‘I didn't expect to see you so soon, Uchiha Sasuke!’
In the dark corner, Orochimaru, disguised as a Kirigakure’s Genin, grinned at Sasuke. He was about to make a move when his gaze suddenly fell on Naruto. After a moment of contemplation, he quietly turned into an afterimage and quickly retreated.
As soon as he left, Karin, who is standing on the branch, immediately breathed a sigh of relief: “Thank goodness.”
“What’s wrong?” Sasuke looked at her strangely.
“Sasuke-kun, actually, someone has been watching us in secret just now. Luckily, he didn't make a move.” Karin recalled the encounter with Rock Lee's team and Gaara earlier, and still had lingering fear,
“Someone is lurking nearby?”
Naruto was shocked, “Really? How come I didn't sense anything?”
“It might not be a good thing for that person to leave.”
Sasuke said solemnly, “He's probably gone to find his companion. We can't stay here anymore; we need to move quickly!”
Karin realized the reasoning behind this and quickly helped Naruto up, while Sasuke came over to assist, somewhat disdainfully supporting Naruto on the other side. Then, they swiftly moved away.
By now, the night had deepened, and the dense foliage fragmented the moonlight, casting a hazy veil over the world beneath the trees.
The three of them traveled for two hours until they could no longer hold on and found a tree hollow to rest in.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, a venomous snake slowly climbed to the edge of the tree hollow along a trunk the size of several people's arms combined. It raised its head and stared at the three people sleeping deeply in the hollow before slowly crawling in.
Thunk!
In the next instant, a kunai shot out from Sasuke’s hand, cleanly nailing the snake to the inner wall of the tree hollow.
“Naruto, Karin, we need to leave.” Sasuke woke them up, reflecting on the fact that they hadn't arranged for a night watch last night. He ate a food pill to replenish his strength and then jumped out of the tree hollow.
“We've been waiting for you, Uchiha Sasuke!”
Before Sasuke's feet even touched the ground, a arrogant voice came from below
Sasuke’s expression changed, and when he looked down, he saw three Shinobi wearing Kirigakure’s forehead protector looking at him with sneers.
“Kirigakure’s Shinobi?” Sasuke suddenly remembered the very arrogant Suigetsu, ‘Could they be here to settle the account with Naruto?’
After landing, Sasuke calmly drew out his kunai, “Who are you?”
“Sasuke-kun, the one on the left is the one I sensed last night!” At this moment, Karin also jumped down from the tree hollow and hurried over to Sasuke, reminding him aloud.
‘The one from last night?’
‘I didn't guess wrong. He did go to find his companion.’
‘Furthermore, he even managed to track us here.’
Bang~ Bang~ Bang~...
Light smoke exploded as over one hundred shadow clones roared and charged towards the Kirigakure’s Shinobi.
Seeing this, the Kirigakure’s Shinobi didn't hesitate to turn around and run.
‘What the hell!!’
‘A Genin actually created 100 shadow clones?’
‘What kind of stupid joke is this?!’
“What are you standing around for, hurry up and run!” When passing by Orochimaru, the Kirigakure’s Shinobi reminded him loudly.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru remained completely indifferent.
Seeing that Kirigakure’s Shinobi ran farther and farther, Naruto and his shadow clones hesitated.
‘Chase, or not chasing?’
“The scroll is on him. If you want it, just go after him.” Orochimaru said with a smile.
Naruto's eyes lit up, and he decisively called for hundreds of shadow clones to chase after the Kirigakure’s Shinobi.
Sasuke frowned. He had felt something was off earlier, but he couldn't pinpoint what exactly went wrong.
“Now, it's just the two of us... Uchiha Sasuke!” Orochimaru tilted his head, his rigid eyes staring directly at Sasuke like a puppet, making the latter's scalp tingle.
Actually, Orochimaru had intended to go after Sasuke last night, but just as he was about to strike, he suddenly remembered Naruto’s identity.
Naruto is not only the son of Yondaime Hokage, but also Kanpū’s student. And whether it is Minato or Kanpū, both could use Flying Thunder God Technique.
If either of these two were keeping an eye on Naruto, Orochimaru's actions would be exposed.
That’s why Orochimaru called in his two ‘teammates’. The one who fell was meant to lower Sasuke's guard, while the one who escaped was naturally to draw Naruto away!
Of course, Orochimaru's two teammates were unaware that they were being used, but who cared?
The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curved upward, gradually exceeding the limits of a normal person's smile.
Sasuke stared at Orochimaru’s smile, thoughtful look appeared on his face, ‘Could it be... their target isn't Naruto, but me!’
‘That Kirigakure’s Shinobi deliberately led Naruto away?’
“It seems you've already realized. You truly deserved to be the target I've set my sights on.” Orochimaru couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, and couldn’t help but stick out his tongue to lick his face.
Shua~ Shua~ Shua~!
The foul-smelling mucus dripped from Orochimaru's face, and an indescribably eerie atmosphere assaulted Sasuke's mind like a dangerous beast.