Sound Ninja Attack, Sakura in Danger!

Orochimaru clutched his wound, yet a strange smile appeared on his face.

"Not bad, not bad, Sasuke-kun. You really haven't disappointed me. It is precisely because you possess such potential that my resolve has become even firmer!"

Before his words had even faded, Orochimaru suddenly vanished from where he stood and appeared behind Sasuke the next second.

His neck stretched out grotesquely like a snake, and he bit down on Sasuke's neck.

"Ah!"

Sasuke let out a scream, feeling a searing pain spread from his neck throughout his entire body, as though something were eating away at him from within.

He collapsed helplessly to the ground, his consciousness gradually fading.

The last thing he saw was Orochimaru's twisted, smiling face.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. This is my gift to you. One day, in your pursuit of power, you will come to me of your own accord. Until then, nurture your hatred well!"

Orochimaru left those words behind, a satisfied smile curling at his lips.

But soon, his expression darkened again as he remembered that person who had been causing trouble from the shadows.

"Next, it's time to teach that meddlesome brat a proper lesson."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his tongue sliding over his lips as a dangerous gleam flashed in his gaze.

He began carefully searching the surrounding area, overlooking neither a single tree nor a patch of grass.

His snake-like pupils swept back and forth, trying to catch any suspicious movement.

Yet no matter how he searched, he could find no trace of Su Bai.

That troublemaker seemed to have vanished into thin air, without even the faintest trace of his presence remaining.

Orochimaru's anger slowly rose.

He recalled the earlier battle. That mysterious brat had always acted at crucial moments, disrupting his plans and encouraging Sasuke and Naruto.

What was laughable was that he, Orochimaru, had not even seen what that kid looked like.

"Damn it!"

Orochimaru slammed a fist into a nearby tree trunk, and the entire tree crashed to the ground.

"You caused me so much trouble, yet you don't even dare show your face. What a coward!"

His roar echoed through the forest. "You brat, listen to me! No matter who you are, no matter where you hide, I'll find you sooner or later and take your life with my own hands!"

Orochimaru took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

Still, anger aside, when he thought it over, that brat's judgment had been quite accurate.

Though he had been meddling, from his own perspective, everything he had done had been flawless.

He knew this was not the time to keep wasting effort here. More important matters awaited him.

He could not waste any more time here.

That fellow might have already alerted the ANBU.

"Hmph, consider yourself lucky. But don't get smug too soon. One day, I'll make you pay the price."

After leaving behind that threat, Orochimaru gave the area one final sweep before his figure flashed away, disappearing into the depths of the forest.

The forest returned to silence, with only Orochimaru's murderous words still echoing in the air, lingering for a long while.

While Orochimaru was raging at thin air,

Su Bai had already returned to Team 7 without anyone noticing.

Beside the unconscious Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura looked at them in complete helplessness.

"A person must go through pain and setbacks in order to grow. Sasuke, let this cursed mark become a stepping stone on your road to revenge."

Su Bai muttered to himself, offering Sasuke his most sincere blessing in his heart.

"Sakura, I more or less understand the situation. We lost our scroll during the battle. Our most urgent task now is to seize another team's scroll and complete the exam."

They had their own dreams, and he had things he needed to do as well.

He had to pass this exam and earn the qualification to enter the next stage.

According to the original story, the matches afterward would be one-on-one elimination rounds.

Everyone would fight then, and there would be plenty of experience to gain.

To change his uncle's fate.

And to reach a 10% synchronization rate and unlock Ryujin Jakka's Initial Release.

He had to pass this competition!

Su Bai spoke in a low voice, his gaze firm and resolute.

Sakura looked at Naruto and Sasuke, then at Su Bai, her eyes full of worry. "But with Naruto and Sasuke in this state, how can we deal with other teams? What if we run into an enemy as powerful as that one again...?"

"So I'll go take a scroll, while you stay here and look after the two of them."

Su Bai rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder, his tone softening. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, I won't let you fall into danger. Besides, Naruto and Sasuke aren't pushovers. They'll definitely make it through this ordeal."

Sakura bit her lip tightly, her eyes beginning to redden.

She nodded lightly, her gaze falling upon her two unconscious teammates again.

She crouched down, tucked Naruto's clothes around him, then pressed the back of her hand to Sasuke's forehead.

"Naruto, you big idiot... How did you get yourself into this state again? And you keep saying you want to become Hokage, but you can't even take care of yourself..."

Sakura's voice caught, and tears pattered down onto Naruto's collar.

She then turned toward Sasuke, her gaze full of heartache. "Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry. All I can do is watch you suffer. I can't help you at all... But I believe that with your strength and pride, you'll definitely pull through..."

Sakura held both their hands, as though she wanted to pass her own strength to them.

Su Bai silently watched the scene, his feelings a tangled mess.

The four members of Team 7 had gone from being unable to stand one another to forming such deep bonds. Perhaps this bond was more powerful than any ninjutsu.

"Sakura, don't worry. I'll get a scroll and return to meet up with you as soon as possible. Until then, Naruto and Sasuke are in your care."

Su Bai patted Sakura's shoulder and gave her an encouraging look.

Sakura wiped away her tears and nodded firmly. "Mm, Su Bai-kun, you need to be careful too. I'll take good care of them. I won't let anyone hurt them!"

Su Bai smiled in relief, then turned and headed into the depths of the forest, soon disappearing from sight.

Sakura watched him leave, then looked at her two sleeping teammates, her eyes becoming incomparably resolute.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun, as long as I'm here, I will never let you be hurt!"

One day later.

Sakura was caring for the unconscious Naruto and Sasuke beneath a large tree.

She had not expected the two of them to remain unconscious for so long.

At the same time, in the woods not far away, three pairs of sinister eyes were fixed tightly on Sakura's position.

They were Orochimaru's subordinates, the trio of Sound Ninja.

"Act at dawn, according to Lord Orochimaru's instructions."

"The target is Uchiha Sasuke."

"The other two are unimportant. Just kill them."

The next morning.

On Sakura's side.

Sasuke remained unconscious with a high fever.

Sakura struggled to stay awake, terrified that she might fall asleep if she let her guard down for even a moment.

She had not closed her eyes for two whole days.

She feared that once she fell asleep, enemies would take advantage of the opening.

While Su Bai was away, the heavy responsibility of protecting Naruto and Sasuke rested on her shoulders.

Suddenly, a disturbance came from not far away.

Sakura's nerves instantly tensed!

The hands gripping her kunai trembled slightly.

She turned to look and saw that it was only a squirrel.

The squirrel ran toward her, and Sakura decisively threw a kunai, frightening it away.

However, Sakura did not notice the explosive tag stuck to the squirrel's back.

The trio of Sound Ninja hid in the shadows and whispered among themselves, "Looks like she's highly vigilant."