In Naruto's eyes, Satsuki just pursed his lips, looking depressed and waiting for him to give an explanation. However, the thoughts rushing through her mind were far more intense and... dangerous than they appeared on the surface.
That bastard who forced Naruto to use this kind of power... must not be let go! We must find him and cut him into pieces!
A cold and biting murderous intention swirled in her heart.
"It's okay, Naruto. I will become stronger than the monster you are relying on now. Strong enough to eliminate all threats. When the time comes, you only need to stay by my side, and you are not allowed to go anywhere. I will protect you."
But she bit her lower lip and swallowed back this almost paranoid declaration. She knew that saying such words would definitely sound extremely abnormal to ordinary people.
She could only bury this raging desire for protection deep in her heart and continue to maintain that seemingly "angry" expression.
After a moment of stalemate like this, she squeezed out something from between her teeth that sounded more like a mixture of concern and reproach.
"Don't... ruin your body like this again..."
Naruto completely failed to understand the fierce struggle in her heart, and her determination to find out what the power in his body was immediately after the exam was over, and to obtain the determination to surpass that power.
Naruto just thought it was an ordinary worry, so he responded in a soothing tone, "I'm sorry, I will pay attention to it in the future."
So, Sakura, who was temporarily sent away, came back with a confused look on his face. "Then... what should we do now?" What she had just experienced was too magical for her.
In the end, since the exam was not suspended, the Naruto group decided to continue moving towards the central tower of Forest of Death according to the original plan.
It was extremely quiet along the way. Not to mention encountering other teams, not even an animal was seen. The distance from the entrance to the Central Tower line is only ten kilometers. It seems that the earth-shattering explosion just now has scared all the candidates and lives in the nearby area and fled far away.
In the dark depths of Forest of Death, Kabuto Yakushi repeatedly confirmed that there were no traces of Konoha Anbu around, and finally carefully took out a specially made Summoning Scroll from his arms.
"Summoning Jutsu."
He unfolded the scroll and spread it on the ground, quickly bit his thumb and wiped the blood on the spell in the center of the scroll. Accompanied by a burst of thick green smoke, a dying giant snake with an unhealthy green color on its surface appeared in the open space. The mucus and signs of weakness from just after Shedding Skin still remained on its body surface.
The next moment, the seemingly half-dead snake suddenly opened its bloody mouth, and a figure slowly emerged from it - it was Orochimaru who had just narrowly escaped from Naruto Tailed Beast Ball.
At this moment, he had taken off all disguises, revealing his original pale face, and he was wearing a black robe embroidered with red auspicious cloud patterns.
"Lord Orochimaru! Are you okay?"
Kabuto Yakushi quickly stepped forward to support Orochimaru, whose breathing was slightly disordered but whose expression was extremely excited.
, Orochimaru completely ignored the concerns of his subordinates. Although his body was exhausted after a fierce battle, his snake eyes shone with an almost crazy blazing light, as if he had discovered some rare treasure.
Because in the brief but shocking confrontation just now, a fact completely overturned his inherent understanding of the existence of "Tailed Beast"!
That's it... that's it!! That kind of thing is not some mindless chakra aggregate at all! They... are higher-level beings that can be controlled and can achieve 'cooperation' with the host!
Orochimaru's heart screamed crazily. As an explorer who has almost touched the threshold of "eternal life", his lifelong pursuit has already turned to exploring all the truths and mysteries in the world.
He had seen the scene of destruction when Tailed Beast went on a rampage, and even obtained Eight-Tails's cells for in-depth study. But the reality is difficult to control.
In the end, Orochimaru came to the conclusion about the existence of Tailed Beast. It was a "boring war tool" with no beauty and depth, which made him lose interest in Tailed Beast.
One day, he witnessed the so-called "Perfect Jinchuriki" for the first time! Although he had received relevant intelligence before, he always had doubts deep down in his heart - how could a power that he could not perfectly control even after spending countless efforts be controlled by a teenage kid?
, facts speak louder than all words. After the blond boy transformed into a mini-Kyuubi, instead of being rational, he accurately controlled the energy that destroyed the world and even protected his teammates firmly behind him!
Tailed Beast can actually achieve a "peaceful symbiosis" relationship with humans!
This is simply... a revolutionary discovery! So wonderful!! I want... I want to study this power deeply! What is the secret behind this?!
He suppressed the excitement and greed that almost overflowed from his face. It seemed that it was time to activate those connections and resources that he had not planned to touch easily.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru's hoarse voice ordered, "End your mission here immediately."
"End?" Kabuto Yakushi was stunned for a moment and pushed up his glasses, "Is there no need to continue collecting intelligence?"
"Well," Orochimaru nodded, with a meaningful arc at the corner of his mouth, "I have discovered something far more interesting and valuable than this information. This boring assessment is meaningless. Now, we need to leave here and prepare for the next 'plan'."
After saying that, the two figures merged into shadows, disappearing quietly into the depths of Forest of Death.