The next day, Sasuke opened his eyes again, awakened by the chirping of insects and birds around him.
As soon as he opened his eyes, a disheveled face came into view. He thought it was Orochimaru and immediately moved his body backward.
"Uh... you... don't come any closer!"
"Hey... Sasuke! It's me, it's Sakura!"
Hearing the familiar voice in his ear, Sasuke gradually calmed down, and he also saw the person in front of him clearly.
"Sasuke! You're awake! Are you alright?"
At this moment, Naruto also appeared in his line of sight. He looked at Naruto, then at Sakura, still not quite believing what was happening before his eyes.
"You... you're not dead?"
His mind is still normal; he doesn't feel like he's in Pure Land.
Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances upon hearing Sasuke's question, then both gave a wry smile.
It turns out that Orochimaru didn't kill Naruto. He just greeted the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, because after so long, he was afraid that Naruto might have forgotten him.
Nine-Tails withdrew the scattered Tailed Beast Chakra after being warned, but it had no choice because Orochimaru said he would kill Naruto if he continued to act recklessly.
Jinchuriki dies, the Tailed Beasts inside him will also dissipate. He doesn't want to be resurrected again in ten years. Even if he is still imprisoned now, isn't it good to be alive?
Seeing that the other party listened to his advice, Orochimaru did not add another layer of seal to Naruto. After warning Nine-Tails, he used his mental power to knock Naruto unconscious.
In Sasuke's eyes, it was as if he had been strangled to death by Orochimaru.
Sakura's situation was even simpler; with a little manipulation, she sank into the ground, completely avoiding Manda's heavy attack.
They could just leave her aside afterward, and Sakura woke up shortly after Orochimaru left.
To be honest, she was completely bewildered and at a loss when she saw her two unconscious companions.
However, she knew that she was the only one she could rely on in that situation, so she had to be strong.
Fortunately, Naruto woke up yesterday evening, which relieved her and made her take even better care of Sasuke.
"What nonsense are you talking about! Have you lost your mind?"
As she spoke, Sakura reached out and touched Sasuke's forehead, but he thought she was just fooling around and immediately slapped her hand away.
"Don't move! You had a fever from yesterday afternoon until midnight, and it only gradually subsided in the early hours of the morning. We were so worried! We were even considering forcibly withdrawing from the competition!"
Hearing Sakura say that, Sasuke looked at Naruto again, and seeing that he nodded, he let Sakura examine him.
"Sasuke, what happened yesterday? Did you take care of that enemy?"
Look at that! Does Naruto sound like a human being? Does he think he can handle such a terrifying monster? That's giving him way too much credit.
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and immediately touched his neck.
When he realized that the spot where he was pricked was still a little painful, he knew that he had indeed been injected with some kind of drug.
With that thought in mind, Sasuke stood up straight and carefully examined his body.
After checking for a long time without finding anything different, he breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, even greater doubts appeared in his eyes.
How could he possibly detect anything? Even with medical equipment, no abnormalities could be found in his body.
Orochimaru injected him with a cell-enhancing drug from the Uzumaki Clan, which would subtly strengthen his body's vitality.
The reason they didn't inject him with Hashirama Senju's cell serum right away was partly because he wasn't worthy yet, and partly to let him have a taste of the benefits first.
Seeing Sasuke's strange behavior, Naruto and Sakura were puzzled and a little worried.
But the next moment, Sasuke spoke up:
"I didn't take care of that guy, I... I couldn't beat him! He could have easily killed us, but he didn't!"
He didn't reveal the specifics of what happened next, but only expressed his questions.
"Maybe... maybe... they're after the scroll we have?"
Naruto stammered for a long time and that was the only thing he could think of, but his guess was immediately rejected by Sasuke.
In fact, he already had a guess that was closer to the truth: the other party was after him.
Considering Orochimaru's behavior before and after, it seemed like he was toying with him, with the aim of getting him to awaken the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, and in the end, he even injected him with some kind of drug.
Although it's still unclear what the specific drug is, it shouldn't harm him, considering the other party could have easily taken his life back then.
Thinking of that nonchalant face, that wicked smile, that Forehead Protector... Forehead Protector?
"Do you remember his Forehead Protector? That's the mark of Rogue Ninja! And... he's from Konoha!"
Sasuke was absolutely certain, because he had personally witnessed Itachi slash his own ninja Forehead Protector.
Upon hearing Sasuke's words, Naruto also remembered, and his eyes widened in surprise.
Rogue Ninja infiltrated the Chunin Ninja Exams. What is their purpose?
Orochimaru was unaware that someone had noticed his sinister intentions, and even if they did, he didn't care, because they couldn't cause any trouble.
After checking in, he left the Konoha Forest and temporarily hid on a mountain near Konoha. The body he was in at this time was just a clone; the real body was still in the Land of Wind!
"You called me all this way just to show off?"
Manda looked at Orochimaru with some dissatisfaction; he couldn't think of any other reason besides this.
Whether it's him or Manda himself, they could easily deal with Naruto and the others, so why make a fuss?
"Hehehe... It's been a long time since I've seen you, so I brought you out for a stroll!"
Orochimaru was not angry that his plan was so easily exposed, because it was indeed true.
To let the younger generation see how vast the outside world is, and to let them feel the sharpness of the old era, Orochimaru didn't mind relaxing a bit before the great battle.
"At your age, you're still bullying little kids? I suspect your skin is thicker than my snakeskin!"
Manda mocked again in a sarcastic tone, saying that if it weren't for the food being roasted in front of it, it would have gone back and said a few bad things about Orochimaru to the White Snake Sage.
There was no other way; they couldn't win a fight, so they had to resort to false accusations.
"Didn't you feel it? The fox that knocked out all your teeth back then is inside that blond brat!"
Upon hearing what the other party said, Manda realized why it felt somewhat familiar with that guy and why it disliked the Chakra aura emanating from him.
"So that's it! I was wondering why I couldn't control my strength..."
Manda was clearly recalling unpleasant memories, gritting his teeth as he said, "Why didn't I just run over and kill the other person?"
"Hmph! That kid got lucky! I'll definitely kill him next time I get the chance!"
Manda, who was just talking about respecting the elderly and caring for the Manda, now wants to kill Naruto to avenge the humiliation of that year!
Orochimaru ignored its roar and continued to turn the huge grilled fish on the grill.
"But that Uchiha brat, aren't you really afraid he'll grow to that level?"
Manda was referring to someone like Obito. Since the Mangekyō Sharingan can control Tailed Beasts, it should be no problem to control a creature like Manda. Of course, Manda was also a little afraid.
In the Original Work, Manda was controlled by Uchiha Sasuke and died after being subjected to Deidara's Patrick Star.
Orochimaru never expected this guy to have such foresight. Could it be that eating too much cooked food really does make you smarter?
"Don't worry! Even if he grows up, with me around, he'll always just be a little brother!"
Seeing that Orochimaru didn't seem to care, it stopped worrying. In any case, it wouldn't be able to be contracted by a human again before Orochimaru died.
"Whatever! Just don't mess it up, otherwise where am I supposed to find a long-term meal ticket like you!"