T/N:
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"Jiraiya..." Orochimaru's snake-like pupils gazed at the newly arrived Jiraiya, mocking him.
Jiraiya stared at Orochimaru, and Orochimaru stared back. Neither spoke at first. The once legendary Three Sannin of Konoha had now become bitter enemies.
There was a hint of nostalgia and sorrow in Jiraiya's eyes, but Orochimaru remained emotionless.
"What a pity, Sarutobi must have found out, huh..." After a long standoff, Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue and slithered away like a snake, choosing not to fight Jiraiya.
Jiraiya quickly pursued him but not before turning to Furen and saying, "Kid, not bad. I'm impressed with you."
Furen's courage in facing Orochimaru to protect Konoha, instead of fleeing, left a favorable impression on Jiraiya.
Receiving Jiraiya's praise, Furen glanced back at Anko, who was still in shock at Jiraiya's appearance, and feigned ignorance as he asked her, "Who was that just now?"
Anko, despite her injuries, forced herself to sit up. Although the Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique had failed, it still caused significant damage to her chest.
"That was one of the legendary Three Sannin, Jiraiya-sama. The other... was Orochimaru."
Furen pretended to be shocked. He had heard many stories about the Sannin but had never seen them in person.
After expressing his surprise, Furen dispelled his jutsu and looked at Anko, who still had bleeding wounds.
"Don't move. Let me heal you."
Furen gently pushed Anko back down as she tried to sit up and began treating her injuries.
Anko's round face turned red. She was about to refuse when her wounds flared up, causing her to wrinkle her nose in pain. Her expression looked like that of a small, wrinkled bun—adorable.
Furen didn't hesitate. He used Medical Ninjutsu: Mystical Palm Technique, placing his glowing green hands over Anko's wounds to heal her.
As the green glow from Furen's hands healed her wounds, Anko's face turned even redder, but her condition improved noticeably.
"Furen... he knows so much, even medical ninjutsu..." Anko murmured quietly.
Mitarashi Anko's favorability toward you: +5%
"Uh... your clothes are all torn..." Furen commented after finishing the healing process. Anko's thin upper garment had been completely ripped.
"Here, wear mine."
After changing into Furen's clothes, Anko finally regained some of her usual composure, but there was now a certain softness in her gaze when she looked at him.
"I... I'm going to rendezvous with the Konoha ANBU team now..."
With those words, Anko, now wearing Furen's clothes, bowed her head slightly and headed out of the Forest of Death.
"So, she's a cute little tsundere, huh..." Furen licked his lips as he watched her leave, then turned and headed deeper into the forest.
In a wider clearing.
Team 7's Sasuke and Naruto were still unconscious, while Sakura stood guard, watching the surroundings cautiously.
The forest trembled slightly in the distance. Any movement made Sakura tense up immediately.
Earlier, Orochimaru had appeared and severely injured both Naruto and Sasuke. But now, in the midst of the exam, having two unconscious teammates was a critical weakness!
"Who's there?!" Sakura shouted, holding up a kunai as she stared toward the direction of the noise.
"Get down!" Furen's voice came urgently from the distance. Before Sakura could react, Furen burst out of the bushes and tackled her out of the way.
Behind where Sakura had been standing...
Unbeknownst to anyone, Sasuke, who had been in a deep sleep ever since Orochimaru had placed the Heaven's Curse Mark on him, had silently stood up.
Sasuke's body was now covered with densely packed, black cloud-like curse marks.
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T/N:
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