"Sasuke-kun… is it really okay for us to move this slowly?"
Surrounded by dense forest, Sakura walked on Sasuke's right, quietly scanning their surroundings as she asked in a low voice.
"You think we're too slow?"
Sasuke stopped abruptly and glanced coldly at Naruto, who was a few steps behind him. "Do you want us to run into a fight as soon as possible?"
"Uh…"
Sakura froze for a moment, then shook her head. "That's not what I meant…"
"Slower is better," Naruto said as he took a couple of steps forward to join them. "The faster teams are probably already fighting over scrolls by now."
"And besides," he added, "we're not the slowest."
"Huh?"
Sakura was stunned again.
Before she could ask what Naruto meant, Sasuke suddenly vanished in a blur and leapt toward a large tree. Midair, he flicked his wrist and scattered a handful of shuriken. At the same time, Naruto hurled a kunai in a different direction.
"There's movement!"
Sakura instantly understood—but just as she pulled out two kunai, the sharp clang of metal colliding rang out, followed by a shrill scream.
Bang!
Sakura stared blankly as a figure fell from a tree trunk in the distance—the direction Naruto had thrown his kunai. Then she turned and saw Sasuke emerging expressionlessly from behind another tree, a scroll in his hand.
"The Heaven Scroll!"
Sasuke approached, and Sakura's face lit up with joy. But that joy quickly turned into embarrassment. She hadn't noticed the hidden enemies at all—by the time she reacted, Naruto and Sasuke had already finished the fight.
Her grip tightened around the kunai as she lowered her head, overwhelmed by shame.
"There are more behind us," Naruto said as he stepped behind Sakura. "The trap's already been triggered."
"What?!"
Sakura jerked her head up—but suddenly her eyelids grew heavy. A powerful wave of drowsiness washed over her. Her fingers loosened, the kunai slipped from her hands, and she collapsed to the ground.
"So… the one targeting me has arrived?"
As Naruto used the Mystical Palm Technique to put Sakura into deep sleep, Sasuke stored away the Heaven Scroll and pulled out the small box Naruto had given him earlier.
"You've got about five minutes to get into character," Naruto said. He carried Sakura to the base of a massive tree that would take five or six people to encircle, laid her down deep among its roots, and added, "Honestly, I'm a little worried about your acting. Want me to go over the script again?"
"No need!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto. His pitch-black pupils had already turned into scarlet two-tomoe Sharingan.
"That won't do. Details matter," Naruto shook his head. "We're too clean. We just went through a dangerous scroll battle, one teammate is unconscious, yet neither of us has a scratch. That's not believable. Costume and makeup have to be on point."
With that, he rolled around on the ground a few times and smeared dirt across his face.
Sasuke felt a chill—he really hadn't thought of that. Seeing Naruto stand up covered in grime, Sasuke immediately lay down and copied him, making himself look just as battered.
Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
"He's here!"
Sasuke felt an unnatural tremor beneath his feet.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, both Sasuke and Naruto leapt away as the ground exploded. Rocks flew everywhere, and a massive gray python—its head wider than the Ninja Academy's main gate—burst out from underground.
"That's huge!"
Dodging the flying debris, they landed on the trunk of the tree where Sakura was hidden. The giant snake flicked its tongue and swept its tail, gliding low across the ground straight toward the tree.
"Watch out!"
Sasuke's crimson pupils contracted as he shouted.
"What—?!"
Naruto instinctively crossed his arms in front of himself—then felt a crushing impact. His body was sent flying like a leaf in a storm.
Crash!
Sasuke watched as Naruto smashed through several tree trunks before finally being stopped by a massive tree. Naruto slid down, coughing up blood. He struggled to stand, failed, and collapsed at the base of the tree.
Sasuke leapt down, landing beside him.
"Hehehehe~"
A bizarre, eerie laugh echoed from all directions.
"Who's there?!"
Sasuke's eyes darted around, but aside from the giant python with lantern-sized eyes, he couldn't see anyone.
"What beautiful eyes you have," a voice said.
Sasuke's gaze snapped to the snake. Its mouth opened wide, a three- to four-meter-long tongue writhing like a wave. Sasuke rapidly formed hand seals and exhaled.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball over three meters wide rolled toward the python. This time, he heard it clearly—the voice was coming from the snake.
What happened next shocked him.
The python coiled and charged straight into the fireball. Flames exploded, scorching the ground black. The snake melted away instantly—but the moment the flames faded, Sasuke threw several kunai.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A figure stood unharmed at the center of the flames. As Sasuke prepared to move again, an overwhelming killing intent suddenly burst forth. His body stiffened, terror flooding his face, sweat beading across his forehead.
"No genin could have killing intent like this! Who are you?!"
Sasuke raised a kunai, his voice trembling.
"Hehehe~ what a clever child."
As the flames died out, a woman wearing a Grass Village forehead protector stepped forward. Her voice was playful now rather than eerie.
"I'm here to give you power."
Whoosh!
She vanished instantly. Sasuke tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond. The woman was already rushing toward him.
"Get away!"
At that moment, Naruto suddenly staggered up and threw himself in front of Sasuke.
"Out of my way!"
The woman struck Naruto with a palm, sending him flying again. She reached for Sasuke—but the instant she grabbed his arm, her expression changed.
Poof!
Sasuke turned into a wooden log.
At the same time, Anko arrived with a panicked proctor at the lodgings of the foreign village participants.
When she saw the three Grass Village corpses on the ground, her face turned deathly pale.
