"Hah, Naruto was right after all." Sasuke looked at the four with disdain. He didn't say this out loud, but the mocking expression on his face was completely unhidden.
This is the kind of people Orochimaru has under him? And they still think they can take revenge on Itachi? It seems like I had too high expectations of that guy.
The four of them could see the disdain on Sasuke's face. They were upset, but there was nothing they could do. From the moment Sasuke left Konohagakure Village, he became their leader, by Orochimaru-sama's orders.
Sakon wasn't happy, but he had no choice. He suppressed the killing intent in his heart and showed respect, pulling out a strange bottle of medicine from behind: "Since you agree, Sasuke-sama, we will assist you as much as we can. This is the Awakening Pill, please take it."
"Awakening Pill?" Sasuke thought, becoming cautious.
"Yes." Sakon replied. "After you take this, your cursed seal will shift from Stage 1 to Stage 2. At the same time, the seal's corrosive power will increase. In just a few minutes, you'll die."
Sasuke didn't answer but waited for Sakon to continue.
As expected, seeing that he couldn't intimidate Sasuke, Sakon went on: "Of course, the four of us will use sealing jutsu to slow down your death, bringing you to a death-like state instead. During this time, you will need to master Stage 2 of the cursed seal. If you fail, you will die. If you succeed, you will gain power far beyond Stage 1."
Saying this, Sakon couldn't resist showing his usual behavior. He held the medicine in front of Sasuke, grinning awkwardly: "Do you dare?"
The other three looked on with interest.
Before they could speak, Sasuke decisively took the bottle, opened it without hesitation, and ate the pill. Afterward, he threw the bottle back to Sakon and said, "It doesn't taste great. Next time, remind Orochimaru to improve it."
The four Otogakure ninjas: "..."
Sakon stood there, holding the bottle, stunned. He didn't know what to say. It felt like he'd been silent more today than in the past month.
Sasuke glanced at the four without much interest, but just then, his brow furrowed as a sharp pain erupted from his chest, and with it, the cursed seal on his neck activated uncontrollably.
A powerful, dark chakra burst out from the seal, and the immense power forced him to let out an angry roar.
It hurt—so much that it felt like his body wasn't his anymore. It was like being tied down and constantly crushed by a cart. The pain was almost impossible to escape.
Is this the feeling Naruto gets when using Kurama's chakra? Sasuke pressed his chest, his body drained of strength. He could only kneel, gasping for air, but his lungs couldn't work. The suffocating feeling overwhelmed his mind.
Seeing this, Sakon's expression became serious. "Hurry up, if Sasuke-sama really dies, it'll be bad."
Saying this, he unlocked the sealing scroll from his back. After a puff of smoke, a wooden barrel about half the size of a person appeared in front of them, decorated with strange sealing patterns. Jirobo stepped forward, carefully lifting the unconscious Sasuke and placing him into the barrel. The four of them then took their positions around it.
As chakra surged, the four formed completely different hand seals. The chakra transformed into unknown symbols that landed on the barrel. With serious faces, the four shouted together: "Sealing Technique: Five Black Mist Formation!"
Pitch-black chakra floated out from their hands, swirling in the air like living black mist. In the next moment, the mist poured into the barrel, completely enveloping Sasuke, and sealed it tightly.
Sakon pulled four sealing papers from his chest and placed them around the edge of the wooden barrel, sealing it completely.
"Done." Sakon let out a long breath. If they failed, they would all die. Although the chances of failure were very low, it wasn't impossible. After all, growth always comes with danger, doesn't it?
He then turned to Jirobo beside him. "Jirobo, carry Sasuke-sama. We're heading back to Otogakure."
"Got it." Jirobo, the tallest and strongest of the four, naturally took on the task of carrying Sasuke.
With everything that needed to be done now finished and Sasuke successfully starting to activate Curse Seal Level 2, their mission was complete. All that was left was to return to Otogakure, and the whole thing would be over.
The four of them didn't say much. As Orochimaru's subordinates, they had all picked up his tendency to stay quiet and not waste words, though sometimes they would go off track. But now that Sasuke was in the barrel and couldn't do any heavy movement, they didn't use the usual ninja methods to move. Instead, they walked slowly towards the outskirts of Konohagakure.
Recently, due to Tsunade's efforts to clean up Anbu, most of the well-known ninjas had been sent on missions. Even Shizune had been sent out, and coincidentally, today was the day Shizune's team was returning to the village.
It had been a while since they had been away from Konohagakure, and now they were starting to miss the village.
Shizune, dressed in a Jonin ninja outfit, released the messenger ninja hawk that had delivered the message, a complicated expression on her face.
Nearby, Shiranui Genma casually chewed on a senbon and asked, "What's wrong, Shizune? You don't look so good."
"Ah." Shizune let out a helpless laugh, shaking her head. "Tsunade-sama just sent me a message. The four Otogakure ninjas who used a barrier technique to invade Konohagakure are heading toward our line. She told us to avoid them, not to engage, and to act like we didn't see them."
Shiranui Genma frowned. "Those four... are they the ones under Orochimaru?"
Not only Shiranui Genma but the other two also looked over. They had a strong impression of those four. If it wasn't for their barrier technique, Anbu wouldn't have been unable to support the Third Hokage, and the Third wouldn't have died.
Just thinking about it made them clench their fists.
Shiranui Genma's face turned cold. "Four Chunin, huh? Even if they have a curse seal like Anko's, with our strength, killing them shouldn't be difficult."
The three of them were eager to act.
Shizune sighed and looked at them. "I want to kill them too, but Tsunade-sama said those four have Uchiha Sasuke with them. Right now, Sasuke is in a critical situation, so if we kill them, it could result in Sasuke's death."
"Tch." Shiranui Genma clicked his tongue in frustration. "Damn it, how did that guy end up mixed up with Otogakure?"
Having a Genin from their own village in the hands of the enemy made it hard to act. Even though he was a Genin, he was still one of their own, and they had to think about his safety.
Izumo rubbed his chin and looked at Shizune. "Shizune, don't we need to rescue Sasuke?"
"No need." Shizune shook her head. "The intel didn't explain why, but the general idea is that Uchiha Sasuke is in a dangerous situation and needs some time before he can get out of it. So, what we need to do is wait until Sasuke is out of danger before we act."
"I understand." Zite, sitting against a tree, nodded. "In that case, let's take a detour. If we run into them, we can just follow quietly. As long as we're not spotted, we'll wait until Sasuke is out of danger, then we'll take action."
"That sounds good." Shizune nodded in agreement.
The four exchanged looks, their eyes cold.
Otogakure's brats, your grandpas from Konohagakure are coming for you!
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