The Attack He Couldn't Avoid

"Why do you keep doing such dangerous things?" Tsubaki said, deeply unhappy and worried. "You haven't even recovered properly from the injuries you got in the Land of Waves. Why go looking for trouble again?"

"Don't worry," Mizuki explained. "No one found out this time. Even Orochimaru doesn't know it was me. I got away as soon as I could."

Hearing that things hadn't gone too badly, Tsubaki felt much more at ease.

"Then stay away from the Forest of Death. It'll be over for you if they find out."

"I'm afraid I can't. I'm a backup candidate for the second Chunin Exam. With something this serious happening, I have to go see what's going on."

"With someone as dangerous as Orochimaru there, shouldn't they send the Anbu?"

"Yeah, don't worry," Mizuki said. "It's getting late. Let's make something to eat first. There might be an emergency mission later, and then we won't have time to eat."

Sasuke Uchiha was in a terrible mood. Their team had just driven off a lone ninja, but they hadn't managed to take his scroll. The three of them had beaten one opponent by ganging up on him, yet they still hadn't managed to capture him. They could only watch helplessly as he escaped.

"We struggled that much against an ordinary Genin!"

Sasuke had originally been the strongest member of the three-person team, clearly a cut above the other two. But Naruto had gradually begun to show extraordinary talent. His Shadow Clone Technique, combined with his immense stamina and vast reserves of chakra, made his swarm attacks a headache for most Chunin and Genin. He was already starting to show the makings of a strong ninja, and that put Sasuke under tremendous pressure.

Even more humiliating was Sakura Haruno. She had been a lovesick girl he'd looked down on, and aside from her good grades in the Ninja Academy's theory classes and her excellent chakra control, she hadn't seemed worth mentioning. But Sakura's ability to move freely through the layers of traps and barriers not long ago had amazed even him.

By contrast, aside from awakening his Sharingan, Sasuke was still relying on the basics he'd learned at the Ninja Academy and a few Fire Release Ninjutsu techniques passed down by his family. Compared to his two teammates, his lack of progress was almost impossible to accept.

"Your vigilance is completely inadequate. I'm very disappointed." A hoarse, strange voice came from a nearby tree trunk.

"Who's there?" Sasuke immediately got to his feet and readied himself.

I let my guard down. I've been fighting all day and used up too much stamina. I can't believe someone managed to get this close without me noticing. Sasuke berated himself for being distracted just moments ago.

The sudden turn of events shocked Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno too. They hurriedly turned toward the voice and went on guard.

"Sasuke Uchiha?" Orochimaru, who had long since shed his Grass Ninja disguise, spoke in his eerie voice. "It's our first meeting. My name is Orochimaru. I've come to grant your wish."

With eyes only for Sasuke, Orochimaru immediately began trying to tempt him. As for the other two, they were no more than insignificant bugs in his eyes.

"My wish? You think I'll believe you just because you say something so obviously deceitful?" Though his opponent's strength made him wary, Sasuke was infuriated by his brazen tone.

"Don't believe me?" Orochimaru, who understood human nature well, wasn't bothered. "Didn't that last fight make you realize how weak you are? Or has the peace in Konoha made you forget your grudge over your entire clan being killed?"

At the mention of his deepest wound, Sasuke's eyes reddened with rage. "How do you know about that? Were you the one who set those traps just now?"

"No, Sasuke-kun. As the sole survivor of the Uchiha, it's understandable that your strength would be lacking after your whole clan was killed and you had no one to guide you. But to be toyed with by those ridiculous traps just now is truly disappointing." Orochimaru relentlessly battered Sasuke's will. "With so little resolve, when will you ever be able to kill that man?"

"You've met Itachi Uchiha?" Sasuke asked in surprise.

"Yes. He was an admirable opponent. Konoha truly is a cradle of geniuses. You're nowhere near his level, though you do look rather similar."

"Killed? Get revenge? Who is Itachi Uchiha? What are you talking about?" Naruto Uzumaki asked, bewildered. "And you're the one who made that terrifying attack just now, right?"

"No. That was the person who set the traps. I was the one attacked from below. I still don't know who it was, but whoever they are, they're just a coward who hides in the shadows," Orochimaru replied.

"What?" The unexpected answer shocked all three of them. If the person capable of launching that attack was already unimaginably powerful, then surviving it was beyond belief. What was more, Orochimaru standing before them seemed to have come through it completely unscathed.

Seeing the three of them staring at him in disbelief, Orochimaru decided not to waste any more time. Konoha should be making its move soon.

"It seems you know nothing about the truth of this world, Sasuke-kun. I'll let you experience the cruelty of being a ninja for yourself. First, you need to understand how weak and useless you are."

As soon as he finished speaking, a genjutsu infused with terrifying killing intent struck them, instantly robbing all three of the ability to move.

The Hell Viewing Technique, combined with killing intent far beyond what Genin could withstand, let the young ninjas experience the terror of death in an instant.

Orochimaru was about to wait and see how Sasuke reacted before deciding what to do next when Naruto Uzumaki unexpectedly regained the ability to move first.

"Hm? What's going on?" Orochimaru was surprised by the turn of events. "The strongest one, Sasuke Uchiha, wasn't the first to recover?"

A savage beast pattern appeared on Naruto Uzumaki's face. With fear and fury in his eyes, he looked unnervingly strange.

After regaining control of himself, Naruto Uzumaki formed Hand Seals. Shadow Clones swarmed around Orochimaru, then countless Kunai joined the clones in a mass attack.

Faced with such a dense barrage, Orochimaru calmly performed the Summoning Technique. A gigantic serpent suddenly appeared, and the Kunai couldn't so much as scratch its thick scales. The giant snake lashed out with its tail, and countless Shadow Clones instantly vanished in puffs of chakra smoke. Faced with such a vast difference in strength, Naruto Uzumaki's normally unstoppable trump card was completely useless.

Seeing that his clones' attacks had no effect, the fear of death further inflamed the darkness in Naruto Uzumaki's heart. More and more ominous red chakra surged from him. His already savage expression grew even more terrifying, and his crimson eyes became abnormal, slit like a beast's. The fingernails on both hands also grew unnaturally long, turning into claws. He leaned forward and charged at Orochimaru like a wild beast.