Chapter 36: The Serpent Emerges
But Sasuke, blissfully unaware, continued to scan their surroundings with her usual cool detachment, oblivious to the approaching threat.
I'll have to be on high alert this time, Naruto thought, a knot of anxiety tightening in his gut. But stopping Orochimaru with my current strength... that's a tall order.
Seeing Naruto lost in his silent, mysterious thoughts, Sakura couldn't help but pout slightly in frustration.
Soon, Anko finished announcing the gruesome rules. After each team received their Heaven or Earth scroll, they began to stream into the Forest of Death.
Team 7 was one of the last groups to enter. As they crossed the threshold, Anko called out a final reminder. "Keep your guard up! That forest is nothing but enemies now. A moment's carelessness might cost you your scroll. Or your life!"
"Thanks for the warning, examiner," Naruto called back over his shoulder with a brief smile. He then led Sakura and Sasuke deeper into the dense woods, their figures swallowed by the looming shadows.
Huh. That blond kid's the one the old man's been personally training, isn't he? Anko mused, watching them disappear. Don't die too easily. With a lazy stretch, she pulled a stick of dango from her pocket and began to eat with relish.
In stark contrast to Anko's comfort, tension was Team 7's constant companion from the moment they entered. Sakura, especially, was on edge, jumping at every distant clash or rustle, her knuckles white around her kunai, braced for an ambush.
For Naruto, none of the other genin in the exam posed a real threat. Even prodigies like Neji or Gaara didn't concern him with his current power. His entire focus was locked on tracking one entity: Orochimaru.
After a moment's consideration, Naruto formed a series of hand seals. With soft pops, a dozen shadow clones materialized around him.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke snapped, eyeing the clones with clear annoyance. "Do you have chakra to burn? Why send so many clones running around?"
"Scouting. Gathering intel," Naruto replied simply. "I have plenty of chakra. Don't worry about it."
"Hmph! Who's worried about you?!" Sasuke turned her head away with a scowl. "Just don't slow us down!"
The first day passed uneventfully, which only put Naruto more on guard. Orochimaru hadn't made a move. None of the information relayed back from his dispersed clones before they vanished had contained a single clue.
Orochimaru is a snake hiding in the shadows. And we're prey out in the open. A cold, foreboding feeling settled in Naruto's stomach.
Just then, Sakura let out a sharp yelp behind him.
"Ah! A snake!" She leaped to Naruto's side, pointing a trembling finger at a small, thumb-thick serpent that had dropped from a branch and was now hissing at her. The forest was full of such creatures, but Naruto couldn't be sure if this was just a normal snake or a herald of the real danger.
"Don't panic. Let's keep moving." Naruto flicked his wrist, his kunai flashing to cut the snake in two. He urged Sakura forward, but his own vigilance ratcheted up another notch.
He was so focused on sensing the hidden serpentine threat that he almost missed the three figures that dropped from the trees, blocking their path.
Seeing the Grass-nin headbands, Sakura immediately tensed. Sasuke's eyes, however, lit up with predatory interest. She stepped forward, her voice cold. "You there. What scroll do you have?" Their team held an Earth scroll. If these three had a Heaven scroll, this fight would be straightforward.
The three Grass ninja stood silently, unmoving, only staring at Team 7 with unsettling, faint smiles.
Irritated by their silence, Sasuke snorted and took another step, ready to force an answer.
"Sasuke, get back!" Naruto's voice cut through the air, sharp and commanding. His hand shot out to stop her. "These aren't ordinary genin. If I'm not mistaken... that's Orochimaru."
The air seemed to freeze.
Sasuke jolted, her eyes widening as she reassessed the three figures with sudden, stark alarm.
Sakura gasped. "O-Orochimaru? One of the Legendary Sannin? But he... he betrayed Konoha! How could he be here..."
Before she could finish, the lead "Grass ninja" licked his lips, his gaze fixed on Naruto with manic glee. "So, the Nine-Tails brat recognizes me already," he hissed, his voice warping into a familiar, slithering cadence. "You spoiled my plans last time. Now, you'll repay me twofold." He reached up and wiped his face. The ordinary features melted away, revealing the pale, androgynous visage of Orochimaru, his golden snake-eyes gleaming with malice. At the same time, an overwhelming, suffocating pressure erupted from his form, a killing intent so dense it felt solid.
