A few minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke walked out of the dense forest and arrived at the site of the previous battle.
Under the combined assault of Hinata, Karin, Haku, and the others, Kimimaro had gradually fallen into a disadvantage. In the end, however, he seized an opening, broke free from the encirclement, and vanished into the endless forest.
Because Naruto had been absent, none of them dared to pursue him. They could only remain where they were and wait for Naruto to return.
After all, Kimimaro's sudden appearance and equally sudden departure were suspicious from every angle. There might even be some major figure secretly pulling strings behind the scenes.
The moment they saw Naruto return, Hinata and the others hurried over and explained the battle with Kimimaro. Their faces were filled with frustration, regretting that they had failed to keep him there.
Naruto smiled and said, "Kimimaro's strength is already close to Kage level. It's normal that you couldn't catch him. If he hadn't been worried about attracting Konoha Jonin, you wouldn't have won so easily."
"Close to Kage level?" Hinata, Karin, and Haku all looked shocked.
Being able to fight evenly against someone that strong basically meant their own abilities had already reached Jonin standards. But that only made things stranger—why the hell was a monster like that appearing in the Chunin Exam?
Did Naruto disappear earlier just to give them combat experience, or had he gone off to meet someone else?
Still, ninjas who knew too much usually didn't live long, so none of them continued asking questions.
After exchanging information, Naruto told Haku and Karin to take care of the unconscious Shino and Kiba, while he and Hinata went to deal with the spoils of war.
On the surface, the loot consisted of nothing more than the Sound ninja equipment and the Earth Scroll.
The former was the product of Orochimaru's experiments and could help them understand the development level of his Curse Seal research. The latter was simply necessary for advancing in the Chunin Exam.
However, the most valuable trophy was the wool Naruto had managed to shear from Orochimaru himself.
After some "friendly persuasion," Orochimaru had agreed to share some of his most advanced technology. One of them was a specially modified version of the Impure World Reincarnation technique that could summon Edo Tensei bodies with a percentage of their original strength intact.
What surprised Naruto even more was that Orochimaru had actually proposed joining Uzushio Village.
Naruto hadn't immediately agreed, but from Orochimaru's attitude, it was obvious he still intended to carry out the Konoha Crush plan. The only uncertainty was whether he planned to direct the conflict toward Jiraiya or the Third Hokage.
As Orochimaru himself had said, there was no drama more entertaining than brothers fighting each other. Naruto was already looking forward to the upcoming performance starring Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and the Third Hokage.
While Naruto frowned in thought, Sasuke kept staring at him, his expression full of conflict.
He didn't know whether he should report the information about Mianma to Konoha or bury everything in his heart and pretend none of it had happened.
Reporting suspicious information was the duty of a Konoha ninja.
But whether it was Kakashi or Mianma, both had vaguely revealed the same thing to him—that the Uchiha clan's destruction could not be separated from Konoha itself.
At that moment, accompanied by a burst of movement, the chief examiner Mitarashi Anko appeared before the group.
Looking at the fallen trees and the battlefield that looked as though it had been plowed by a natural disaster, Anko said with a dark expression, "You lot, what happened here? And why are all the surrounding cameras destroyed?"
Hinata and the others were just about to explain when Naruto stepped forward and said, "Examiner Anko, we ran into a lunatic ninja who started trying to kill people over the slightest disagreement. It took a lot of effort just to drive him away. I'm guessing he's a spy hiding inside the Forest of Death with the goal of sabotaging Konoha's Chunin Exam."
"Konoha's?"
Anko frowned and looked Naruto up and down. Seeing his bright and cheerful expression, her face softened slightly.
"So you're a ninja from Uzushio Village. Thanks for the information. I'll handle this matter personally."
Naruto continued, "The attacker is extremely strong. Ordinary ninjas won't be able to deal with him. It'd be best if Examiner Anko brought more people… or simply suspended the Chunin Exam altogether."
"I'm a Jonin. I'm not the same as you rookie Genin taking the Chunin Exam…"
After giving the candidates a cold glance, Anko followed the scent trail without even turning back, leaving behind only her sharp and indifferent figure.
Watching Anko leave, Hinata softly asked, "Will something happen to Examiner Anko?"
Naruto withdrew his gaze from the distance and chuckled lightly.
"I already warned her. If she insists on going, that's her own choice. The ninja causing trouble in the Forest of Death isn't someone she can handle… but he probably won't kill her."
Hinata looked up at Naruto and asked curiously, "Mianma-san, do you know Examiner Anko that well?"
Naruto shook his head.
"I don't know her personally, but I know the ninja causing trouble in the Forest of Death. He's cruel, bloodthirsty, and loves killing people… but he also never forgets the ninjas connected to him. His brain just works differently from normal humans."
Hinata moved closer and whispered into Naruto's ear, "Is the troublemaker one of Naruto-kun's collaborators? Can the Hyuga Clan help you? I'm the acting clan head now, so things are different from before."
"I'll need Hinata's help eventually… but not now. For the moment, let's just enjoy the Chunin Exam."
…
Meanwhile, Anko raced through the Forest of Death at high speed, her expression growing uglier and uglier.
Ever since the Chunin Exam began, she had smelled a familiar scent. The snake skins scattered throughout the forest only further confirmed her suspicions.
The ninja who had infiltrated Konoha to sabotage the Chunin Exam… was her former teacher, Orochimaru.
Back then, after Orochimaru defected, her own status had instantly plummeted as his former disciple. She became a target of ANBU and Root surveillance, and only after Jiraiya became Hokage did she barely regain her footing as a Special Jonin.
Now that Orochimaru had appeared again, she needed to confront him personally and drag him back to justice.
Yet even she couldn't tell whether she hated Orochimaru for betraying the village… or hated him for leaving her behind.
It didn't take long before Anko clearly sensed Orochimaru's chakra.
After killing the rattlesnake lurking nearby, she ignored the heavy chakra consumption and instantly leaped onto a tree branch, looking down in search of Orochimaru's location.
Very quickly, she locked onto his position.
But just as she was about to attack, her body suddenly froze.
Besides Orochimaru, several mysterious figures dressed in black stood nearby. They wore animal masks and were clearly disguised as ANBU. Even their accents sounded strangely familiar to her.
This group wasn't fake ANBU impersonators—they were genuine Konoha ninjas.
If they were village ninjas, then why were they colluding with Orochimaru?
Could it be that Orochimaru's infiltration into Konoha this time was the result of inside cooperation… and that they intended to overthrow Konoha Ninja Village from within?
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