Meanwhile, several meters away, the pile of broken trees suddenly trembles before an explosion, sending the pieces of the trees flying all over the place.
Orochimaru stood at the epicenter of the explosion and slowly dusted off the dirt from his clothes before touching his where Keimei's punch landed earlier.
A faint bruise could be seen on his pale skin. His skin mask had been peeled off after being torn off by the sharp pieces of the trees after he was sent flying.
A slight frown appeared on Orochimaru's face while staring at Keimei, who happened to be staring at him.
'Interesting...'
He had gathered information about all of the Genin, especially those who were freshly graduated Genin, from Kabuto and other spies he planted inside the village.
From what he read from the reports, Keimei was considered a talented Genin and promising ninja.
She was a person worth observing, yet none of the reports from his spies mention this kind of strength. The way he punches him somewhat resembles the technique Tsunade uses but with some differences.
What was truly eye-opening was the fact that from what he calculated, Keimei possesses strength equal to a Kage-level ninja.
Keimei wasn't the only abnormal one but also Naruto. These two clearly possess strength far surpassing what others know, and this mystery started to intrigue Orochimaru.
Orochimaru licked his lips once again while his eyes shined with dangerous curiosity.
"How fascinating..."
As his gaze locked onto Keimei, his lips slowly formed a big sinister smile, which made Karin and Hikari frown, and a feeling of dread rose in their hearts.
Keimei slightly frowns after seeing the dangerous light in Orochimaru's eyes and expects to have trouble fighting Orochimaru from here on.
Keimei and others already realize Orochimaru's true identity after the skin mask he wore peeled off. They know that fighting Orochimaru will definitely be harder and they might even die here.
Just as Orochimaru's fingers twitched—his body slightly leaning forward as though he were about to strike—his golden slit-like eyes suddenly narrowed.
At the same time Keimei's gaze, which previously locked at Orochimaru, shifted. She wasn't alone, and neither was everyone else.
Their attention snapped toward a spot several meters away on the forest floor where Sasuke was lying on the ground, his body writhing violently—much more than it previously had.
Low groans escape from his throat as his fingers dug into the soil beneath him. His back arched slightly, and tremors ran through his entire body as if something inside him were struggling to break free.
Then it appeared.
From the spot on his neck where Orochimaru had bitten him earlier, a strange black marking slowly began to spread.
The Cursed Seal of Heaven crept across his pale skin like living ink.
At first the markings were thin and jagged, branching outward from the three tomoe-shaped seals on his neck. But within seconds they began crawling across his collarbone, spreading along his shoulders and down his arm like dark flames licking across his body.
The air around Sasuke began to distort faintly. A sinister and oppressive chakra slowly exudes from his body, and the air around him slowly distorts.
"Sasuke...!" Satsuki whispers, her voice filled with worries for her twin brother.
Upon witnessing the abnormal changes that happened to his brother, Satsuki gritted her teeth and jumped down onto the forest ground much to Hinata's surprise.
Hinata follows Satsuki while her brows are furrowed deeply. The veins around her eyes bulged as she activated her Byakugan, her pale eyes focused entirely on Sasuke, and what she saw made her uneasy.
The cursed seal on Sasuke's neck was acting like a vortex. Dark chakra was pouring out from the seal and forcefully flooding into Sasuke's chakra pathway system.
The energy moved violently through his tenketsu, spreading throughout his entire body without restraint.
It wasn't natural chakra circulation, and it was as if the seal were invading his body.
Before Satsuki and Hinata arrive near Sasuke, someone already beat them to it. Kaori, seeing the situation around Sasuke, immediately jumped down from the branch and quickly appeared near him.
The moment she arrived near Sasuke, she quickly knelt beside him, grabbing his shoulders while trying to check his condition.
"Sasuke! Can you hear me?!"
His breathing was ragged and uneven. For a moment it seemed as if he didn't recognize her presence.
Then suddenly his body stopped trembling, which brought joy to Kaori, but her joy was suddenly cut off as Sasuke opened his eyes and slowly stood up.
Kaori was slightly shocked that she wasn't able to react to Sasuke's sudden action. The reason for this shock was the transformation of his eyes.
