A few hours later, Naruto brought Kakashi and Sasuke to a town in the Land of Fire.
On a secluded street in town, Naruto saw Orochimaru dressed in casual clothes. He raised a hand in greeting. "Long time no see, Orochimaru-senpai."
Upon hearing Orochimaru's name, Kakashi and Sasuke both became wary.
Sasuke in particular frowned as he recalled how Orochimaru had toyed with him during the Chunin Exams. He activated his Sharingan and kept his gaze fixed on Orochimaru.
Kakashi, on the other hand, was not particularly surprised. Judging by what had happened during the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru and Naruto had known each other for quite some time.
Orochimaru also noticed Kakashi and Sasuke. Sensing Sasuke's aura, he narrowed his eyes slightly. "I never expected that, without my help, you would still be able to wield the power of the Heavenly Curse Mark."
"Sasuke-kun, I'm becoming more and more interested in you."
Sasuke looked up at Orochimaru and said expressionlessly, "You can try."
Two months ago, he had been no match for Orochimaru, but things were different now. Naruto had brought him and Kakashi-sensei here—could it be to deal with this venomous snake?
At that moment, Naruto noticed the tense standoff between Orochimaru and Sasuke and said flatly, "Don't fight in front of me. You know the consequences. Besides, judging from the progress of your research, Orochimaru, you shouldn't need Sasuke's body anymore."
At Naruto's words, Orochimaru withdrew his covetous gaze. "Thanks to Lord Naruto, the clones are progressing quite well. But a perfect body like Sasuke-kun's would be such a waste if it were not used for experiments."
Sasuke replied without courtesy, "I think your body would make a fine trophy too."
Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly hostile, Kakashi spoke after a long pause. "Naruto, you didn't bring us