"Not planning to try out Orochimaru's 'gift'?"
Naruto watched as Sasuke helped the genjutsu-bound Sakura sit against the tree trunk. The black lightning around Naruto's hand faded as he said lightly, "I thought you'd let me see just how strong you've become."
"You should know very well that I wasn't trying to fight you just now," Sasuke replied calmly. "Three days from now, the Izanagi I've set in my left eye through a transcription seal will rewrite reality. So whether or not I exposed your fake unconscious act, you were always going to erase Sakura's memory of seeing those markings on my body."
As he spoke, Sasuke smoothly completed several hand seals and placed a hand on Sakura's head.
"I'm not an idiot. After that man—Orochimaru—bit me, a bizarre chakra surged out of my body against my will. I could feel my power increasing, but it carried clear malice, eroding both my body and my mind."
"If I let that chakra keep invading me, I'd eventually lose myself. And don't think I'm still as ignorant about power as I used to be. At my current level, that amount of strength isn't worth much. I've already locked it away completely."
"Tsk, tsk—such big talk," Naruto said teasingly. "If it weren't for these past few years of training, you wouldn't have survived what he left in you. Also, you did it in the wrong order. You should've used the memory-erasure formula first, then applied the genjutsu."
He smiled faintly. "By the way, Orochimaru's present can make you even stronger at full power."
"Uchiha Sasuke already possesses the power for revenge."
Sasuke reapplied the genjutsu to Sakura, then slowly turned around. His eyes were once again pitch black, and the curse marks covering his body had vanished.
Looking straight at Naruto, he said evenly, "What I want now is the truth behind the Uchiha massacre."
"That's easy," Naruto chuckled. "You already know this deep down. Plenty of people know the truth—Konoha's upper leadership led by the Third Hokage, for example. Or you could ask Orochimaru, the one who left that curse mark on your shoulder. And of course, there's Uchiha Itachi. They—"
"That's enough!"
The calm on Sasuke's face shattered instantly. He took a deep breath, then said coldly, "Tell me the next step of the plan."
"Alright, I was just getting to that," Naruto replied. "But you almost ruined the performance back there."
He shook his head. "After Orochimaru bit you, why didn't you immediately pretend to pass out like we practiced? And when he was observing you before leaving, you even tried to loosen the seal. Do you realize what could've happened?"
Sasuke's eye twitched. "I did collapse in the end. And I didn't remove the seal."
"Heh."
Naruto clicked his tongue. "Is it that hard to admit you were scared? Worse monsters bit you during genjutsu training, yet when it came time to perform on stage, a snake rattled you that badly."
Veins bulged on Sasuke's forehead. "Are you going to explain the rest of the plan or not?!"
"The rest of the plan…"
Naruto's eyes suddenly sharpened. He formed hand seals, creating a Shadow Clone, then transformed himself into a different appearance.
"I'll be gone for a bit," he said. "Once Sakura wakes up, keep moving at the same pace as before."
With that, he vanished in a flash.
"…Huh?"
Sasuke stared suspiciously at the Naruto who sat down beside Sakura. He and Naruto had trained in the Forest of Death since childhood—this place was extremely familiar to him.
But what was Naruto's real body going to do? And why had he transformed into a woman?
A chill crept up Sasuke's spine. His right hand unconsciously touched his left shoulder.
He remembered Orochimaru—the monster whose neck could stretch over twenty meters.
That guy had also disguised himself as a woman.
Elsewhere in the Forest of Death
Naruto appeared silently atop a tree, gazing at a figure slumped beneath a massive boulder in the distance. Judging by her build, it was a young girl.
Inside the sealed space, Kurama had returned at some point. It remained silent, watching the small figure through Naruto's eyes, its expression complicated.
Not long after, two figures suddenly appeared atop the boulder. After cautiously scanning their surroundings, they jumped down and landed on the ground—never once sparing the slumped girl a glance.
"Damn it… compared properly, we're no match for these guys at all!"
"Forget stealing scrolls from other teams—at this rate, we'll be lucky if we can even keep our own."
"No way! We can't disgrace our village! We're representing it out here—next time, we have to take down our opponents and get a scroll!"
One of them suddenly strode up to the slumped girl, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her to her feet.
"Good thing sensei made us bring this one along. Hurry up and replenish our chakra."
"After that, make her sense again. This trash is only useful for that much."
The other person stepped up as well. Each grabbed one of the girl's arms and bit down.
The girl slowly lifted her head, her expression utterly numb.
Tap. Tap.
"Who's there?!"
The two biting her arms suddenly heard distinct footsteps. They shoved the girl aside, drew a longsword and a kunai, and assumed defensive stances.
As the footsteps drew closer, a red-haired woman emerged into view.
"Just one person?"
"That's impossible! She got this close without us noticing—hurry, make her sense—"
"Hey! Did you hear me? Get up!"
"Be careful, the enemy might—gh!"
