"Everyone, I have some new information." Anko entered the examiners' room and addressed the Anbu inside.
The Anbu all turned their heads. Anko organized her thoughts and explained the Sound Ninja's situation to them, omitting anything related to Naruto.
"Should we terminate the Chunin Ninja Exams immediately?" one of the Anbu asked.
"No. Lord Hokage said the Chunin Ninja Exams are to proceed as scheduled. As for us, we only need to secretly guard against Orochimaru causing trouble."
Anko thought for a moment before continuing, "The other Chunins should form groups of three and search for the Sound Ninja's whereabouts. But don't alert her. Instead, use her to track down Orochimaru."
"Yes."
With that, she took two people with her and began covertly patrolling every part of the Forest of Death.
This also fit Naruto's plans. Searching for Kin with Sakura alone would be strenuous and yield little result. By making reasonable use of his "connections," they could achieve twice the result with half the effort.
On the other hand, the Chunin patrols would also limit the space Kin had to cause trouble, forcing her to divert some of her energy toward evading pursuit.
Elsewhere.
"Well, well. I didn't expect to run into you here."
Team 7 had just finished packing up when they saw a tall, silver-haired figure slowly approaching. There were traces of battle on him.
"Kabuto Yakushi..." Naruto looked at him without saying anything, while Sasuke stepped forward with a wary expression.
"Don't be nervous. I'm not here to take your scrolls." Seeing Sasuke's unfriendly expression, Kabuto hurriedly waved his hands. "I've simply lost contact with my teammates, and I need to hurry over alone now. I was wondering whether I could find some helpers."
Sasuke's wary expression did not change. "Have you gathered the Book of Heaven and the Book of Earth?"
"Of course." Kabuto took out his scroll and waved it at the three of them. Naruto and Sakura remained silent, while Sasuke quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Unlike in the original story, Sasuke did not choose to hand over the scroll to Orochimaru after revealing his weakness. Instead, he had kept it in his pocket all along. After obtaining the Sound Ninja's Book of Earth, Team 7 had already met the requirements to pass the exam.
Compared with the original story, they appeared far more at ease.
"Let's go together. We're all from Konoha, so we can look out for one another." Naruto walked over and looked at Kabuto with a half-smile.
Sakura remained silent, merely watching Naruto with a thoughtful look.
She knew very well that Kabuto was collecting information on Sasuke to hand over to Orochimaru, but Naruto's reaction was rather intriguing...
Was he planning to use Kabuto as cannon fodder? After all, unstable factors different from the original story had already appeared.
"Let's go together, Kabuto." Sakura thought for a moment before agreeing.
Sasuke turned toward the two of them, his expression also becoming strange.
This lovey-dovey couple isn't even pretending anymore. They're just openly working together now, huh?
Are they bullying me for being single?
But considering his persona, Sasuke did not speak. He merely remained silent and slowly nodded.
Kabuto looked at the three of them and revealed a clear, grateful, and amiable smile.
Naruto and Sakura also smiled with "nuclear kindness," causing the warmth in the air to rise several degrees.
"Would you like to walk in front?"
"No, no. You should walk in front." (A kindly smile.jpg)
"You're really quite considerate."
"When a friend comes from afar, is it not a pleasure? Haha."
"You're rather cultured."
"Haha, I, Naruto Uzumaki, have always been a famous intellectual for miles around."
Sasuke: "..."
Naruto and Kabuto continued exchanging polite words along the way, deepening their friendly communication, reaching numerous agreements on advancing the Chunin Ninja Exams, encouraging each other and progressing together toward the grand goal of realizing a community with a shared destiny for all ninjas...
The two understood each other without saying a word, yet both harbored ulterior motives.
Soon, the four of them approached the central tower.
Naruto appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, his heart had unconsciously tightened. While he exchanged compliments with Kabuto, he had already taken dozens of precautions, constantly scanning his surroundings and staying on guard against Kin's appearance.
If I were Kin, I'd definitely look for a chance to interfere with us passing the exam. Once we pass, there'll be far too many variables. Naruto pondered this, but there was still no movement around them.
After walking for a while longer, even Sasuke noticed that something was wrong. He pointed to a nearby spot and said, "Look. Haven't we been here before?"
"You finally noticed. If you hadn't, my legs would've broken from walking..." Naruto deliberately feigned surprise and turned to Kabuto. "Senior, it really does seem that way. Can you protect us?"
With that, he gazed at Kabuto with bright eyes, his expression filled with expectation and a hint of admiration.
Kabuto responded with a warm, gentlemanly smile, though the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "Naruto-kun, ahem, let's work hard together." As he spoke, he assumed a defensive stance.
It's a shame you're about to be eliminated. Otherwise, I'd definitely keep annoying you all the way to the end... Naruto put away his playful expression, his eyes constantly shifting as he considered how the plot would unfold.
He remembered that they would encounter an enemy skilled in genjutsu, but overall, the enemy would not be difficult to deal with. They were roughly at standard Genin strength.
"Hehehe, you finally noticed..." A man's voice drifted through the air.
The air around them began to twist and blur. One black, distorted phantom after another suddenly appeared. The only thing they had in common was that they all wore masks and held kunai.
"Sasuke, can you use your Sharingan to reflect the genjutsu?" Naruto turned and asked him. He remembered that sufficiently powerful Dojutsu could reflect genjutsu, as Uchiha Itachi had done when reflecting Kurenai's genjutsu.
Naruto intended to resolve them in the simplest way possible.
After hearing him, Sasuke was slightly stunned before saying quietly, "I'll try."
"Mm."
Naruto turned to Sakura again. "Can you deal with the kunai in the dark corners first?"
Sakura slightly furrowed her brow. "What are you—?"
"Try to kill them in one strike."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black phantoms around them suddenly charged at the group!
Sakura and Kabuto—one using her fists and the other using kunai—deflected all the incoming attacks around them, while Sasuke began closing his eyes and silently gathering Chakra around them.
"Argh..." The moment he gathered a little Chakra, Sasuke felt a sharp pain shoot through his shoulder. At the same time, the foreign power within his body began stirring restlessly. Kabuto saw the entire scene.
But soon, Kabuto's attention was drawn to Naruto.
Naruto summoned a Shadow Clone. Without the support of Nine-Tails Chakra, the clone began continuously condensing and rotating Chakra in the palm of his hand, causing the surrounding airflow to become violently turbulent.
"What is that...?" Kabuto's pupils contracted slightly, and his interest shifted from Sasuke back to Naruto.
Elsewhere, in a certain patch of bushes near the group's battle.
The unconscious woman slowly awoke. She rubbed her temples first, then suddenly dropped to her knees in pain and clawed desperately at her head.
She freed one hand to cover her mouth, doing her best not to make any sound.
"Just a little longer... I'll be saved soon..."
This ruthless figure, whom Naruto and Sakura's group greatly feared, struggled to her feet and hurried toward the battle.
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