"Even a strong person like Orochimaru isn't a match for that man?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, clenching his right fist and slamming it hard onto the ground.
"Do I really have to kill my best friend to gain power!?
No!
I must find another way to gain strength!"
Thinking this, he looked directly at Karin.
"I want to meet your Holy Lord!
You're an organization, right?
I want to join!"
"Hm?"
Karin blinked, then let out a strange laugh.
Because she remembered what Bai Hao had told her not long ago—that Sasuke would definitely covet her power and want to meet him.
"The Holy Lord was right after all~
I feel like the Holy Lord truly knows everything!"
After a silent sigh in her heart.
Karin quietly shook her head.
"If the Holy Lord wants to see you, you will naturally meet him.
If the Holy Lord doesn't want to see you, then you won't meet him even if you kneel for a lifetime.
Alright.
My mission is complete.
Orochimaru has already escaped Konohagakure.
Your village's ninjas are also rapidly approaching this area.
So, I'll be taking my leave now.
Farewell~"
With that, she flickered and disappeared.
Naruto's team fell silent for a moment.
Then Naruto began to shout excitedly.
"This black-clothed organization is so cool!
Is this the power of a Hokage?
Haha!
I'll have this kind of strength in the future too!
I, Naruto Uzumaki, am the man who will become Hokage!"
Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto, who was acting strangely as usual, and couldn't help but feel a little speechless.
"Sigh~
Is this the power of a Hokage?"
Sakura sighed, "I feel like being a Chunin is enough for me~
In the future, I'll be a teacher at the Ninja Academy.
Bai Hao-kun will run the bookstore, and I'll be a teacher.
Thinking about it like that doesn't seem so bad~"
"I...
I must gain power!"
Sasuke looked at the spot where Karin had disappeared and silently made a resolution.
"If that black-clothed organization doesn't give me power.
Then I'll rely on my own efforts to gain power!
If Rock Lee can do it, why can't I?"
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh..."
Just as the three of them were lost in their thoughts.
Suddenly, a group of Anbu appeared before them.
"What happened here just now?"
A leading Anbu member asked, "Are you alright?"
"Um, um, um...
I know!"
Naruto waved his arms and rushed up to the Anbu captain.
"Naruto Uzumaki?
You explain."
"Just now, a red-haired female ninja suddenly appeared!
And a monster called Orochimaru.
The monster Orochimaru said the red-haired girl is from the Uzumaki Clan!
She's from my clan!
The red-haired Uzumaki girl said she came to protect us.
She said that Orochimaru wanted to bite Sasuke!
After that, they started fighting.
They were so powerful!
The fight started out normally enough.
But as it went on, it became abnormal.
That Orochimaru monster released a bunch of snakes to attack!
That red-haired girl actually turned into a seven-colored giant bird and spat out a black energy ball from her mouth.
Whoosh! And it blew this place up like this!"
The Anbu captain looked at the animated Naruto, listening with a completely bewildered expression.
So, he could only turn to look at Sasuke and Sakura.
"The identity of the person is unknown.
She wore a black dress and a black bamboo hat.
She wore a black cloak with an 'X' symbol on it.
She had an 'X'-shaped tattoo on her right arm.
It was exactly the same as the one on her cloak.
She claimed to be ordered by the Holy Lord to protect me.
It can be inferred that she belongs to a mysterious black-clothed organization.
This organization has strong information-gathering capabilities.
They seem to know many hidden secrets that others don't.
She can transform, changing from a human into a giant bird.
She can also use Wood Release.
She is from the Uzumaki Clan.
Her opponent is Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.
Orochimaru's goal is to first give me the Heavenly Curse Mark.
Then, he wants to possess my body.
He also seems to have a plan called Konoha Crush.
We were not injured."
Sasuke finished speaking quickly.
Although he had also heard Orochimaru mention the name "Kabuto," he hadn't thought of the Kabuto Yakushi he knew.
The Anbu captain, however, grew more and more alarmed as he listened.
Sasuke's explanation was clear, but the amount of information was overwhelming.
A mysterious black-clothed organization, Wood Release, the Uzumaki Clan, Orochimaru, the Konoha Crush plan...
And that woman could actually transform!
He didn't know what kind of ninjutsu it was.
"Please do not tell anyone about what happened today,"
the Anbu captain said slowly. "You two should continue the exam.
We need to report this."
With that.
The Anbu members vanished instantly.
Chapter Twelve: Konoha's High-Level Decision, The Third Match Begins! [Second update, seeking support]
Not long after.
Inside the Konohagakure Hokage building.
Konoha's high-ranking officials were gathered here, holding an emergency meeting.
Even Jiraiya, who had only recently returned to the village and disliked attending such meetings, was present.
"Hokage-sama!
That's roughly how things unfolded."
The Anbu captain recounted the intelligence he had gathered in its entirety.
It included more information than what Sasuke had provided, supplemented by their own investigations.
"Hmm~"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe, then slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
He then turned to look at Shikaku Nara, his strategist.
"Shikaku, what are your thoughts?"
Shikaku remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Hokage-sama.
We currently have too little information.
Based on the intelligence we have so far, we can draw some conclusions.
First, this black-clothed organization is powerful.
Second, this black-clothed organization might have its sights set on Sasuke, otherwise, they wouldn't have interfered.
Third, this black-clothed organization knows many secrets we are unaware of, such as Wood Release.
Fourth, Orochimaru's intentions in Konoha are impure; he might be planning to cause destruction during the Chunin Exams."
"Hmm~"
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