"Whoosh!"
Orochimaru's lower body, like a boneless snake, slithered around the branches, rapidly approaching Sasuke.
Sasuke's pupils suddenly contracted. His fear of Orochimaru intensified. He formed hand seals and spat out a giant Great Fireball that scorched towards him.
The fireball, several times larger than a cartwheel, was accompanied by rolling heat waves, creating a crushing momentum. But Orochimaru did not dodge or evade; he plunged directly into the fireball. As his body charred, his sickly pale hands emerged from his carbonized mouth, prying open his upper and lower jaws, revealing a new, unharmed body.
"Sasuke-kun, your Fire Release's power is quite a bit weaker than Itachi's."
"Itachi!?"
"You know that guy!?"
Uchiha Sasuke's eyes were instantly filled with the fire of revenge, and he frantically threw shuriken.
"Thud, thud, thud."
One by one, the shuriken quickly embedded themselves in the ancient tree.
A nimble and swift black afterimage streaked past. Orochimaru skillfully dodged the shuriken thrown by Sasuke. When he closed the distance to about ten meters, his eyes suddenly transformed into snake pupils. Sasuke, who met his gaze, instantly froze and could not move.
"It's over, my little prey."
"This—is this Genjutsu?"
"Some kind of binding jutsu!"
Sasuke's body was stiff, his scarlet Sharingan spinning frantically, filled with shock and horror.
"But it doesn't matter. I can see your potential, it's not less than Itachi's."
"As long as you are under my tutelage, one day, you will surely surpass Itachi."
Orochimaru straightened up, formed hand seals, and with a "whoosh," his neck suddenly elongated, becoming soft and long like a snake's, with his head at the end. He opened his mouth and lunged towards Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun!!"
Sakura cried out, wanting to rush over to help, but was sent flying by a giant snake that appeared from nowhere.
"Hiss~ No one can save you!"
Orochimaru's eyes were sinister and filled with madness, his mouth opening even wider.
The Sharingan he had yearned for was finally within his grasp!
Just as Orochimaru was about to bite Sasuke's neck and successfully implant the Cursed Seal, an orange figure appeared out of thin air with a "whoosh."
With a kicking posture, he delivered a powerful kick, directly sending Orochimaru's head flying with a "bang." His long neck, like a broken thread, detached from his head, and his headless body slumped to the ground.
"Oh~"
"That kick, it must have gone at least several kilometers, right?"
Naruto landed beside Sasuke, raised his hand to gaze, watching Orochimaru's head turn into a black dot, passing directly through the dense, leafy ancient forest, disappearing from sight.
Sasuke, freed from Orochimaru's restraint, felt as if his strength had been drained. His body went limp, and he half-crouched, half-knelt on the tree branch, panting heavily, with beads of cold sweat the size of soybeans appearing on his forehead.
"Na—Naruto," Sasuke turned his head to look at Uzumaki Naruto, who had appeared like a divine soldier, and said weakly, "Quick, save Sakura!"
"Don't worry."
Naruto instantly teleported above the giant snake. Just as the giant snake opened its massive mouth, about to swallow Sakura, he plummeted down, casually striking the snake's head with a Rasengan.
"Sasuke-kun, I'm going to die—"
As the pale-faced Sakura closed her eyes in despair, she heard a huge roar beside her.
She opened her eyes and saw a handsome figure descending from the sky, head down, feet up, with one arm outstretched, holding a Deep blue Chakra orb, striking heavily on the huge snake's head.
The snake's originally gaping, ferocious mouth slammed shut, hitting the ground with a heavy thud, creating a huge crater. Mud and sand splattered, and the snake's head was naturally covered in cracked scales, bloody and mangled, with a gaping hole revealing stark white bones.
"You are—Naruto—"
Seeing the heroic and handsome Naruto, Sakura was instantly stunned, her face filled with disbelief.
When did the dead last in her impression become so powerful?
And he had matured a lot, and grown much taller.
"Oh, right, Sasuke! Naruto, quick, go save Sasuke-kun!!" Sakura immediately shouted.
"..."
Naruto shook his head helplessly.
Good thing he wasn't single.
Otherwise, he would definitely be eating dog food every day in the newly formed team, just like Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru.
Naruto pointed at a thick branch and said, "He's still alive and well."
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and looked over, seeing that Sasuke had already stood up and was walking towards Orochimaru's headless body, which had slumped down like an empty snakeskin. He first threw shuriken to test, then formed hand seals to cast the Great Fireball Technique, preparing to burn Orochimaru to death.
"Save your Chakra; don't waste your effort. That guy has already escaped."
Naruto instantly appeared beside Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder and patting it.
Sasuke, whose nerves were still taut, immediately deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping onto the branch. His expression was complex, filled with the lingering fear and dread of a narrow escape, as well as the anger and frustration of being completely suppressed by Orochimaru throughout the ordeal.
Naruto went to Orochimaru's shed skin, casually tore open the clothing, and retrieved the Scroll of the Earth hidden beneath the empty skin. He said to Sasuke, "I'll take this Scroll of the Earth. You guys can continue looking for other people's Scrolls of the Earth."
With that said.
Naruto left with an Instantaneous Body Technique.
Sakura jumped onto the tree trunk, hugged Sasuke, and cried out of fear.
"Woof, woof, woof, woof—"
Behind an ancient giant tree, the hidden Inuzuka Kiba couldn't help but sigh in relief. He hugged Akamaru, who was perched on his head, and comforted him, saying, "At least we all survived, didn't we?"
When Naruto reunited with Hinata and Ino Yamanaka, he found several more beast carcasses on the ground.
The Death Forest was originally full of poisonous insects and fierce beasts.
However, under normal circumstances, even a fierce tiger was no match for a Genin.
"I've got the Scroll of the Earth. Now, as long as we find Karin, we can head to the high tower in the center of the Death Forest." Naruto shook the scroll in his hand and said with a smile.
Hyuga Hinata nodded obediently, "Naruto-kun, I seem to have found the girl you mentioned."
Naruto forgot that the Byakugan's vision was only in black and white, but Hyuga Hinata still located Karin based on the clues about the Grass Ninjas and the girl.
"Let's go!"
Naruto, Hinata, and Ino Yamanaka rushed towards Karin's direction.
At the same time.
Two Grass Ninja companions were mercilessly ordering Karin to do this and that, practically treating her as livestock in their team.
"What use is a helpless, weak girl?"
"Aside from being a mobile blood bank, she can't fight enemies. She's trash."
"Go, go, go, go to the river and get us some water to drink."
"A useless mother raised a useless daughter. These two useless people are freeloading in our Village. I don't know why the Village Head took them in."
"Now the useless mother is dead, leaving only her, an orphan, hahaha—"
Watching Karin's small, frail figure go to fetch water, the two Grass Ninjas mocked and laughed.