What... happened?
Shinrin stopped crying and opened her eyes in shock. Only then did she notice the bite marks and wounds on her body fading away visibly.
Within less than ten seconds, there were no scars left on her skin, which became as smooth as a baby's. She felt completely rejuvenated by powerful healing energy coursing through her body.
Shinrin could sense that Heiyan had transferred the Yang Release chakra of the Uzumaki clan into her, though his chakra was far purer and more abundant.
Regaining her composure, she gently let go and took a step back from Heiyan.
Heiyan didn't say a word, just quietly handed Shinrin a handkerchief and motioned for her to wipe her tears.
Just at this moment,
"Clap clap clap."
Clapping his hands slowly, Orochimaru stepped out from the woods, watching Heiyan and Shinrin with an amused expression. "What a deeply moving scene."
Heiyan had already sensed Orochimaru's presence, so he wasn't surprised at all. Instead, he looked at the other man with equal amusement.
"Are you here as a contestant too?"
Shinrin nervously sized up Orochimaru. After thinking for a moment, she threw the Earth Scroll in her hand toward him, saying,
"If you're here for this scroll, just take it. I've decided to withdraw from the competition anyway."
The Earth Scroll fell at Orochimaru's feet. However, not only did he not bend down to pick it up, he didn't even look at it.
"Shinrin, he's not after the scroll—he's after you."
Heiyan wrapped his arm around Shinrin's shoulders, pulling her protectively close to him.
"Precisely. Too bad you beat me to it. But no worries," Orochimaru said coldly, "whatever I desire... I always manage to obtain."
Before his words fully faded, his snake-like eyes flashed a sharp light, and he attacked without warning.
"Whoosh!"
Dozens of poisonous snakes flew from his sleeves, striking toward Heiyan like lightning.
It was Orochimaru's signature technique—Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
"Again with this move? Don't you have any new tricks?"
Heiyan found this boring and had no intention of playing games with Orochimaru. Facing the incoming snakes, he released a wave of ocular power from his eyes.
[Byakugan: Oppression]
"Ssssh ssssh ssssh!"
Under Orochimaru's astonished gaze, the summoned snakes suddenly lost control, crashing to the ground and dying instantly, their life force extinguished completely.
What's going on?
Instinctively, he turned his gaze toward Heiyan trying to decipher the trick, but met Heiyan's stare head-on.
Next second,
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
Orochimaru horrifyingly discovered black flames appearing out of nowhere on his body, spreading rapidly from his chest to cover his entire body.
[Amaterasu]
"Ahhh!"
Orochimaru immediately let out a series of shrill screams, collapsing to the ground with a thud, desperately rolling around, clearly in unbearable agony.
As his death by burning seemed imminent, in this critical moment, Orochimaru used his remaining strength to open his mouth wide and spat something out forcefully.
"Whoosh!"
A "brand new" Orochimaru shot out from that mouth, like a snake performing Cellular Regeneration Ejection. He was soaked and looked extremely weak.
The surviving Orochimaru didn't dare to look into Heiyan's eyes.
In that brief confrontation, this unfamiliar white-haired man had unleashed an oppressive force stronger than even the leader of Akatsuki.
Orochimaru now realized that this mysterious man was definitely not someone he could provoke.
With no other option, he decided it was time to retreat.
Without hesitation, he turned around and slithered away like a snake, vanishing quickly into the woods.
"Master Heiyan, who exactly was that person?"
Shinrin gazed at Orochimaru's retreating figure, puzzled as she asked Heiyan. She sensed something unusual about Orochimaru; he didn't seem like an ordinary Genin here for the exams.
"This Chunin Exams are far more complicated than they appear. Let's go first. I'll explain everything after we leave this place."
With that, Heiyan gently took Shinrin's hand and walked her out of the Forest of Death.
Half an hour later,
Heiyan brought Uzumaki Shinrin back to their temporary inn inside Leaf Village. Then, he called both Haku and Shinrin into his room. Izumi Uchiha then spoke in his place, revealing the entire truth to them.
After learning Heiyan's true identity, both women were utterly shocked, unable to recover for quite some time.
Only after they finally accepted this reality did they realize how incredibly fortunate they were—meeting Heiyan, this immortal from a parallel world, allowed them to change their tragic fate.
What followed next...
Everything happening within Leaf Village proceeded precisely as described in the original story.
After the second phase of the Chunin Exams, because too many participants passed, there was an elimination round before proceeding to the third-stage arena matches.
During this preliminary round, Rock Lee, Tenten, Hinata, and others were eliminated, leaving eight finalists who would compete at the Chunin Exam arena.
On the day of the arena matches, the stadium was packed with spectators, buzzing with excitement. Even the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage personally attended.
Heiyan also brought his three students to sit among the audience, witnessing Naruto defeating Neji, Shikamaru overcoming Temari, and Sasuke's climactic battle against Gaara.
