Chapter 432 - 117

Chapter 117: The Tense AnkoThe Sage Chakra from the Shikkotsu Forest still needed to assist Sasuke in the upcoming battles, while another surge of Chakra took the opportunity to quickly take root and expand its territory.Sasuke's own Chakra tried to stop it, but it was no match at all; it was utterly defeated the moment they clashed.Sasuke, who was in the middle of a fight, had no time to worry about this. After receiving help from the replenished Sage Chakra once again, he became more composed.He took several Kunai with thin wires attached from his Ninja tool pouch, looked around, and found several thick trees, firmly pinning the Kunaionto them.Afterward, Sasuke maneuvered around, dodging the giant snakes' attacks while quietly encircling the two snakes with the thin wires. When he felt the timing was right, he gave a sudden, forceful pull, instantly binding the two snakes to the large trees, making them unable to move."Sage Art: Great Fireball Technique!" Following that, he quickly formed hand seals and spat a massive fireball from his mouth. The two snakes sensed the danger, but despite their frantic struggles, it was all in vain.Finally, amidst a chorus of heart-wrenching hisses, the two snakes were turned into two crispy, dried snake carcasses. The aroma and the smell of burnt meat could be detected from quite a distance.However, Sasuke was in no mood to pay attention to that. The multiple battles had left him exhausted. He sat down directly to rest and began to inspect the condition inside his body.But as his inspection deepened, his brow furrowed tighter and tighter. He discovered that the strange Chakra had actually grown even stronger than before. Such a powerful growth rate made him somewhat worried.Outside the examination grounds, Anko was happily eating dango and drinking red bean soup. She stuck the remaining skewers into a wooden post, forming the shape of the Konoha symbol.At that moment, two people ran over anxiously and shouted loudly, "Anko-sama, this is bad! We found three corpses. Their deaths were horrific. Based on their headbands and clothing, they appear to be Grass Ninjas who came to participate in the Chunin Exams."With an emergency occurring, Anko, as the chief proctor, could no longer remain so leisurely. She hurriedly rushed to the scene along with the two Chunin.Just as they said, the deaths of these three were extremely horrific. Uniformly, their faces had been peeled off by some unknown means.Seeing this scene, the image of a certain person instantly surfaced in Anko's mind. She clenched her right fist and reached out with her left hand to touch her neck.She then appeared somewhat nervous and quickly said to the others, "This person is extremely dangerous. Quickly go to Hokage-sama and request two teams of Anbu members to come here."After the others received her orders, they set off immediately. Anko, on the other hand, entered the Forest of Death alone, intending to settle things with Orochimaru herself.Naruto had also found Gaara by this time. Three unlucky fools from the Hidden Rain Village had actually dared to provoke them. Faced with this, Gaara naturally showed no mercy, easily sending them all to the afterlife.However, he had already noticed that there were three more people in the nearby bushes who had been secretly observing him. Not yet satisfied, Gaara decided to send them on their way as well.These three were none other than the Shino, Kiba, and Hinata trio. Originally, they wouldn't have gotten involved at all, but Kiba sensed some movement here. Ignoring the persuasion of Shinoand Hinata, he insisted on coming over to see the commotion.As soon as they arrived, Akamaru was the first to react. He had a very keen perception of Chakra. When he saw Gaara, he couldn't help but start trembling uncontrollably.Coupled with Kiba smelling a thick scent of blood from the other party's sand, and seeing the three seemingly powerful Hidden Rain Ninjas being instantly killed, they quickly hid, terrified of being discovered.Gaara raised his hand toward their direction, and sand began to condense bit by bit. Although they really wanted to talk him out of it, Kankuro, as his brother, and Temari, as his sister, could only whisper a few words from the side, not daring to be too forceful.The three in the bushes were too afraid to move. At this moment, they still held some faint hope, silently praying that the opponent was just bluffing and hadn't actually discovered their presence.Seeing that the sand was about to surround them, Kiba was the first who couldn't take it anymore. Just as he was about to act, a figure descended from the sky. With just a wave of his hand, he dispersed all the sand Gaara had condensed.When the sand cleared, the person's true face was revealed—it was Naruto, who had arrived long ago. Seeing this familiar back, the worry on Hinata's face vanished, and a smile reappeared."Naruto!" Before Shino and Kiba could react, she jumped out and grabbed Naruto's arm tightly, saying with a mix of joy and concern, "Naruto, his strength is very great, you must be careful!"Naruto looked at her with a warm smile, reached out to pat Hinata's head, and said, "Don't worry, don't you know my strength by now? With me here, no one can hurt you."Performing such an intimate gesture in front of so many people, combined with words that were a bit mushy to hear, made the young lady Hinata's face turn red.She completely forgot that she was still in a dangerous situation, lowering her head and constantly fiddling with the hem of her clothes, not daring to look up at Naruto.By the time Naruto turned his gaze toward Gaara, his expression had become somber. Of course, this appearance was mainly for the others to see; at this point, he could not yet expose his relationship with Gaara.Naruto instantly released an astonishing aura. Among the three opposite him, except for Gaara, the other two were already so shocked they were speechless.Naruto spoke coldly, "Are you sure you want to fight me here? I'm in a good mood today. If you leave now, I might consider sparing your lives!"Gaara cooperated perfectly, saying, "Oh? It's been a long time since anyone dared to speak to me like that. Hehe, your strength indeed looks very formidable, but I like it.The blood of those ants can no longer excite me. You, perhaps, might barely suffice!"As he spoke, he also assumed a combat stance. At this time, Kankuro behind him said, "Ga-Gaara, let's just forget it! Don't cause more trouble, don't forget our mission."But Gaara showed no reaction to his words. It seemed his brother's status in Gaara's heart was not very high.At this point, Temari also spoke up very humbly, "As your sister, I ask you to please listen to my opinion just this once... Let's just drop it!"This time, Gaara finally relented. He made a casual grasping motion, using sand to condense into a cap, then plugged the large gourd on his back.He turned around and left without looking back, saying as he walked, "Consider yourself lucky this time! But next time won't be so fortunate. There is bound to be a great battle between us."