Naruto was sprinting deeper into the forest, branches whipping past him as he zigzagged between towering trees.
Behind him, the massive snake thundered through the undergrowth, its body tearing a path straight through anything in its way. Even after all this time running, it hadn't stopped for even a second. Naruto could still feel the tremors from its enormous bulk shaking the ground, and it was getting closer.
But all of that changed when Naruto, sprinting towards the outer area of the forest, came to a stop in front of a trio from the Grass Village. Two of the genin eyed him warily, while the third stood off to the side, shyly peeking at a small book clutched in his hands.
"Hehe… we finally caught one all alone. Hey, you stop right there and hand over everything you've got!" one of them ordered, smirking at Naruto.
'Are they blind or something?' 'Naruto thought, glancing over his shoulder. 'There's a massive snake right behind me. Can't they see why I'm running? Or do they just not care?'
The snake slithered closer seeing this Naruto burst forwards once again darting past the Grass trio without a second thought leaving them behind before they could even finish their sentences.=
Seeing this, the leader moved to block Naruto's path only to spot a distant shape cutting through the trees. As it drew closer, its details sharpened, and his expression darkened.
"Dammit! Why didn't you say anything about what was behind him? Don't you guys know I can't see that far? I'm myopic!" the leader barked.
"Boss, I can't see that far either! But didn't you hear the noise? I was too focused on watching the brat and forgot to pay attention to the area around us." the second one admitted.
"Cough! I'm bad at hearing too."
The leader whipped his head toward the last teammate the only one with perfect eyesight and hearing only to see him still flipping through his book
"..."
"..."
That bastard was still reading Icha Icha Paradise and making a lewd face, completely ignoring the giant behemoth bearing down on them.
"Slap him Hard! So, he understands what kind of mess we're in because of him," the leader snapped, his face twisting as the snake drew nearer.
Smack!
"Ow! What was that for—" The bookworm froze mid-complaint as his eyes landed on the serpent. "Why didn't you guys tell me about this earlier?!"
Open your damn eyes and stop reading that filthy book and maybe you'd know
"Boss, what do we do now?"
"Run! What else? Split up and pray it doesn't pick you!"
The three bolted in different directions, each silently hoping the monster would chase someone else.
The chaos worked in Naruto's favor. Seizing the chance, he pushed onward, putting precious distance between himself and the snake. Finally, he collapsed against a tree, chest heaving as he gulped in ragged breaths.
After catching his breath for a minute, Naruto vaulted onto a high branch, eyes sweeping the forest below.
"Safe… for now," he muttered, glancing around. The forest here was thick, the canopy high and shadowed. His heartbeat was still hammering in his ears, but it was starting to slow down.
Plop!
That was when he felt it a single drop of water on his head.
"…It wouldn't be… above me, would it?" Naruto whispered, dread creeping into his voice. He didn't want to look up. Every nerve in his body screamed not to. But he had to know.
Slowly… he tilted his head back.
Silence.
Then—
"…Oh, come on."
It wasn't the snake. It was a bird. The tiny creature stared back innocently… after… doing its business on him.
Naruto's shoulders slumped. "Really? Out of everything that could happen to me today?" He gave the bird an irritated glare. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
He huffed, muttering, "At least it's not—"
His words cut off. His head turned.
When he glanced back down, his blood ran cold.
Right below him, the giant snake's head emerged from the trunk of the same tree he was standing on. Somehow, the monster had climbed its way up, its massive body coiled along the bark. Its cold, vertical pupils locked onto him like a predator studying its prey.
For a split second, Naruto's body refused to move.
BOOM!
The snake lunged at him, but Naruto sprang aside just in time, landing against a neighboring tree trunk and clinging to it with chakra.
"Hey! You really think I'm just gonna run from you?!" he shouted, forcing a glare despite his pounding heart. That sudden attack had genuinely shaken him.
With one swift motion, he unraveled a scroll packed with ninja tools, ready to unleash everything he had.
Naruto unrolled his scroll in one swift motion, pulling out a stack of explosive talismans. His eyes watered
not from fear, but from the pain of knowing how much this was going to cost him.
Glancing at the massive snake, however, his lips curled into a grin.
He kited the snake through the forest, weaving between trees while spawning shadow clones, handing each one a scroll. The clones darted in different directions, but the serpent's eyes never left him.
'So it's got some brains… but not much.' The snake didn't even bother glancing at the clones—it was locked on him like prey.
"If that's all it's got, this should work," Naruto muttered, hoping his plan would succeed. If not… he'd have to use his last resort, and that was something he really didn't want to do unless he wanted to get eliminated from the exam early.
His plan flowed perfectly. The snake followed him straight toward a trap his clones had already prepared a nice little surprise for this dumb reptile.
Spotting the clearing ahead, Naruto's eyes lit up. That was the spot. He shifted direction mid-run, charging into the area and flashing a signal to his clones to get ready. The moment the snake crossed in
BOOM!
or so he thought.
