Encounter! Orochimaru, the S-rank wanted criminal
The night was dark, with a bright moon and few stars.
Naruto was on night watch, his head bobbing as he dozed off.
The fire in front of him was almost burned out, with only a small flame struggling to stay afloat. Another gust of wind would probably extinguish it.
"Eh~"
Suddenly, Naruto sat up straight with a start, forcing himself to stay awake. "I really want to sleep, but if Shinki and Sasuke find out, I'll definitely get yelled at..."
Then, Naruto looked at the dying fire and added a few more pieces of dry firewood.
After doing all that, he noticed a faint rustling sound coming from the bushes ahead.
Who is it?
Naruto squinted and asked cautiously.
There was no response.
After a while, seeing that the bushes were still moving, Naruto went to check on them alone so as not to disturb Sasuke and Shinki's rest.
They tiptoed and parted the bushes.
From the darkness, a huge black shadow suddenly burst forth!!
"Whoa!!"
The enormous black shadow sent Naruto flying dozens of meters in an instant!
At the same time, its enormous body crushed the fire that had just been rekindled!
Just as that enormous body was about to crush Sasuke and Shinki.
The Shinki suddenly awoke!
He grabbed Sasuke beside him and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to quickly teleport away!
When Sasuke opened his eyes, he found himself suspended in mid-air, with Shinki holding him by the back of his collar!
The Ninja from Kusagakure who released the giant snake licked her lips with her long tongue, a hint of admiration in her eyes. "Flying Thunder God brat, your reaction is pretty quick."
Shinki, carrying Sasuke, used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to Naruto's side.
After catching Naruto's body as he flew backward, Shinki used Flying Thunder God Kunai to pin him to the trunk of a large tree, then teleported over and did some simple repairs.
Naruto had just been hit by the giant snake, coughed up blood and grimaced, saying, "It feels like my heart is going to be crushed."
Naruto's expression was one of great pain.
Shinki looked up and, by the moonlight, gazed at Naruto's chest.
In fact, what the kid said was absolutely true; his chest had been knocked down by the impact!
It's a miracle that this kid can still talk.
Shinki said with concern, "Find a place to hide first. Sasuke and I are here."
"No, my Ninja Way is to forge ahead and never retreat!" Naruto said through gritted teeth.
"Seriously? If you keep going like this, you're going to die soon."
Shinki rebuked without hesitation.
Fortunately, Naruto possesses terrifying regenerative abilities; if any other Ninja had taken that hit, they would probably have collapsed on the spot!
On the other side, the Ninja glanced at the two Grass Ninja beside her and casually ordered, "You two stay here and keep watch. I'll play with them."
The two Grass Ninjas nodded and quickly left.
On the other side, after settling the injured Naruto, Shinki and Sasuke landed and confronted the Ninja from the Grass Ninja and the Giant Snake behind her.
"Aren't you going to run? You should realize that there's a huge gap between your abilities and mine."
As the Ninja spoke, she stuck out her long tongue and looked at Sasuke and Shinki opposite her with great interest.
When she looked up, Sasuke and Shinki sensed an intense killing intent!
Sasuke was so terrified by the killing intent that he froze, every cell in his body seemingly screaming in terror!!
Shinki was in slightly better condition, but because it was the first time he had witnessed such a powerful killing intent, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, he was also stunned for two seconds!
Two seconds later, Shinki stabbed himself in the thigh with Kunai, forcing himself to calm down, and asked, "Who exactly are you?"
"Orochimaru," the Ninja said.
Upon hearing this name, Shinki's breath caught in his throat.
He had seen that name on the Village Entrance bulletin board before!
Orochimaru, S-Rank Wanted Criminal on the Konoha bulletin board!
He was once a disciple of the Third Hokage!
One of the Sannin of Konoha!
Shinki did not speak further.
There's no need for further negotiation; anyone who becomes S-Rank Wanted Criminal in Konoha is an extremely vicious and ruthless individual.
As a Ninja Village of Konoha, meeting a wanted criminal like this is already a fight to the death.
"Sasuke."
Shinki shouted coldly.
"Hmm?" Sasuke turned around.
He thought Shinki was going to say something encouraging at this point, but Shinki's next sentence was. "Find a chance to run away."
Sasuke: "...???"
"This person was once a disciple of the Third Hokage, and is S-Rank Wanted Criminal in Konoha. He is not someone you or I can easily deal with. Right now, protecting ourselves is the most important thing."
Shinki said in a deep voice.
After saying that, he reached out and pulled Sasuke next to him.
Orochimaru noticed Shinki's subtle movement and opened his mouth wide.
"Whoosh!"
His wet, slippery tongue shot out from his mouth like a sharp sword, aimed at Shinki and Sasuke!
Shinki didn't give him a chance to attack, and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport Sasuke to Naruto's side.
Then, he pulled up the heavily injured Naruto and teleported again!
Orochimaru remained completely unperturbed after the entire Shinki Group disappeared.
"No matter how far you go, you still have to submit the Scroll at the center of the Training Ground. I don't believe you still left the Flying Thunder God Formula there."
On the other side of the Training Ground Forty-Four.
Tenten and Neji are already asleep; Rock Lee is on night watch tonight.
Of course, as a hardworking genius, Rock Lee didn't waste any time to train, and was currently doing push-ups by the campfire.
"Nine hundred and ninety-six... nine hundred and ninety-seven... nine hundred and ninety-eight... Alright! Two more and we'll reach one thousand, one step closer to defeating the Shinki!"
The next moment!
"Whoosh!"
The Shinki team suddenly appeared behind Rock Lee and landed directly on top of Rock Lee while he was doing push-ups!
Fortunately, Rock Lee was physically strong enough to support the three of them on his own.
Upon discovering a heavy object suddenly behind him, Rock Lee instinctively assumed it was an enemy attack and kicked it backward!
"Whoosh!"
The high-speed kick carried a powerful gust of wind!
"Smack!"
Shinki reached out to stop him, and said in a deep voice, "Don't make a move, it's me."
"Shinki? And Naruto and Sasuke? What are you three doing here all of a sudden?" Rock Lee's eyes were filled with deep confusion.
Not far from them, Tenten and Neji, who were both light sleepers, were awakened by the commotion.
Tenten rubbed her eyes. "I must be having a recurring dream. How come I saw that handsome red-haired guy again?"
Neji: "..."
You're even dreaming about her? You've revealed something incredible!
Are you trying to steal the Scrolls from us?
Upon seeing the three, Neji assumed an attack stance.
Although they are from the same village, everyone is a competitor in this Chunin Exams, so we must be careful!
"No."
Shinki waved his hand and explained, "We encountered a powerful enemy, so I used the Flying Thunder God Formula I had placed on Rock Lee earlier to teleport to your side!"