Orochimaru, You Don't Want the Third Hokage Showing Up Either, Do You?

"You figured out that this was simply my personality, then deliberately used a drug that played to it.

You amplified my personality, making me lose sight of my real goal and fall into your trap to stall me..."

Looking at Kazeka, Orochimaru showed no anger at having been outsmarted. Instead, his interest only grew stronger.

"Kazeka, you keep surprising me more and more. There aren't many drugs that can poison me.

Looks like I'll have to add another person to the list of those I'm taking with me!"

"You won't get the chance to take me anywhere..."

Hearing the voice from nearby, Kazeka replied,

"We've made quite a commotion. All the examiners nearby have already gathered.

Soon, the person sitting in the office will come here too.

Orochimaru, you don't want to face the Third Hokage either, do you?"

"That remains to be seen. But you're right about one thing: there are still too many people here..."

After smashing Naruto's charging clone into a cloud of smoke once more, Orochimaru suddenly accelerated and dashed straight toward Sasuke.

When a venomous snake stopped toying with its prey and got serious, its speed was so terrifying that no one could react in time.

The next moment, Orochimaru had bitten Sasuke on the neck.

As two puncture wounds from the snake's fangs appeared, Sasuke suddenly clutched his neck in pain and collapsed.

Through his fingers, three tomoe-shaped marks could be seen!

But that wasn't all. Having just bitten Sasuke, Orochimaru formed Hand Seals. His neck suddenly stretched out like a long snake.

In an instant, he reached Kazeka's neck and bit down without hesitation. The same marks as Sasuke's immediately appeared on Kazeka's neck!

"The Cursed Seal. Sasuke, Kazeka, this is a gift from me to you.

Staying in Konoha will only hinder your progress and your efforts to grow stronger. I'll be waiting for the day you come to me!"

"Sasuke, are you okay?!"

Seeing Sasuke in pain, Sakura rushed to his side, her heart aching for him.

But Sasuke simply shoved her away and looked at the equally approaching Naruto with unwavering determination.

"Don't worry. As long as you're in Konoha, I won't go anywhere!"

"Oh no, Orochimaru's Cursed Seal must be too powerful. Sasuke, it's made you lose your sight..."

Seeing Sasuke's behavior, Sakura hurriedly pushed aside Naruto's peculiar expression and brought her pretty face as close to Sasuke as possible.

"Sasuke, look carefully! It's me, Sakura. I'm right here. Now you can keep talking!"

"Move..."

Sasuke weakly pushed Sakura away.

"What I just said was to Naruto. For his sake, I can resist any pain or temptation!"

"I told you before..."

Looking at Sasuke, who was gazing intently at him despite his weakness, Naruto unconsciously took another step back, feeling uncomfortable all over.

"Sasuke, stop saying such weird things. But if I were saying those things to Sakura..."

"No way. That's absolutely impossible! Sasuke, you should be saying those things to me..."

Sakura ignored Naruto completely and clung to Sasuke.

"You must have turned out like this because of Orochimaru's attack!"

"All right, Sakura, step back a little. I'll help treat Sasuke..."

Kazeka pulled the shell-shocked Sakura away from Sasuke and began applying Sealing Jutsu to him again.

Unlike the seal he had used on Anko earlier, this one covered Sasuke's entire body.

When it contracted, what remained was a regular pentagram.

"This is a more conventional Sealing Jutsu. Since you still have to take the exam, I've reduced your pain to twenty percent.

In exchange, your strength is suppressed to eighty percent, and the seal can only last five days.

This is the best I can do for now. It should hold until the second exam is over.

After the exam, you'll have to come to my Laboratory for a more thorough seal. That's the only way to gradually lessen the effects of the Cursed Seal!"

"It still hurts a lot, but it shouldn't affect my fighting. Thanks..."

Sasuke struggled to his feet and nodded gratefully at Kazeka, then turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, don't worry. For your sake, I won't hold the team back!"

"Uh..."

Naruto took another step back. The strange looks everyone around them was giving him made him feel uncomfortable all over.

"Actually, you don't need to say 'for your sake.' And, Sakura..."

Naruto looked at Sakura.

"Don't worry. With me around, I'll make sure our team passes!"

"I don't care about that..."

Sakura waved her hand impatiently, then looked at Kazeka with suspicion.

"Kazeka, something's not right. Orochimaru gave both you and Sasuke the Cursed Seal, so why are you fine?"

"I'm fine because I wasn't actually bitten..."

Kazeka grabbed the Cursed Seal on his neck and pulled hard, tearing off a chunk of flesh.

"I knew Orochimaru's personality well enough to know he'd bite me sooner or later. So before I went to help Sasuke, I made preparations..."

Kazeka pointed to a hole in his neck.

"I used surgery to change the direction of the muscles, then put a specially made piece of meat here. That gave me a decoy.

Orochimaru only likes biting people on the neck. As long as you're careful, you can control where he bites!"

"Uh..."

Kiba Inuzuka shuddered.

"Kazeka, your solutions are always impressive, but these methods of yours still give me the creeps!"

"People are always afraid of things they've never seen before.

Even the simplest healing technique was perfected through countless bloody experiments..."

Kazeka didn't seem to care. Instead, he looked at Kiba with an encouraging gaze.

"Kiba, as your knowledge grows, you'll gradually realize that many things that look terrifying are perfectly normal, while some things that seem normal may hide sinister origins.

You'll also regret more and more that you didn't accept my invitation to be experimented on sooner!"

"So in the end, I still have to go to your Laboratory, huh?!"

Kiba watched Kazeka bring up experiments every other sentence. Even after knowing him for so long, he couldn't help taking a step back.

Seeing how "afraid" he looked, Hinata couldn't help scoffing.

"To become stronger, a ninja should be willing to risk everything. You won't even accept an experiment? Hmph. What a disgrace!"

"Hey, any normal person wouldn't even consider such a terrifying experiment!"

Kazeka's team teased one another, while the others chatted excitedly. The main topic was that they had successfully repelled Orochimaru!

They might have done it by outnumbering him, but their opponent was one of the legendary Sannin. It was an incredible achievement they could brag about for the rest of their lives!

Of course, as the ones who'd been rescued, Naruto's team was also busy thanking everyone who had come to help.

Seeing how chaotic things had become—almost like a tea party—Anko finally clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.

"All right, you can catch up after the exam is over.

You should continue the exam now. Or are you planning to have a fight here first?"