In the dimly lit room, Sasuke's heightened senses detected a familiar presence—a chakra signature from his past life. "Mr. Orochimaru, are you planning to stay hidden forever?" he called out, his voice steady and commanding.
From the shadows in the corner of the room, Orochimaru emerged, his serpentine movements as unnerving as ever. His pale face held a sinister smile, and his eyes gleamed with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.
"Ah, Sasuke," Orochimaru hissed, his voice dripping with twisted curiosity. "Why is it that every time I meet you, your strength has increased in such an abnormal way? The first time I saw you, you were just a little genius. The second time, I could feel a strength in you that even I wondered about." He paused, then continued, "Now, I can't even guess your strength."
As he finished speaking, Orochimaru noticed a woman standing nearby. She took out a small wooden stick, and a green glow emanated from it. Orochimaru sensed something was amiss.
At that moment, Vinda Rosier pointed her wand at Orochimaru, preparing to cast a deadly spell. Orochimaru's tone became patronizing as he addressed her, "Miss, if I were you, I would put that down."
Rosier replied in her usual tone, "You could try."
"Rosier, you should listen to him and put down your wand before you get injured," Sasuke interjected.
Suddenly, Rosier felt a painful grip on her neck as if someone were twisting it. Sasuke tapped her shoulder, dispelling the Genjutsu. Gasping for air, Vinda touched her neck, realizing the gap in their power. She transformed her wand into a compact gun.
"Don't bother; while it's powerful, it can only be used on small fries," Sasuke said, stopping her from continuing.
Sasuke took out his wand and transformed the ground into four chairs. Gesturing for everyone to sit, he asked, "So, Mr. Orochimaru, is there anything you need?"
Orochimaru tapped the transformed chair. "I need your body. I don't think you are going to give it to me, but I want it," he said, shifting his gaze to Sasuke. "So the question should be, what do you want?"
"I want revenge. Revenge that can free me from my hatred," Sasuke replied.
Disappointed by Sasuke's answer, Orochimaru remarked, "There is no revenge that can free you from your hatred."
"But it can remove the regret. The regret of not completing my revenge, the regret of not watching the misery of all those in power," Sasuke continued. "It doesn't matter the result; now I want revenge, even if it means the end of this world."
"Oh?" Orochimaru questioned. "Do you have that strength?" His question received a solid reply as Sasuke opened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Watching this, Orochimaru's expression turned serious. His previous experiences with the Mangekyō Sharingan had not been pleasant.
After staring at each other for a moment, Sasuke spoke, "Orochimaru, I want to know which side you are going to be on. We can work together to end the Third Hokage's life, or if you don't want to, you can leave. Just don't reveal anything, so my plan won't be affected."
Looking around, Orochimaru said, "I don't think this is the right place to talk."
Agreeing with Orochimaru, Sasuke replied, "Let's talk when both are prepared." Before Orochimaru could stand up and leave, Sasuke added, "Make sure to send that red-haired girl to me. Of course, it would be a fair exchange. I believe you would like my return gift."
"I can send her to you," Orochimaru said before leaving the room.
Once Orochimaru left, kin took out a handkerchief and wiped away her sweat. "Why do I feel more powerless this time? Shouldn't I be stronger?"
"It should be that your senses are better, and you can now feel his true strength. Previously, what you could feel was just his murderous intent," Sasuke explained.
"I feel like we would not be of any use if there was a fight. The feeling of weakness is really disgusting," Vinda said in a low voice.
"Don't worry," Sasuke said, standing up and looking into Vinda's eyes. "In one month, I could train you to the point where you would be stronger than 90% of ninjas."
Finally, Sasuke shifted his attention to his system notification for the latest mission.
[Ding! Special mission: Watch Hinata vs. Gaara match. Mission reward: 50,000 system points.]
[Ding! Special mission failed ]
[Ding! Special mission: Save Hinata from death. Mission time: 3 minutes. Mission reward: Gentle Fist.]
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he reviewed the mission. Despite the reward being relatively modest, he knew he had to act. as he thought he might able to use this saving grace to split hidden leaf even more than he anticipated.
### Scene Transition to the Exam Arena
Back in the exam arena, a few minutes earlier, the match between Hinata and Gaara had been announced. Despite everyone telling her not to participate, after Naruto encouraged her, Hinata decided to fight.
The match was completely one-sided, with Gaara dominating from the start. Believing in herself and spurred on by her friends' encouragement, Hinata tried her best. As the match continued, she decided to go all out with one final strike. But Gaara, showing no care for anything, knocked her down with a single move and then unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Before anyone could intervene, Gaara had completely dominated Hinata and was preparing to finish her off. Unfortunately for him He was stopped by several ninjas who desperately tried to prevent him from killing her.