Hokage Building.
Anko was reporting the latest situation to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"You mean someone killed the candidates and used their identities to enter the Forest of Death?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked after taking a puff of his cigarette.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Anko answered, feeling ashamed.
Such a serious incident had happened, yet she, the examiner, didn't notice. It was only when her subordinates discovered the evidence and reported it that she became aware. She truly felt disgraced.
"However, I have arranged for someone to notify Lord Haruto, and he has already gone to deal with the matter!" Anko quickly added.
"Sou ka!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's furrowed brow immediately relaxed upon hearing this.
Since Haruto had taken action, there was nothing to worry about!
"Sure enough, it was a wise choice to let Anko be the examiner for the second exam!" A wide smile bloomed on Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face, and he mentally gave himself a thumbs up.
Originally, he had struggled over which Special Jōnin to assign as examiner for the second test — or whether to swallow his pride and trouble Haruto himself.
As it happened, one day he saw Anko walking out of Haruto's Golden Egg Shop, her face flushed red with excitement, and he instantly knew what to do.
"I'm such a clever old man!" Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled inwardly.
"Alright, since Haruto is handling it, you don't need to worry. Focus on your tasks with peace of mind," Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Anko saluted and retreated respectfully.
"Heh, I'm still the smartest!" Sarutobi Hiruzen mused as he stroked his beard while watching Anko's retreating figure.
Thinking of Haruto reminded him of the reward he had drawn — the Lotus Platform seeds.
"My dear grandchildren, grow up quickly. Grandpa is counting on you to accomplish great things!" Sarutobi Hiruzen thought as he looked fondly toward the direction of his home.
After receiving the seeds from Haruto's shop, he planted them at home.
Soon after, they sprouted into small, colorful gourds.
There were seven gourds in total, each a different color, each radiating a strong chakra fluctuation — clearly not ordinary plants.
Most importantly, these gourds could talk!
Hearing them call him "Grandpa" every day filled him with warmth he hadn't felt for a long time.
Now, he truly treated these seven little gourds as his real grandchildren. Every day after finishing work, the first thing he did was return home to water them and inject a bit of chakra into their vines.
As they gradually matured, he grew increasingly expectant.
Thinking of his biological grandson, Konohamaru, Sarutobi Hiruzen clutched his chest in sudden grief.
There was simply no comparison!
That little brat only cared about challenging him and plotting to become Hokage! When had he ever genuinely cared for his grandfather?
"Alas, what a misfortune for the Sarutobi clan!" Sarutobi Hiruzen lamented, patting his chest.
Meanwhile, in the Forest of Death—
While Haruto was still teasing Karin, trouble had already struck Sakura!
As she carefully applied ice to Sasuke's swollen eyes, she suddenly sensed a massive chakra rapidly approaching their hiding spot.
In the blink of an eye, that chakra presence arrived.
"So you're hiding here!"
A strong gust of wind accompanied a hoarse, chilling voice that rang in Sakura's ears!
"Who?!" Sakura quickly pulled out her enchanted brick weapon and positioned herself defensively in front of the unconscious Sasuke.
A ninja wearing a Kusagakure forehead protector stepped out from the shadows, sneering wickedly, his gaze fixed solely on Sasuke.
"Little girl, hand over the boy behind you!" the Kusagakure ninja said with a disgusting smile, his slitted pupils narrowing like a snake's.
It was none other than Orochimaru, in disguise.
Originally, Orochimaru had planned only to slip quietly into the Chūnin Exam arena to prepare for his larger plans.
Unexpectedly, he encountered the last heir of the Uchiha clan, who had even awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!
Orochimaru had coveted the Sharingan for a long time — and the Mangekyō Sharingan was a treasure he couldn't pass up.
Although he once obtained several Sharingan from other sources — like the ones he transplanted onto Danzō — he had always looked down upon the ordinary three-tomoe version.
He would never forget the helplessness he experienced when confronting Uchiha Itachi.
Just a single glance from Itachi's Mangekyō froze Orochimaru completely, rendering him immobile.
From then on, Orochimaru's obsession with these terrifying eyes only deepened.
And now, to his great delight, fate had dropped another Mangekyō Sharingan right into his lap.
"Who are you?!" Sakura shouted warily, tightly gripping her brick.
"If you want scrolls, here!" Sakura hurriedly retrieved both Heaven and Earth scrolls from her ninja pouch and threw them at Orochimaru.
At this point, Sasuke was unconscious, and Naruto's whereabouts were unknown. She knew she alone could not defeat this opponent.
Rather than letting this man harm Sasuke, it was better to surrender the scrolls — they could always snatch another pair later!
Unexpectedly, the Kusagakure ninja didn't even glance at the scrolls.
Instead, he stared hungrily at Sasuke, an unsettling gleam in his eyes.
Only then did Sakura realize — the target had never been the scrolls.
It had been Sasuke all along!
"This is bad!" Cold sweat trickled down Sakura's back.
She could clearly feel the monstrous chakra emanating from this man — there was no way she could win.
Moreover, she instinctively knew — this was no Genin. No ordinary ninja could emit such a chilling aura.
"Naruto, you idiot! Where the hell are you?!" Sakura screamed internally, desperate for backup.
"You... you're Haruno's child, aren't you?" Orochimaru licked his lips and stared at Sakura's pink hair.
"You're not my concern. Hand over Sasuke!"
"Never!" Sakura snapped, standing her ground. "We're teammates. I will never abandon my comrades!"
"Hmph. The bond between teammates? How foolish!" Orochimaru sneered.
"If you won't hand him over... then I'll just take him myself!"
The moment he finished speaking, Orochimaru's arms suddenly extended grotesquely, shooting forward and bypassing Sakura to grab Sasuke.
"What the—?!"
Sakura gasped in horror.
This man's body could stretch like rubber — was he even human?!
Or...
Had he also drawn a strange power from Haruto's Golden Egg Shop?!
[End of Chapter]
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