Naruto's heart sank. "Fall back! Now!"
But it was too late. Sakura and Sasuke were already caught in the tsunami of Orochimaru's presence. Sakura stood paralyzed, her kunai slipping from nerveless fingers to clatter on the ground. Sasuke fared slightly better, but she was drenched in a cold sweat, her body trembling with the effort to resist, her face a mask of struggling terror.
Damn it! Naruto thought, furious at their vulnerability. Sakura he could understand, but even Sasuke, who had been training with Kakashi's Chidori, was immobilized? With no time for anything else, he lunged forward, grabbing one girl under each arm, and launched himself backward with all his strength.
Orochimaru, however, didn't let the opportunity pass. Like the predator he was, he struck at the moment Naruto's hands were full. His jaw unhinged, and his grotesquely long tongue shot out like a whip, aiming to wrap around Naruto's midsection.
Scene Three: Desperate Fight
The sheer pettiness of it—a legendary Sannin resorting to a cheap shot against a genin—disgusted Naruto. But there was no time for outrage. At the critical instant, he twisted his body in mid-air, the slimy tongue lashing past his side.
Orochimaru's attack, however, was deceptively complex. The tongue, impossibly agile, reversed its course in a blink. It didn't go for Naruto again. Instead, it coiled around Sasuke, who was still clutched in Naruto's left arm, and yanked her free!
Sasuke, still reeling from the psychological pressure, only realized what was happening as she was hauled through the air toward Orochimaru. Her Sharingan flared to life on instinct. She twisted, driving a kunai backward toward her captor's body.
"Futile," Orochimaru chuckled, his free hand snapping out to easily catch her wrist. Immobilized, her waist bound by the powerful tongue, Sasuke was completely in his grasp.
"Let her go!" Naruto shouted, rage and panic warring within him. He dropped Sakura, who stumbled but remained standing, and channeled chakra to his legs. The air blurred. In less than a breath, a streak of golden motion carried him right before Orochimaru.
Even Orochimaru was caught off-guard by the sheer velocity. This was speed befitting a taijutsu master. With one hand controlling Sasuke and his tongue occupied, he only had a single hand free—insufficient for hand seals. He couldn't counter directly. But he didn't need to. Just as Naruto's kunai swung to sever the binding tongue, another blade flashed in, intercepting it with a sharp clang.
Naruto's eyes darted to the side. One of the two remaining "Grass ninja" had moved, now standing between him and his target. The man's face was mostly covered, but the large, round glasses were a dead giveaway.
Yakushi Kabuto.
Denied his strike, Naruto instantly changed tactics, pivoting to circle behind Orochimaru. But Kabuto was already in motion, spinning with unnatural grace. His arm swung, a faint green light sheening his palm as it cut through the air—a Chakra Scalpel aimed to sever the tendons in Naruto's neck.
In a split-second decision, Naruto dropped into a low, gravity-defying backflip, the deadly green light passing inches above him. He used the momentum to put distance between himself and the two foes, landing back beside a still-shaken Sakura.
Now, with Kabuto guarding Orochimaru, a direct approach was impossible.
Naruto straightened up, forcing his breathing to steady. He fixed his gaze on the Sannin, his voice laced with cold contempt. "To think one of the legendary Sannin resorts to ambushing a genin. It seems your reputation exceeds your actual prowess."
Orochimaru merely offered a faint, chilling smile, his attention wholly on the struggling Sasuke in his grip, ignoring the taunt entirely.
It was Kabuto who replied, his voice calm and clinical. "A child like you could never comprehend Lord Orochimaru's true strength. You should worry about getting past me first!" With that, he shot forward, his hands aglow with the dangerous green chakra. A single touch could sever muscle and chakra pathways.
Naruto's mind raced. He couldn't afford to underestimate an opponent of Kabuto's caliber. A single misstep meant defeat.
His eyes flicked to a large, gnarled tree off to the side. An idea, desperate and risky, began to form.
He didn't meet Kabuto's charge head-on. Instead, he began to retreat, leading the medic-nin in a circling, evasive dance. Kabuto, every bit the capable right-hand man, pressed the attack with relentless precision, his movements economical and deadly. Naruto found himself purely on the defensive, unable to create an opening for a counter. The pressure was immense.