Chapter 49: Satan's Tattoo Behind Naruto
Zaku had already fallen. Dosu' sound waves, rivaling the strength of the Eastern Invincible, rippled visibly through the air, surging at high speed toward Naruto.
Naruto leapt aside. With Dosu' backstab, Zaku's back split open in an instant, revealing several wounds deep enough to expose bone. Already on the verge of death, Zaku's body convulsed violently a few times before his soul returned to the purest land of the Shinigami.
Seeing his sound wave miss, Dosu clenched his teeth in frustration. He was about to resume searching for the masked Root operative Naruto, when a kunai suddenly shot toward him. Its speed wasn't fast, and Dosu didn't even bother to move his feet.
He simply tilted his head, dodging the kunai.
But the next second, at the very instant the kunai brushed past him, Naruto suddenly appeared behind him, snatching it from midair with a snap.
[Flying Thunder God: Second Step]
On alert, Dosu seemed to realize something and drew in a sharp breath.
"Behind you!" The female Sound ninja, Kin, had already rushed forward, hurling several senbon at Naruto.
But it was already too late. In that instant, time seemed frozen. The Flying Thunder God was far too fast—far beyond the limits of human neural reflexes. Without suspense, Naruto drove the kunai straight into the back of Dosu' head, striking the genius Sound ninja's fatal point.
As though someone had pressed life's pause button, Dosu' flame of existence was extinguished instantly.
The five senbon landed belatedly, only to be blocked by Naruto pulling Dosu' corpse in front of him. With several wet thuds, the senbon embedded deeply into Dosu' body.
"You Sound ninja seem to enjoy stabbing your teammates in the back." Naruto's voice dropped low, scarlet light flashing from the hollow of his mask, piercing to the soul.
Kin, who had been charging forward, froze on the spot. Under the Nine Tails' blood-red gaze, a suffocating sense of death wrapped around her—like some horrific beast from the darkness had fixed its eyes on her, storming toward her with a stench of blood and killing intent.
"Who on earth are you?" Kin trembled, rooted to the spot. "That getup—you're from Konoha, aren't you?"
"Seems you know a lot." Naruto walked step by step toward her. "Orochimaru sent you, didn't he? Your plan was already exposed. I've been watching you since you entered the village."
"Your precious Orochimaru is already being surrounded by the Hokage and others. He has no way out. Keeping you around serves no purpose."
"Impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible." Naruto stopped a few paces before her. "Since that's the case, let's test your loyalty to Orochimaru."
"What do you want to do?" Kin's face was full of fear.
"Torture. But I doubt you'll say anything. So…" Naruto raised his hand, blue lightning surging in his palm, illuminating his mask with flickering shadows.
"I'll let you die in agony. Keep your laughable loyalty—don't disappoint me."
"I'll kill you! Bastard!"
Naruto ignored her curses. This "soul interrogation" was an outrageous idea he had picked up from a certain website.
One sunny afternoon, while searching for a line of classical poetry, he had accidentally stumbled into a peach blossom paradise. Amid the haze of smoke, he noticed a recommended video on the homepage titled [Chūnin Exam: Torture of the Female Ninja].
After watching it all the way through, he quietly gave it a thumbs-down.
Reality wasn't like those doujinshi—no such romance existed. With a cold face, Naruto pressed the lightning into Kin's body. Blue arcs crackled wildly, and screams erupted instantly.
Naruto only observed coldly.
Dead? That would fulfill the first option: eliminate the Sound trio, earning him the reward of Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet.
Alive? That would fulfill the second option: earn Wind Release: Blade of Wind. Not bad either.
Either way, it didn't matter. So Naruto simply left the choice to her: survive, or protect Orochimaru's secrets.
Zzzzt!
Zzzzt!
The lightning surged mercilessly over her body. Once the "program" ended and the light faded, Kin's eyes rolled back, her body collapsing limp to the ground. Tears and saliva streamed down her face, a large wet patch spreading beneath her.
Naruto glanced once, lightning sparking in his palm again—ready to run the "program" a second time.
"No! Don't! Don't shock me again—I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Kin curled up, trembling all over. In Naruto's eyes she saw not a shred of warmth—only icy coldness. She knew if she stayed silent, he would kill her with electricity, slowly.
The very thought of that torment made her shudder. She would rather die like her teammates than endure this devil's cruelty.
Unbeknownst to her, that was Naruto's intention all along. He had killed Zaku and Dosu because they were inconvenient. Even if he had tortured them, those surgically altered freaks might have found excitement in it.
"Really going to talk?" Naruto asked, sounding almost disappointed.
"I… I'll talk!" Kin coughed, tears spilling freely.
"You don't have to. Honestly, I kind of wanted the Fire Release technique."
Her breath hitched. She couldn't understand what this Fire Release technique had to do with her, but she knew if she stayed quiet, she'd be electrocuted into a semiconductor.
This bastard really was a living Yama King.
Seeing her pitiful eyes, Naruto thought a moment. Wind Release didn't sound so bad either.
"Go ahead."
Stammering, Kin revealed fragments of the truth. Suspicious of lies, Naruto shocked her twice more until three matching confessions convinced him she was telling the truth.
After all, one should be meticulous with intel, shouldn't they?
Kin lay paralyzed on the grass, numb and unmoving. Hearing footsteps draw away, she forced her head to turn, staring blankly at her tormentor.
But Naruto did not strike again. He only looked at her once and said:
"For telling the truth, I'll give you some advice."
"After this exam, leave Konoha. Don't go looking for Orochimaru. To someone worthless like you, he'll only kill you."
With that, Naruto vanished.
[Wind Release: Blade of Wind successfully acquired.]
Having dealt with the Sound trio, Naruto headed back the way he came. After about half an hour, before reaching the starting point, the sound of battle reached his ears.
This place was close to their agreed meeting point. After a brief thought, Naruto darted toward the noise, discarding the ill-fitting Anbu uniform along the way.
When he arrived, he was greeted by a world-famous scene:
Orochimaru, with his long neck, had sunk his teeth into Sasuke's neck—planting a little strawberry mark.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)