"Interesting brat. You can still move under my killing intent?"
Within the Forest of Death, the woman wearing a white coat, black tight-fitting ninja gear, and a Kusagakure's forehead protector licked her lips with her tongue.
The blond, blue-eyed boy had such vast Chakra it was almost on par with the Uzumaki Clan.
His identity was self-evident. Touching this guy would probably provoke Konoha's relentless pursuit.
And the other one, the black-haired, black-eyed boy, was her target for this trip.
"I saw you just got the complete set of scrolls!"
She reached behind her back and pulled out a Heaven Scroll, then used her tongue to roll it up and swallow it into her stomach right in front of the two.
"So, can you hand over your scrolls to me?"
"Fine, I'll give you the scroll, as long as you let me and my companion go!"
Sasuke, who was most calmly analyzing the gap in strength between them, didn't hesitate at all. He took out the Earth Scroll from the pouch on his back.
"Huh? Sasuke, what are you doing?!"
Naruto widened his eyes, looking at Sasuke in shock.
"Haven't you felt it yet? The oppressive feeling from her, just like Sakura's!"
Sasuke looked back with a grave expression, his blood-red Two-Tomoe Sharingan glaring at Naruto.
"So, when prey encounters a hunter they cannot match, they choose to give up to protect themselves and their companions? A good idea!"
The Kusagakure's Ninja narrowed her eyes, like a cat toying with its prey, admiring the attitude of the struggling prey.
"You idiot, scared out of your wits!"
Naruto rushed forward and punched Sasuke, sending him flying.
"Hand over the scroll and she'll let us go? When did she ever give us such a promise!"
Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke, who had sat up wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, trembled.
"Heh heh heh, correct answer. I can just kill you and take the scrolls!"
The Kusagakure's Ninja pulled up her sleeve, bit her finger, and smeared blood on the seal on her arm.
"So, entertain me properly! Summoning Technique!"
Amidst the chakra fluctuations, a sinister silhouette hidden in the shadows slowly writhed, tearing through the shade of the trees and coming before the two.
It was a giant snake, about three stories tall. It flicked its forked tongue, revealing a pair of sharp fangs in its mouth, and lunged to bite Naruto and Sasuke.
'Damn it, is fighting the only option left? And I had to be reminded of such a simple truth by Naruto!'
Sasuke's gaze sharpened. He took a kunai and held it in his mouth, his fingers threading through fine steel wires.
Sensing his teammate's fighting spirit with Observation Haki, Naruto showed a smile: "That's more like it! That's the Sasuke I know!"
"Less talk, let's go!"
Sasuke took the lead, throwing the kunai in his hand at the woman. Four or five steel wires intertwined at the end of the kunai, strangling forward.
At the same time, his hands formed the Tiger hand seal, and a Uchiha-specific Fire Release Ninjutsu attacked fiercely.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A storm of flames erupted from the ground, igniting the steel wires intertwined with the kunai, forming a dense, cutting net of fire.
After receiving guidance from Mikoto, Sasuke's skill in Fire Release had improved by leaps and bounds.
By combining Observation Haki with the skill to perform delicate operations, he could even integrate tools into his Ninjutsu, improving existing techniques.
"Hahaha, that's it! Let me understand you even more!"
The Kusagakure's Ninja formed hand seals. The soil on the ground surged up in layers, blocking the fire net and the tools.
Then the giant snake leaped over the charred earthen wall, biting towards Naruto.
"Don't underestimate me! Rasengan!"
Naruto also leaped high into the air. As he turned, the clone behind him that helped him gather Chakra exploded into smoke.
A brilliant blue Chakra Sphere in his hand smashed down onto the giant snake.
Boom!
The rapidly rotating, high-density Chakra poured into the snake's head, churning its bones, flesh, and the protected brain into pulp.
"That Ninjutsu... It's exactly like that man's."
She extended her long tongue to lick away the dust on her cheek. Her gaze swept over the two boys' eyes locked onto her, and the woman began forming hand seals again.
"And that Sensory Jutsu is a bit tricky, but..."
Having nearly inherited all of Hiruzen's Jutsu, the techniques she could use to deal with the current situation were too numerous to count.
She threw herself down, and with the help of the dust raised by the big snake's body falling to the ground, she dived into the ground beneath the Forest of Death.
"Not good!"
In his Observation Haki perception, Sasuke had already lost track of the opponent.