"It's been a while. Look how strong they've all gotten,"
Haku murmured, watching Naruto and Sasuke on the field.
"Huh? Where did these feathers come from?"
Suddenly, Shinrin softly exclaimed, looking up at the sky. Countless white feathers drifted down like snowfall, covering the entire Chunin Exam arena.
"Be careful, this is Genjutsu. It must be Orochimaru's men making their move."
Izumi Uchiha warned just in time, glancing toward Heiyan for instructions.
Earlier, before leaving their lodgings, Heiyan had already told them about Orochimaru's plan to destroy Leaf. So when the illusion hit, none of the three panicked. They broke free with ease.
"Let's go. This place no longer needs us."
After saying this, Heiyan turned and walked out of the stadium.
Some narrative timelines cannot be changed; staying any longer would serve no purpose.
Along the way, Heiyan casually saved dozens of innocent bystanders from being crushed to death by the collapsing venue.
However, their actions didn't go unnoticed for long, drawing the enemy's attention.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several enemy ninja appeared, surrounding Heiyan and his group, preparing to launch an attack.
Izumi frowned and was about to take action when suddenly "Hya!" rang out, and a green blur shot past them at high speed. After a flurry of punches and kicks, several enemies were cleanly wiped out.
It was Might Guy, the Jonin of Konoha known as the "Feral Beast."
Guy struck a pose and smiled at Heiyan's group, revealing two rows of white teeth. Then he turned to them sharply, "Dangerous place! Move now—the exit's right over there!"
Saying that, he raised the nunchaku in his hand and pointed toward the exit.
"Guy, watch out!"
Suddenly, Kakashi arrived from a distance, standing shoulder to shoulder with Guy, his gaze settled heavily on Izumi Uchiha and Haku among Heiyan's group.
Not long ago, on the bridge in Uzu Country, Kakashi had witnessed firsthand the terrifying power of Izumi. This mysterious Uchiha girl was definitely the most dangerous figure in the world of shinobi.
Was she connected to today's attack?
If Izumi was involved, things would become very dangerous. Kakashi realized even if he and Guy teamed up, they might still be no match for her.
"Are these people also enemies?"
Seeing Kakashi's solemn expression, Might Guy couldn't help but feel alarmed, because in his memory, it was rare to see Kakashi act so seriously.
Just when Kakashi and Might Guy were nervously blocking Heiyan's group...
"Teacher, what should we do now?"
Izumi didn't attack but instead turned her head to look at Heiyan.
Teacher?
Upon hearing this word, Kakashi grew more suspicious. His attention shifted from Izumi to Heiyan.
This man with flowing white hair was Izumi Uchiha's teacher? That meant his strength surpassed even hers?
Thinking of this, Kakashi felt chills run down his spine.
Just then—
Boom!
A violent explosion echoed from the spectator stands far away.
Immediately after, on the roof of the venue, a massive translucent cubic barrier slowly rose into the air, trapping Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi inside.
[Four-Corner Sealing Barrier]?!
Kakashi cried out in alarm, realizing something terrible was happening.
Heiyan glanced at the distant barrier before turning to Kakashi and Guy,
"I think your concerns are over there. It has nothing to do with us."
As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes emitted waves of ocular power, instantly forming a space-time vortex. In front of Kakashi and Guy's stunned gaze, Heiyan's group vanished into Kamui's space.
Kakashi and Guy stared at each other in disbelief.
Not long after that—
Orochimaru's Destruction of Konoha Plan failed, costing him the heavy price of having both arms sealed away.
Out in the forests beyond Konoha, Naruto and his team had taken down Gaara and Shukaku, the One-Tail, foiling Sunagakure's plan.
However, on Konoha's side, the Third Hokage had sacrificed himself to protect the village. As a result of this destruction, Konoha became scarred and severely damaged.
They were standing on the rooftop terrace of the Hokage Tower.
Here, Konoha's two senior advisors — Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado — approached Jiraiya, requesting him to take up the heavy burden and become the Fifth Hokage.
Yet Jiraiya declined their request for personal reasons and instead recommended someone more suitable than himself—
Jiraiya then suggested someone better suited than himself—Tsunade.
To keep Naruto safe from Akatsuki, Jiraiya asked him to come along. They were heading out of Konoha to find Tsunade and persuade her to become the Fifth Hokage.
On a distant tower, Heiyan watched the events unfold from afar.
Now that the Chunin Exams arc was over, it was time for him to move on — to leap even further into the future.
Before departing, however, Heiyan decided he would go speak with Tsunade one more time.
With that thought, he once again entered Kamui's space—a dimension only he could control—and headed toward Tanukichou Street ahead of Jiraiya and Naruto.
Meanwhile, Izumi Uchiha and her group, following Heiyan's instructions, remained in Konoha for the time being.
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