You're Not Hurt, Are You, Coward?

"Naruto, you're always so slow!"

Naruto's laughter helped Sasuke, who had been frozen with fear, come to his senses a little.

"Get out of here! Don't just stand there!"

Sasuke knew they had no chance against an enemy this powerful.

Not far away, Naruto stood on a thick branch. Ignoring Sasuke, he looked at the snake-like Orochimaru and realized that he had to be the one who'd attacked him.

"My, my. You really do look like you're picking on the weak."

"Now that I, the great Naruto Uzumaki, am here, I'm going to teach you a lesson!"

"Naruto! Run! We can't beat him! You have no idea how strong he is!"

Sasuke stared at Naruto's carefree expression and shouted in alarm.

He thought Naruto was still as naïve as ever, with no understanding of the gap between them and their opponent.

Meanwhile, Sasuke tried desperately to think of a plan, while Sakura sat collapsed on the ground.

Sasuke wondered what they could possibly do to escape Orochimaru's clutches.

Orochimaru licked his lips, the corners of his mouth curling into a sinister grin. "You've got some ability, kid. You're still alive. But it doesn't matter. I'll send you on your way right now!"

Orochimaru lunged forward like a starving tiger spotting a lamb.

"Wait!"

Seeing Orochimaru about to attack Naruto, Sasuke mustered his courage and shouted.

"Hm?"

Orochimaru stopped and looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke pulled a Heaven Scroll from his pocket. "I'll give you the scroll!"

Orochimaru felt a little disappointed at Sasuke's words.

Sasuke's behavior was a far cry from Itachi's.

In the natural world, prey might indeed give up everything to beg for a chance to survive when they had no other choice.

But that almost never worked.

Even if they were willing to give up everything, their odds of surviving were practically zero.

As soon as he finished speaking, Sasuke threw the scroll toward Orochimaru.

Naruto was furious. He dashed toward the scroll at top speed and snatched it out of the air.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?!"

"Naruto, what are you doing?!"

Both of them were angry. Sasuke was blaming Naruto for not following the plan he'd come up with.

"Stay out of this! Give him the scroll!" Sasuke shouted.

He believed that handing the scroll to Orochimaru was their only chance to stay alive.

"Sasuke, do you really think that if we give the scroll to that Snake Demon, he'll let us go?"

"He wants us dead! Do you understand?!"

Naruto was furious at Sasuke for practically begging for mercy.

He clenched his fist and punched Sasuke in the face.

The powerful blow sent Sasuke flying three or four meters, blood streaming from his mouth.

The sudden punch left Sasuke stunned and Sakura dumbfounded.

Neither of them had expected Naruto to suddenly strike one of his own teammates.

"You're not the Sasuke I know," Naruto said, his head bowed and his face dark. Then he continued,

"The Sasuke I know is a genius who inherited the Uchiha bloodline, a boy who keeps moving forward despite the hardships and the burden of his mission."

"Not a weak bastard like you. Not a coward who thinks he can beg for his life!"

Naruto's words made Sasuke's eyes widen. They struck right to his heart.

"Ha ha ha! He's right. I want you dead. Even if you give me the scroll, I'll kill you without hesitation!"

Orochimaru roared with laughter.

"Shut up, Snake Demon!"

Furious, Naruto clenched his fists and charged at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru remained calm. He summoned a giant snake with a summoning technique, and it easily swept Naruto away.

Then the snake opened its enormous jaws and lunged at Naruto.

Orochimaru decided to kill the annoying kid first, then put Sasuke under pressure and see what he was capable of—and whether he was worthy of becoming Orochimaru's vessel.

Just as the snake was about to devour Naruto, a mass of red Chakra suddenly surged from his body.

His eyes turned red, too, with a vertical black slit in each pupil. He looked just like a beast backed into a corner.

"Yah!"

Naruto roared and unleashed a flurry of punches, raining them down on the snake's head.

The snake couldn't withstand that much force. Naruto knocked it to the ground, where it lay motionless.

Sasuke and Sakura watched Naruto suddenly grow stronger, stunned.

They couldn't believe that the dead-last who usually did nothing but brag and shout about becoming Hokage had been hiding such incredible power.

"Maybe we really will be saved..."

To Sakura, Naruto seemed to shine with hope from head to toe, dazzling her.

Orochimaru stared into Naruto's eyes and immediately realized who he was.

"Heh. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, is that it?"

"Snake Demon, you're dead!"

Wrapped in red Chakra, Naruto charged at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru calmly spewed a stream of fire from his mouth, knocking Naruto back.

Another giant snake appeared and attacked Naruto.

The snake whipped him away with its tail once more.

Naruto had gained tremendous strength by drawing on the Nine-Tails' Chakra.

But in Orochimaru's eyes, that level of power was nothing special.

After knocking Naruto away, the snake turned and charged at Sasuke.

Seeing Naruto, who had grown so much stronger, defeated with such ease made Sasuke even more panicked.

The snake sped toward him, but fear rooted him to the spot. He couldn't move.

Orochimaru watched and shook his head slightly.

Sasuke's performance had disappointed him immensely.

He couldn't understand why Sasuke was so cowardly when he and Itachi were brothers.

At Sasuke's age, Itachi had already been an elite Jonin in Konoha's Anbu, carrying out countless extremely difficult missions.

And now Sasuke was too terrified of Orochimaru to even move!

"Forget it. I might as well see how Uchiha Ye Fan turns out. Maybe if I transplant Sasuke's eyes into him, he'll gain the Uchiha bloodline."

Orochimaru casually waved his hand, and the snake's aura surged.

He had decided to kill Sasuke and keep only his eyes.

Sasuke stared at the snake, its dreadful aura pressing in on him. His eyes widened, and his mind was consumed by fear. He couldn't even think of running away.

Just as the snake was about to kill Sasuke, Naruto suddenly appeared.

With a kunai in each hand, Naruto turned his back to the snake and drove the blades into its body, using all his strength to hold back the terrifying beast.

Covered in blood and panting hard, Naruto slowly raised his head to look at Sasuke. "You're not hurt, are you, coward?"

At those words, Sasuke's heart clenched, and his expression turned complicated.

Those were the words he'd said to Naruto when they'd faced Zabuza and the others.

Now Naruto had thrown them right back at him!

Not far away, Ye Fan watched and sighed. "Naruto's personality hasn't changed much since their first mission. No matter how powerful the enemy is, he's always this gutsy."

"Sasuke's been pretty disappointing. He was so spirited when he faced Haku, but now..."

"Maybe he's just too young and hasn't been through enough."

Glancing at the blood-soaked Naruto, Ye Fan rubbed his chin and murmured, "Naruto, I'll avenge you in a bit."

Now Ye Fan was considering something else: should he let Orochimaru place the Cursed Seal on Sasuke?