Before the warning could finish, the red-haired woman blurred and vanished. The next instant, a kunai stabbed straight toward the speaker's face.
Agonizing pain tore through his upper jaw—and his consciousness faded into darkness.
"What?!"
The remaining man was seized by terror. His hands shook as he clutched his longsword.
He hadn't seen anything. From over thirty meters away, the woman had closed the distance in a single step. By the time he registered it, the kunai's tip had already pierced through the back of his companion's skull.
Thud.
The red-haired woman planted her foot on the corpse's chest. With a flick of her fingers inside the mouth, she yanked out the kunai—splattering blood and brain matter.
The longsword-wielding man's legs gave out. He collapsed to the ground, hastily pulling out his scroll and placing it down.
"The scroll's here! Please don't kill me!"
He scrambled up and leapt desperately toward the boulder behind him—but before his feet could land, a sharp pain pierced his chest.
Then there was nothing.
"Am I… going to die?"
The last remaining girl trembled as she stared at the red-haired woman who had killed her teammates. In her haze, she seemed to see a familiar figure.
"Maybe dying isn't so bad… then I can see Mom again…"
"Do you really want to die that badly?"
The red-haired woman smiled.
"No! I don't want to die!"
Tears streamed from the girl's eyes. "Please… don't kill me…"
"Throw away your forehead protector," the woman said, bending down and extending her hand. "Stand up. Tell me your name. Then take my hand."
"My… forehead protector?"
Her voice trembling, the girl removed it and tossed it aside. She cautiously stood and grasped the woman's hand.
"M-my name is Karin."
In the next instant, her vision blurred—
—and when she focused again, she found herself standing inside a luxurious hall.
Inside the seal, Kurama sent Naruto a message.
"Naruto, Isobu just confirmed the use of Edo Tensei. Also, after messing with his own subordinate, Orochimaru ordered those three Sound-nin to go after Sasuke."
Back with Team 7, Sasuke had already learned the next part of the plan from Naruto's Shadow Clone. He was now questioning Naruto about Orochimaru.
"Did Uchiha Itachi really suppress Orochimaru with just one look?"
"If you don't believe it, once my plan is complete, you'll see with your own eyes how pathetic Orochimaru looks in front of Itachi."
"I didn't say I don't believe it. I'm just measuring the gap between us. I can use the Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes too—hm?"
Sasuke stopped mid-sentence as the Naruto before him frowned and poof—burst into smoke. Another Naruto instantly appeared in his place.
"Get ready," Naruto said. "The second wave of actors is about to enter."
Sasuke nodded, then his tone shifted. "I want to confirm something."
Naruto looked at him. "What?"
"Is Kakashi your enemy?"
"Not at the moment."
"Does he know the truth about the Uchiha massacre?"
"No. But he suspects."
"…Is Shikamaru your enemy?"
"Not at the moment."
"..."
Elsewhere in the Forest
Different teams advanced toward the central tower at varying speeds—some eliminating rivals, others being eliminated along the way.
In a mountain hollow, Gaara stood expressionlessly atop a small sand dune, arms crossed. Temari and Kankurō stood behind him, tense, communicating only through glances.
After a moment, Gaara stepped down. As he moved, the sand dune lifted into the air and flowed back into the gourd on his back.
When it vanished, several mangled corpses were revealed beneath.
In a clearing, Chōji knocked out three Takigakure ninja restrained by Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu, then efficiently pulled a scroll from one of them.
On a grassy field, Hinata alone used Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation to block a storm of steel needles. Immediately after, Shino—wearing dark glasses—silently directed his insects to eliminate three Rain ninja, ignoring Kiba's annoyed glare.
Near a river three kilometers from the central tower, Neji gave instructions to Tenten and Lee. In a blur, the three vanished in separate directions.
Dusk
Naruto created another Shadow Clone and hid it in the shadows. He then walked over and sat beside the sleeping Sakura.
"Remember—Orochimaru wants you to kill them," Naruto said quietly. "But I need one corpse and one living captive for experiments."
With that, he closed his eyes.
Sasuke sat calmly on the trunk of another tree. But when he heard Orochimaru's name, a killing intent flashed unmistakably through his dark eyes.
About twenty minutes later, his figure suddenly blurred—
Whoosh!
He plunged into a nearby forest, and the crackle of lightning echoed.
"Impossible! He already endured the curse mark?!"
"Why so fast?! What kind of Lightning Release is that?!"
"Run! Kabuto's intel was wrong—he betrayed Lord Orochimaru!"
"I can't move—help me dispel this genjutsu!"
"—!"
After several screams, Sasuke returned—dragging a black-haired female ninja in his left hand, and a bandage-headed male ninja in his right.
"What exactly is the Konoha Crush Plan?" Sasuke asked.
"You already read their memories with genjutsu, didn't you?"
Another Naruto rose from the ground behind him, frowning. "Why are both test subjects still alive?"
Sasuke tossed them down. "I need to compare whether the information in their heads matches."
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