Zaku had already fallen.
Dosu's sound waves—almost like some invincible martial arts technique—formed visible ripples in the air, rapidly surging toward Naruto.
Naruto leaped away.
Zaku had been caught in Dosu's friendly fire. His back instantly split open, several wounds deep enough to expose bone appearing across his body. Already on the brink of death, Zaku's body twitched violently a few times before his soul returned to the pure land of the Reaper.
Seeing his attack miss, Dosu gritted his teeth and tried to locate the masked Naruto again.
But suddenly
A kunai flew toward him.
The speed wasn't particularly fast. Dosu didn't even bother moving his feet.
He simply tilted his head and avoided it.
But the moment the kunai passed beside him
Naruto suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed the kunai with a snap.
Flying Thunder God – Second Stage.
Even in his guarded state, Dosu seemed to realize what had happened.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
"Behind you!"Kin, the female Sound ninja, had already rushed forward, throwing several senbon needles toward Naruto.
But it was already too late.
Time seemed frozen in that instant.
The speed of Flying Thunder God was far beyond what human nerves could react to.
Without hesitation, Naruto stabbed the kunai into the back of Dosu's head—his fatal weak point.
It was like pressing the pause button on life.
Dosu's life flame extinguished instantly.
The five senbon arrived a moment too late. Naruto pulled Dosu's corpse in front of him, using it as a shield.
Thud. Thud.
The needles embedded deeply into Dosu's body.
"You Sound ninjas really like stabbing your teammates in the back, huh?" Naruto said coldly. Through the hollow eyeholes of his mask, a chilling red glow shone.
Kin stopped abruptly.
Under the gaze of the Nine-Tails' crimson eyes, fear wrapped around her like a suffocating net. It felt as if some terrifying beast in the darkness had locked onto her, waves of bloodlust crashing over her like a storm.
"W-Who are you?" she asked trembling. "That outfit… you're clearly from Konoha!"
"You're pretty observant," Naruto said as he slowly walked toward her.
"Orochimaru sent you, right? Your plan was exposed long ago. I've been watching you ever since you entered the village."
"Right now, your Lord Orochimaru is already being hunted down personally by the Hokage. He has nowhere to escape."
"So there's no need to keep you around anymore."
"That's impossible!" Kin shouted.
"There's nothing impossible about it," Naruto replied, stopping a few steps away from her.
"In that case, let's test your loyalty to Orochimaru."
"What are you going to do?" she asked in terror.
"Interrogate you," Naruto said calmly. "Though I doubt you'll say anything."
"So…"
He raised his hand.
Brilliant blue lightning gathered in his palm, illuminating the mask with flickering light.
"I've decided to let you die in agony. I hope you maintain that ridiculous loyalty of yours. Don't disappoint me."
"I'll kill you, bastard!" Kin screamed.
Naruto ignored her insults.
The interrogation method he was about to use came from a very questionable inspiration he once encountered online.
One peaceful afternoon, while searching for a line of poetry, he accidentally wandered into a suspicious corner of the internet.
Through a cloud of pixelated censorship, he saw a video recommendation titled:
"Chūnin Exam Interrogation of a Female Ninja."
After watching the whole thing, Naruto had silently clicked dislike.
Disgusting. Completely immoral.
He did not approve of that kind of Will of Fire.
Reality wasn't some ridiculous adult fantasy.
Naruto's face remained cold as he threw the Lightning Strike directly onto the female Sound ninja.
Blue lightning surged wildly.
A scream erupted instantly.
Naruto simply watched coldly.
If she died, Option One would be fulfilled—eliminate the Sound trio—earning him Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
If she talked, Option Two would activate—gaining Wind Release: Wind Blade.
Either way, Naruto didn't really care.
So he simply left the choice to her.
Live…
Or remain loyal to Orochimaru.
Crackle!
Crackle!
Lightning crawled mercilessly across her body. When the electricity finally faded, Kin collapsed onto the ground.
Her eyes rolled back. Tears and drool streamed down her face. A large puddle had formed beneath her.
Naruto glanced at her.
Lightning gathered in his palm again.
Clearly, he intended to run the process again.
"NO! Don't shock me again!" she screamed. "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
She curled into a ball, trembling violently.
There was no warmth in Naruto's gaze.
If she refused again, he would absolutely electrocute her to death.
The thought alone made her shudder.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" she cried desperately.
"You sure?" Naruto asked with mild disappointment.
"Yes!"
"You know… you could also stay silent," Naruto said thoughtfully. "I actually kind of want a Fire Release technique."
Kin's breathing became heavy.
She didn't understand what that had to do with her—but she knew one thing.
If she didn't speak soon, she would literally be turned into a human semiconductor.
What a living demon…
Seeing her pleading expression, Naruto reconsidered.
Wind Release wasn't bad either.
"Fine," he said. "Go ahead."
Kin stuttered through pieces of information.
Naruto shocked her two more times during the interrogation to ensure she wasn't lying. Only after her statements matched perfectly three times did he finally stop.
In matters of intelligence, ninjas had to be cautious.
Right?
Kin had no idea whether that was reasonable or not.
She lay completely numb on the grass, unable to move.
Hearing footsteps approach, she forced her head to turn and stared blankly at the culprit.
Naruto simply looked at her and said:
"Since you told the truth, I'll give you a piece of advice."
"Leave Konoha after the exam."
"Don't try to find Lord Orochimaru again."
"For someone with no value like you… he'll kill you."
With that, Naruto vanished into the forest.
[Wind Release: Wind Blade has been granted.]
After dealing with the Sound trio, Naruto immediately headed back toward the meeting point.
About half an hour later, before he even reached the agreed location, he heard the sound of fighting.
Since it was close to where he planned to regroup with Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto paused for a second before heading in that direction.
At the same time, he removed the ill-fitting Root uniform.
When he arrived
He witnessed a legendary scene.
Orochimaru, his neck stretched unnaturally long like a snake, bit into Sasuke's neck.
Leaving behind a little "strawberry."
(End of Chapter)
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