Pinching Her Little Cheek

Because, without them noticing, a figure stood silently above them—a black-haired figure exuding a terrifying aura.

The moment they saw this person, an intense sense of dread washed over all the Sound Ninja, a dread several times stronger than the Orochimaru had instilled in them.

A white energy ball was gleaming at the fingertips of the figure's owner.

Although the energy ball was not large, the terrifying power it emitted caused the Sound Ninja to change color drastically. Kidomaru, who had extremely strong sensory abilities, was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.

The Sound Ninja believed that if they dared to move, there would be only one outcome: 'death!'

"You... who are you?"

As a member of the group with a relatively high status and a competitive personality, Tayuya still tried her best to ask questions even in this situation.

She hadn't expected that her voice would tremble so badly. She tried to speak steadily, but she just couldn't.

"My name is Naruto, ever heard of me?"

Naruto smiled and landed next to Tayuya, placing his other arm on her smooth, delicate neck, then pinching her fair cheek.

"No... no."

At close range, the terrifying power within the white sphere of light terrified Tayuya; she remained motionless even when Naruto pinched her cheek.

"Do you know why you don't know?" Naruto said, teasing Tayuya's little face.

"I... I don't know."

Tayuya hurriedly tried to explain, looking around at her companions for help, but they were all trembling and dared not move. Kidomaru couldn't even stand up.

"Because all my enemies who knew my strength are dead."

As Naruto's voice faded, he slowly raised his left hand, and the white orb of light grew even brighter.

"Naruto- san, please wait! We're useful to you!" Sensing the killing intent, Tayuya pleaded for mercy with terror in her eyes.

"Useful? What's the use?"

Naruto looked at Tayuya with a half-smile, wanting to hear her answer while also gaining Experience Points from them.

"I... we can be your subordinates."

"Subordinates? Are you worthy?" Naruto casually tossed the ball of light aside.

"Please wait, we... we know a lot of Sealing Jutsu and can handle your trivial matters. Oh, and we also have Curse Mark; we can be your test subjects. Please don't kill me."

Tayuya was terrified by the floating ball of light; her entire face turned deathly pale with fear.

"Curse Mark? A test subject? Well, that's rather interesting."

Naruto thought of his experiments. In order to help Hinata improve her strength, he conducted many experiments and did a lot of theoretical analysis, but he didn't have the most important human test subjects, so he encountered a bottleneck.

This led to his experiments stalling, but now that he has readily available test subjects, he has a new idea.

"My lord, as long as you don't kill us, we're all your experimental subjects."

Tayuya noticed Naruto's change in attitude and realized that this was the only chance of survival, so she quickly expressed her wishes.

The surrounding Sound Ninja trembled and said, "Sir, we... we are all your test subjects."

"Oh? You're all so willing?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Yes... yes, we followed Lord Orochimaru out of fear, and we were test subjects before," Kidomaru, trying his best to remain calm.

"In that case, it is indeed an idea."

After thinking it over, Naruto decided to spare their lives and didn't even intend to use any means to control them.

With his own strength, he wasn't worried about them causing any trouble. Even if they ran to Orochimaru, he could just go and beat Orochimaru up and bring them back.

Then we'll see if they dare to run around like that again.

So Naruto nodded and said, "That's settled then. You go to the Land of Hot Water and find Karin, help her set up a laboratory there, and I'll go there to conduct experiments later."

After Naruto finished speaking, he reduced the power of the light sphere by 99%, and threw the remaining 1% into the distance.

The Sound Four visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and their fear subsided somewhat.

Boom!

The terrifying explosion shook the heavens and the earth. A huge mushroom cloud rose up in the next second, carrying terrifying wind pressure and thick black smoke, sweeping in all directions with boundless energy.

The Sound Four, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, were immediately blasted away by the energy, with three of them rolling more than ten meters before finally stopping with the help of Ninjutsu.

Even so, they were still shaken so badly that they coughed up blood and were covered in wounds. Even with the Curse Mark Stage Two activated, they were still covered in injuries.

Only Tayuya, being by Naruto's side, remained unaffected, but her fear was no less than the other three. She was so frightened that her body went limp, and she could barely support herself with Naruto's arm.

"Cough cough cough!"

The three Sound Ninja coughed incessantly, large drops of blood dripping from their mouths, yet they stared in utter horror at the mushroom cloud that lingered for so long.

"Naruto- sensei, we... we're going to the Land of Hot Water right now!" Tayuya said hurriedly, terrified.

"Yes, if Orochimaru finds you, tell him about the Chasm in the Forest of Death, and he'll know what to do."

After Naruto finished speaking, he picked up the wooden barrel that was sealing Sasuke and flew away like lightning.

Only the Sound Four remained, slumped on the ground, staring motionless at the mushroom cloud.

After a long silence, Tayuya finally said, "Let's go. We can't delay Naruto's business."

"Well."

The other three Sound Ninja hurriedly nodded and struggled to move forward. Faced with overwhelming power, all they could do was compromise, just as they had compromised with Orochimaru, and with an even more terrifying being.

[Experience Points +3]

The Valley of the End.

The enormous waterfall cascades down like a surging water dragon, crashing against the river below under the sunlight and bursting forth with countless white sprays, making the surrounding area shimmer with colorful rays of light.

Naruto stood quietly on the bank above the waterfall, looking down at the river below and at everything.

Beside him was the wooden barrel that sealed Sasuke, but unlike before, the barrel was now radiating a powerful aura, ten times stronger than before.

It's clear that Sasuke is about to master the Curse Mark Second State, which will increase his combat power tenfold.

Naruto paid no attention to this, instead checking his Experience Points were almost full; in just a few more minutes, his bloodline would reach 100%.

Click!

Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the Sealing Barrel, and black energy spread outwards along the cracks, along with powerful Chakra fluctuations.

Bang!

The Sealing Barrel completely collapsed, and Sasuke inside finally completed his transformation.

"I finally possess immense power! Curse Mark Second State! I've finally completed it! Naruto is no longer my match! Hahaha!" Sasuke laughed heartily, his eyes filled with an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.