Training Ground 44.
The deep forest was so dense that it blocked out the sunlight, making it cool even in the afternoon.
Bang!
"Who hit me?" A Kusagakure's Shinobi, who was lying on the huge tree trunk, rubbed the back of his head and shouted, "Hosetsu, playing a prank at this time is too much!"
"What nonsense are you talking about! How can I hit you when I'm so far away from you?"
Bang bang!
"Will you ever stop?"
This time, no one responded, and the surroundings fell into dead silence.
"Hosetsu? Akumu?"
"Hey! The scroll is with you, right?" A strange voice came from the treetops.
The Kusagakure's Shinobi's pupils widened instantly, his breathing became rapid, and his muscles tensed as he leaped back.
"Who?"
After landing, the Kusagakure's Shinobi nervously scanned the surroundings, but saw no one.
"Where are you looking, idiot?" An extremely impatient and disdainful voice came from above the Kusagakure's Shinobi.
"What?"
The Kusagakure's Shinobi looked up, his heart beating wildly.
Standing not far from him in the shadow of the tree canopy was a figure wearing a white animal mask. Clad in a yellow robe, black pants, with tactical gloves that left the fingers exposed, and carrying a nodachi on his back. The figure's eyes were glowing ominously through the mask's eye holes.
"You!" The Kusagakure's Shinobi shouted in panic, "What happened to my two teammates?"
"What did you do to them?"
"I kill them." Naruto replied expressionlessly.
The outfit Naruto wore was from the Root Shinobi Kyubi swallowed in the seal space. Since Kyubi didn't need clothes, Naruto decided to make use of them.
"You're not a participant! Are you from Konoha going to break the rules of the exam?"
"So what?" Naruto replied in a nonchalant tone, "Small Shinobi Villages shouldn't even be participating in Chunin Exams. Be smart and hand over the scroll, then get lost."
As soon as the words fell, the Kusagakure's Shinobi didn't even see any movement from the masked man opposite him, and just felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and fainted immediately.
Naruto crouched down, rummaging through the Kusagakure's Shinobi's belongings until he finally found the scroll.
"Heaven Scroll, a duplicate." Naruto murmured. Nevertheless, he tucked the scroll into his robe and swiftly left the scene moments later.
The three Kusagakure's Shinobi were not dead, they had merely passed out. It was not that Naruto was unwilling to kill them, but he simply saw no need to kill them. After all, if their blood splattered on him, it would make it easier for enemy to detect his presence.
Moreover, Naruto hadn't specifically targeted the three Kusagakure's Shinobi. He had just happened to pass by and obtained a minor task.
[Ding, the Lightning Release Ninjutsu's Lightning Strike successfully granted.]
Lightning Strike was a minor technique in Lightning Release, and it's somewhat useless to Naruto. However, he happened to be lacking in Lightning Release Ninjutsu, so he spent ten minutes completing the task and took the scroll, receiving a reward in the end.
Clad in a pale yellow robe, Naruto dashed through the forest, stepping on tree trunks without restraint as he continued his search.
'After careful observation, it seems that none of the participants taking part in the Chunin Exams this time can fight.'
Orochimaru's current vessel is incompatible and thus he cannot fully utilize his original power. As for Gaara, he can basically be ignored. In order to cooperate with the Konoha Crush Plan, Sunagakure will definitely make sure Gaara hold back.
There are two reasons why Naruto insisted on dealing with the three Otogakure's Shinobi this time. First, he wanted to take the initiative to eliminate potential threats. Second, he clearly remembered that the three Otogakure's Shinobi held the Earth Scroll. Since the Chunin Exams allowed casualties, things became simpler.
The Death Forest will be completely sealed off for five days. Unless there's an emergency such as Orochimaru's invasion occurs, in which case Konoha's Anbu would temporarily intervene.
From the moment he entered the Forest of Death, Orochimaru's target was only Sasuke.
But considering that Uncle Snake, who loves giving hickeys, doesn't have any real malicious intent, Naruto decided to leave directly, intending to deal with the three Otogakure's Shinobi first before rejoining Sasuke and Sakura. The advantage of doing so is to avoid being in a passive situation. As for Sasuke's safety… it's
just a hickey, no big deal.
Sasuke would be hungry if he stayed in Konoha, and following Uncle Snake is the path he would eventually take.
In short, the people of the Uchiha Clan were very strange. Naruto wondered why Itachi wanted to exterminate the clan, and what was the point of leaving Sasuke behind.
If Itachi was already so powerful, why not take Sasuke and teach him himself? In the end, it's all about clan revenge, village revenge, and then indiscriminate revenge. Everyone is seeking revenge, like they're all crazy, killing everyone they see, each wanting to destroy the world.
Even the master revenger, Eren Yeager, would applaud them.
In this world filled with madness, Naruto's thoughts were simple: respect others' destinies and abandon the savior complex.
He also wants to rely on the system to refresh the options and extract Kyubi from his body as soon as possible.
As for who would end up with Kyubi later? That has nothing to do with him.
'Someone nearby?'
While dashing through the forest, Naruto's thoughts were interrupted. He immediately held his breath and carefully moved in a direction.
After pulling aside the leaves, he indeed saw three Shinobi standing on the grass, two men and one woman. They seemed to be searching for something. Naruto watched for a while and recognized the three of them as the three Otogakure's Shinobi, the hunched Dosu, the hole Zaku, and the girl Kin.
"Damn it, where is Orochimaru-sama's mark?" Zaku said anxiously.
"It should be around here." Kin said, gritting her teeth and scanning the area, obviously very nervous about Orochimaru's mark mentioned by Zaku.
"Hurry up and find it." Dosu said in a raspy voice, "Without the mark, we will not be able to receive the next order from Orochimaru-sama."
"Shut up!" Kin said impatiently.
"What did you say?" Dosu glared coldly at Kin.
While the two were on the verge of conflict, Zaku suddenly noticed something, his eyes lit up, and he ran toward a bush. As he ran, he shouted, "You two, come here! I found Orochimaru-sama's…"
Before he could finish his words, a blade unexpectedly pierced his throat.
The sudden incident left the other two stunned. Everything happened too quickly. Naruto, crouched in the bushes, burst forth with explosive power like a cannonball, and the blade in his hand impaled Zaku's throat.
Zaku, who didn't understand what was happening, opened his eyes wide, and his black pupils stared at Naruto, who was wearing the Root mask in front of him.
"Zaku!" Dosu chose to backstab his teammate without hesitation, indiscriminately releasing sound waves to attack Naruto and Zaku.
[Option 1: Defeat the Otogakure Trio. Reward: Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.]
[Option 2: Torture the Otogakure Trio to get information about Orochimaru. Reward: Wind Release: Blade of Wind.]
The synthesized mechanical voice sounded before Naruto had time to react, triggering the latest options on the translucent panel.
There are two conventional Ninjutsu, and it doesn't make any difference which one he chooses.
However, when Naruto glanced at the two remaining Otogakure's Shinobi, he immediately had the answer in his mind.