"Hokage-sama, I have some urgent news," Ibiki said as he quickly entered Tsunade's office in a hurry.
Tsunade looked up from her paperwork, her brow furrowing at the severe expression on the torture department head's face. "Ibiki? What's wrong? The first phase of the exam should have just ended."
Without a word, Ibiki walked forward and began explaining everything that happened. He also presented Naruto's answer sheet to Tsunade just to make his point. After all, one usually cannot trust the information of an S-rank rogue ninja infiltrating Konoha just because a student said so.
But both Tsunade and Ibuki had to take this information seriously because behind Naruto was Izanami. With Izanami warning them, they couldn't do a half-assed investigation. After all, if Orochimaru really sneaked inside and went on a rampage, then they would be in some serious shit.
The other ninja villages may even take this as a reason to declare war on Konoha. These ninja villages had long been coveting Konoha's rich resources for a long time and had been waiting for an opportunity to take a bite out of the pie.
" Damn that bastard Orochimaru" Tsunade said, her voice dropping to a cold, dangerous whisper. She looked up at Ibiki, her eyes full of sharp authority. "Where is Naruto now?"
"He and his team have already entered Training Ground Forty-Four, Hokage-sama," Ibiki reported quickly. "The second phase has just officially begun."
" Hmm, do this: gather a group of ANBU ninjas to surround the Forest of Death to protect all the genin. Give extra attention to squad 7, then send the message to Jiraiya to go and find that snake before he makes a move. No, also call that guy and tell him that this is the best opportunity to see the changes he could make. " Tsunade ordered as she thought about it.
"Understood, Hokage-sama!" Ibiki replied, his voice firm. He bowed deeply before vanishing from the office in a swirl of leaves, wasting no time to execute the command.
Tsunade let out a heavy sigh and leaned back into her chair, her fingers rubbing her temples. Sigh, this Orochimaru, why did he come and cause trouble at a time like this? Couldn't he wait until the Chunin exam is over before doing anything? If things went south, war would be the least of their worries.
…..
"I have to say, this method sure is very good," Sakura said in amazement. She smiled happily as she rummaged through the pouches of the genin team they had just easily defeated.
They didn't even have to waste their energy running around the dangerous forest. Instead, they had set up a brilliant trap right in front of the final destination.
On their very first day, before any other contestants could get close to the central tower, Naruto and Sasuke had used powerful earth-style jutsu to completely alter the terrain. This earth jutsu was Izanami's own creation, and she passed this technique to both Naruto and Sasuke. Although this jutsu needs a very large amount of chakra for Naruto, who has almost inexhaustible chakra, this jutsu is a basic move.
They built a massive, highly confusing stone maze that blocked off every single path leading to the tower. In this path, there are many traps laid inside by Sasuke and Sakura, making one's skin crawl with despair. Because the tower was the only way to finish the exam, every team was naturally funneled directly into their trap.
Once a tired and desperate team entered the stone walls, Naruto would easily locate them using his sharp sensory skills. Then, he and Sasuke would drop down from the shadows, quickly snipe them, and knock them out.
With this strategy, they had already collected four Heaven Scrolls and three Earth Scrolls.
Sakura looked up at her teammates and suggested that they go inside the tower now, since they had more than enough to pass.
But Sasuke simply leaned against a cold stone wall with his arms crossed and refused. He pointed out that eliminating more teams now would make the upcoming rounds much easier.
Besides, both he and Naruto knew that the real threat had not yet shown up.
High above them on a stone ledge, Naruto sat quietly with his eyes closed, keeping his sensory net fully spread across the entire training ground. He didn't care about the weak genin they had been robbing; his mind was entirely focused on the powerful intruder.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as the temperature around the maze seemed to drop instantly.
A cold, heavy, and incredibly sickening chakra had just crossed the outer edge of their stone maze.
Naruto looked down at Sasuke and gave him a sharp, serious nod.
Right when they first entered the Forest of Death, Naruto had already warned his teammates about Orochimaru's infiltration.
While he didn't think the rogue ninja would be foolish enough to court death, there was still a high chance he would show up. After all, a crazy researcher like Orochimaru could never resist such rare specimens.
To a mad scientist, Naruto was the ultimate prize. He was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, a rare survivor of the legendary Uzumaki clan, and a genius who had already made a massive name for himself.
Then there was Sasuke, an Uchiha prodigy whose potential in this timeline was seen as even greater than his legendary brother, Itachi.
For Orochimaru, the two of them were the rarest catches in the entire ninja world, and there was no way he would let this opportunity slip away.
"The big fish just walked into our net," Naruto whispered, his voice cold. " Remember, when facing him, think like facing Tsunade-oba-chan; get serious from the start "
"Hm," Sasuke nodded, his dark eyes instantly spinning into a brilliant crimson red as he activated his Sharingan.
Two black tomoe slowly rotated in each of his eyes, glowing faintly in the dim shadow of the stone maze.
Thanks to the rigorous training from his brother and sister, Sasuke's strength in this timeline was vastly superior to what it should have been.
With Kiyomi's guidance, the Uchiha had unlocked deeper secrets and hidden functions of the Sharingan, making Sasuke's visual prowess incredibly sharp.
He looked toward the entrance of the maze, his vision perfectly tracking the flow of the incoming, toxic energy. "This chakra... it's disgusting."
Sakura shivered, her hands instinctively reaching for her kunai. She couldn't sense the energy as clearly as they could, but the sudden, heavy pressure in the air was making it hard for her to breathe.
From the shadows of the stone corridor, a lone figure slowly walked into view.
The figure wore a Hidden Grass Village headband, but their body moved with an unnatural, fluid grace—almost like a snake sliding through the dirt.
A pair of pale, slit-pupil yellow eyes stared out from under the wide straw hat, locking instantly onto Sasuke and Naruto.
"My, my... what a fascinating playground you've built here," a raspy, chilling voice echoed off the stone walls.
The stranger slowly licked their lips with an impossibly long tongue, a creepy, eager smile stretching across their face.
" And it seems you were expecting me " Orochimaru spoke in his hoarse voice as he looked at Naruto and Sasuke with interest.
*****
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