On the other side of the Forest of Death, a harmonious and peaceful scene unfolded, filled with the crisp, melodious chirping and cooing of birds. The Forest of Death was vast, and the aftershocks of a battle had yet to reach this area, making it seem especially serene.
However, the calm was now broken.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Out from behind a tree emerged an Orochimaru... no, an Orochimama. A panting, utterly disheveled Orochimaru had a somber expression and vicious eyes. He never expected to be manipulated like a toy by a 12-year-old child. When had he ever been so disheveled? The last time he was this disheveled, he remembered, was the time before. That person was named Itachi Uchiha. He had almost died then, and although the weasel didn't intend to kill him, he only escaped thanks to Kabuto Yakushi. Those Sharingan eyes, that gaze, that person, were truly unforgettable. Otherwise, he wouldn't covet Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, so much.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" Orochimaru etched this name into his heart. This list would need one more addition. The last one was 13-year-old Itachi Uchiha. This one was 12-year-old Naruto Uzumaki! Compared to these two, his half-life seemed to have been utterly wasted. All the combat experience, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and everything else he had accumulated over half a lifetime were nothing but fodder to be crushed by such geniuses.
Geniuses? Bloodlines?
"Uzumaki..." Orochimaru's interest in the Uzumaki clan's bloodline was rekindled. In common knowledge, weren't the Uzumaki clan just known for their large chakra reserves, thick skin, and one or two special bloodline abilities? Could it be that the Uzumaki clan possessed talents he was unaware of?
Click~
Suddenly, the forbidden sealing jutsu Naruto had planted earlier activated. A burst of genjutsu and sealing jutsu chakra erupted deep within Orochimaru's mind. His memories from the past few hours were completely sealed, and a virtual memory concocted by genjutsu quickly filled the void. He was disoriented for only a second, then confidence returned to Orochimaru's face. The powerful genjutsu and sealing jutsu left him completely unaware.
"Interesting, the prey can struggle so much, but... it still can't escape the hunter's grasp."
"Hmm?" With a slight感知, Orochimaru detected an anomaly. Behind him, several Anbu ninjas were giving chase. Not wanting to get entangled in this place, Orochimaru immediately concealed his presence and burrowed into the earth.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Shortly after Orochimaru left, four figures arrived.
"Is this it?" Anko eagerly questioned the sensory ninja in her team.
"They were here in my last reading."
"Immediately spread out and search the surroundings. He shouldn't have gone far," the squad leader commanded.
Almost simultaneously, Naruto Uzumaki arrived at his faithful Central Tower. The four of them swaggered along the way, encountering no surprises or dangers; no one dared to pick a fight. Along the way, they ate 3 fruits and 4 oranges, yet didn't run into any tough opponents.
"Whoa~ it's so tall." Sakura exclaimed, looking up at the building.
The Central Tower was a red building with many levels. The first floor had many doors, each sealed with paper talismans. The four walked around it, finding that only two doors had been opened.
"Only two teams have made it here?" Naruto mused, looking at the opened doors. Inside the tower, he sensed the chakra of Hinata's Team 8, and another team with a red-haired member who wasn't an Uzumaki, Gaara. It seemed both teams were quite strong. However, Hinata's Team 8 likely benefited from their sensory ninjutsu. All three of them were sensory ninjas: Shino's bugs, Kiba's sense of smell, and Hinata's Byakugan. The difference in experience when you have 'map-hack' is obvious.
"I can't believe we're not first." Sasuke mumbled, not really caring. "Should we go in?"
At this moment, the three stood before one of the doors. Karin stood separately; she wasn't on their team and, according to the rules, couldn't enter the same door as them.
"Let's go!"
Naruto pushed open the door. The space inside was quite large but empty, with only a calligraphy on the wall. There was, however, an elevated hallway with another door. Doors, doors, still doors. Did they want people to open eight doors or something?
"Let's go!" Seeing that door, Naruto jumped up.
Upon entering again, it turned out to be a room, complete with a bed, a training room, and other basic amenities. There was also another door leading elsewhere.
"That's the third door." Mumbling, Naruto opened it again.
This time, a large hall appeared. As the three wandered around, they unexpectedly encountered other people.
"Naruto!" Turning around, Kiba, with Akamaru perched on his chest, greeted them. Beside him was a shy Hinata. It was Team 8.
"How is it here?"
"It's alright, I guess." Kiba hesitated slightly, especially recalling the red-haired Sand shinobi who cleanly dealt with three other teams, leaving no trace of their corpses. It made him feel very uncomfortable, just like Akamaru, who was trembling beside him. "There's a red-head who's not to be messed with."
A red-head? The One-Tails Jinchuriki? Naruto scoffed. If the One-Tails is not to be messed with, what about the Nine-Tails inside me?
"Also," Kiba hadn't finished yet, "a strange reporter duo arrived."
"Strange?" Sakura asked curiously, "How strange?"
"Yeah, a weird, expressionless cameraman, and a talkative, rude, cowlicked reporter."
"Look, here they come," Kiba said, pointing to the two walking in the distance. The two were backlit, but their silhouettes clearly showed their combination: one tall, one short; one burly, one skinny. It was a rather peculiar combination.
"You must be Lord Naruto Uzumaki, right?" The voice arrived before they were even close.
Sama?
The others looked at Naruto. Naruto was utterly speechless. Uchiha Rokudo! What kind of stunt are you pulling now?
Meanwhile, in another corner, Kankuro stared at the peculiar duo. He felt particularly annoyed that they completely ignored him and headed straight for the blonde-haired group. It wasn't like this when they first arrived. Even though they were the first, this reporter named Doma Taihei maintained some kind of 'neutral, objective, third-party' attitude, coldly giving them a brief interview. His words weren't even kind, full of nitpicking, which made Gaara want to kill them.
But how did they treat the Leaf ninjas? Team 8 seemed normal. But now, seeing Team 7, they were acting so obsequious.
Sama?
Heh.
So what if it's the famous 'Ninja World Daily'? Weren't they still bought off with money? Promoting this Chunin Exam for the Leaf? What about us from the Sand? Is it just because our village has no money, only 100 people share one newspaper, leading to low sales and unpopularity?
I'd like to see how you report this exam.
"Reporters like dogs, fawning for scraps."
Just as he cursed, Temari retorted. "Kankuro, don't say that." Temari's gaze had long locked onto the handsome Naruto and Sasuke from afar.
Meanwhile, Naruto was still being interviewed. Questions like: How was the room experience? How was the food? Any areas for improvement?
He glanced at Rokudo, no, Doma Taihei's notebook.
"Naruto Uzumaki Inspects the Central Tower"
"Naruto Uzumaki Delivers Important Speech"
The Third Hokage isn't even dead yet, and you want me to usurp the throne? And the most outrageous one, calling him the sun of Konoha?
That's too much, way too much.
The "Sun" is too much. For now, let's just call him the "Light of Konoha."