Orochimaru wore a faint smile as he gazed with amusement at the thickening fog before him.
"They can strike preemptively, and even after a successful attack, they remain calm. Truly troublesome prey," he said coolly, evaluating the performance of the two like a diner critiquing dishes laid out on a table.
He fixed an aggressive gaze on Sasuke, then suddenly lifted his head and opened his mouth wide. A body drenched in thick, viscous mucus slowly slid out.
Sasuke froze.
The intensely unsettling sight exceeded the limits of his understanding, causing him to forget how to react for a brief moment.
Smack!
Someone slapped the back of his head. Sakura appeared behind him with a stern expression.
"Don't lose focus. Finish him in one go."
Sasuke was stunned. He hadn't expected Sakura to be far calmer than he was. A sudden tightness seized his chest.
"Tch…" he muttered softly, then said to Sakura, "From now on, I'll take the lead. You—"
Before he could finish, Orochimaru—mid-shedding—suddenly accelerated, sliding toward Sasuke like a massive python!
His lower body had completely transformed into that of a snake. Sasuke's pupils shrank sharply, his reaction slowing by a fraction of a second.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Immediately after, a gentle cry echoed from within the thin mist. A dragon-shaped column of water wrapped in vapor surged skyward, roaring as it charged straight at Orochimaru!
The ground brimmed with killing intent as both dragon and serpent erupted from the earth!
Orochimaru showed no anger whatsoever. He spat a sticky kunai from his mouth, casually evaded the Water Dragon, and slithered toward Sasuke in a twisting motion.
Sasuke finally reacted. He pulled a wire-bound kunai from his pouch and hurled it at Orochimaru. With a single strike, Orochimaru knocked it aside, just as the Water Dragon slammed heavily into the ground.
The churning water vapor rebounded the deflected kunai, sending it flying back toward Orochimaru once more!
This was a clever combination of shuriken techniques and Water Release.
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, adjusting his body against the momentum, narrowly dodging the returning kunai. His twisted posture made the scene appear deeply unnatural.
A surge of frustration rose within Sasuke, and at the same time, the restless agitation of youth began to stir in his heart again.
Since the formation of Team Seven, both Naruto and Sakura had delivered brilliant performances—but Sasuke Uchiha's had been unremarkable. Even the enemy standing before him had been stunned by their refined tactics, to the point that Sakura had to slap the back of his head to snap him out of it.
At this point… could he really still talk about revenge?
Orochimaru's gaze met Sasuke's. He immediately reshaped his lower body into human form and crooked a finger at him, his eyes full of provocation.
As if saying: Come here.
"Damn it…"Sasuke's head heated up. Filled with fighting spirit, he charged straight at Orochimaru—but Orochimaru retreated instead, leading Sasuke in circles through the forest.
Sakura hurried after them, shouting, "Slow down! This is a trap!"
"Stop talking nonsense and keep up!"
Sakura frowned. Sasuke had already begun acting impulsively—his thoughts written plainly across his face.
Just as she was about to speed up, she suddenly noticed something carved crookedly into a tree trunk.
…
[Step on me? Heh.]
Naruto frowned, muttering the words carved into the tree as he paced back and forth.
The marks were fresh—likely made recently—ruling out the possibility that they were left before the exam. The inscription was in Japanese, not Chinese. Other than that, there were no additional clues.
What did this mean? "Notice me?" Naruto felt confused.
In fact, the moment Naruto saw the words "step on me," his mind instinctively drifted back to childhood memories. Long ago, when QQ Space was still popular, many friends would leave comments saying "step on me" to show they had visited.
But clearly, this time traveler didn't mean it that way.
Naruto suddenly stopped, his expression turning strange.
"Wait… don't tell me… you mean that?"
Thanks to the internet, Naruto had seen all kinds of bizarre creatures in his previous life, including one with a very… distinctive source of "experience points" that had left a deep impression on him.
With that realization, the words before him suddenly seemed to glow.
"Oh my god… what kind of perverts are these people?" Naruto felt his teeth ache. Was this ninja world some kind of massive 'Don't Laugh' challenge?
Can't you dress like a normal person?!
Naruto hesitated.
He immediately abandoned his original plan and began sprinting toward Sakura.
He didn't even dare think too deeply about it. What if Sasuke got caught by that freak? One was already effeminate—and the other… wasn't much better.
…
On the other side, Sakura's expression was no better—if anything, it was worse than before.
[Lick feet? Heh.]
"Down, down, down, down… down, buddy!"
She let out a shrill scream, hugging her chest tightly as goosebumps covered her entire body. She looked like someone suffering from acute PTSD.
In her previous life, when she streamed content related to Buddhist philosophy, the most common types of private messages she received were: people who wanted to support her, people who wanted her to become their master, and people who wanted her to become their master.
The last category disgusted her the most, often accompanied by obscene photos—like self-promotion, or more accurately, a grotesque sales pitch.
A vivid display of biodiversity.
Sakura's legs began trembling uncontrollably. It felt just like one of those internet creeps trying to meet her offline.
Terrifying.
"Could that be Orochimaru?" Sakura panicked. Although she hadn't seen Orochimaru leave any markings during the fight, she couldn't rule out the possibility that he'd used the mist to conceal them.
If it really was Orochimaru, then Sasuke was in serious trouble—like a flashing red DANGER sign had appeared over his head.
But on second thought, Orochimaru's behavior still fit his established character. More importantly, Sasuke had already broken free from the original storyline, making it impossible for her to judge the situation accurately.
Should I chase after them?
After some thought, Sakura suppressed her fear and began moving forward.
Her pace, however, was abnormally slow—like a computer frozen mid-crash, utterly lacking motivation. At the same time, she nervously scanned her surroundings, pulling out a kunai and holding it against her chest for a sense of security.
"It's fine. This is the ninja world. I'm strong now. No one can hurt me," she muttered, psyching herself up. Her speed finally began to increase.
"BOOM!!"
Suddenly, faint explosions echoed from all around, followed by a series of roars, animal cries, and the sharp blasts of exploding talismans igniting.
The sheer scale of the commotion instantly drained what little courage Sakura had left. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, her vision blurred by the mist.
The situation deteriorated rapidly. The noise drew closer and closer.
She couldn't help thinking of Naruto—would it be better if he were here?
"No… I have to save myself!"
Using all her strength, Sakura yanked out her kunai and stabbed it viciously into her own thigh.
Thud!
But the next instant, she saw a hand clamp tightly around the kunai's blade.
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "A Witty Life in the Naruto World" is 30 chapters ahead there