After Orochimaru was gone, Sakura Haruno gripped the kunai in her hand and asked quietly, "Naruto, who was that… Shouldn't we kill him?"
"We can't kill him," Naruto Uzumaki said, shaking his head. He flexed his fingers and added softly, "...and my chakra is almost completely gone."
The drain from Six Paths Sage Mode was just too much. Unless the Nine-Tails could one day condense enough Yang power, he wouldn't be able to maintain the form.
However, it wasn't a total loss. He had managed to master the ordinary Sage Mode. Its power was much weaker, but for now, it was a solid improvement.
Sasuke Uchiha stared at the two hollowed-out corpses on the ground. "Naruto, who was that guy?" he asked in a low voice. "What was he trying to put on me?"
"Orochimaru," Naruto replied after a moment's thought. "They say he's a ninja on the same level as the Pervy Sage. He's a very dangerous guy."
Sakura couldn't help but whisper, "That person just now… he's as strong as Lord Jiraiya?"
"Originally, Orochimaru was friends with the Pervy Sage. I don't know why he defected from the village. He was also involved in the ambush we ran into on our way back to the village last time," Naruto nodded, continuing, "As for what he was doing just now, he probably wanted to leave a mark on you, Sasuke, so he could take over your body later."
"...!"
A shiver went through Sasuke. He touched his neck. The curse mark was gone, leaving only a few faint teeth marks.
Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and comforted him softly. "It's alright, Sasuke. Don't worry. It's over now."
"Phew…" Sasuke nodded. This time, Orochimaru had only succeeded because he'd been careless. Next time, he would kill the man who dared to covet his body.
Sakura glanced at the scroll on the ground and tucked it into her ninja pouch. "It just so happens that guy had the Scroll of Earth," she said with some relief. "We've gathered both scrolls now. We can go to the central tower!"
"Let's go!" Naruto agreed, glancing over at Team 3's hiding spot. It was empty. They had already retreated.
-----
After leaving, the members of Team 3 gathered for a meeting.
Rock Lee clenched his fist and analyzed the situation. "That Naruto is incredibly fast, strong, and has a ton of chakra. I can't see a single weakness..."
When Naruto had used Six Paths Sage Mode, his speed was unbelievable. Rock Lee couldn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow.
Only Neji Hyuga had been able to follow his movements with the Byakugan. He had at least gathered some information. "Lee, don't worry. Naruto can only hold that form for about ten seconds. Once that time is up, his chakra will be exhausted."
"Ten seconds?" Tenten frowned, her expression worried. "But surviving for ten seconds against that sounds pretty difficult."
"It is," Neji admitted grimly. "In ten seconds, if he wanted to, he could kill us several times over. We can't dodge it. Our only hope would be to block every single one of his attacks..."
As he spoke, Neji clenched his own fist. He had finally started to understand the secret taijutsu of the main family, a technique he had been studying relentlessly. If he just had a little more time, he could master that absolute defense… the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven.
Among Team 3, the only one who might be able to contend with Naruto was Rock Lee, who was still shaken from the encounter. But he would have to cultivate the Eight Gates to the point of opening the Gate of Death.
-----
In the Forest of Death, the second stage of the Chunin Exams was growing more intense. The goal of snatching Heaven and Earth scrolls meant that at least half the participants would be eliminated. Every team fought desperately to find the scroll they needed, and in the chaos, some ninjas were separated from their teammates.
That's when a red-haired girl appeared before Team 7. Her name was Karin, a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Grass.
She explained that her team had encountered an enemy that was too strong, forcing them to split up. As a medical ninja, Karin had been left unprotected.
This was shocking. In Konoha, academy lessons drilled into every ninja that medics were precious. The rule, established by a woman named Tsunade, was that a medical ninja must never fight unless every other teammate had fallen. The Grass Village clearly didn't follow that rule.
When Naruto's team found Karin, she was being chased by a huge brown bear and was moments from death. Because Karin could keenly sense the chakra of others, she saw a glimmer of hope and ran toward Team 7, the closest group to her.
Karin survived. Sakura kindly draped a piece of clothing over her and gently patted the crying girl's back. "Karin, it's okay, don't cry anymore…"
"Stop crying," Sasuke snapped, glaring at Karin before turning to Naruto. "We already have both scrolls. Shouldn't we head to the central tower as soon as possible? This girl is just a burden, and she's a ninja from another village."
"But…" Naruto hesitated. "So what do you suggest we do? Just leave a helpless girl here by herself?"
"She signed the consent form before entering the Forest of Death, right?" Sasuke said, tapping his arm. "That consent form allows for injuries... and even death."
He shot a final glance at Karin.
Covering her mouth to suppress her sobs, Karin cried with her head down for a moment before standing up. She bowed deeply to Team 7. "I'm... sorry for bothering you. Thank you for saving me. I'll leave now…"
"Sasuke, Naruto…" Sakura pleaded. "We're already here. It can't hurt to wait for her teammates for a little while, can it?"
As a girl herself, she felt sorry for Karin. But for Sasuke, this was far less important than passing the exam, especially in a forest surrounded by enemies.
"Sakura, this is the Chunin Exam!" Sasuke said irritably. "Did you forget who we just ran into? There could be someone even stronger than him hiding in here. This is the Chunin Exam, more dangerous than a C-rank mission, not some D-rank mission strolling through the village!"
"But if she's alone…" Sakura lowered her head, looking at the still-sobbing Karin. "It's hard to survive in here. She'll die."
"Sakura…" Sasuke sighed, trying to reason with her. "We've already killed several enemies. Just in this exam, we've killed three people."
"Alright, alright… Let's just eat first!" Naruto said, rubbing his forehead with a headache. He pointed at the firewood on the ground. "Let's eat first. We can figure this out after we've eaten!"
"..."
-----
Bonus:
Sakura Haruno: Karin, who do you like?
Karin: I like Sakura-chan the most!
Sasuke Uchiha: …What do we do now?
Naruto Uzumaki: Uh, maybe we should… order some food first?