Sakura lay on the ground, still conscious but clearly injured.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, bitten on the neck, grimaced in pain. Orochimaru, sensing Naruto's presence, swiftly retracted his snake-like long neck.
This round could be considered a trade-off of sorts.
"Naruto! Be careful! Sasuke, he's been..." Sakura also noticed Naruto's return and shouted for him to be cautious.
At this time, Sasuke had already fallen down, clutching his neck where the small hickey was forming in pain. The only people still standing at the scene were the disguised Orochimaru and Naruto.
"Calm down, Sakura. Sasuke is fine." Naruto reassured her, then turned his gaze towards Orochimaru, "I've gathered some intel. This guy is not a participant. He is Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin."
"What?" Sakura was completely bewildered.
Kakashi's generation was more familiar with the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, but when it came to Sakura and Naruto's generation, it was difficult to get the news about them due to certain taboo subjects. Sakura only knew Orochimaru as one of the Legendary Sannin, nothing more.
Finding out that someone from the textbooks had attacked her was quite an experience.
So, Sakura was baffled, and Sasuke, who was still struggling in pain, was equally baffled.
Orochimaru stared at Naruto with interest, his long tongue flicking out like a snake's. Part of his face had peeled off, revealing skin paler than a woman's.
"Naruto? Are you the village's Jinchuriki?"
"That's right." Naruto replied boldly, "Anything else you need? If you have nothing else to say, you better leave, old man. Your body seems to be falling apart."
Looking at Orochimaru, whose strength was less than one-tenth of his peak, Naruto showed no fear.
Moreover, he knew that Orochimaru in front of him was a scientist who acted with absolute precision. Since the purpose of his trip was Sasuke, there was absolutely no reason for him to meddle in other people's affairs.
Sure enough, Orochimaru didn't get angry at Naruto's words, but just smiled sinisterly.
"Naruto, we'll meet again."
After saying that, Orochimaru turned and left.
Naruto didn't move, just staring at Orochimaru's back as he walked away, but his body is always on alert. It wasn't until a few minutes later when there was no trace of Orochimaru in the forest that Naruto completely relaxed and turn to approach the two.
"How's Sasuke?"
Naruto said this, but he squatted down and checked Sakura first. He only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure that she hadn't lost any pieces of herself.
As for Sasuke, he wasn't really worried. After all, Orochimaru probably took better care of Sasuke's body than Sasuke.
"Don't worry about me for now." Sakura forced herself to say to Naruto, "Sasuke's injuries are severe."
"Okay," Naruto agreed, then stood up and walked towards the unconscious Sasuke.
After checking his neck, he saw the black Cursed Seal of Heaven. It was a mark made up of three black commas the size of little fingers, which instantly amplified Sasuke's power when activated.
"He's fine, just passed out." Naruto assured Sakura with an OK hand gesture.
After some effort, Naruto placed Sasuke on a large tree trunk. He then turned around and picked up the exhausted Sakura and swiftly ascended the tree.
"Naruto, thank you." Sakura whispered softly, "If you hadn't arrived in time, Sasuke might have..."
Sakura also figured out that Orochimaru's real target was Sasuke. However, while Naruto understood Orochimaru's intentions, Sakura mistakenly thought Orochimaru intended to slowly kill Sasuke.
"Well, we are companions, this is what I should do." Naruto scratched his head and said, "Sakura, do we have any food left?"
Upon hearing this, Sakura reached for her waist but found nothing, so she shook her head and said, "There's no more. During the fight, my Military Food Pills must have fallen out."
At this moment, Naruto's stomach growled loudly, making the situation a bit awkward. Sakura couldn't help but lower her head and whispered, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. You should rest for now." Naruto stood on the tree trunk, then said, "I'll go up and take a look at the situation first."
After saying that, Naruto quickly climbed up to the treetops. He stood lightly on a branch as thin as a finger, his body swaying slightly. He was looking into the distance, as if looking for something.
"Naruto, it's dangerous up there! Be careful." Sakura looked up at Naruto and called out worriedly.
"Got it!" Naruto replied, glancing down at Sakura, "There's a river to the west. It should be the river that runs through the center of the Forest of Death. We'll get there soon if we go straight to the west!"
"River?" Sakura didn't understand Naruto's intention, "Why go to the river?"
"To find food." Naruto jumped down from the treetop and said with a smile, "We'll fish."
"Fish?"
"Yes, as long as we reach the river, we'll have food." Naruto assured her, "Sakura, can you stand up now?"
Sakura tried, but failed.
"Then I'll carry you over there." Naruto suggested.
"What about Sasuke? It's not safe to leave him here unconscious." Sakura said worriedly.
"I'll carry him too." Naruto sighed and said, "Lucky Sasuke."
Sakura laughed at Naruto's remark but then asked worriedly, "Naruto, aren't two of us too heavy? Can you do it?"
Now that it's come to this, how can a man say no? Besides, there is no better choice now. The three of them were in this together, and they can't just abandon Sasuke. Naruto understood this well, despite intentionally seeking out the Otogakure Trio at the start of the exam.
But that was because Naruto knew Sasuke would follow Orochimaru sooner or later anyway, so instead of staying here and clashing with Orochimaru, it was better to deal with the Otogakure's Shinobi first. This would be more cost-effective and save a lot of trouble.
As he expected, he and Orochimaru both got what they wanted. A world where no one was hurt except Sasuke and the Otogakure's Shinobi was achieved.
"No problem."
Naruto said with a smile, then squatted down to pick up Sakura, then easily lifted the unconscious Sasuke and left quickly.
Sakura was surprised at Naruto's strength, as if he had grown stronger without her noticing.
"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura asked, lying on Naruto's back.
Feeling a slight bump on his back that was soft yet strange, Naruto remained composed and calmly replied, "I'm fine. We're almost there."
The diameter of the entire Forest of Death is 10km, and the three were only about one kilometer away from the river. It didn't take Naruto too much time to reach the river. After setting down the two, he went to a nearby bamboo grove and cut a suitable piece of bamboo.
Seeing that Naruto was really planning to go fishing, Sakura, who had regained some strength, volunteered to gather some twigs for the fire.
Sakura, who had just returned from the nearby woods with arms full of dry branches, was still a little worried and murmured, "Can we really catch fish like this?"