Dark Currents Stir, Hunter and Prey

Meanwhile, in the shadows atop the academy building.

A pair of snake-like vertical pupils greedily watched the dispersing crowd below.

"Grass Ninja" Orochimaru extended his long tongue and slowly licked his lips.

For a brief moment just now, the smile on his face had frozen.

Because several minutes ago, that blond brat—Naruto Uzumaki—had, in full view of everyone, very naturally reached out and placed a hand on Sasuke Uchiha's shoulder.

It was an utterly ordinary gesture.

Yet in that instant, Orochimaru had clearly sensed an almost imperceptible but incomparably pure strand of golden Yang Release energy silently imprint itself within Sasuke's body.

That energy possessed no offensive nature whatsoever.

Yet it carried an unquestionable, tyrannical declaration of sovereignty befitting a king.

As though someone had branded their mark onto their prey.

Then walked away without looking back.

Without even sparing him a glance.

Orochimaru's smile froze for a full three seconds.

Did he discover me?

No... he didn't look at me.

He had not even tried to trace the source of that gaze.

He had merely made a gesture—a gesture more than sufficient to drive Orochimaru wild with speculation.

It was far more ingenious than any provocation or threat.

Far more chilling.

"Interesting... truly interesting..."

A more twisted, more fanatical smile slowly blossomed across Orochimaru's face.

The greedy gleam in his snake eyes became more than ten times stronger than before.

"I originally only wanted Sasuke-kun... but now it seems that you, Naruto Uzumaki, are a perfect 'vessel' ten thousand times more interesting than I imagined..."

His forked tongue hissed through the air.

"Then... let us enjoy ourselves together in the Forest of Death."

--

After parting ways with the other two members of Team 7, Naruto did not linger outside and returned directly to his apartment.

The instant he opened the door, a graceful figure in a black-and-white maid outfit was already kneeling respectfully in the entryway, her soft black hair draped over her shoulders.

"Welcome home, Lord Naruto."

Haku's voice was gentle as water. She looked up, and her breathtakingly beautiful, androgynous face was filled with undisguised concern and affection.

"Mm."

Naruto casually shut the door, took off his coat and tossed it aside, then collapsed languidly with exhaustion—and a deeper weariness—washing over him. His head naturally came to rest on Haku's soft, resilient thighs.

"Ah!"

Haku let out a soft cry, her cheeks flushing slightly. Then she reached out in concern and gently touched Naruto's forehead. "Lord Naruto... your body seems even more... feverish than usual."

She could feel that although the body resting on her legs appeared relaxed, every muscle and meridian beneath his skin still retained the tension and soreness left behind by intense exertion. It was far beyond what a written exam could have caused.

"Heh, I just stretched my limbs a little."

Naruto closed his eyes and enjoyed the comfort of the girl's lap pillow, but his thoughts drifted to what had happened in the deserted training ground before he came home.

The Perfect Sage Body was his greatest trump card, but the Eight Gates was the best means of efficiently converting that power into destructive force.

He had not been idle during the hours before returning home.

Relying on the Sage Body's terrifying endurance and recovery ability, he could already easily control the first three gates.

And today, he had successfully forced open the Fourth Gate—the Gate of Pain.

The instant it opened, the tearing agony and violent power had been enough to move even any jonin.

But he knew even better that it was not enough.

Against a monster on Orochimaru's level, the Gate of Pain merely qualified him to contend with him.

He had tried to break through the barrier of the Fifth Gate—the Gate of Limit. That barrier was unimaginably solid; merely probing it had made his body cry out under the strain.

Just a little more...

Naruto thought to himself.

The Gate of Limit was the true threshold capable of threatening those at Shadow Level.

He had to use that snake's pressure in the Forest of Death to complete the final breakthrough.

But what he had not told Haku was—

At the moment he failed to breach the Gate of Limit's barrier, the Nine-Tails' chakra had shown a slight abnormal fluctuation within the space deep inside his consciousness, where it was suppressed by multiple seals.

It was not an uprising.

It was more like... a response.

As if something lay sleeping within him, waiting for him to reach a certain critical point.

What was that?

Naruto had no answer for now.

But his instincts told him that power was more dangerous than the Eight Gates, and even more... alluring.

"Do you need me to... eliminate those threats that have exhausted you, Lord Naruto?"

Haku's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Her tone was gentle, but a cold killing intent flashed through her eyes.

"No."

Naruto opened his eyes. His azure gaze was clear and deep. "Your battlefield isn't here. You only need to stay home and protect this 'home' for me."

As he spoke, he took out a black bank card from his clothes and placed it in Haku's hand.

"The money in here is enough to buy the biggest residence in the best part of the Hidden Leaf."

"Go buy it, then decorate it however you like. When I return from the Chunin Exams, the home of our Uzumaki Clan will be there."

Haku stared blankly at the card in her hand, then at Naruto, who lay on her lap as though he had already fallen asleep. Her eyes instantly reddened.

Home...

To her, that word was such an extravagant dream that she had never even dared to imagine it. Yet Naruto had now placed it in her hands so casually.

She was not a tool, nor was she merely a maid... she was one of the mistresses of this "home."

An unprecedented sense of belonging and happiness surged over her like a raging tide, instantly swallowing her whole.

"Yes... Lord Naruto."

Choking back sobs, she used all her strength just to utter those words.

She lowered her head and gently kissed Naruto's forehead. A warm tear silently slid down her cheek.

--

The next morning.

Sunlight tore through the clouds, yet it brought not the slightest warmth.

Before the gates of Training Ground 44—better known as the "Forest of Death"—a place that was gloomy, damp, and filled with unknown dangers.

All the candidates who had passed the first written exam had gathered there.

The air was thick with tension, killing intent, and a faint trace of blood.

With his hands in his pockets, Naruto stood lazily among Team 7, receiving awed looks from every direction.

But his senses had long since spread like an invisible radar net across the entire perimeter of the training ground.

He could clearly sense that faint bloodline call from his own clan in an inconspicuous corner not far away—the red-haired girl with glasses was being scolded by several Grass Ninja, her shoulders hunched and her head lowered.

He could also sense that not far away, the blond girl holding a huge Iron Fan was secretly studying him with a complicated gaze mixed with shame, anger, curiosity, and unwillingness.

He could also sense that beyond the wire fence, the beautiful but deranged examiner he had frightened away last night was locking onto him with an equally complicated gaze.

He could even sense a well-concealed, cold and clammy presence hidden somewhere, like a venomous snake waiting for its prey to take the bait.

Orochimaru.

Naruto neither looked nor tried to find the source of that gaze.

He merely slowly raised his head and swept his gaze across the killing ground before him. The curve of his lips became increasingly arrogant, carrying the excitement and cruelty unique to a predator.