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Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the scene, surveying the destroyed trees and the ground that looked like it had been carpet-bombed.
“There’s definitely residual Nine-Tails chakra here. Thankfully, the seal didn’t break.”
Hiruzen checked Naruto Uzumaki’s seal and found it intact.
“Lord Hokage.”
Just then, Anko Mitarashi arrived. She had been tracking Orochimaru but was also a step too late.
Perhaps it was for the best. In the original story, Anko encountered Orochimaru but ended up getting thoroughly beaten.
“Orochimaru was here, wasn’t he?” Hiruzen asked Anko.
Anko touched the Cursed Seal on the back of her neck and nodded.
She had been Orochimaru’s student, and he had placed the Cursed Seal on her—a constant source of torment.
“Just as I thought. Orochimaru was the one fighting them earlier.”
Hiruzen had sensed Orochimaru’s chakra signature and noticed snake scales scattered around. He was now 100% certain it was Orochimaru.
“Keep this quiet for now. Take care of them. If they can’t continue the Chūnin Exams, let them withdraw.”
Hiruzen didn’t directly force Naruto and his team to withdraw, leaving the choice to them.
Then Hiruzen left. Appearing here wasn’t ideal; it might raise suspicions among the other villages. If it weren’t for the Nine-Tails involvement, Hiruzen wouldn’t have come personally.
After leaving, Hiruzen immediately ordered Konoha’s Anbu to investigate Orochimaru infiltrating the village.
Knowing Orochimaru well, Hiruzen was certain he had a specific objective for coming to Konoha. He needed to uncover Orochimaru’s motives first.
“That person… his name is Orochimaru?” Sasuke Uchiha clutched his neck and abdomen, struggling to stand up. He hadn’t known Orochimaru’s name before. Now he knew, though he didn’t know much about the Sannin.
——
“Let’s go. Hinata and the others have already left the Forest of Death.”
Shin, through his senses, knew Hinata’s team had already passed the second exam. They must have obtained both scrolls.
“She didn’t take the chance to eliminate everyone else?” Kushina felt that if she were participating, she would have definitely eliminated all other teams in the second round.
“Where’s the fun in that? Looks like Karin and Hinata knew I wanted to watch the show,” Shin said with a smile.
Alright, truthfully, Hinata and Karin hadn’t thought that far ahead. They just wanted to get out of the Forest of Death as quickly as possible.
The place was crawling with insects, which both girls detested.
Shin wasn’t interested in the rest of the Forest of Death events. After leaving the forest, Shin found Karin and Hinata.
“What happened to Hanabi?” Hinata asked, seeing Hanabi sleeping soundly on Shin’s back, her face flushed.
“She snuck a sip of sake and got herself drunk,” Shin explained to Hinata.
Hinata nodded, deciding inwardly to give Hanabi a stern lecture when she woke up. Though shy around others, Hinata could still assert her authority as an older sister.
“How many scrolls did you get in total?” Kushina asked Karin.
“Four. Two Heaven Scrolls and two Earth Scrolls.”
“Only four? If it were me, I would have definitely snatched all the other scrolls and eliminated everyone else.”
“Oh yeah! Why didn’t I think of that?” Karin smacked her forehead. She could have ended the second exam right then and there!
“I wonder how long it will take for the others to reach the finish line.” Karin looked around. Currently, only their team had arrived at the central tower.
Just as Karin finished speaking, a ninja walked in—Ibiki Morino, the proctor from the written exam.
“Announcement: The preliminary rounds, originally scheduled after this, will be postponed for a few days. Those who passed the Forest of Death trial may return home for now.”
After posting a notice, Ibiki Morino left.
“Why the sudden postponement? Is it related to the commotion in the Forest of Death earlier?” Karin couldn’t help but wonder.
“Perhaps.” Shin thought it was highly likely. It was probably to give Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and the others time to recover.
They likely hadn’t given up and planned to continue the exams. But in their severely injured state, even if they passed the Forest of Death, they wouldn’t pass the preliminaries.
This was probably Hiruzen giving them a backdoor pass.
Hiruzen still valued Sasuke Uchiha highly, expecting him to bring glory to Konoha. And since Sasuke was the sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre, many people were watching him closely. Failing to even reach the final round would be too embarrassing.
“Is that so? Then let’s head back.” Karin was slightly disappointed. She had been looking forward to showing off her skills in the preliminaries and earning Shin’s praise. Unfortunately, it was postponed.
“Mmph… Hold me.” A whimper escaped Hanabi as she woke up, still groggy. She struggled out of Kushina’s arms and lunged towards Shin.
After landing in Shin’s arms, she snuggled against him affectionately.
“Does she… dislike me?” Kushina glared at Hanabi.
“Mmm, so comfy.” Hanabi seemed oblivious to Kushina’s words, rubbing against Shin contentedly.
“Damn it! I feel so annoyed!” Karin watched Hanabi nestled in Shin’s arms, wishing she could pull Hanabi away and take her place.
How could a little girl monopolize Shin like that? It should be her in his arms!
As she thought this, Karin subconsciously pictured herself leaping into Shin’s arms, a lovestruck expression appearing on her face.
“Karin, are you imagining something unhealthy?” Kushina nudged Karin, snapping her back to reality.
“N-No!” Karin quickly waved her hands, vehemently denying it.
Karin then looked enviously at little Hanabi.
If possible, Karin really wanted to trade places with Hanabi!
Originally, Karin had quite liked the adorable little Hanabi, but now… jealousy made her unrecognizable.
After casting another envious glance at Hanabi, Karin began plotting, ‘Should I use the Transformation Technique to turn into a child? Maybe then I’ll get the same treatment as Hanabi…’
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