Grass ninja: "Aaaahhh! Uchiha!!!"
That reaction only made Sasuke's anger burn even hotter.
The Uchiha had once been a proud clan—yet overnight, the world's perception of them had been overturned.
His brother had borne every ounce of pain for the sake of the village and peace in the shinobi world, yet those people called him a butcher… a murderer?!!
And now even looking at Sasuke, they treated him like a monster.
"Heh. So you've got another teammate?" Sasuke glared darkly at the three Grass ninja. "If I were you, I wouldn't have run to your allies."
"...???"
"You say my brother and I are killing maniacs. If I don't kill you, wouldn't that make the title undeserved?"
In other words, running to find another teammate only meant giving him one more person to kill.
"Sasuke-kun!!!!!"
Sakura screamed from behind him, hoping to bring back the usual Sasuke Uchiha—the one who looked cold on the outside but was warmer and kinder than anyone.
"Mm..."
The Curse Mark throbbed again. Sasuke felt his mind growing hazy and overheated.
And then—
Orochimaru's voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
"Kill… go on, kill them, Sasuke-kun."
Across from them, one of the Grass ninja realized there was no escape. Without hesitation, he grabbed Karin's arm and bit down hard!!
"...?!"
Sasuke and Sakura froze.
Why would he bite his own teammate?
After that ninja finished, the red-haired girl was dragged over like some kind of shared container. Another one grabbed her arm and bit down as well!!
"Mm..."
The red-haired girl only let out a faint sound, as if she was already used to it.
Only after they tossed her aside did she clutch the bite mark and quietly gasp in pain.
Sakura stared in shock. "They're… biting their own teammate?!"
Sasuke observed carefully. "Sakura. Look at their condition."
Following his hint, Sakura quickly noticed something.
After biting that girl, the two Grass ninja—who had just been gasping for breath while being chased by Sasuke—had instantly returned to peak condition!!
"Is that a ninjutsu?!" Sakura exclaimed. "I've never heard of anything like that!"
"..."
Both of them turned their probing gazes toward the red-haired girl.
Karin yelped in fright.
Because of her past experiences, she was extremely wary of people—especially those who witnessed her ability.
She curled into herself nervously, staring at Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha in fear.
Sakura couldn't help asking, "Are you… really their teammate?"
Rather than teammates, the way that girl was treated—and her fearful obedience—was nothing like the relationship Sakura had with Sasuke or Naruto.
Sasuke felt the same.
"Hey! You there—woman. I'm asking you. Are you their teammate?"
"Ah..."
Karin made a small sound, then fell silent.
Could she really count as their teammate?
Did they ever treat her like one?
"I..."
She looked at Sasuke nervously, unsure how to answer.
Sasuke grew impatient. But the woman looked more like she had been forced into being their teammate.
"Then I'll deal with you two first. Grass ninja!"
"Don't—don't get so cocky!"
The two Grass genin pulled out kunai and shuriken, throwing them wildly at Sasuke Uchiha with almost no thought!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!!"
Honestly, the two Grass ninja were utterly useless.
Not only were they weak, they didn't even know how to use a feint. They emptied half the shuriken in their pouch at once, only for Sasuke to wipe them all out with a single Great Fireball. They nearly burned themselves when the flames rushed toward them.
"..."
Even Sakura Haruno couldn't bear to watch that level of incompetence.
"Hmph."
Sasuke snorted coldly. He was just about to try the new technique he had copied from Rock Lee—
Lion Combo!
Suddenly—
[Question—]
That mechanical voice—the one that had terrified every genin during the first round of the Chunin Exams—exploded beside their ears again!!
[Question: After the Land of Whirlpools and its hidden village, Uzushiogakure(Hidden Eddy Village), were destroyed, an orphan girl drifted to the Land of Grass and Kusagakure. What is her surname?]
[Reward 1:]
No sacrifice required — Sealing Technique: Reaper Death Seal — permission to use once.
Usage:
Form the following hand seals in order—
Snake → Boar → Ram → Rabbit → Dog → Rat → Rooster → Horse → Snake → then clasp both hands together.
Shout "Sealing Technique: Reaper Death Seal" to activate.
[Reward 2—]
[From the responder's village, ten deceased shinobi will be randomly selected. The responder may freely choose one of them—]
[—to revive.]
"...!!!"
Reaper Death Seal?
What kind of thing was that? A ninjutsu?
Only usable once?
And it required a sacrifice?
Just like the question from the first exam, this one contained an enormous amount of information.
The Land of Whirlpools?
None of them had ever heard of such a country.
Nor had they heard of a village called Uzushiogakure…
For Sasuke Uchiha, who himself was a survivor of a destroyed clan, the idea of an entire country and village being wiped out was shocking.
If a whole village had been destroyed, then there must have been many people living there.
That meant the key clue was likely in the second half of the question.
A girl who drifted to the Land of Grass… Kusagakure…
"..."
Sasuke stared hostilely at the Grass ninja across from him.
This question clearly gave them the advantage.
Yet the two Grass ninja looked just as confused.
What Land of Whirlpools? What Uzushiogakure?
Because of their village's policies, Kusagakure had taken in some wandering ninja from other places. That red-haired woman was one of them.
But among all those outsiders, who would know which one came from Uzushiogakure?!
Inside the barrier of this domain, only five people were trapped:
Two Grass ninja.Karin.Sasuke Uchiha.Sakura Haruno.
After experiencing the previous "Horror Quiz", they all knew one rule—
They could not speak.
The moment they spoke, it might be judged as answering the question.
Getting it right would be great.
But not everyone had Naruto Uzumaki's ridiculous luck.
He had practically shouted nonsense and still answered correctly.
...
Time passed second by second.
It was another psychological trial.
Within the domain of the Horror Quiz, every one of them kept their nerves stretched tight, afraid of accidentally speaking, wary of enemy attacks, and cautious of any hidden rule that might suddenly take their life.
Elsewhere, Kankuro found food and followed the obvious trail Sakura had left behind. When he realized something was wrong, he immediately turned back to notify Gaara, Naruto, and the others.
Meanwhile, two more people were rushing toward Konoha.
Itachi's crow: "..."
A bad feeling crept over him.
Uzumaki Mito couldn't understand the crow's words, but she was skilled at sensing changes in chakra. She quickly noticed Itachi's urgency.
"Let's move faster. If we go straight from here, we'll reach Konoha's Training Ground 44. We don't need to detour through the main gate. I can open a path through the chakra barrier defenses anywhere, at any time."
Itachi's crow: "Caw, caw." Thank you, Lady Mito!