Smoke and dust filled the air, tree trunks split apart, and the drifting debris did nothing to obstruct Naruto's view.
His eyes stayed fixed on Orochimaru as he tried to find some trace of a fellow transmigrator in his gaze.
However, Orochimaru merely let out a mocking laugh. His retreat was orderly, and he seemed utterly unconcerned, as if he had already accomplished his goal.
"Naruto, we'll meet again." Orochimaru gave a hoarse chuckle before vanishing from their sight.
Sakura hurried over to Sasuke, who was curled up on the ground. She instinctively wanted to check whether his body had been defiled, but immediately realized how inappropriate that would be, so she waved Naruto over.
"Naruto, check him."
Seeing that pursuing Orochimaru was hopeless, Naruto returned to Sasuke's side. His gaze grew somewhat complicated.
Little bro, you weren't really stabbed in the ass, were you?
He carefully pulled open Sasuke's collar and looked inside. Aside from the obvious bite marks on his neck and the Curse Mark of Heaven that had clearly formed there, the rest were merely ordinary external injuries.
Hmm, and I didn't find any traces of saliva, either.
"Waaahhh!!" Sasuke suddenly let out a roar before quickly falling unconscious.
He sounds like he's calling for a mate... Naruto grumbled inwardly, then indicated that Sakura and he should carry Sasuke away together.
Not long afterward, in a nearby hollow tree.
"You stay here and watch him. I'll search the area." Naruto pondered for a moment before speaking quietly to Sakura.
Sakura furrowed her brow slightly. "Weren't we going to discuss the 'fishing' plan?"
The two of them had already discussed using 'Sasuke' to lure the transmigrator out if necessary.
"But we can't be sure whether the transmigrator is Snake Uncle." Naruto took a towel from his ninja pouch and began wiping Sasuke's sweat as he spoke. "I'll use Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to sweep the area tonight. I still have plenty of Chakra. If we really can't find him, we'll discuss the plan again."
"What if you run into Orochimaru? Will you fight him directly?"
"Absolutely not. He's capable of banning my account." Naruto answered as though it were only natural.
"I'll leave Sasuke to you for now. Don't worry, I'll definitely be back before morning."
With that, he left beneath Sakura's worried gaze, scattering his Multiple Shadow Clones in every direction to search for traces of Orochimaru.
In truth, what Naruto hadn't said was that, according to the original story, Orochimaru should soon encounter Anko and engage in a battle.
That meant he only needed to search toward the areas where he heard disturbances, which would greatly increase his chances of success.
On the other side of the Forest of Death.
After discovering the corpse of the real Grass Ninja, Anko ventured alone into the Forest of Death. She was utterly shocked, and as she moved at high speed, the valleys of her chest rose and fell in the wind, tracing out 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-rank missing-nin now, I'll still defeat him, even if it costs me my life..."
Anko murmured softly. Suddenly, her heart tightened, and she stopped beside a thick tree trunk. Her gaze instantly turned resolute.
"As your former subordinate, it's my mission to punish you before the ANBU arrive. Isn't that right, Orochimaru?"
Behind her, Orochimaru seemed embedded in the tree trunk. He stuck out a long snake's tongue and chuckled. "You can't stop me..."
Before Orochimaru could finish, Anko flicked her wrist, and several sharp needles appeared in her hand. She spun around and hurled them with all her strength!
Orochimaru's body did not move at all. He merely flicked the needles away with his snake's tongue. At the same time, Anko finished charging her attack and shouted, "Shadow Snake Hand!"
Thick pythons suddenly burst from her sleeves, binding Orochimaru's snake's tongue in a crisscross. At the same time, she tensed every muscle in her body and used all her strength to drag Orochimaru out. Orochimaru surged forward with the momentum, slamming Anko into the tree trunk.
Anko coughed, then pulled a kunai from her sleeve with her other hand, pinning both her hand and Orochimaru's hand to the tree trunk!
"Heh heh, I've got you." Anko smiled wearily. She interlocked her right hand with Orochimaru's fingers and began forming hand seals.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "That hand seal is..."
"That's right. You're dying with me tonight." Anko revealed a victorious smile. "Ninja Art: Twin Snakes Mutual Death..."
"Hee hee, you don't want to live anymore?"
Anko whipped her head around, only to see the 'Orochimaru' beside her transform into clay. The real Orochimaru stood nearby, his eyes filled with mockery.
The next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he turned his head aside!
"Vmmm—"
A vortex of violently surging Chakra skimmed past Orochimaru's head. He glanced from the corner of his eye and saw a blond boy with an expressionless face meet his gaze for an instant.
Found you.
Naruto had indeed said he wouldn't fight Orochimaru, but he hadn't said that his Shadow Clones wouldn't fight him.
However, Orochimaru was even faster than Naruto. He suddenly reached out and seized the right hand Naruto had extended with the Rasengan, but the Shadow Clone Naruto's expression remained unchanged as he slightly pulled back his sleeve.
A sizzling sound came from within. Looking closely, one could see that the inner garment was covered in Explosive Tags!
"Boom!!!"
"Boom!!!"
The enormous explosions destroyed everything around them. At the same time, Naruto's original body instantly received the information transmitted by the Shadow Clone.
Naruto's Barrage might be terrifying, but what would you do if I covered every Shadow Clone with Explosive Tags?
At that moment, the Narutos farther from Orochimaru began dispelling their Shadow Clones, while the nearby clones rushed toward the two of them.
At the site of the explosion, Orochimaru leaped out of the black smoke. His sleeves bore faint scorch marks. He had completely lost interest in Anko, and a single glance from him sent her crumpling to the ground in pain.
The Curse Mark of Heaven on Anko's snow-white neck could still exert its effect. As a result, she posed absolutely no threat to Orochimaru.
"What, what are you trying to do this time? A, assassinate Lord Hokage?" Anko had no time to think about the reason for the explosion and asked Orochimaru directly.
Unexpectedly, Orochimaru shook his head lightly. "I have no interest in you right now. That Naruto Uzumaki, on the other hand, has surprised me time and again."
With that, he seemed to fall into deep thought.
Orochimaru had come for two reasons: to assassinate Hiruzen and to obtain an ideal body for himself.
He had set his sights on Sasuke long ago, but Naruto's performance had exceeded his expectations again and again.
"What a pity..." Orochimaru smacked his lips. "That child has the Nine-Tails dwelling inside him, yet he doesn't possess those beautiful Sharingan... He still can't compare with a child of the Uchiha clan."
Orochimaru seemed to approve of Naruto's performance and courage.
"Speaking of which, that child is very much like you, but he's superior to you in some ways. That's why I gave him the same Curse Mark as you." Orochimaru smiled ambiguously as he savored Anko's expression.
Anko gritted her teeth. "That child will die... He only has a one-in-ten chance of surviving."
"Who knows... Heh heh. Enough of that. It seems someone is coming for you." Orochimaru dissolved into a cloud of white smoke. A blond boy with a stern expression appeared immediately afterward.
He calmly walked over to Anko. She gradually freed herself from Orochimaru's influence and began scrutinizing him from head to toe.
A thought suddenly surfaced in her mind: Could he be the one who caused the explosion just now?
He's clearly so young, yet when faced with someone radiating such murderous intent, he didn't run. Instead, he chose to confront him head-on?
But the boy's next words made her expression turn cold.
"I heard everything. You're Orochimaru's student..."
Naruto's face remained expressionless, making his thoughts impossible to read. "You wouldn't want anyone else to know about this, would you?"
Before you continue