Chunin Ninja Exams (Nine)

Anko had finally found the corpses of the three Grass Ninja and confirmed that Orochimaru had come here. She immediately sent someone to notify the Third Hokage and requested two Anbu squads to come to the Forest of Death. Then Anko entered the forest herself to search for Orochimaru.

I'd better go find Naruto after all. After thinking it over, Yin Xiang began searching the forest for Naruto's trail. They had entered through Gate 16, so Yin Xiang went there first and started looking for signs of Naruto and the others.

He saw the ground torn up by Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. Its power was who knew how many times greater than his own. As he followed the trail, Yin Xiang saw Naruto block the giant snake in front of Sasuke.

"Hey, you're not hurt, are you, scaredy-cat?" Naruto panted as he spoke to Sasuke. Naruto's eyes had turned red—the Nine-Tails' eyes.

Naruto's taunt struck a nerve with Sasuke. It was what Sasuke had said to Naruto before, and now Naruto had thrown it right back at him.

"This cowardly, spineless guy can't possibly be the Sasuke I know!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke. Sasuke had been so frightened by Orochimaru's killing intent that he still stood frozen in place, too scared to move.

But as soon as Naruto finished speaking, Orochimaru's long tongue shot out and lifted him into the air, binding him there.

"Damn it! Let me go, you snake demon!" Naruto struggled beneath Orochimaru's tongue. At the same time, Orochimaru formed a hand seal—the seal for the Five Elements Seal.

So this is Orochimaru... His killing intent is terrifying. Yin Xiang's whole body trembled—not with fear, but with excitement. Am I really going to fight Orochimaru? I'm no match for him.

Orochimaru's tongue lifted Naruto's shirt, revealing the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style beneath. He added a Five Elements Seal on top of it. Naruto's eyes turned blue again, and then he passed out.

Orochimaru took the Scroll of Heaven from Naruto's Ninja Tool Pouch and tossed him away.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, preparing to throw a Kunai to save him. But Yin Xiang got there first, catching Naruto and landing on a tree branch.

"Yin Xiang..." Sakura saw him and felt a rush of excitement. With Yin Xiang here, maybe they could defeat the person in front of them... But she was clearly getting ahead of herself.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Sakura looked over at him. Sasuke was still standing where he was, staring blankly and too afraid to do anything.

"Oh? Namikaze Yin Xiang. I was just about to come find you," Orochimaru said when he saw Yin Xiang arrive, licking the corner of his mouth.

"The Sound Ninja who fought me outside Konoha a year ago was you, wasn't it?" Yin Xiang set Naruto down on a tree branch and looked at Orochimaru.

"That's right." Orochimaru made no attempt to deny it and nodded.

"Naruto may be clumsy and a nuisance, but he's not a coward like you, Sasuke! Right? Isn't that so?" Sakura shouted at Sasuke.

The man appeared in Sasuke's mind, his voice filling his thoughts. "No!" Sasuke suddenly snapped out of it. Orochimaru turned to look at him.

"Stay there for now. Once I'm finished here, I'll fight you properly." Orochimaru spoke to Yin Xiang, then formed a hand seal. The giant snake beneath his feet vanished, and he stood on a tree branch, watching Sasuke on the opposite side.

"As expected of the Uchiha Clan. Your blood is starting to stir, isn't it? Let's see what you can do, little by little."

Sasuke's gaze was unusually resolute. He gripped a Kunai between his teeth and charged at Orochimaru. He flipped through the air using the trees as leverage, then threw several Kunai and Shuriken. Orochimaru dodged them all.

Sasuke used the trees to propel himself toward Orochimaru again, then punched at his head. Orochimaru raised an arm to block the blow and used its force to shove Sasuke away. In midair, Sasuke kicked at him.

Orochimaru had no trouble blocking. He raised his leg as well, and their legs collided. This time Sasuke used the impact to spring backward. Orochimaru immediately chased after him, and the two traded Taijutsu blows on the tree trunks.

With his Sharingan, Sasuke could see Orochimaru's attacks clearly and counter them.

Sasuke had thought he could keep up with Orochimaru's movements, but then Orochimaru got even faster. The trees around them blurred past. Even Yin Xiang could no longer make out Orochimaru's movements.

Yin Xiang didn't dare attack. If he forced Orochimaru to change his plans, the man might accidentally kill Sasuke.

Boom!

Orochimaru slammed down at the spot where Sasuke had been. Sasuke immediately leaped away. "I can see him!" he said. Having a Sharingan really was great.

Not only did Sasuke leap away from his original position, he also formed hand seals in midair. The moment he landed, he blasted a stream of fire at Orochimaru, then followed it with another burst, creating a swirling vortex of flames.

Orochimaru smiled from within the flames. The next moment, he used Earth Release, bursting out of a tree trunk and punching at Sasuke. Sasuke dodged again.

"Phew..." After landing, Sasuke let out a long breath and kept his guard up, watching Orochimaru. Neither of them attacked, and a brief calm settled over the two.

Not bad. He predicted my movements and attacked accurately. He can see them now, Orochimaru thought as he watched Sasuke.

This won't work. Orochimaru probably hasn't even shown more than twenty percent of his strength. Yin Xiang thought as he began forming hand seals. "Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"

A bolt of lightning raced along the ground toward Orochimaru. He jumped clear of his original position, dodging Yin Xiang's attack. Yin Xiang leaped in front of Sasuke, facing away from him and the others. "Take Naruto and get out of here! He's more than you can handle. Go get a Jonin!"

"Oh? Do you know who I am?" Hearing Yin Xiang tell them to notify a Jonin, Orochimaru began to suspect something.

"How could that be? I can see his movements now. I'm about to beat him!" Sasuke wasn't afraid at all anymore. He still wanted to fight the man in front of him.

"Don't you understand? Summoning Technique, Sealing Jutsu, Body Flicker Technique, Earth Release, and that strange body of his—how much chakra do you think all of that takes? He's not a Genin!" Yin Xiang said to Sasuke. He was also trying to mislead Orochimaru with his words. He couldn't let the man realize he knew who he was.

.