Before.
Orochimaru had failed because of Naruto's power.
However, he didn't really leave after his failure — instead, he continued lurking near Naruto's team.
Orochimaru's purpose was simple: to plant the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke, and then use Sasuke's desire for strength to lure him into defecting.
Originally, when Orochimaru saw Naruto leave the team, he knew his opportunity had come.
Unexpectedly, before Naruto could get far, both Haruno Sakura and Sasuke encountered trouble.
The situation quickly spiraled out of control — it was almost like a chaotic banquet, with countless ninjas gathering in one place in such a short time.
There were even Orochimaru's own subordinates among them.
Then, Naruto returned — bringing Karin with him.
Naruto threw a black sphere of ninjutsu at Toss.
That power…
You couldn't even call it big — it was massive.
Hidden in the shadows, Orochimaru watched with a frown.
Naruto, in this state, was truly troublesome to deal with.
It seemed he would have to wait for a more perfect opportunity.
After driving away everyone except Konoha's ninjas, Naruto obtained a scroll different from his own team's, successfully completing their mission.
The groups separated after exchanging only a few words.
After all, this was an exam — no one wanted to risk fighting those from the same village.
With both scrolls in hand, Naruto's team had completed their task. Now they just needed to head to the central tower.
Haruno Sakura glanced at the red-haired girl walking behind Naruto, her heart feeling slightly sour.
After all, that girl was pretty — and Naruto seemed to treat her quite well.
Haruno Sakura couldn't help asking Naruto, "Naruto, who is she?"
Before Naruto could reply, Karin stepped forward, crossing her arms and looking down at Sakura with a teasing smile.
"I know you! You're the one who's been chasing after Naruto-kun for ages and still hasn't gotten anywhere. How sad~"
"Jiejiejie~"
Hearing those familiar mocking words, Sakura felt her irritation explode.
She clenched her teeth and snapped, "Don't be so proud! I've spent way more time with Naruto-kun than you, you third wheel!"
"Third wheel?" Karin giggled instead of getting angry. "You mean you've already advanced that far?"
Haruno Sakura: "???"
Sasuke and Naruto stood off to the side, watching helplessly as the two girls argued.
It didn't take long before Sakura's face turned bright red with anger. She looked like she wanted to hit someone but didn't dare, her small face tight and full of frustration.
Finally, Naruto stepped in to stop the bickering.
Now that they had both types of scrolls, there was no need to delay — they should head straight for the central tower.
Before long, Team Naruto arrived at the central tower and met Iruka's clone.
After submitting their scrolls, they waited for the rest of the exam to end.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru, still hiding in the shadows, clicked his tongue in frustration.
With Naruto by Sasuke's side, it was impossible for him to act.
Now that they'd reached the central tower, sneaking an attack was even harder.
"Do I have to give up now?" Orochimaru muttered. "Am I really going to lose my chance at obtaining an Uchiha body?"
As he hesitated, a distant roar suddenly shook the air — followed by an overwhelming wave of chakra.
Orochimaru frowned. "What's going on? Why is there a tailed beast's chakra here?"
He looked toward the source.
Boom!
A massive tanuki appeared not far from the tower — Shukaku of the One Tail.
Dozens of examinees were fleeing in terror ahead of it.
"Has the One Tail gone berserk early?" Orochimaru muttered in irritation. "Sunagakure really is unreliable. I won't be working with them again."
Inside the central tower, Naruto's team also heard the noise and rushed outside.
Other teams who had already arrived followed suit.
"It's… it's a tailed beast!"
"What's happening? Why would a tailed beast show up during the Chūnin Exam?!"
Panic spread among the examinees. Many turned and ran without a second thought.
The enormous creature's presence alone created suffocating pressure.
Shukaku had completely lost control, attacking anything that moved.
Candidates still in the forest were being driven toward the central tower in a desperate attempt to escape.
From afar, Naruto could see familiar faces — Shikamaru's team, Neji's team… all running for their lives.
Naruto looked at Shukaku and asked the system in his mind, "System, if I defeat Shukaku, will I get an S-rank score?"
[Ding~ Yes!]
Hmm… then that settles it. This is my chance.
Naruto smiled to himself.
He didn't know why Shukaku had gone berserk during the second exam, but it didn't matter. This was his opportunity.
Beside him, Sasuke asked instinctively, "Naruto, what should we do?"
He already knew — only Naruto could handle this.
Naruto gave his orders calmly: "You all stay back. I'll handle it."
"Naruto, it's too dangerous! Leave this to the adults!" Sakura said anxiously. "What if something happens to you?"
Karin also grabbed Naruto's sleeve nervously. "Naruto-kun, even though Sakura and I don't get along, she's right — this is way too dangerous…"
Naruto, however, looked completely at ease. "You're misunderstanding something."
"I told you to leave not because I need support, but because I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire."
With that, Naruto activated the Ultra Light-Weight Rock Technique and shot into the sky.
Karin panicked and tried to follow, but Sasuke stopped her.
"Don't make things worse," Sasuke said coldly.
"Don't you make things worse!" Karin snapped back. "Take that lovestruck girl and get out of here!"
She pointed straight at Sakura.
"Who are you calling lovestruck?!" Sakura shouted, her face red.
Karin sighed. "I can restore Naruto-kun's chakra. Don't waste time arguing. You can yell at me later."
Sakura knew she was the weakest here, so she said nothing more and left with Sasuke.
Karin, however, went against the flow of fleeing ninjas and hid in the shadows.
From another dark corner, Orochimaru saw Naruto and Sasuke separate — and his golden opportunity appeared.
"Unexpectedly useful, those Sand shinobi," Orochimaru sneered.
At least his first goal in coming to Konoha had been achieved.
He followed Sasuke silently, this time not holding back to test him — but attacking with full force.
Finally, Orochimaru bit into Sasuke's neck, leaving the Cursed Seal of Heaven before vanishing into the forest.
Haruno Sakura barely had time to react before dragging the unconscious Sasuke to safety.
Meanwhile—
Naruto hovered in the sky, staring down at Shukaku, who was roaring and sending shockwaves through the ground below.
Team Shikamaru and Team Neji, who were fleeing, spotted Naruto above.
"Naruto! Run! That thing's a tailed beast!" Shikamaru shouted.
Seeing that both teams were about to be crushed by Shukaku's rampage, Naruto acted without hesitation.
His eyes sharpened, and he thrust his hand forward, sending out chains of golden chakra.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
From the side, Tenten's eyes widened as she yelled, "Now!!!"
She whipped out a camera, pointing it toward Naruto. The flash went off again and again, illuminating the sky dozens of times.
Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru's team all turned to stare at Tenten in disbelief. "???"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 80+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Marvel fanfic!
[Marvel: A Video Editor]