Stepping on me? Hee hee.

Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile, his gaze playfully fixed on the increasingly dense fog before him.

"To be able to strike first and remain composed after a successful blow, a truly troublesome prey," he commented indifferently, as if a diner were critiquing the food on his table.

He fixed Sasuke with an aggressive stare, then suddenly threw his mouth open, and a body slick with thick mucus slowly slid out.

Sasuke froze. The sight before him, so physically repulsive, shattered his perception and instantly paralyzed him.

"Slap!" A hand struck the back of Sasuke's head. Sakura, her expression grave, appeared behind him. "Don't get distracted. Let's finish him in one go."

Sasuke blinked. He hadn't expected Sakura to appear calmer than him, and a pang of frustration hit him.

"Tch," he muttered under his breath, then said to Sakura, "I'll take the lead, you…"

But before he could finish, Orochimaru, mid-molt, suddenly accelerated, slithering rapidly towards Sasuke like a snake!

His lower body had completely transformed into a serpentine form, causing Sasuke's pupils to constrict. He reacted a beat too slow.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A crisp shout echoed from the fog. A dragon-shaped pillar of water, enveloped in mist, surged skyward, roaring as it charged at Orochimaru!

Heaven and earth conspire, a dragon and snake emerge!

Orochimaru wasn't bothered at all. He pulled a sticky Kunai from his mouth and easily dodged the Water Dragon Jutsu, slithering towards Sasuke.

Sasuke finally reacted. He pulled a Kunai with a steel wire from his ninja tool pouch and threw it at Orochimaru. Orochimaru deflected the attack with a flick, and as the Water Dragon Jutsu slammed into the ground, the ensuing spray of water sent the deflected Kunai flying back towards Orochimaru!

This was a clever combination of Shurikenjutsu and Water Style Jutsu.

Orochimaru turned his head slightly, contorting his body in a way that defied inertia, narrowly dodging the Kunai. His twisted posture made the scene look bizarre.

A flicker of unease arose in Sasuke. At the same time, the youthful ambition in his heart surged once more.

Ever since Team 7 was formed, Naruto and Sakura had each had their own moments to shine, while he, Uchiha Sasuke, had performed rather ordinarily. Even the enemy before him had been momentarily stunned by his peculiar methods, and he had even been snapped back to attention by Sakura.

With this level of skill, can I really get my revenge?

Orochimaru caught the look in Sasuke's eyes and immediately transformed his lower body back into human form. He extended a finger, beckoning Sasuke, his eyes full of provocation.

It was as if he were saying: Come at me!

"Damn it…" Sasuke was immediately provoked. He charged at Orochimaru with all his fighting spirit, but the latter retreated, leading Sasuke on a chase through the forest.

Sakura quickly followed, shouting, "Slow down! Be careful, it might be a trap!"

"Stop with the nonsense and keep up!"

Sakura frowned. Sasuke was already acting on impulse, his emotions laid bare on his face.

As she was about to hurry after him, she suddenly noticed some crooked characters carved into a tree trunk.

[Step on me? Hehe.]

Naruto's brow furrowed. He muttered the words carved into the tree trunk, pacing back and forth.

The carving was fresh, so it couldn't have been made before the exam. It was in Japanese, not Chinese. Beyond that, there were no other clues.

What does this mean? Pay attention to me? Naruto was utterly bewildered.

In fact, when he saw the words "step on me," Naruto subconsciously recalled a childhood memory. A long time ago, when QQ Space was popular, many QQ friends would leave messages like "step on me" in each other's spaces to signify a visit and a greeting.

But clearly, the transmigrator didn't mean that.

Suddenly, he stopped, his expression peculiar.

"Hiss… it couldn't be… that meaning, could it?"

Thanks to the internet, Naruto had encountered all sorts of strange people and things in his past life. One type, with particularly unique kinks, had left a deep impression on him.

Thinking of this, the words before his eyes suddenly became glaring.

Holy crap, what kind of perverts are these… Naruto felt a toothache coming on. Is this ninja world just one giant 'don't laugh' challenge?

Can't they send some normal people?!

Naruto's heart became hesitant. He immediately abandoned his original plan and began rushing towards Sakura and Sasuke's direction.

He couldn't bear to think what would happen if Sakura and Sasuke were caught by this pervert. One was a young girl, and the other… was also a young girl.

Meanwhile, Sakura's complexion wasn't much better. In fact, it was worse than ever.

[Lick my feet? Hehe.]

"P-p-p-p-pervert!"

She couldn't help but scream, clutching her chest tightly, goosebumps covering her body, looking like she had PTSD.

In her previous life, when she streamed Elden Ring, the most common types of private messages she received were: wanting to sponsor her, wanting to be her master, wanting her to be their master.

Among these, the last type of private message made her particularly nauseous because they often came with indecent images, as if they were advertising themselves, or rather, this was a 'seller's showcase.'

It fully demonstrated the diversity of life.

Sakura's legs began to tremble uncontrollably. This feeling was just like an online pervert wanting to meet her offline, sending shivers down her spine.

"Is it Orochimaru?" Sakura's mind raced. During the recent fight, she hadn't seen Orochimaru leave any traces on the trees, but she couldn't rule out the possibility that he used the mist to conceal himself.

If it really was Orochimaru, then Sasuke was in deep trouble, as if a red [Danger] sign had appeared above his head!

But then she thought, Orochimaru's behavior so far seemed consistent with his character. More importantly, Sasuke had broken free from the original storyline, leaving her with no basis for judgment.

Should she chase after them?

Sakura pondered for a moment, suppressing the fear in her heart, and slowly began to move.

But her speed was agonizingly slow, like a computer that had frozen, lacking motivation. At the same time, her eyes nervously scanned her surroundings, and she pulled out a kunai, holding it protectively in front of her chest to increase her sense of security.

"It's okay, this is the ninja world. I'm strong now, no one can hurt me." She kept encouraging herself, and her speed finally began to pick up.

"Bang!!"

Suddenly, faint explosions began to sound around her, followed by continuous roars, animal cries, and the explosions from burning explosive tags.

These massive disturbances seemed to drain all of Sakura's courage at once. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, a thin mist of tears forming in her eyes.

The situation continued to spiral downwards, and the commotion was getting closer and closer to Sakura's location.

She couldn't help but think of Naruto. If he were here, would things be much better?

"No, I have to save myself!" Sakura used all her strength to pull out a kunai and plunged it fiercely into her thigh.

"Thwack!"

But a hand caught the tip of the kunai.