"Yeah, everything along the way has been so strange... It's like everyone's deliberately forcing us to come here..." Sakura tightened her grip on the strap of her ninja tools pouch until her knuckles turned white.
Both Sakura and Sasuke felt something was wrong.
Then something was definitely wrong.
Naruto fell silent too. After studying under Qingwu and Guang for so long, he had learned to be wary. Being innocent didn't mean being stupid.
The Rain Ninja's elusive guidance, followed by the Sound Ninja's sudden ambush—the pieces fit together far too neatly. It was like a net woven long beforehand, dragging them deeper one step at a time.
Sasuke's expression turned cold.
Was it you?! Those disgusting presences back in the exam room?! Were you targeting me?! Or Naruto?!
Sakura kept feeling that these people were trying to force him to use his full strength, or perhaps force them to unleash their hidden potential.
She was just about to tell Sasuke and Naruto her suspicions when the leaves on a distant treetop stirred ever so slightly—a gray figure vanished like a ghost into the dense greenery, leaving only a fleeting ripple of chakra.
It was Kusa Ninja Jia. No, more precisely, it was a replica carrying Orochimaru's will.
He stood above them on a thick branch, the soles of his feet almost melding with the bark. His fingertips unconsciously scraped the rough grain, leaving several shallow marks.
"Who's there?!"
Sasuke looked up and scanned his surroundings gravely. In that fleeting instant, he had sensed a deadly threat. Ever since Guang had taught him, he had developed a sharp instinct for danger.
"Who's there? Come out! The great Naruto's spotted you!"
Although Naruto and Sakura hadn't noticed anything, they knew Sasuke well enough to understand that he wouldn't joke about this. They