At the Central Tower of the Death Forest.
Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to his subordinates' reports.
And Anko and Ibara were in a weakened state for two days.
"What exactly does Orochimaru want to do?"
But Konoha did not make a big fuss; instead, it conducted a quiet investigation.
Because at this moment, the Daimyo of various countries were all paying attention to Konoha, and they couldn't let them know the current situation...
Inside the hollow of a large tree.
"Sasuke, please be alright!" Sakura looked at Sasuke and Naruto, who were lying down, her face filled with worry.
She didn't understand why that enemy had let them go.
They clearly had no power to resist.
"Naruto, Sasuke, I will catch up to you two; I won't hold you back."
The previous battle had left them feeling powerless.
Just the killing intent that erupted caused them to experience mental hallucinations, and if they hadn't trained in Captain Satoru's Genjutsu, the killing intent alone would have rendered them utterly defenseless.
Naruto and Sasuke's performance made her feel the gap between them even more.
Sasuke, not to mention his powerful talent and quick-witted combat skills, had already created a significant gap between them.
Even Naruto had exuded an astonishing aura just now, displaying strength beyond ordinary people.
Only she could provide some assistance during their main attacks.
Even after countless death trainings, her basic strength was still insufficient.
Whoosh whoosh!
In the shadows outside the tree hollow, three figures appeared, looking at the tree hollow.
"Hmph hmph hmph, Uchiha Sasuke, I've finally found you. I want to see why Lord Orochimaru would take an interest in you," Dosu Kin muttered darkly...
........
Analysis Team.
"Safe, that's good."
Satoru received information from Hiruzen Sarutobi, learning that Ibara Keisen and Anko had confronted Orochimaru and were safe, which made him relax.
Just before, he had sensed that Ibara Keisen had used his proxy ninja tool, so he knew they must have encountered an enemy.
Confronting Orochimaru with Anko was also within expectations.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi, after receiving intelligence about Orochimaru, asked him to help guard the safety of Konoha's interior.
Overtime.
Satoru had no choice but to put down the book in his hand and join the team guarding Konoha...
Time passed.
Orochimaru did not show up again.
The peaceful and quiet Konoha Village showed no signs of an impending storm.
Children were playing and frolicking, and shops were open for business.
Numerous outsiders made Konoha appear even more prosperous.
Teuchi's Ichiraku Ramen was bustling every day.
Customers came and went in an endless stream.
Teuchi and Ayame were busy inside and out, thankfully they had hired staff.
Satoru naturally had no time to help now, because the Death Forest exam was over, and the one-on-one elimination tournament was about to begin.
Whoosh~
At the examination venue, Satoru appeared in the spectator stand.
"Yo, busy man, you actually have time to watch the Chunin Exams?" Kakashi quipped.
Satoru glanced at him: "Paying attention to the Village's juniors is something I've always done, unlike you, who is too lazy.
I advise you to be more diligent, watch less make-out paradise, and look at the beautiful women on the streets more; maybe you can even find a wife."
Kakashi choked; sure enough, he couldn't tease this guy, who always turned the topic to him getting a wife.
"Eh, Uncle Satoru, Kakashi-sensei doesn't have a girlfriend?
So, underneath his mask, he's actually an ugly monster, that's why he doesn't dare show his face?" Naruto stood nearby, hearing Satoru's words, and immediately became interested.
Sasuke and Sakura next to him also perked up their ears.
They knew that the three of them had tried their best but still couldn't remove Kakashi-sensei's mask.
They had long been curious about what Kakashi-sensei looked like under his mask.
Even Sasuke, who was preoccupied with worries at the moment, was no exception.
Kakashi gave Naruto a dead-fish eye glance: "You don't need to worry about whether I'm ugly or not; you should worry about yourself first. I know no girls at school like you."
..." Naruto slumped, his eyes darting towards Sakura.
Sakura noticed his gaze but turned her head away.
Further away, Hinata seemed to have heard Kakashi's words, and her face was very red.
This made Kiba next to her feel strange.
Why does she always blush when she sees Naruto? Could she like that troublemaker?
Satoru found the little rascals quite amusing; how many love triangles was this!
"The match is about to begin, get ready!"
In the arena.
The screen began the match selection.
Swish swish!
Uchiha Sasuke VS Akado Yoroi.
"Contestants, please enter the arena."
The referee, Gekkō Hayate, spoke after the match list was displayed.
Whoosh whoosh!
Two figures simultaneously dropped from the stands, standing face to face.
"Go, Sasuke."
"Go, Sasuke."
In the stands, two figures shouted simultaneously, then glared at each other with angry eyes.
A strong bond emerged between Sakura and Ino.
"This guy isn't going to lose and disgrace our Team 7, is he?" Naruto's mouth was unforgiving.
Sakura yelled: "Bastard, how could Sasuke lose?"
However, she looked in the direction of Sasuke's neck, her eyes filled with worry.
She didn't know what effect that thing would have on Sasuke.
"Let's see the power of the Cursed Seal!" Satoru looked at Sasuke expectantly.
The Cursed Seal, which utilizes natural power, was considered a rarity in the Ninja World.
He was quite envious of it.
He was now also a person with Chakra, and he should possess the potential to suppress natural energy, so he naturally had ideas about Sage Mode.
Before, he had insufficient Chakra, so he didn't think much about it, but now that his Chakra had risen, he naturally had ideas about this.
Whether it was Genjutsu or Ninjutsu, they would both undergo a qualitative leap after incorporating natural energy.
He suspected that the Genjutsu invented by Anma Yakumo utilized natural energy to unleash unimaginable Genjutsu.
That was also why he was still affected even though he had set up other Genjutsu defenses.
According to Satoru's speculation, once he could use natural energy to advance Genjutsu into the Sage Mode category, its power would increase significantly, making it even harder for enemies to resist.
And now was an opportunity, an opportunity to experience natural energy.
He had thought wrong before; Sage Mode was mostly rooted in the Three Great Sage Locations.
But the use of natural energy was not.
According to Satoru's investigation, there were many Ninjutsu in the world that utilized natural energy.
A famous example was the Earth Spider Clan's En no Gyōja, who had once massacred a Village-sized town during the Third Shinobi World War, a terrifying achievement.
It struck fear into people's hearts.
Or some small countries' trump card techniques also contained natural energy.
Or mutations like Jūgo's, there were quite a few throughout the Ninja World.
But unlike Sage Mode, these were direct techniques that utilized natural energy and did not possess the abilities of Sage Mode.
Currently, the only one he had found that had the ability to vitalize the body and was relatively close to Sage Mode was Jūgo's Cursed Seal power.
"Hmm, it's starting."