After Sasuke's relentless questioning following a long silence, Naruto was left speechless.
Hinata was a little nervous, afraid the two of them would suddenly start fighting... Mainly, she was afraid Naruto might accidentally break Sasuke.
"Heh..."
Naruto let out a soft laugh and sighed. He was a little stunned, but also somewhat relieved. Compared to the old him who had admired the outstanding Sasuke, had he been underestimating Sasuke now?
Scratching his head, he said, "Since you want to know... there's no harm in telling you." Not wanting his other teammate to feel excluded, Naruto added, "Hinata, you should listen too... It just so happens that in the upcoming 'Third Exam Preliminary Matches,' there's something you need to watch out for as well."
In his memories, Hinata had been badly beaten by that Neji during these preliminaries.
Naruto felt conflicted. It would not be right to stop Hinata from going down to fight, but if he let her fight... he could not bear it either. Even though Hinata was a little stronger than she had been at this point in his memories, she probably still could not defeat the genius Neji, could she?
Hmm... Should he give Hinata some of Kurama's Chakra when the time came?
Naruto thought to himself. He truly hoped the matchups would be different this time.
Hinata herself looked a little dazed at Naruto's words... Sasuke, meanwhile, waited solemnly, ready to listen carefully to what Naruto said next.
Naruto sorted through his thoughts and slowly began, "I told you before. Orochimaru showed up this time because he was after you, Sasuke." Seeing Sasuke nod, he continued, "In the memories I received, if I had just been an ordinary genin... following the original course of history, Sasuke, you should have graduated first among our class of genin. I would have been assigned to Team 7 as the dead last, and our other teammate would have been Sakura, who was fairly average in every respect."
Huh!? Hinata was greatly surprised to hear that Team 7's original member should have been Sakura.
Sasuke showed no reaction. He had little impression of that Sakura and did not think anyone would have suited their team better than Hinata's Byakugan.
"So, after Orochimaru infiltrated the Chunin Exams, he came straight after Team 7, who were 'not very strong.' Back then, I basically could not use Kurama's power freely, while you, Sasuke, only had a pair of Double Tomoe Sharingan. As for Sakura... she had not matured yet."
"Orochimaru 'sealed' my movements. After testing your strength a little, he planted a special 'Curse Mark' of his own creation on your body."
Sasuke frowned. "A Curse Mark?"
Naruto nodded and continued, "It was a type of Curse Mark Orochimaru developed using natural energy. It allowed its bearer to directly gain the power contained within it, but it also eroded the bearer's body at the same time..."
He glanced at Sasuke, who was listening intently. "And back then, after witnessing Orochimaru's power, you deeply felt your own weakness... Then, after experiencing the strength brought by the Curse Mark, you, consumed by hatred and unable to free yourself from it... chose to defect from Konoha and join Orochimaru!"
Hinata stared at Sasuke in shock. Sasuke also frowned deeply, but he still nodded. "If we remove the influence Naruto has had on me these past years..." He considered it seriously. "Then I do not think it would be strange for that version of me to act that way."
Naruto smiled helplessly and let out a breath. "Orochimaru has a secret technique. He boasts that it is a ninjutsu that grants eternal youth and immortality... It is his unique Body Transfer Jutsu! He can use another person's body as a vessel to house his own soul!"
Hinata was engrossed and could not help asking, "Then if Sasuke went to join Orochimaru, wouldn't that mean..."
Sasuke slowly shook his head and said softly, "I think that, in that version of my heart... taking revenge on that man was more important than my own life or death."
Naruto nodded and fell silent.
"What happened later?" Sasuke asked.
"Later... because of the limitations of his own ninjutsu, Orochimaru did not immediately transfer into your body. Instead, he became your teacher and guided your training for three years. Yet when he tried to take your body three years later, you killed him." Naruto spoke calmly.
"Heh..." Sasuke actually laughed. "Personally raising a member of the Uchiha Clan... Orochimaru was really quite confident in himself..."
