'Typical of you, your thought processes are completely different from normal people.'
The corners of Sasuke's mouth curved slightly upward. Beside him, Sakura's forehead veins throbbed, furious at the arrogant remark.
"You idiot! Is that something to brag about?!"
"I have no interest in fools."
Hearing this, Orochimaru paused, glanced at Naruto, shook his head, and said calmly, "Then, Sasuke-kun, until next time. When we meet again, you'll witness my true power!"
Although Orochimaru had suffered a minor setback at Sasuke's hands, Sasuke's expression showed no inclination to join him. Yet Orochimaru remained unconcerned. His sole purpose here was to assess Sasuke's strength and potential.
In a month, when he killed the Third Hokage and destroyed Konoha, Sasuke would inevitably witness his power.
With nowhere else to turn, Sasuke would have no choice but to seek him out, becoming his perfect vessel.
'I eagerly await that day. Heh heh heh...'
As he spoke, Orochimaru's body sank into the ground, vanishing from the battlefield in the blink of an eye.
"Aaaaargh! That bastard! He actually called me an idiot!"
After Orochimaru disappeared, Naruto's mind remained sluggish for a moment. When he finally snapped out of it, he erupted into furious curses.
"You are an idiot!" Sakura retorted mercilessly.
"Even you're saying that, Sakura..." Naruto wilted instantly, his head drooping in dejection.
"Is he really gone?" Sakura ignored the ashen Naruto, her eyes still darting warily around, vigilance etched on her face.
"He's gone," Sasuke confirmed with a nod.
He could no longer sense Orochimaru's chakra or presence—he had indeed left.
"Good."
Hearing this, Sakura finally exhaled in relief, the tension that had been coiled tight within her eased.
Deep down, Sakura couldn't help but resent how Team Seven always seemed to encounter such overwhelmingly powerful enemies. And each encounter seemed stronger than the last.
While other teams were still battling mountain bandits and robbers, they had already faced a gauntlet of formidable foes.
Last time, they'd encountered four S-Rank Rogue Ninjas. This time, they'd faced the legendary Three Legendary Sannin!
The child's sixth sense warned her that they would face even more dangerous enemies in the future!
'My ninja life is so dangerous!' Sakura thought to herself.
To eliminate this old serpent without any risks, they'd have to strike while he was weakened.
Sasuke cast a deep, lingering glance in the direction Orochimaru had fled before speaking.
"Let's go!"
After this heart-stopping but ultimately harmless interlude, Team Seven resumed their mission. It wasn't until long after they had departed that Anko Mitarashi finally arrived.
"As I suspected—it's Orochimaru's handiwork!"
Anko's gaze swept over the explosion marks and severed tree trunks, then fixated on the scattered fragments of serpent corpses.
"Snake remains... this is Orochimaru's ninjutsu!"
Anko gritted her teeth, her figure flickering as she dashed off in a specific direction.
A dozen minutes later, bathed in the silvery moonlight, a reunion between master and disciple, separated for nearly a decade, was unfolding within the Forest of Death.
"Orochimaru."
Anko clutched the Cursed Seal on her shoulder, struggling to lift her head to look at her former master, the man she had once revered. Her voice seethed with hatred as she rasped, "Why? Why did you infiltrate Konoha? What's your purpose?"
Orochimaru calmly observed his struggling disciple, his voice detached. "Because of a certain child here," he said mildly. "That child possesses talent far surpassing even the most gifted Uchiha. Truly astonishing talent, wouldn't you say? Heh heh heh."
"Him?" Anko froze, sweat pouring down her face. Gritting her teeth, she pressed, "Are you talking about Uchiha Sasuke?"
"Indeed, that's the child." Orochimaru stepped closer, extending his right hand to caress Anko's cheek with mock affection.
A sinister smile spread across his face. "Are you jealous? Still resentful that I abandoned you all those years ago? Heh heh heh... It's all your own fault for being so mediocre. After all this time, you're still so weak. Unlike you, he's an exceptional child!"
"You—"
A flicker of despair crossed Anko's pained expression.
The physical agony was nothing compared to the torment of being abandoned by the man she had once revered above all others.
To Anko, who had lost both parents, Orochimaru had been more than just a teacher—he had been a father figure.
Perhaps what Anko truly hated wasn't Orochimaru's betrayal of Konoha, but the fact that he had left without taking her with him.
Waves of excruciating pain and weakness surged through her body. Anko bit her tongue to stay conscious, forcing out, "Your schemes will fail."
As Orochimaru gazed at Anko, a barely perceptible flicker crossed his eyes.
He had once asked Anko, when she was overwhelmed by the Cursed Seal and her mind was clouded, if she wanted to leave Konoha with him. But Anko herself had refused.
Perhaps a clear-headed Anko would have agreed to follow him, but Orochimaru believed that such a decision wouldn't reflect her true nature.
Even so, Orochimaru ultimately spared the life of this disciple who knew so many of his secrets. Instead, he cast a forbidden technique to erase some of her memories.
"Heh heh. Let's play this out properly."
Orochimaru flicked out his long tongue to lick his lips. "By the way, don't you dare stop the Chūnin Exams. If you dare to take away my amusement, Konoha will face its end."
With those words, Orochimaru's figure gradually sank into the earth, vanishing without a trace.
'Huff, huff, huff...'
After Orochimaru left, Anko gasped heavily for breath, struggling to her feet. She moved with deliberate, slow steps, forcing her way through the dense forest.
'I must report Orochimaru's actions to the Third Hokage immediately.'
ROAR!
Anko hadn't gone far when a ferocious tiger's roar echoed through the forest. A massive tiger with yellow fur striped with black markings, its muscular shoulders and back bulging like those of a colossal beast, leaped out of the undergrowth.
Its eyes, as large and round as copper bells, locked onto the upright ape-like figure standing a few meters away. The tiger opened its jaws wide, revealing rows of sharp, menacing teeth.
'Damn it!'
The moment the tiger appeared, Anko's face paled. Under normal circumstances, she could have dispatched the creature with a casual strike.
But now, tormented by the backlash of the Cursed Seal, unable to even refine Chakra, she was clearly unqualified.
With great difficulty, Anko drew a kunai from her waist and gripped it tightly.
Her eyes fixed intently on the distant tiger, her body lowered slightly.
'The tiger's weakness is its soft underbelly. The moment it pounces, all I need to do is...'
ROAR!
Before Anko could finish her thought, the impatient tiger roared and lunged toward her, its blood-red maw wide open.
'Whoosh!'
In the instant the tiger leaped, a longsword transformed into a razor-sharp streak of light, piercing straight through the tiger's massive skull.
The tiger twitched briefly before its eyes went dark. It crashed heavily to the ground, its life extinguished.
'Was she about to try a sliding tackle?'
Sasuke sized up Anko's stance, a strange expression on his face.
___
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