The once dark eyes transform into crimson red with two tomoe on his left and one tomoe on his right eyes slowly rotating.
Sasuke finally awakened his Sharingan.
Right now Sasuke ignores everyone and focuses on staring at Orochimaru, and anyone who manages to stare at Sasuke's eyes can see the burning killing intent within them.
Orochimaru's smile widened after seeing Sasuke awakened.
"Ahh…"
A soft, delighted laugh escaped from him.
"How wonderful."
His golden eyes gleamed with twisted fascination as he stared directly at Sasuke.
"The seed has begun to sprout."
Sasuke's body lunged forward with sudden swiftness, his legs propelling him like coiled springs. The air around him seemed to warp under the raw force of his chakra, each step sending ripples through the forest ground.
His Sharingan blazed, and without hesitation, he launched a precise strike towards Orochimaru, his fist cutting through the air with lethal intent.
Orochimaru's smile deepened and his golden eyes narrowed with interest. He moved with unnerving grace, sidestepping Sasuke's attack as though he had anticipated every move the latter made.
The force behind the strike barely grazed him, scattering leaves and fragments of soil in its wake. He titled his head slightly, letting out a soft, amused hiss.
"So… improvement," Orochimaru murmured, his voice a silky whisper filled with dark delight. "Very impressive…"
Before Orochimaru could counterattack, a sharp, commanding voice rang through the forest.
"Everyone help Sasuke! "
Keimei's scream pierced the air, urgent and resolute. Immediately after, she thrust her hands forward, weaving through the air with fluid, rapid motions.
A gust of wind erupted, spiraling violently toward Orochimaru, swirling with an intensity that seemed to sharpen Satsuki's resolve. The wind carried with it a tangible energy, bolstering the potency of any jutsu channeled through it.
Satsuki's eyes widened with realization. Her hands moved in a flurry of intricate signs, weaving the sequence for Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. The wind from Keimei's attack twisted around the fiery sphere forming at her mouth, amplifying its size and intensity exponentially. With a fierce roar, she released it, the torrent of flames cutting through the air with a scorching roar, its heat bending the light around it.
Simultaneously, Kaori and Hinata leapt from their positions, kunai clutched tightly in their hands, explosion tags already affixed to the handles. They hurled the kunai in perfect synchrony, each one arcing through the air with deadly precision, aiming to encircle and overwhelm Orochimaru in a storm of fire and explosions.
The combined assault bore the unmistakable weight of desperation and coordination, a united front against the unnerving calm of Orochimaru. The air crackled with energy, the forest trembling as if sensing the power of the Genin and Jonin converging in a single moment.
Naruto, standing at the branch of the tree watching the fight with indifference, suddenly turned his head towards a specific direction.
He suddenly sensed someone appear out of nowhere close to the forest and death, and with the space-time fluctuation he felt after the appearance of the presence, he felt Naruto already realize the identity of this person.
Orochimaru's smile falters for only a fraction of a second. Like Naruto, he also senses someone's presence suddenly appear near the Forest of Death and knows who this person is.
His golden eyes flared, and with uncanny swiftness he wove hand signs and slammed his palm into the forest ground. A burst of smoke suddenly appeared, and the moment the smoke dissipated, Orochimaru vanished, leaving only destruction in the area.
The forest fell eerily silent for a heartbeat. The combined attacks of Keimei, Satsuki, Kaori, and Hinata had missed their target—but their display of raw power left a lingering tension, proof that Orochimaru had underestimated the hidden potential in this group.
Despite the failed strike, a faint, dark satisfaction curled in Orochimaru's mind. He had not achieved his original goal—the cursed seals intended for Satsuki and Hikari—but the discoveries he had made today were far more intriguing.
Keimei's raw strength, Sasuke's latent power awakened, and Naruto's presence—they were all pieces of a puzzle that promised far greater revelations.
Orochimaru's lips curved into a knowing, sinister smile as he disappeared completely, his words barely audible as if carried by the wind:
"The seeds… have begun to sprout. This is only the beginning."
The forest remained tense, leaves trembling in the aftermath, as the remaining shinobi regrouped, their breaths ragged, their eyes filled with both fear and determination. The battle might have paused, but the storm had only just begun.