Naruto smiled, then turned to Hinata. "Let's talk about the next exam... Once we reach the tower, we'll have preliminary matches for the third exam inside. In my memories, the matchups were..."
"Sasuke, you fought a Konoha ninja named Dosu Kinuta... Though I think their team probably will not be able to pass the second exam this time."
Because Kabuto had already been captured.
"I fought Kiba, and I won."
"And you, Hinata..."
Naruto looked at Hinata's pure, lovely face with a complicated expression. Her pearly white eyes were so clear, as though they held not a trace of impurity... He said, "Your opponent is Hyuga Neji!"
"Brother Neji...?" Hinata was startled. She knew what kind of genius Neji, her cousin from the Branch Family, was. Even though she rarely left the Main Family estate, she often heard all sorts of things about him.
He was known as the Hyuga Clan member with the greatest talent in decades.
Could I... stand against Brother Neji...?
"The result was that you lost, Hinata, and Neji seriously injured you." Naruto clenched his fist slightly. His memories did not contain the emotions of that other self. Even though Neji later died protecting the two of them during the war... Naruto still had no favorable impression of him.
After all, the Neji who died was not the current Neji—proud, arrogant, and full of resentment.
Just as I thought... Hinata lowered her head gloomily. I'm still... not good enough...
How can I even slightly... catch up to Naruto's footsteps?
Her mood sank deeply.
A hand came to rest atop Hinata's head.
It was Naruto's hand.
"Don't worry, Hinata!" He smiled and comforted her. "I'll definitely protect you... As for Neji..." He scratched his cheek. "Forget it. Anyway, I won't let him hurt you! If that guy dares to keep babbling... I'll beat him flat!"
Hinata looked up at Naruto, who was confident, bashful, and a little clumsy. She could still feel the warmth of his palm atop her head... Blushing, she nodded.
"Mm!"
I'm... a little happy.
Naruto came back to his senses and awkwardly withdrew his hand, scratching his cheek.
Sasuke was speechless beside them and turned away to look at the scenery.
On the third day, Team 7 continued heading toward the central tower of the Forest of Death at an unhurried pace while training and conducting sparring drills... They had almost completely stopped taking the other genin teams seriously.
During this time, the First Hokage had been released from the Impure World Reincarnation and left the land he loved so dearly.
Karin was also taken away by the Third Hokage, Tsunade, and the others. As for negotiations with Kusagakure, the routine examination of Karin's identity, and all the various procedures, those were not things Naruto needed to consider.
He was not the Hokage, after all.
Sasuke sparred with Hinata. Sasuke wanted to familiarize himself with dealing with the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, while Hinata also needed to try facing an opponent of Sasuke's level... Naturally, Naruto watched from the side.
Sharingan!
Three tomoe slowly spun, and Hinata instantly fell into a genjutsu.
"Huh? Hinata's Byakugan doesn't counter genjutsu?" Once Hinata emerged from the genjutsu, Naruto asked curiously. He had thought the Byakugan was very powerful, but he had not expected her to fall into Sasuke's genjutsu so easily.
Sasuke was also puzzled. Ever since he was little, he had always heard that the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was difficult to deal with...
Hinata blushed and explained shyly, "I was too careless... When I was little, Father said that when facing the Sharingan, I only needed to activate the Byakugan and close my eyes, or avoid meeting the Sharingan's gaze..."
Just now, she had directly met Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke was also an exceptionally talented Uchiha elite, and he had keenly seized that opportunity to use the Sharingan's genjutsu.
When he was little... Sasuke thought, his heart dimming slightly.
Naruto did not know much about genjutsu... He merely scratched his cheek.
It's only genjutsu. Even if it's something like Tsukuyomi, there's absolutely nothing to worry about with this old man here.
The Nine-Tails grumbled within Naruto's body, full of disdain for the Uchiha Clan.
On the fourth day, Team 7 continued doing what they needed to do. They already had the scrolls, so there was no need to hurry at all.
Training.
Catching fish.
Chatting and laughing.
Traveling.
On the fifth day, at the very last moment, Team 7 finally reached the tower and handed in the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
Before you continue