windmill of Konoha is about to start spinning again," Orochimaru mused. Then, eyeing the direction Izayoi and the other two had fled—and glancing briefly elsewhere—his lips curled into a sinister smile. "But what's meant to be mine won't escape me. Sasuke-kun…your body will be mine."
With that, Orochimaru sank back into the ground and left the Forest of Death.
Shortly after, squads of ninja arrived in a flash—some wearing cloaks and cat-like Anbu masks, others sporting green flak vests as Special Jonin or Jonin.
"Are we too late?" muttered Anko Mitarashi, her expression flickering with anger and worry.
"Quick, put out the fire!"
The other ninja joined forces, using Water Release to douse the raging firestorm.
Meanwhile, after Izayoi, Sasuke, and Naruto made their escape, they immediately scooped up Sakura Haruno—who'd been hidden elsewhere—and fled for a couple more kilometers before stopping. Leaning against a tall tree, Team 7 breathed heavily.
"Sasuke, do you think Orochimaru's following us?" asked Sakura, still trembling.
"Relax," Izayoi assured them. "He's not coming. The rescue teams are already here."
Team 7 let out a collective sigh of relief. Sakura practically collapsed to the ground, shaking. "Why would a legendary ninja target us? What kind of rotten luck is this?!"
"Tch… If that guy didn't know Earth Release, I would've beaten him already," Naruto insisted stubbornly.
Only Sasuke looked solemn, realizing Orochimaru probably came for him. The thought of being in the target of someone that powerful made him break out in a cold sweat. Sure, he got away this time thanks to Izayoi, but what about next time? Or the time after that?
Sensing Sasuke's unease, Izayoi clapped him on the shoulder, smiling reassuringly. "Don't stress. Konoha should be the one on high alert now. S-rank rogue ninja are the most dangerous threats in the world—even the largest Hidden Villages can't ignore that."
"A huge name like him showing up in Konoha out of nowhere? The Hokage will do whatever it takes to track him down. The village's security is going to skyrocket. Once the exam's over, don't go back to your home for a while—stay on Center Street, at least until Konoha deals with Orochimaru."
Hearing that, Sasuke felt a wave of relief and nodded firmly. "Got it."
Once they had their breath back, Izayoi and Team 7 set out for the central tower. On the way, Naruto sidled up to Izayoi, curiosity burning in his eyes. "Hey, Izayoi, that fiery tornado thing—did our sensei teach you that?"
"Nope, that's a jutsu I created myself," Izayoi answered with a shake of his head.
"What?! You made that yourself?"
"That's awesome!"
Naruto and Sakura both gasped, while Sasuke's face suddenly shifted as if recalling something. "Is this the perfected jutsu you mentioned before? Weren't you studying Lightning Release?"
"Not exactly." Izayoi smiled cryptically. "Gaia Force was just a half-finished spinoff I came up with while working on my true ultimate technique."
"W-what?!"
Team 7 gaped in fresh shock. Sakura couldn't help blurting out, "That giant fiery tornado was only a prototype?"
"Gulp…"
Naruto and Sasuke swallowed hard, feeling once more that there was a huge gap between them and Izayoi. If that was the half-finished version, they couldn't even imagine what the real "ultimate jutsu" would look like.
Meanwhile, Sasuke gazed at Izayoi with newfound intensity. Jutsu that merited the title of "ultimate technique" were basically S-rank.
If he could learn an S-rank ultimate jutsu, maybe—just maybe—he could kill that man. Even if Izayoi wouldn't teach him his strongest technique, that Gaia Force alone seemed great…especially since Sasuke himself had a fire affinity.
In that moment, Sasuke made up his mind to find a way to win Izayoi over as soon as the exam ended.
After using his Tenseigan ability to locate Orochimaru and confirming that he really had given up on implanting Sasuke with a curse mark in the Forest of Death, Izayoi split from Team 7 and regrouped with Hinata and Shino Aburame to enter the central tower.
With Sasuke unmarked by the curse, the only real threats in the forest were people like the secretly strong Kabuto, Gaara, Lee, and Neji Hyuga. Everyone else couldn't compare.
Sure enough, Team 7—anxious about Orochimaru making another surprise appearance—rested scarcely a minute before hunting down a team that had the Heaven Scroll. They snatched the scroll and hurried straight to the tower, reporting Orochimaru's presence to the Iruka Shadow Clone that emerged from their scroll.
With Konoha now certain Orochimaru had returned to the village, tensions ran high behind the scenes. Many ninja urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to halt the Chunin Exams and focus on hunting him down. But since so many shinobi from other lands were already gathered—plus the invitations to the Fourth Kazekage and various dignitaries had been sent—canceling the exams was impossible.
And so the Hokage had no choice but to dispatch ninja and Anbu for covert searches. Five days later, the second stage of the exam officially came to an end.
~~~
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