Unreasonable

Orochimaru actually felt a bit of interest facing Naruto's charge.

"This ominous chakra, it's quite familiar."

Naruto, with little reason left, completely disregarded tactics. He fought purely on instinct and passion, using kicks, punches, and even his teeth, but it was too weak against the tough, thick-skinned giant python.

Sasuke, who had been frozen by fear of Orochimaru, finally regained his mobility. Seeing Naruto's frantic, ineffective attacks, Sasuke understood the vast gap between them and Orochimaru. This wasn't a matter of numbers; whether the three of them could survive depended entirely on whether the opponent showed mercy.

"However, even so, I will never surrender without a fight." Understanding his predicament, Sasuke immediately took action. Ignoring his exhausted body, he reactivated his Sharingan and, coordinating with Naruto's attacks, charged forward to engage Orochimaru in close-quarters combat.

Although Orochimaru excelled at ninjutsu, at this level, ninjas had no obvious weaknesses. Combined with his modified Soft Physique Modification, he gave Sasuke and Naruto no opportunities. The last to recover, Sakura Haruno, didn't even have the chance to get close, only managing to throw kunai and shuriken in vain, unable to even provide the slightest distraction.

Seeing that the time was right, Orochimaru didn't want to waste any more effort. Sasuke's current level was clear, and Naruto was giving Orochimaru an increasingly bad feeling. As Naruto closed in again, Orochimaru extended a snake-like tongue from his mouth to bind Naruto, and with his left hand, he pulled open his shirt, revealing the seal on his stomach.

"As expected, you are that Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. I didn't expect you to still be alive. That old man Third is still so naive."

Then, Orochimaru channeled chakra with his right hand and struck Naruto forcefully.

"Five Elements Seal~"

As Orochimaru's sealing jutsu took effect, the previously energetic Naruto was immediately struck with pain and passed out, the Nine-Tails chakra that had been surrounding him dissipating.

Seeing this, Sasuke rushed to intervene but was caught by Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.

"No need to be in such a hurry, Sasuke-kun. A very suitable gift will be coming your way soon, and then you'll understand what power is." As he spoke, Orochimaru's neck elongated, and he opened his mouth wide, biting down on Sasuke's shoulder.

An unbearable pain struck, and Sasuke's screams echoed around them. Sakura, who had just managed to settle the heavily injured and unconscious Naruto, could only watch helplessly as Sasuke was brutally treated. Her own strength was barely enough to attract Orochimaru's attention.

As everything settled, Sasuke knelt on the ground in agony, howling. Soon, the unbearable pain overwhelmed him, and he passed out.

"Be grateful for my gift. If one day you feel you lack strength, come find me, and I will give you the power for revenge." With that, Orochimaru disappeared into the tree trunk, leaving behind a helpless Sakura and an unconscious Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha.

Anko Mitarashi stumbled through the jungle of the Forest of Death. Relying on the curse mark on her neck to sense Orochimaru, she finally found his whereabouts. She had thought that after so many years, her strength would be enough to perish with the one who brought her suffering, but it turned out to be just her own arrogant wishful thinking. The feeling of despair was almost unchanged from years ago.

"I was spared only out of the other party's disdainful pity. Should I continue with the Chunin Exams?" Anko Mitarashi couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

In Konoha Village, even as the moon hung high in the sky, no one informed Mizuki of any mission assignments. In fact, Mizuki had misjudged. After all, he was heavily injured and had just recovered from a serious illness. With Konoha's resources, they wouldn't force Mizuki to fight to the death while still sick. Since that was the case, Mizuki was happy to enjoy his leisure.

"This unsuccessful space-time traversal provided some good data. The theory is feasible, but how to achieve stable and safe teleportation is really troublesome. I can't possibly use Sage Mode for every teleportation from now on, can I? I haven't heard that Flying Raijin Jutsu or Kamui are that troublesome. Am I stuck in some kind of misconception?"

In Mizuki's opinion, space ninjutsu in this world shouldn't be this difficult. For someone like Mizuki, complex spatial positioning aside, the energy required to break through space was already incredible, and the turbulence within space was extremely dangerous. He wouldn't even mention those advanced jutsu with "God" in their names; in a sense, there were quite a few mid-to-low-level jutsu that achieved spatial conversion.

Body Flicker Technique, this could be considered an advanced ninjutsu, with a short-range spatial teleportation effect, the principle of which is unknown. Body Replacement Technique, a thoroughly introductory ninjutsu, surprisingly also has a similar spatial substitution effect, and the principle of this ninjutsu is also unclear. These two are relatively common ninjutsu with spatial attributes, and Mizuki isn't even sure if they are truly space ninjutsu.

"What is going on with this chaotic world? It should at least make some sense. How is a perfectionist engineer supposed to get by?"

On the Hokage Rock, the white-haired Jiraiya observed Konoha Village under the moonlight.

"Konoha's prestige has been tarnished. Orochimaru is one thing, but now even all sorts of monsters dare to come to the village and fight." Jiraiya muttered with a headache. "Even allies are stirring. This Chunin Exams doesn't look like it will end peacefully." Jiraiya, who bore the responsibility of guiding the Child of Prophecy, also worried about the village's future.

In the Central Tower of the Forest of Death, the Sand Shinobi trio finally reached their destination, which brought a sigh of relief to Kankuro and Temari.

"We finally made it through without any major incidents. I hope there won't be any problems now that we're here," Temari said, still shaken.

"Who knows? We still don't know if there will be any more fighting. If Gaara has to see blood again, I don't know what will happen," Kankuro replied worriedly. "But since we arrived so quickly, it should be a long time before anyone else gets here. We'll have some time to buffer, and it should be fine to let Gaara calm down."

The Sand Shinobi trio had escaped danger, but other genin were not so lucky, especially Karin. Lacking strength, she narrowly escaped danger thanks to her sensitivity to danger, but alone, she lacked the ability to survive in the dangerous Forest of Death.

When she used her superhuman senses to find her teammates buried under the rubble, they were both barely clinging to life. All hope for the Chunin Exams was extinguished. The stubborn and decisive girl did not hesitate and, following Mizuki's advice, opened the Earth Scroll in her hand.