Frowning, the tomoes in his eyes spun, using his Sharingan to track the flow of Chakra.
Soon, he discovered a large hole dug by Earth Release where the opponent had just landed, allowing him to infer the attacker's intent!
"Naru-"
Sasuke whipped his head around, but faster than his voice was the ground shattering beneath Naruto's feet.
"What!"
A rainbow light flashed through Naruto's pupils. His hands barely managed to form the Ram hand seal.
But the solid clones created by Chakra disintegrated into nothingness before those pale hands.
Under the surge of adrenaline, Naruto felt everything slow down.
But before the boy, the killing intent in that stern, cold face remained unwavering!
'No, I can't die like this!'
With his emotions in extreme turmoil, another Chakra residing within Naruto began to erupt.
His eyes turned crimson, and a vertical pupil split open within the scarlet hue.
"Go to hell, you bastard!"
Naruto punched down. His fist, mixed with the long-absent Chakra, became incredibly heavy.
Instantly, it punched through the opponent's body, splattering a large amount of flesh and blood onto the ground.
Naruto's face showed joy: "Yosh!"
"Unfortunately, that's still not enough!"
Even with her neck bones broken and her chest cavity pierced-
The woman, like soft mud, opened her mouth wide, and a pair of hands reached out from within!
Caught off guard, Naruto was struck on the abdomen by the purple Chakra surging between the opponent's fingers.
"Five Elements Seal!"
The woman covered in mucus pushed hard, and Naruto let out a scream.
He was sent flying backward, crashing into a tree, falling unconscious.
"Damn it, Naruto!"
The thing just now happened so quickly that by the time Sasuke broke through the smoke to provide support, Naruto was already unconscious.
The Kusagakure's Ninja's tongue extended, dangling in the air.
A low laugh came from her mouth: "Heh heh heh, your companion is unconscious too. What will you do now?"
A pair of snake eyes locked onto Sasuke's every move, anticipating what kind of surprise this best genius of the Uchiha Clan could bring her.
"Huff, do I have to use that move?"
Sasuke took a deep breath, formed hand seals, gripped his right wrist with his left hand, and lowered his center of gravity.
The Sharingan locked onto the direction… Observation Haki predicted the movements.
Lightning Attribute Chakra gathered in his palm. The stray arcs of lightning rubbed against each other, erupting into a high-pitched screech like ten thousand birds chirping!
"It's actually this move!"
Forming hand seals, Chakra surged from within her body. The Kusagakure's Ninja spread her arms towards Sasuke.
But in that brief instant, the boy's figure whistled through the air, tearing through it, leaving behind fleeting white trails.
Then, an arm wreathed in lightning pierced through the woman's arm and head.
"How about that? Can't use your weird Substitution Technique this time, can you!"
Sasuke turned in mid-air. The Chidori in his hand slashed downward from the middle, completely tearing the remaining remnants apart, charring them into carbon!
With his Chakra exhausted, the Ninjutsu dissipated.
Sasuke took two or three steps back to create distance, kneeling on one knee, breathing heavily.
"Finally..."
Clap, clap, clap!
"Truly splendid!"
The Kusagakure's Ninja, parts of her skin covered in charred black damage revealing pale flesh beneath, walked forward applauding.
"You... that's impossible!"
Sasuke's shocked eyes scanned the battlefield before him. The remnants he had sliced apart earlier had turned into mud, melting into the ground.
He wanted to get up and fight again, but the Kusagakure's Ninja in front kicked him in the stomach.
Then, he was hit with a Genjutsu Binding, powerless and collapsed to the ground.
"Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Kekkei Genkai… all matured. It's time for harvest."
"Then, let me give you a special gift before we part!"
The pale-skinned man formed the Boar hand seal with his hands, and his neck suddenly elongated.
Baring sharp fangs, he lunged to bite Sasuke's neck.
'Not good, is this the end...?'
Sasuke's vision darkened and his body felt as heavy as if filled with lead.
Even though his Observation Haki had detected the incoming attack, Sasuke was powerless to dodge.
"I've got you, Uchiha Itachi's little brother!"
Joy radiated from the golden pupils, but it froze on his face the next moment.
Boom!
A small foot wearing a ninja sandal suddenly appeared, stepping on his face and pressing his head into the ground.
Earth and stone shattered. Haki roared. The girl's wild entered Orochimaru's sight.
"Yo, Orochimaru! Thanks for looking after this kid!"