That Naruto, Stab Anyone He Saw, Kill Anyone He Met

The snake tongue flicked repeatedly between cracked lips, carrying a cold, fishy stench.

Orochimaru's figure was hidden beneath the dense shade of the forest. The tail beneath his kimono swept over the fallen leaves without leaving the slightest trace.

He glanced back in the direction of Naruto and the others, his narrow golden vertical pupils filled with casual mockery.

No one knew Kabuto's strength better than he did.

In assassination and stealth, Kabuto was no weaker than Root's elite ANBU.

In medical ninjutsu, there were only a handful in the entire Ninja World who could surpass him.

As for scheming and escaping, he had learned it all from Orochimaru. Forget holding back a few twelve-year-old brats—Kabuto could hold his own for half an hour even against Konoha's Jonin squad.

"As long as he stalls them until the plan begins, even if that brat has the Nine-Tails backing him, he won't be able to make any waves."

Orochimaru sneered, then turned into the afterimage of a white snake and sped toward the tower.

His mind was filled with thoughts of his "master-disciple reunion" with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Three hours later.

In a clearing within the Forest of Death, several dark figures landed without a sound.

Orochimaru, who led them, removed the disguise mask from his face, revealing his pale, sinister features. His snake eyes swept across the empty clearing, and his brows instantly furrowed.

The Sound Ninja ANBU in a black robe beside him bowed down, dipping his fingertips into a speck of dust that had nearly dispersed. His voice was tense. "Lord Orochimaru, Lord Kabuto's final chakra trail ended here."

Another medical ninja shrouded in darkness stepped forward. After sensing the area repeatedly, his face grew paler and paler. "Something's wrong... There isn't even a trace of flesh, blood, or residual chakra here. It's clean... as if no one had ever come."

Orochimaru crouched down, his pale fingertips brushing across the ground.

He pushed his sensory ability to its limit. He could even perceive insect eggs three feet beneath the earth with perfect clarity, yet there was not the slightest trace of Kabuto's presence.

Forget a corpse—even the shed snake skin left behind by the Shedding Substitution Technique he had given Kabuto had vanished without a trace.

"Interesting."

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse, and his snake tongue flicked wildly. Yet there was no amusement left in his golden vertical pupils, only bone-deep chill.

"Cleaner than the Death God's Dead Demon Consuming Seal."

For the first time, disbelief rose in his heart.

Kabuto was not an ordinary subordinate.

He was the most trusted and capable pawn Orochimaru had cultivated for more than a decade.

He was the core link in the Konoha Crush Plan, responsible for coordinating attacks from within and without. He was also the future commander of Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation army.

Orochimaru had even thought that if something happened to his vessel, Kabuto could still carry the entire plan forward for him.

But now, Kabuto was gone.

Not even a trace remained that would allow Orochimaru to use Impure World Reincarnation to question him.

"What a pity. I rather liked that child, Kabuto."

Orochimaru slowly rose to his feet, his hand hanging at his side quietly curling into a fist. Only he himself knew how much shock and rage lay hidden within those lightly spoken words.

The medical ninja in the shadows beside him bowed in agreement, his tone full of regret. "Yes. Lord Kabuto's medical ninjutsu was enough to make even me feel inferior. He could have rendered great service to Lord Orochimaru. It truly is a pity."

He paused, his voice full of confusion. "But who could possibly kill Lord Kabuto without making a sound? Someone in Konoha with that kind of strength... the Third Hokage? No, Hiruzen Sarutobi has always acted openly and honorably. He would never use such sneaky methods. Could it be... Danzo?"

Danzo.

The moment those two words were spoken, Orochimaru's pupils abruptly contracted.

Right.

Only Danzo's Root possessed such ruthless methods, leaving behind not the slightest trace.

Kabuto had once served in Root and knew far too many of Danzo's dirty secrets.

During these Chunin Ninja Exams, Kabuto and Danzo had been cooperating while scheming against each other.

Danzo feared that Kabuto would expose his secrets, so it made perfect sense for him to strike first and silence Kabuto.

Orochimaru's face grew darker and darker, his teeth grinding audibly.

He had calculated the Third Hokage, Hidden Sand, and every weakness in Konoha's defenses. The only thing he had not calculated was that Danzo would stab him in the back at this moment.

"What a pity. He died too cleanly."

He gritted his teeth, his voice brimming with malice. "Otherwise, even if only a drop of blood remained, I could have used Impure World Reincarnation to bring him back and ask who dared touch my man!"

Until his death, he had never considered Naruto even for a moment.

