Hinata froze, her eyes instantly widening, and was about to cry out.
Xin immediately raised his index finger to his lips, gesturing for silence.
Hinata covered her mouth, her heart pounding.
She understood at once.
Those three gravely wounded ninja were clearly Xin's doing; he had secretly helped them obtain the scrolls.
When she looked up again, the tree trunk was empty. Xin had already disappeared.
Hinata lowered her head, her cheeks flushing, her heart full of sweetness.
She never stopped to wonder why Xin had appeared in the tightly sealed Forest of Death.
After helping Hinata's team collect all the scrolls they needed, Xin left without worry.
Before leaving, he secretly left Hinata a generous gift.
It was an enhanced version of Vision Resonance.
Xin had set danger-triggering conditions within it.
As long as Hinata faced mortal danger or her chakra fluctuated violently, he would sense it immediately.
Then, through Kamui or the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could reach Hinata's side in an instant.
Hinata alone enjoyed this unique treatment.
Xin darted swiftly through the forest.
Before long, he reached a dark, damp clearing.
The sight ahead brought him to a halt.
A gigantic snake, as massive as a small hill, was slowly slithering across the ground.
The giant snake's belly bulged high, and Naruto's furious roars kept coming from inside.
"Let me out! You stinking snake!"
Standing on a branch, Xin watched the scene and helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead.
He knew perfectly well that this was an inevitable part of the original story, but seeing it in person still left him speechless.
"That idiot actually got swallowed alive by a snake."
The next second.
The giant snake's belly suddenly expanded outward.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Naruto's shout came from inside the snake's belly.
Countless clones of Naruto stretched the giant snake's body into an enormous balloon, its skin pulled as thin as a cicada's wing.
Bang!
Unable to withstand the force any longer, the giant snake opened its enormous, bloody maw.
It spat Naruto out along with countless streams of slime.
Naruto's shadow clones littered the ground, every one of them covered in green slime and giving off a pungent, foul stench.
Xin stood in the tree, watching the spectacular scene with disgust all over his face.
He felt utterly nauseated.
Uchiha Xin stood high on a tree trunk.
He looked down with disgust written all over his face.
Covered in green slime, Naruto Uzumaki tumbled and scrambled out of the giant snake's mouth.
That pungent, foul stench could be smelled from far away.
Xin shook his head helplessly.
He did not call out to interrupt, simply watching Naruto drag his bedraggled body toward Sasuke Uchiha.
Only after Naruto's retreating figure disappeared completely into the depths of the forest did the five-pointed star pattern in Xin's right eye slowly turn.
"Kamui."
The surrounding space twisted.
Xin's body instantly vanished into the void, completely concealing every trace of his presence.
Using Kamui's intangibility, he silently followed the sinister man wearing a Grass Ninja forehead protector.
Orochimaru.
Over the next few hours, Xin became an entirely invisible spectator.
He witnessed Orochimaru use his overwhelming strength to grind Sasuke into the dirt.
He watched Orochimaru stretch his neck to an extraordinary length and bite Sasuke's neck, leaving behind the Cursed Seal of Heaven that represented a curse.
Sasuke's agonized screams echoed through the forest.
Xin leaned against a nearby tree trunk without so much as raising his eyelids.
Uchiha Itachi had entrusted him with protecting Sasuke, but that protection extended only to keeping Sasuke alive.
As for Sasuke getting beaten up and suffering, that was entirely outside his jurisdiction.
Before long, Mitarashi Anko arrived, following Orochimaru's trail.
Anko used the Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique, attempting to take Orochimaru down with her.
Xin remained hidden in another dimension, coldly watching the farce unfold.
Until Anko was defeated and Orochimaru escaped.
Orochimaru stopped in an open clearing in the forest.
He turned around, his snake-like eyes fixed on the empty space where Xin was hiding.
"You've been secretly following me for so long. Are you still not going to show yourself?"
Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out across the clearing.
The surrounding air instantly grew colder.
Ripples spread through space.
Xin deactivated Kamui's intangibility, his figure slowly emerging in midair before landing steadily on the ground.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, looking the boy before him up and down.
"An Uchiha Clan brat. What do you want with me?"
Xin folded his arms across his chest, his tone flat.
"I came to discuss a deal with you."
"A deal?"
Orochimaru sneered.
"What makes an immature brat like you think you're qualified to negotiate with me?"
"I'll allow you to continue carrying out the Konoha Crush Plan."
Xin looked straight into Orochimaru's eyes and laid out his bargaining chip.
"But you must guarantee that the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi doesn't die."
At those words, the sneer on Orochimaru's face instantly froze.
His eyes widened, instantly filling with killing intent.
The Konoha Crush Plan was a top-secret operation he had spent a long time preparing.
There was no way anyone outside his most trusted inner circle could know about it.
How did this brat know?!
Without the slightest hesitation, Orochimaru rapidly formed hand seals with his hands hidden inside his sleeves.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Two thick venomous snakes shot from his sleeves without warning, opening their enormous, bloody mouths and lunging at Xin's face with lethal fangs at lightning speed.
Xin stood where he was without even attempting to dodge.
The venomous snakes passed straight through Xin's body.
There was no spray of blood, nor any sensation of striking something solid.
Orochimaru froze.
He saw it perfectly clearly: his venomous snakes had passed straight through Xin's body and struck the tree trunk behind him.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
Orochimaru sucked in a sharp breath, his voice turning shrill.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu that makes the body intangible... Who exactly are you?! Are you Madara Uchiha?!"
That legendary name instantly surfaced in Orochimaru's mind.
Only that man could possibly possess such strange, unfathomable abilities.
Xin curled his lip.
"My name is Uchiha Xin."
"Uchiha Xin?"
Orochimaru murmured the name, the shock in his eyes gradually turning into feverish greed.
He stared fixedly at Xin's eyes.
"I see. You've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Is this your unique dōjutsu?!"
Orochimaru excitedly licked his lips, his long tongue sickening to behold.
"How wonderful! Those eyes, that body-they're simply a perfect work of art!"
Orochimaru abandoned Sasuke completely. All he could think about now was seizing Xin's body.
Xin frowned, his gaze turning disgusted.
"That revolting look on your face really turns my stomach."
The five-pointed star pattern in Xin's right eye instantly began spinning faster.
The terrifying ocular power of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan erupted.
"Amaterasu."
A mass of ink-black flames ignited on Orochimaru's chest without warning.
"Aaaaah!"
Orochimaru let out an agonized scream and rolled frantically across the ground.