Itachi: Tsukuyomi

Orochimaru froze for a moment, still trying to understand what he meant.

The next second!

The entire world was instantly shrouded in blood-red light!

Space warped, and everything vanished!

To his horror, Orochimaru found himself bound tightly to a blood-red cross, unable to move!

Endless crimson stretched out around him!

"What is this?!"

"Genjutsu?"

Orochimaru's expression changed drastically.

Uchiha Itachi's figure slowly appeared before him, his cold, ethereal voice echoing throughout the blood-red world.

"Tsukuyomi."

"Here, weight, mass, time, and space are all under my control."

"And you will spend seventy-two hours here!"

As his words fell silent.

Itachi struck instantly, a blade in his hand!

One stab, two, three...

In mere moments, he stabbed Orochimaru seventeen or eighteen times!

Every thrust pierced flesh and struck straight at his nerves!

Unbearable agony swept through his entire body!

Even Orochimaru broke out in a cold sweat from the pain!

Uchiha Itachi, you bastard.

You're definitely getting revenge for that bite I gave Sasuke on the Sky Screen.

But I haven't even done it yet!

Isn't this a little extreme, Itachi?

As Orochimaru's thoughts ran wild.

Itachi said calmly, "Only one second has passed."

"What?!"

Orochimaru's eyes went wide, and his mind went completely blank!

You've stabbed me so many times.

And now!

You're telling me only one second has passed in this space?

How am I supposed to endure seventy-two hours?

At that moment, Orochimaru finally understood everything!

It finally made sense!

He understood why his future self had never targeted Uchiha Itachi, despite having him so close at hand!

Why he had gone out of his way to pursue Sasuke instead!

It was because Itachi's Mangekyō was simply beyond his ability to withstand!

Did my future self go through all this too?

And this time, the Sky Screen made it happen sooner.

The illusion ended.

The blood-red space instantly dissipated.

Orochimaru was utterly drained, his limbs weak and his body drenched in cold sweat. He teetered on the edge of collapse, his mind trembling violently.

The despair of enduring countless hells within a single second had nearly crushed his will.

Uchiha Itachi looked at him coldly and left him with a few indifferent words.

"Orochimaru, enjoy the rest of your life."

With that, Itachi turned and walked away.

Only Orochimaru remained, his mind shattered.

What did that bastard Uchiha Itachi mean?

Was he going to come back?

Orochimaru sat in a daze for a long time, unable to recover.

Much later.

Orochimaru slowly raised his head.

And once again, his eyes burned with intense, twisted fervor.

He let out a long breath, his tongue darting out wildly to lick his entire cheek over and over.

A hideous smile crept back onto his face.

"Hahaha... interesting!"

"So very interesting!"

"Is this the true power of the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"This is nothing less than divine power over time and space..."

Greed surged in Orochimaru's eyes, and his heart pounded wildly.

"Now I want it even more!"

"Uchiha Itachi, your body, those eyes, that power..."

"I'll have them all!!"

The footage on the Sky Screen continued.

Deep within the Forest of Death, Team 7 lay unconscious on the ground.

But it did not take long for Konoha to notice something was wrong.

The Anbu squad lurking in the shadows, specifically tasked with secretly protecting Naruto Uzumaki, had lost contact and failed to check in as scheduled.

The Anbu's unexplained disappearance immediately put the Konoha High Command on high alert.

People were immediately sent to investigate their last known location. After searching through the forest, they finally found Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke lying unconscious deep among the trees.

The sight sent the entire Shinobi World outside the Sky Screen into an uproar, and quite a few people felt bitter about the unfairness.

"So everyone else has to face a real death trial where they're responsible for their own lives!"

"But Team 7 gets Anbu secretly protecting them? Talk about special treatment!"

"Why do they get extra help?"

But while many complained, even more understood perfectly.

"Stop being bitter."

"One of them is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Shinobi World's ultimate weapon. He absolutely cannot die."

"Another is the last remaining Uchiha. Konoha isn't going to let anything happen to Sasuke."

"They're not Sakura. Losing either of those two would be a devastating blow to Konoha."

Everyone thought it over and realized that was indeed true.

Given those two boys' identities, Konoha would never allow them to die by accident during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Inside the forest.

Before long, Naruto was the first to regain consciousness.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Kakashi crouching beside him, and delight instantly spread across his face.

"Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here?"

But the next second, the terrifying memories of encountering Orochimaru in the Forest of Death flooded his mind.

Naruto's expression changed sharply, and he cried out.

"Kakashi-sensei! There was this really weird enemy here! He was super scary!"

Kakashi's expression tightened, and he immediately asked Naruto to describe the enemy's appearance, build, and techniques.

After listening to Naruto's broken account, piecing together the man's strange appearance and sinister demeanor.

Kakashi's expression grew increasingly grim.

In his heart, he had already guessed the intruder's identity.

That man had returned.

Kakashi exhaled deeply, suppressing the unease in his heart, and told Naruto in a grave voice:

"I was going to let you continue the exam once you woke up."

"But that's no longer an option."

"You must leave the Forest of Death with me immediately."

Naruto froze, then shook his head firmly without a second thought.

"No! I can't leave!"

Kakashi frowned. "Naruto, you don't understand. That man was extremely dangerous. If you encounter him again, you'll die."

But Naruto remained unusually resolute, his eyes clear and stubborn.

"Sasuke hasn't woken up yet."

"If I leave now and decide to give up the exam for him, that wouldn't be fair to him."

"Sasuke would never forgive me."

Naruto clenched his fists. Remembering how he had refused to back down during the written exam even in the face of death, he spoke each word with earnest conviction.

"Besides... I don't ever want to run away from another fight."

Kakashi was slightly taken aback.

The unwavering determination in Naruto's eyes stunned him.

This was nothing like the carefree slacker who always came last.

At that moment, Naruto possessed a Ninja Way and a strength of character far beyond most people.

After a brief silence, Naruto suddenly broke into a broad grin and cheerfully tried to reassure Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, look! We're all fine, aren't we? That weird old guy didn't kill us in the end!"

Kakashi sighed helplessly, his heart heavy.

He knew Orochimaru's savagery and cruelty all too well.

Though he did not know why Orochimaru had held back, if he had truly wanted to kill the three of them, Team 7 would already have been wiped out.

"You have no idea what kind of monster you just faced."

Kakashi rubbed his forehead, utterly at a loss.

"Forget it. No matter how much I explain, you won't understand right now."

"When Sasuke wakes up, tell him not to use that power inside his body."