In his eyes, Naruto was nothing more than a brainless brat with Nine-Tails Chakra.

Even if Naruto had forced him to retreat temporarily, there was no way he had the ability to kill Kabuto so completely that not even scraps remained.

He had no idea that the murderer he was desperately trying to find was currently in the tower's lounge, using the Darkness Value earned from killing his subordinate to figure out how to expose all of Orochimaru's secrets.

"Forget it."

Orochimaru took a deep breath, suppressing the shock and rage in his heart. He put the Kazekage's mask back on, his voice icy. "Let's go. The grand gift I prepared for my teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, cannot have its delivery delayed over such a minor accident."

Several dark figures turned into afterimages once more and vanished into the dense forest.

When the wind blew through the woods, even the last trace of cold chakra dispersed completely.

At dusk.

The great doors of the central tower in the Forest of Death burst open.

The examiner's hoarse voice echoed throughout the entire venue. "The second stage of the Chunin Ninja Exams has ended! Six teams have passed, with a total of nineteen qualified candidates!"

The moment his words fell, the venue went deathly silent.

Everyone drew in a sharp breath.

A total of eighty-seven teams, two hundred and sixty-one people, had registered for this year's Chunin Ninja Exams.

Only a few dozen had walked out alive.

The death rate had exceeded seventy percent, the highest in the history of Konoha's Chunin Ninja Exams.

And the first to emerge from the Forest of Death, taking less than an hour from start to finish and breaking the record for the fastest clear in every previous exam, was Konoha's Team 7—Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and the temporarily added Karin Uzumaki.

Every surviving examinee in the venue looked at Naruto with fear and wariness that could not be concealed.

Quite a few of them had seen that ruthless figure in the Forest of Death.

They had seen him stab a Hidden Sand ninja with a Bloodline Limit through the throat, seen him kick a Sound Ninja's skull apart, and watched him carve his way deep into the forest without even blinking.

In private, ninjas from every village had been spreading rumors.

Konoha had produced a killing god this year.

With a Widow's Blade in hand, he chopped down anyone he encountered, regardless of age or gender!

The rumors said that Naruto stabbed anyone he met and killed anyone he saw!

Inside the lounge.

Naruto leaned back in his chair, his feet propped on the table before him. He toyed with the preliminary match number he had just drawn, a casual smile hanging from his lips.

Karin crouched beside his feet, carefully wiping the dust from his hands. Her sensory ability remained fully spread as she reported every chakra fluctuation in the venue to Naruto without missing a thing. "Brother Naruto, the Kazekage beside the Third Hokage in the stands has very sinister chakra. It feels like... someone carrying a Cursed Seal."

"Danzo's Root is hidden nearby too. More than a dozen ANBU are all watching you."

Naruto raised a brow and sneered inwardly.

Just as expected.

That old bastard Orochimaru had really followed the original plot, disguising himself as the Kazekage and sitting beside the Third Hokage, waiting to give him a "grand gift."

What a shame... I slaughtered your dog. ^_^

Sasuke leaned against the wall nearby. The Cursed Seal on his right arm faintly burned, and his Two-Tomoe Sharingan was half-open as his gaze locked tightly onto Naruto.

Even now, he could not forget Naruto's indifference as he stabbed Kabuto Yakushi through the chest, the calculation behind waiting on a tree branch for Kabuto to revive because he knew Kabuto had a backup plan, or the speed with which Naruto killed enemies—a speed even Sasuke's Sharingan could not keep up with.

A few months ago, this guy had still been a dead last who could not even learn the Clone Technique.

Now, he had become so strong that even looking up at him felt difficult.

Unwillingness.

Overwhelming unwillingness burned madly in his chest like fire.

He had to gain power.

He had to surpass this guy.

He had to kill Itachi.

Sakura sat nearby, her fingertips gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her face still somewhat pale. She looked at Naruto with complicated eyes.

The cold-eyed boy before her, so decisive in killing, was completely different from the idiot who used to chase after her every day, shouting "Sakura-chan."

Yet it was this unfamiliar Naruto who had placed her behind him the instant Orochimaru's killing intent descended upon them.

"Quiet!"

Morino Ibiki's voice, amplified by chakra, spread throughout the entire venue and instantly suppressed all the noise.

"The preliminary matches for the third stage of the Chunin Ninja Exams begin now!"

"The rules are simple! One-on-one duels, with life and death irrelevant! Opponents will be decided by drawing lots! Surrender, loss of combat ability, or death counts as defeat! The winners will advance to the official Chunin Ninja Exams matches one month from now!"