Sasuke's consciousness was gnawed to pieces by the Curse Mark's frenzy. The black patterns on his left shoulder crawled up his neck like living things, and chakra rampaged out of control inside his body, every inch of his meridians feeling as if it were being scorched by raging fire. He could hear Naruto calling out. He could see Sakura's eyes, red from crying. But his body would not obey him. The chakra gathering at his fingertips carried a destructive malice, ready at any moment to hurt the people he treasured most beside him.
"Get away..." He gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked, the taste of blood spreading through his mouth. "Don't come near me... I'll kill you..."
Naruto climbed up from the ground, ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth, and forced himself to charge forward again, grabbing Sasuke's trembling arm. Golden Nine-Tails Chakra quietly flowed out, soothing the power rampaging inside Sasuke little by little. "What kind of stupid crap are you saying?! We're Team 7! If you die, what's the point of me becoming Hokage?!"
"Sasuke, please, wake up..." Sakura knelt on the ground, both hands pressed tightly against Sasuke's Curse Mark as she poured out medical chakra with reckless abandon. Even when draining her chakra left her dizzy and light-headed, she did not retreat in the slightest. "I'm a medical ninja. I'll definitely heal you. We'll walk out of this forest together, pass the exam together, and get stronger together..."
Warmth came from his arm—Naruto's utterly unguarded trust. At his ear was Sakura's choked yet unwavering voice—the protection of comrades who refused to abandon him. That warmth, buried beneath hatred, tore open the darkness of the Curse Mark by force at this life-or-death moment.
Sasuke shuddered all over, and the out-of-control chakra suddenly