Could even a powerhouse like Orochimaru not defeat that man?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, clenched his right fist, and slammed it hard into the ground.
"Do I really have to kill my best friend to gain power?!
No!
I must find another way to gain power!"
Thinking this, he looked directly at Karin.
"I want to meet your Holy Lord!
You're part of an organization, right?
I want to join!"
"Hm?"
Karin froze, then smiled strangely.
She had remembered what Bai Hao had told her not long ago—Sasuke would definitely become envious of her power and want to meet him.
"The Holy Lord was right again~
I feel like the Holy Lord really does know everything!"
After sighing inwardly,
Karin silently shook her head.
"If the Holy Lord wants to meet you, you'll naturally get to meet him.
If the Holy Lord doesn't want to meet you, then you won't see him even if you kneel for the rest of your life.
All right.
My mission is complete.
Orochimaru has already escaped from Konoha.
The ninja from your village are also rapidly approaching this place.
So I'll be leaving first.
Until we meet again~"
With that, she vanished in a flash.
Naruto's team fell silent for a moment.
Then Naruto began shouting excitedly.
"That Black-Clad Organization is just too cool!
Is this the power of a Hokage-level ninja?
Haha!
I'll have strength like that someday too!
I, Naruto Uzumaki, am the man who will become Hokage!"
Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto, who was having one of his usual fits, and were rendered speechless.
"Sigh~
So this is the power of a Hokage?"
Sakura sighed. "I think becoming a Chunin would be enough for me~
I'll go teach at the Ninja Academy in the future.
Bai Hao-kun can run his bookstore, and I can be a teacher.
Now that I think about it, that doesn't sound too bad~"
"I...
I must gain power!"
Sasuke looked at the place where Karin had disappeared and silently made up his mind.
"If that Black-Clad Organization won't give me power,
then I'll obtain it through my own efforts!
If Rock Lee can do it, why can't I?"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Just as the three of them were letting their imaginations run wild,
a group of Anbu suddenly appeared in front of them.
"What happened here just now?"
The Anbu captain asked, "Are you all right?"
"Uh... about that~
I know!"
Naruto waved his arms and rushed in front of the Anbu captain.
"Naruto Uzumaki?
You tell me."
"Just now, a red-haired kunoichi suddenly appeared!
There was also a monster called Snake-Maru or something.
The Snake-Maru monster said the red-haired girl was from the Uzumaki Clan!
That means she's my clanswoman!
The red-haired Uzumaki girl said she had come to protect us.
She said that Snake-Maru wanted to bite Sasuke!
After that, they started fighting.
They were so amazing!
At first, the battle was fairly normal.
But as they kept fighting, it became abnormal.
That Snake-Maru monster released a whole bunch of snakes to attack!
And that red-haired girl actually turned into a giant rainbow-colored bird, then spat a black energy sphere from her mouth.
With a whoosh, it blasted this place into its current state!"
The Anbu captain stared at Naruto, who was gesticulating wildly, with a face full of question marks.
Thus, he could only turn to Sasuke and Sakura.
"The woman's identity is unknown.
She was wearing a black dress and a black conical hat.
She had a black cloak draped over her shoulders, with an X symbol on it.
There was an X-shaped tattoo on her right arm.
It was exactly the same as the symbol on her cloak.
She claimed that she had come under orders from the Holy Lord to protect me.
We can infer that she belongs to a mysterious Black-Clad Organization.
This organization has powerful intelligence-gathering abilities.
They seem to know many secrets that others don't.
She can change forms, transforming from a human into a giant bird.
She can also use Wood Release.
She is a member of the Uzumaki Clan.
Her opponent was one of the Three Ninja, Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's goal was to first place the Heavenly Curse Mark on me.
After that, he intended to take over my body.
He also seems to have a plan called the Konoha Crush.
We weren't injured."
Sasuke finished speaking quickly.
Although he had also heard Orochimaru mention the name "Kabuto," he had not connected it with the Kabuto Yakushi he knew.
The Anbu captain, however, grew increasingly alarmed as he listened.
Sasuke had explained everything clearly, but there was simply too much information.
A mysterious Black-Clad Organization, Wood Release, the Uzumaki Clan, Orochimaru, the Konoha Crush plan...
And that woman could actually transform!
He had no idea what kind of jutsu it was.
"Please don't tell anyone about what happened today."
The Anbu captain said slowly, "Continue with the exams for now.
We need to report this."
With that,
the Anbu vanished in an instant.
Chapter Twelve: Konoha's Leadership Makes Its Decision; The Third Match Begins! [Second Update, Please Support]
Not long afterward,
inside Konoha's Hokage Tower,
Konoha's senior officials gathered there for an emergency meeting.
Even Jiraiya, who had only recently returned to the village and disliked attending such meetings, had come.
"Hokage-sama!
That's the situation in a nutshell."
The Anbu captain recounted all the information he had obtained.
There was what Sasuke had said, along with additional intelligence they had gathered themselves.
"Hmm~"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
Then he turned to the strategist, Shikaku Nara.
"Shikaku, what do you think?"
Shikaku fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Hokage-sama.
We have too little information at present.
Based on the information available, we can draw several conclusions.
First, this Black-Clad Organization is powerful.
Second, this Black-Clad Organization may have set its sights on Sasuke. Otherwise, they wouldn't have interfered.
Third, this Black-Clad Organization knows many secrets we don't, such as Wood Release.
Fourth, Orochimaru's purpose in coming to Konoha was impure. He may have intended to cause trouble under cover of the Chunin Exams."
"Hmm~"
Before you continue