Anko, you wouldn't want others to know about this, would you?

Smoke filled the air, tree trunks cracked, but the dust motes swirling in the atmosphere couldn't obscure Naruto's vision.

His eyes were fixed on Orochimaru, searching his gaze for any trace of the Transmigrator.

However, Orochimaru merely let out a mocking laugh. His retreating steps were orderly, carrying an air of calm satisfaction, as if he had achieved his objective.

"Naruto, we'll meet again," Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely and vanished from their sight in an instant.

Sakura hurried to Sasuke's side, where he lay curled up. She instinctively reached out to check if he had been defiled, but then quickly realized the impropriety of it and waved Naruto over.

"Naruto, you check him."

Seeing that pursuit was hopeless, Naruto returned to Sasuke's side, his gaze complex.

Little bro, you didn't actually get screwed, did you?

He carefully pulled open Sasuke's collar and looked inside. Apart from distinct bite marks on his neck and the clearly formed Curse Mark of Heaven, the rest appeared to be ordinary external injuries.

Hmm, no traces of drool either.

"Waaah!!" Sasuke suddenly roared and quickly fell unconscious.

He sounds like he's in heat... Naruto thought to himself, signaling Sakura to help him carry Sasuke away.

A short while later, in a tree hollow nearby.

"You stay here and watch him, I'll sweep the area," Naruto said to Sakura after a moment's thought.

Sakura frowned slightly. "Didn't we agree to discuss the 'luring' plan?"

They had previously discussed using 'Sasuke' to lure out the Transmigrator if necessary.

"But we can't be sure if the Transmigrator is Snake-man," Naruto said as he pulled a towel from his ninja pouch and wiped Sasuke's sweat. "I'll use Multiple Shadow Clones to sweep the area tonight. My Chakra reserves are still ample. If I can't find anything, then we'll discuss the plan."

"And if you see Orochimaru, will you fight him directly?"

"Absolutely not. He's capable of sealing my account," Naruto replied matter-of-factly.

"I'll leave Sasuke to you for now. Don't worry, I'll be back before morning."

With that, he left under Sakura's somewhat worried gaze, dispersing his Multiple Shadow Clones to search for Orochimaru's whereabouts.

In reality, what Naruto hadn't said was that, according to the original story, Orochimaru should soon encounter Anko and a battle would ensue.

This meant that his success rate would greatly increase if he simply searched in the direction of any commotion.

On the other side of the Forest of Death.

After discovering the bodies of the real Grass Ninjas, Anko ventured deeper into the Forest of Death alone. She was extremely shocked, and coupled with her high-speed movement, the cleavage of her chest undulated with the wind, tracing a stunning arc.

"The sun is about to set. If I wait until night, it'll be even harder to find him."

"Even if he's an S-class rogue ninja now, I must defeat him, even if it costs me my life..."

Anko murmured softly. Suddenly, her heart tightened, and she stopped by a thick tree trunk, her eyes turning resolute.

"As your former subordinate, it's my mission to bring you to justice before the Anbu arrive, right, Orochimaru?"

Behind her, Orochimaru seemed embedded in the tree trunk. He flicked out his long snake tongue and chuckled, "You can't stop me..."

Before Orochimaru could finish, Anko flipped her wrist, and several sharp needles instantly appeared in her hand. She spun around and threw them with all her might!

Orochimaru remained motionless, merely flicking them away with his snake tongue. At the same time, Anko completed her charge and shouted, "Shadow Snake Hand!"

Thick pythons erupted from her sleeves, tangling Orochimaru's snake tongue. Simultaneously, she tensed her entire body and, with all her might, dragged Orochimaru out. Orochimaru, seizing the opportunity, lunged forward and slammed Anko into the tree trunk.

Anko coughed and, with her backhand, pulled a kunai from her sleeve, pinning both her hand and Orochimaru's hand to the tree trunk!

"Heh heh, I've got you," Anko said with a weary smile. Her right hand was interlocked with Orochimaru's as she began to form hand seals.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "That hand seal is..."

"That's right, you're dying with me tonight," Anko said with a triumphant smile. "Ninja Art: Twin Snakes Mutual Death..."

"Heh heh, you don't want to live anymore?"

Anko suddenly turned her head, only to see the 'Orochimaru' beside her dissolve into clay. The real body stood to the side, his eyes full of mockery.

The next second, his pupils constricted sharply, and he jerked his head to the side!

"Voom--"

A Chakra vortex with intense fluctuations whizzed past Orochimaru's head. He glanced at the corner of his eye and saw a blond-haired youth with an expressionless face meet his gaze for a fleeting moment.

Found you.

Naruto had indeed said he wouldn't fight Orochimaru, but he hadn't said his shadow clones wouldn't.

However, Orochimaru was faster than Naruto. He made a sudden move, grabbing Naruto's right hand as it extended the Rasengan. But the shadow clone Naruto's expression remained unchanged, and he slightly pulled back his sleeve.

A "sizzling" sound came from within. Upon closer inspection, his inner clothing was plastered with Explosive Tags!

"Bang!!!"

"Bang!!!"

The massive explosions destroyed everything around them. At the same time, Naruto's main body instantly received the information from his shadow clone.

Perhaps Naruto can't make people tremble with a single move, but what about when I plaster every single one of my shadow clones with Explosive Tags? What will you do?

At this moment, Naruto's shadow clones, far from Orochimaru's location, all dispersed. The clones closer to him, however, converged on the two figures.

From the explosion's black smoke, Orochimaru leaped out, his sleeve bearing a faint scorch mark. He had lost all interest in Anko's appearance. With just a glance, he caused her to collapse in pain.

The Curse Mark of Heaven on Anko's fair neck could still exert its influence, rendering her completely incapable of posing a threat to Orochimaru.

"You, what exactly are you trying to do this time? Ass-assinate Lord Hokage?" Anko asked Orochimaru, disregarding the cause of the explosion.

To her surprise, Orochimaru gently shook his head. "I have no interest in you right now. However, that Naruto Uzumaki has exceeded my expectations time and time again."

After speaking, he seemed lost in thought.

Orochimaru's objectives for this trip were twofold: assassinate Hiruzen and acquire an ideal body for himself.

He had long ago set his sights on Sasuke, but Naruto's actions had repeatedly defied his expectations.

"What a shame..." Orochimaru clicked his tongue. "That child harbors the Nine-Tails, yet he doesn't possess those beautiful Sharingan... He still can't compare to a child of the Uchiha clan."

Orochimaru seemed to acknowledge Naruto's performance and courage.

"Speaking of which, that child is a lot like you, but more outstanding. That's why I gave him the same Curse Mark as you," Orochimaru said with a half-smile, savoring Anko's reaction.

Anko gritted her teeth. "That child will die... He only has a one-in-ten chance of surviving."

"Who knows... Heh heh, enough talk. It seems someone is here to find you." Orochimaru vanished in a cloud of white smoke. Immediately following him was a young man with blond hair and a stern expression.

He calmly walked up to Anko. She, gradually breaking free from Orochimaru's influence, began to scrutinize him.

A thought suddenly struck her: Could this be the person who caused the explosion just now?

Despite his youth, instead of fleeing from someone radiating such killing intent, he chose to confront them head-on?

But the young man's next words sent a chill down her spine.

"I heard everything. You're Orochimaru's student..."

Naruto's expression was blank, making it impossible to read his thoughts. "You wouldn't want anyone to know about that, would you?"