Naruto blinked. "...Huh?"
His gaze swept the clearing. And then he saw it.
two more snakes, each as massive as the previous one, burst out of nowhere.
They emerged from the treeline just like the first one towering, tree-high monstrosities, their thick bodies coiling and uncoiling. In a matter of seconds, the three of them had positioned themselves in a perfect triangle around him, cutting off every escape route.
Naruto froze. His shadow clones were torn apart in an instant by a swarm of smaller snakes lying in wait.
"How many of them are there?" he muttered, his eyes darting around.
Sweat trickled down his cheek just thinking about this.
'Great. Just great. From one giant snake… to three. And a whole damn nest.'
His heart pounded, his mind already sharpening in the way it always did when it came down to life and death. There was no room for jokes now he was cornered.
And this time, he knew he might not walk away that easily.
Naruto began forming hand signs slower than usual unlike when he practiced the Great Breakthrough. Back then, an idea had struck him about a different application for wind-style techniques. Following that idea had led him down a new path, and although the jutsu was still imperfect, it worked well enough for tricks and surprises.
It took twenty seals to perform, but as one of the smaller snakes lunged at him first, he unleashed the jutsu at full power. The result was instant the snake collapsed with a bloody hole in its forehead.
He still hadn't given this technique a name, but its concept was simple. After mastering the Great Breakthrough, Naruto had trained his body to release wind chakra at high speed for maximum lethality in a smaller area.
However, the Great Breakthrough was an area-damage jutsu effective but too slow against strong opponents. When he'd used it on Orochimaru earlier, the man had easily dodged. Worse, it took time to reach its target, meaning skilled enemies could evade it entirely if they weren't too close.
One day while practicing, Naruto had tried forcing the chakra to move faster while narrowing its release area. That experiment had birthed this new attack small, compact, and lethal.
It could be fired instantly, and once the hand signs were completed, he could unleash it three times in quick succession. The speed alone made it a nasty surprise; most opponents wouldn't expect an immediate follow-up strike after dodging the first.
Now, with two more snakes closing in, he fired off two more chakra bullets, dropping them before they could get close. His confidence surged for a moment until three of the massive snakes began slithering toward him. The smile vanished from his face.
Naruto pulled out his last ninja tool scroll with a serious expression. "This is going to be bad…" he muttered.
'I just hope they get here fast,' he thought, unrolling the scroll and preparing more hand signs.
Meanwhile, the other side of the battlefield had taken a darker turn.
Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as Orochimaru's neck stretched toward him again. In mere seconds, Sasuke found himself immobilized just like before. But unlike the last time, Naruto wasn't there to interfere.
This time, Orochimaru's fangs sank into Sasuke's neck.
A burning pattern spread out from the bite mark, and a wave of unbearable pain ripped through Sasuke's body. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.
"This is my gift to you," Orochimaru whispered. "When the time comes, you'll understand its value. You'll seek me out yourself… and I'll be waiting for that day."
With that, Orochimaru slipped back into the bushes, leaving Sasuke writhing on the ground.
Sakura rushed over, her voice tight with panic. "Sasuke! What happened? Are you alright?" But the only answer she got was his cry of pain before he collapsed unconscious.
Her fear deepened as she clutched him tightly. She carried him up into a nearby treetop for safety, trembling as she checked his condition. His skin was burning, Sasuke had broken into a fever almost instantly.
Back to Naruto things had really gone south after the sudden horde came after him.
At this point, Naruto looked battered. His clothes were torn in several places, and his body was covered in bruises from the relentless fighting. He'd managed to take down many of the mid-sized snakes with ninja tools and detonation tags, but the effort had left him heavily injured.
The giant snake trio, however, didn't even seem bothered by his attempts. Even the detonation tags barely scratched them, and every time he tried to stack multiple tags for a stronger blast, they interfered before he could finish.
While Naruto was still trying to figure out his next move, the tail of one of the snakes whipped at him, sending him flying. He rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
"Ahhh! I've had enough of you guys! I'll use it even if it gets me disqualified! Damn you!" Naruto shouted, fury and desperation mixing in his voice.
He knew the technique would hurt him badly and could ruin his chances of reaching the center, but with their scroll stolen, his options were gone. The thought of failing this test and having to wait half a year for another chance burned at him.
Determined, he began forming the hand seals for Wind Release: Great Breakthrough but altered the sequence, adding ten more seals.
"Wind Style: Sky Annihilation!"
Accumulating that much chakra was agony. Blood streamed from the corner of his mouth, but he refused to stop, pushing until he reached the maximum output. Then, with a fierce glare, he released it straight at the snake trio.
"Take this!"
The jutsu exploded forth. At first, it looked like nothing but air, yet within moments, the entire hundred-meter radius turned chaotic. Everything except the solid ground was swept toward the snakes trees, debris, even loose stones—leaving behind nothing but barren earth. The raging storm surged forward, crashing into the horde and the big three like a hurricane.