Orochimaru really wasn't the "original" Orochimaru anymore.
Because Orochimaru had a ninjutsu called Living Corpse Reincarnation, which let his soul move into a compatible body, granting him a young vessel and, with it, immortality.
In fact, Orochimaru's current body was a woman's.
But enough setting-dumps had been tossed out already, so Hanabi decided to cut in on the two of them for now.
On top of that, if those two kept fighting, the Konoha shinobi would come running.
—Anko Mitarashi had already put it together the moment she found the corpses of the eliminated examinees outside the fight zone, and she was on her way over.
Besides, the scene really did need Hanabi to step in.
"Because I have already pierced through to the secret of life!" Faced with Kushina's question, Orochimaru sounded downright proud. "But your current state—perhaps it can let me take that next step."
Living Corpse Reincarnation had its flaw: rejection between the soul and the vessel.
But the Kushina in front of him was almost stronger than she'd been in life!
"You as you are now aren't necessarily my match." Kushina could tell—Orochimaru still seemed to be holding back, which meant he might not be able to take her.
"There are times when forcing someone to submit doesn't only require strength—"
Orochimaru flicked his hand, and another snake appeared beside him, then spat Karin out from its mouth.
The original-canon Karin's treatment on this set was honestly pitiful. She was practically becoming a perpetual hostage.
But then "Karin" suddenly smiled. "The great Lord Orochimaru, one of the Sannin—has even he come to the point of needing hostages?"
"Mn?!"
Orochimaru looked down and found that Karin had turned into a different girl entirely.
The real Karin had been hauled up to a treetop in the distance by a red rope.
"Ah, it's you—"
The one he'd crossed paths with at the start of the second exam.
That Hyuga kunoichi.
In the instant he laid eyes on her, Orochimaru could tell—this girl was absolutely no Genin.
No—if she'd seen through him at the very start, then she might well be Jonin, or at least Special Jonin level.
He didn't mind another round, but the Konoha nuisances were a problem, and his objective hadn't been met either.
Although Orochimaru wanted to leave Naruto a little "gift," with Kushina present, that probably wasn't going to happen.
"Looks like the side-show ends here."
Orochimaru's body slowly turned to black mud and began sinking, bit by bit.
"You're running away?!"
Kushina shook her fist.
"You're welcome to come after me. Maybe, if I'm in a good mood, I'll send you a little gift… kukukukuku…"
"Looks like this Chunin Exam really is lively."
Hanabi cradled Karin and set her back on the ground, then turned her head.
Hanabi seemed to "not see," yet the two eyes of that mask were aimed straight at Kushina.
Cold sweat instantly poured down Kushina's back.
This person was Naruto's teammate.
"Naruto… why does your aura feel so strange?"
Hanabi tilted her head.
"Ah? Ahem… does it?"
Kushina's voice didn't match Naruto's, and the awkward part was that Naruto still hadn't woken up.
[Thank god my wife can't see this]
[Why does this feel like she's teasing Mama Naruto]
[Hanabi said her sensing works by projecting chakra and reading the bounce-back, like bat sonar. Mama Naruto is basically pure energy right now—to Hanabi she should look like a ball of fire?]
"Your voice sounds weird too…"
"Ah… I, uh, overdid it a bit… Naruto, hurry and wake up!"
[Mama Naruto: I'm drenched in sweat, fam]
[I'm dying, I'm more and more convinced Hanabi is just messing with her]
[Hanabi, you can actually see, can't you!]
[I had my suspicions before, but after watching the OVA, I'm seriously convinced Hanabi's eyes might have grown back already]
The audience's guesses were a long way from the truth—but they were starting to inch closer to the "truth" Hanabi had fabricated.
"Naruto, that fight you just had with that person—something went wrong, didn't it?"
As Hanabi said it, she reached out a hand toward Naruto's face.
Just a single instant—but it seemed to move so slowly.
On screen, the under-one-second moment got a heartbeat soundtrack, was stretched out in time, and even let beads of sweat run down Kushina's face.
But the next moment, when Hanabi's hands made contact, Kushina had already hidden her presence and chakra, reverting back to Naruto.
Naruto still seemed dazed, and then Hanabi pinched his cheek.
"Uu… mn, Hanabi?" Only after seeing Hanabi did Naruto finally regain a bit of clarity.
In that instant, Naruto remembered the genjutsu—Hanabi and Sasuke drenched in blood.
"Ah, that bastard, he actually dared to use genjutsu on me!"
Naruto whipped his head around in a rage, but there was nothing.
Orochimaru had been gone a while; he'd left only a battlefield in ruins.
"Looks like you're still plenty lively."
Hanabi tilted her head, then picked Karin up again.
"What what? What are we doing?"
Thanks to his earlier "offline" period, Naruto was now completely lost.
"Find Sasuke, then go to the tower."
After saying that, Hanabi even pulled out the Heaven and Earth Scrolls to show off.
The original "script" still had the fight with the three Sound-nin after this, and the joint battle with Yakushi Kabuto.
But Hanabi judged that Team 7 didn't need a fight like that anymore.
Better to just head straight into the tower.
And the audience didn't really care for a setup that suppressed the protagonist's power level either; over there, the trend was for stronger-type protagonists.
Being the first team to clear the round was also a place where she could rake in Popularity Points and fans.
What? The original winner, Gaara?
Oh, he was still asleep.
For at least 8 hours.
"Oh… oh-ohh." Naruto nodded, dazed.
"But before that—hold still."
Hanabi let the rope coil around Naruto's arm.
"Whoa, that tickles…" Naruto squirmed, but a moment later he felt his injuries and stamina rapidly recovering. "Eh?!"
"Mn, this side too."
Both Karin and Naruto got a round of healing from Hanabi. Karin had mainly taken psychological damage and was still unconscious, so Hanabi handed her off to Naruto to carry on his back.
As for Sasuke's location, Hanabi had known it for a while. At the moment he was sprawled out in the middle of the forest, having even camouflaged himself with leaves.
"Naruto… you're okay…"
Seeing that Naruto was fine, Sasuke let out a breath of relief.
It seemed that "Uchiha Madara" hadn't found Naruto after all.
"You don't get to rest yet, Sasuke."
Hanabi restored Sasuke's stamina once again.
"Mn?" His injuries and stamina were back.
"Ah, this is an emergency, so I used some emergency measures. We can't stay long in the Forest of Death—we're heading to the central tower now." Hanabi waggled her scroll.
"Mn? And who's she?" Sasuke had noticed Karin on Naruto's back.