Everyone Was a Ninja, So They Were Pretty Much Alike

Anko Mitarashi's expression turned grave. Accompanied by ANBU ninja, she arrived at a secluded location and found three corpses on the ground, all Genin from Hidden Grass Village. Their faces were unrecognizable, and their deaths had been brutal and horrifying.

"This method!" Anko Mitarashi was shocked. The state of the three corpses before her brought a name to mind—Orochimaru.

The corpses' faces had been smoothed away, their features erased by some unknown method. But Anko Mitarashi knew that only Orochimaru could do something like this.

"Go report to the Hokage immediately." Anko Mitarashi said firmly, "I'm going into the Forest of Death to investigate."

"Yes!" The ANBU ninja immediately vanished.

After entering the Forest of Death, Anko Mitarashi raced through the trees while thinking, Orochimaru, why did you return to Konoha? What exactly do you want to do here?

"That's—!" Anko Mitarashi suddenly spotted two figures ahead. She could tell at once that they were definitely not Genin here for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Anko quickened her pace, but when she caught up, there was no one in sight.

"What speed." Anko Mitarashi became even more convinced that this was no simple matter. Not only had Orochimaru entered Konoha, but unidentified ninja of considerable strength had also appeared in the Forest of Death.

Anko Mitarashi searched the surrounding area, but found nothing, so she continued on her way.

At that moment, in a patch of grass, Zabuza Momochi released his grip on the Executioner's Blade. Seeing Konoha's examiner leave, he had avoided a fierce battle.

Zabuza Momochi recalled Naruto's face. Two days earlier, Naruto had warned him, "If you encounter a Konoha Jonin, hide. Aren't you supposed to be exceptionally skilled at silent killing? Then your silent concealment skills must be impressive too. Hahaha."

At the time, Zabuza Momochi had said unhappily, "You want me to hide in Konoha like a dog."

"Then I'll raise your pay. Whatever you do, don't kill anyone in Konoha. That's part of my mission requirement for you. If you kill someone in Konoha without my orders, even I can't protect you—unless you want to be hunted with bounties from both Konoha Village and Hidden Mist Village." Naruto's words were firmly etched in Zabuza's mind.

At that moment, Haku beside him said, "Zabuza, Naruto left a mark here." Sasuke was also beside Haku, his head covered in steel needles as he lay unconscious.

Zabuza Momochi cursed Naruto a few times inwardly, then said, "Follow the marks and bring Sasuke over. Then this mission will be complete."

Elsewhere, Sakura woke up and failed to find Sasuke. Her face filled with worry as she hurriedly asked Naruto, "Naruto, where's Sasuke?"

"We got separated from Sasuke. Let's go find him." Naruto told a lie.

Upon hearing that Sasuke had gone missing, Sakura became even more worried. She immediately agreed to Naruto's suggestion, and the two split up to search for Sasuke.

Sakura searched for Sasuke ahead, while Naruto quietly followed behind her, keeping watch over her.

Naruto was currently leaning behind a large tree, while Sakura stood some distance away, looking frantic as she shouted Sasuke's name.

Zabuza Momochi came to Naruto's side, and Naruto asked, "How did it go?"

Zabuza Momochi reported, "Following your plan, I went to Danzo Shimura to gather information. Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha has no connection to Danzo Shimura."

Hearing this intelligence, Naruto fell into thought.

Naruto continued, "Then how did Danzo react when he learned that Orochimaru had returned to Konoha?"

"He seemed completely unconcerned. He even took the initiative to bring up the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. It looks like he wants to use Orochimaru's hand to get rid of the Third Hokage."

"I understand. Continue with the rest of the plan. Report to me if anything unusual happens."

Zabuza Momochi sneered. "Konoha Village is no different from Hidden Mist Village. Bloody internal struggles have always existed."

"Everyone is a ninja. We really are all pretty much alike." Naruto's gaze became resolute. "I'll change all of this."

Zabuza Momochi left. Naruto stepped out and quickly walked toward Sakura, saying, "Sakura, I searched everywhere on my side and still couldn't find Sasuke, so I came to find you. Let's search together."

"Okay." Worry remained written across Sakura's face.

Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, had left a deep impression on Orochimaru. Naruto had also made a strange request: Orochimaru was to bring him a girl named Karin in exchange for Sasuke.

Using astonishing speed, Orochimaru slithered through the forest with a human body and snake tail, searching everywhere for a red-haired girl.

Before long, Orochimaru really did find her. A huge black bear was chasing a red-haired girl, and the moment he saw her, he recognized her as a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan.

The red-haired girl was fleeing desperately, nearly covered in wounds. She held a kunai in her left hand and gritted her teeth as she forced herself to endure the pain.

But in the end, she could not hold on. Her severe injuries made her collapse to the ground, and the kunai—the only thing that gave her any sense of safety—was flung aside, plunging her into despair.

The red-haired girl turned her head, staring in terror as the mountain-sized black bear approached step by step. She could already hear the low growl in its throat, like the sound of pleasure it made while devouring prey.

"Ah—!" The red-haired girl screamed. Just as she thought she was certain to die, Orochimaru appeared.

"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!" Orochimaru opened his mouth, stretching his jaw down to his chest. A fierce gale burst from his mouth and sent the mountain-sized black bear flying.

"Ahhhhhh—!" The red-haired girl's eyes nearly split with terror at the sight before her. If the black bear had only brought the threat of death, then Orochimaru's Wind Release, which had blown the bear away, brought the suffocating feeling that her life and death were now in someone else's hands.

The black bear was merely a beast. Falling into a beast's jaws meant certain death. But Orochimaru was a powerful ninja. In his hands, whether she lived, died, or suffered a fate worse than death was not for her to decide.

"Come with me." Orochimaru shot forward, grabbed the red-haired girl, and left at high speed, returning to the place where he had fought Naruto.

Seeing the Hidden Grass Village symbol on Orochimaru's forehead, the red-haired girl assumed he was a ninja from her village and relaxed slightly.

Orochimaru brought the red-haired girl back to the old location, but Naruto was no longer there. Instead, he saw a fair-skinned boy and an unconscious Sasuke.

"Where is Naruto Uzumaki?" Orochimaru said. "Didn't he want to make a deal with me?"

The fair-skinned boy was Haku. Haku said, "I'll make the trade with you in Naruto's place. Sasuke is here. Hand that girl over to me, and Sasuke is yours."

The red-haired girl looked completely bewildered. She had no idea why she had suddenly become a bargaining chip in someone else's deal.

"Heh, I've changed my mind. If I kill you, I can still take Sasuke."

"Ice Release! Ice Rock Dome!" Haku activated his Kekkei Genkai, creating a wall around himself like an ice cap and shielding both himself and Sasuke within it.

Orochimaru was deeply shocked. He had not expected Konoha Village to have not only Sasuke, who possessed the Sharingan, and a red-haired girl from the Uzumaki Clan, but now another boy with the Ice Release Bloodline Limit before him.

"Wonderful." Orochimaru's eyes gleamed greedily. "I want all three of you."