"These faces… this is his jutsu!"
After checking the files, Anko shouted urgently, "Report this to the Hokage immediately! And have him dispatch two ANBU squads to enter the Forest of Death with me!"
"Yes!"
The proctors vanished in flashes. Anko clenched her teeth, glanced once more at the corpses, then charged straight into the Forest of Death.
Back in the forest, two figures raced through the trees, one clearly faster than the other.
Clang!
After a clash of weapons, both landed on separate tree trunks—one was Sasuke, the other the mysterious woman.
"Heeheehee… you did well. But I'm done playing," she said darkly.
"I was just thinking the same," Sasuke replied, a faint smile curling his lips.
"Hmm?"
Her eyes narrowed as Sasuke's fingers flicked rapidly. In an instant, a dense web of steel wires appeared before her. She stumbled, yanked backward, and slammed against a tree, bound tightly.
"This is—"
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A blazing, high-speed torrent of fire raced along the wires and engulfed her.
"AAAAAH—!"
Her scream tore through the forest.
Earlier — Moments After Naruto Was Struck
Inside the Mirror World, Naruto and three tailed beasts stared intently at a massive floating interface filled with scrolling text.
Data update initiated…
Spatial module upgrading… Data analysis upgrading… Synchronization upgrading… Gate of Imprisoned Spirits upgrading…
Character data iteration enabled… Puppet resurrection enabled… Soul editing enabled…
Upgrade complete.
Consciousness extension enabled. Soul incarnation enabled.
Authority updated.
Uzumaki Naruto — Level 6 World Lord
Current data completion: 55%
As the mechanical voice faded, Naruto looked up. Isobu and Chōmei were also staring behind him. Son Gokū was absent—Kurama had sent him to monitor the outside.
Kurama raised a claw and tapped the air. A new window opened, displaying Orochimaru.
Unlike before, a small portrait appeared in the corner labeled:
Age: 1
The number steadily increased as memories replayed—until it stopped at 51, freezing on the moment Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass kunoichi, struck Naruto.
"Naruto," Kurama said gravely, "you should be ready. That snake is troublesome. The Uchiha brat might mess this up."
"I agree," Isobu said quietly. "He's calmer than before, but deceiving that snake won't be easy."
"I think it'll be fine," Chōmei said, flapping his wings. "I saw Sasuke's memories—today is almost identical to the genjutsu rehearsal."
"I'm actually not worried about him," Naruto said, eyes fixed on Orochimaru. "What I'm wondering is why the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave warned Orochimaru in advance."
Kurama's eyes sharpened. "Doesn't that remind you of Mount Myōboku and Jiraiya?"
"Exactly," Naruto nodded. "That White Snake Sage must see the future just like the Great Toad Sage. Otherwise, why warn Orochimaru to avoid Akatsuki's pursuit?"
Naruto continued thoughtfully, "We saw in his memories—his current body was taken via Living Corpse Reincarnation three years ago. It only has a few months left. That's why he teamed up with Danzō. He'd already set his sights on Sasuke, and with the Chūnin Exams happening now, they jointly planned the Konoha Crush."
"But if Kimimaro hadn't been ill, Orochimaru wouldn't have switched bodies—and might never have targeted Sasuke. Linking that with Ryūchi Cave's warning to avoid Deidara and Sasori… it's strange."
"If Orochimaru hadn't heeded the warning and been hit by Deidara's C4, he'd have been forced to revive through a curse mark. That would've delayed his next reincarnation—and likely prevented his alliance with Danzō. No alliance, no Konoha Crush."
Naruto frowned. "If they can see the future, they must know I'll interfere. And my plan doesn't spare Orochimaru. So what are Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku really planning?"
"This doesn't add up…"
While Naruto pondered, the tailed beasts communicated silently. After a while, Son Gokū returned.
"Stop thinking for now," Kurama said, tapping Naruto with a claw. "Sakura woke up and dragged you next to the Uchiha brat. He's now covered in Orochimaru's curse mark—and he even checked your injuries."
"Oh?" Naruto snapped back to awareness. "So Orochimaru's already withdrawn?"
"You can watch it yourself," Kurama grinned, opening another window. "His data's about to sync."
Ten minutes later, Naruto opened his eyes.
He was sitting against a tree. Sasuke stood less than a meter away, his back turned—black curse marks spreading along his neck.
Sakura stood nearby, panicked—until her face lit up when she saw Naruto watching her.
"Naruto… you're awake?"
"No," Sasuke said coldly as he turned around. "More like he finally decided to wake up."
"Huh?"
Sakura looked confused.
"Your tone makes me nervous," Naruto said calmly as he stood and brushed off the dirt. He stepped forward. "What—are you planning to kill me with power borrowed from someone else?"
Sakura froze. She tried to speak, but it felt like her throat was being crushed. Two suffocating pressures bore down on her.
"What's happening?!"
Terrified, she looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun… help me…"
"She's begging you," Naruto said with a smile. He placed his right hand over Sakura's heart. Crackle—black lightning wrapped around his palm.
"Sorry. Even though you carried me earlier, Sasuke seems perfectly happy to let you die."
He thrust his hand forward.
Sakura shut her eyes in terror.
I'm dead.
She recognized it as Lightning Release—and felt its terrifying piercing force.
Why is Naruto killing me? Why do they feel so distant…
Then—
Nothing happened.
Nearly a minute passed.
"Open your eyes. Look at me."
Sasuke's voice.
Sakura opened her eyes and stared straight into a pair of scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/FinalArcHero789