The two of them tensed up instantly. Naruto motioned for Sakura to stay silent, then dropped low and crawled toward the sound.
In the summer night with no moonlight—only the murmur of the stream and the chorus of insects—the faint, intermittent rustle rustle was still far too conspicuous.
As he closed in, Naruto vaguely made out a dark, blurry silhouette. He was about to advance again when his body pressed down on a thin twig beneath him.
Snap.
Naruto's eyelid twitched. He froze at once, holding perfectly still. The shadow seemed startled by the noise and vanished from his sight almost immediately.
"Damn. My biggest problem right now is still mobility," Naruto muttered inwardly, irritated.
He hadn't landed a single real ambush. He'd tried to backstab Orochimaru with a Rasengan once—dodged. Tried the same on Kin—dodged again. At his current level, his strongest offensive move could maybe kill a giant snake for everyone's entertainment. And he had no genjutsu or hard crowd-control to lock someone down.
It gave him a strong sense of being… lopsided. Maybe this build was enough to solo a Naruto "dungeon," but in a "multiplayer mode" like this, his weaknesses could get blown up fast.
Looks like I'll need to learn something new after the second round ends.
Naruto stayed still for another ten minutes, ensuring the shadow wouldn't double back. Then he crept forward again and rose carefully to inspect what had been left behind.
There were one or two blurred footprints in the grass—human, no doubt. And beside them, a slip of paper lay quietly on the ground.
"Again?" Naruto felt his whole soul sag. These past two days, he'd been dreaming about those twisted little messages carved into trees. They were practically becoming trauma.
Can you not be a human being?!
But since the note might contain something important, he hesitated, then opened it anyway.
A neat, feminine hand had written a single line in Japanese:
"Let's talk. Clear up the misunderstanding. Tom—"
Naruto frowned sharply. He'd been ready to get disgusted again, but this was yet another curveball.
Another transmigrator? No—if it were someone new, why say "clear up the misunderstanding"? That sounded like someone who'd already tangled with them.
Yet the earlier carvings were crude and crooked. This handwriting was completely different.
Naruto couldn't decide. He took the paper back to Sakura to share.
She, like him, instinctively thought it might be a newcomer—but quickly rejected the idea.
"What does 'Tom—' mean? Their codename?" Sakura knit her brows.
"I think they were trying to write 'Tomorrow at XX time, at XX place, we talk,'" Naruto said. "I got too close and made noise, so they bolted mid-sentence. Probably left it half-finished."
Sakura murmured, "The writing changed. The actions are cautious and logical. The thinking is normal…"
Naruto's eyes sharpened. "I've got a guess."
"Multiple personalities?"
"Uh—yeah." Naruto scratched his head awkwardly. "Looks like we're on the same wavelength."
"When they ran earlier, their eyes were full of fear. That reaction makes sense," Sakura added. "But it contradicts the whole 'leaping into the role of a deranged wolf' thing they did before. If we're right, then their crazy persona craves our approval, and their calm persona wants to settle things."
Naruto finally felt a kind of relief loosen his chest.
In terms of strength, he wasn't afraid of Kin at all—he could even laugh about it. But dealing with a madman was another story. Madmen were unreadable. They could do things that nuked your sanity just by existing.
"If they can talk like a normal person, fine… then we just proceed normally. They'll come to us sooner or later."
"But what if they go crazy again? And even if they're calm, do we still not deal with them?" Sakura asked quietly.
Naruto fell silent. Truthfully, he felt some resistance toward killing a patient. A patient didn't belong on an execution ground. They belonged in a hospital.
But this was the shinobi world.
"We only have the option of eliminating them," Naruto said at last. "But we should hear them out first. The more we understand their thinking, the easier it'll be to predict their next move."
They tossed around a few more possibilities. Naruto told Sakura to sleep while he kept watch. He stared at the faint dark circles under his own eyes, then pulled out the small white snake from his sleeve.
He'd been sneaking it bits of fish the past two days, so it looked healthy enough.
Naruto studied it. How did you even use this thing again?
After thinking a moment, he put his lips close to the snake. "Hello hello? Is Anko there? If you can hear me, respond."
After a beat, the snake stiffened and spoke in a human voice: "I'm here. What is it?"
Nice. A walkie-talkie.
Naruto chose his words carefully and lowered his voice. "After scouting, I confirmed the Sound trio in this exam are Orochimaru's subordinates. They attacked Uchiha Sasuke yesterday. Motive unknown."
He deliberately emphasized motive unknown, trying to avoid making Anko think he was omniscient.
There was a short silence. Then the snake replied, "Understood. I'll pay special attention to those three. If necessary, I'll report to the Hokage."
"No need. Two of them are already dead. Only Kin Tsuchi is still alive. I need you to track her. She's dangerous."
Another silence, like she was processing the sheer scale of that statement.
"…What are her abilities? Why is she dangerous?"
Yeah, can't tell you everything.
Naruto thought, then said, "She uses bells as an attack and confusion method. She knows Shadow Clone Jutsu. As for why she's dangerous… her mental state is unstable."
"Received. If I learn anything, I'll contact you."
Anko ended the call. Naruto tucked the snake away, thinking, and headed for the proctor control room.
The place was like a modern surveillance office, packed with monitors. Several chūnin proctors and ANBU were gathered, discussing the exam.
Being cautious, Anko ultimately chose to report Orochimaru's presence, but she hid the parts about her own contact with him and Naruto. She only said her curse mark was reacting and filed the details about the Grass ninja's death.
At the same time, she checked Uzumaki Naruto's file and confirmed the Nine-Tails sealed inside him.
"So that's it. He must've grown up in hell, which is why he's honed himself like this," Anko thought.
As for Kin, Anko had her own take.
Join my patreon For Early access to Chapter : patreon.com/TheWorldGod
Tiamat 200 Chapter (Final)
Honkai 610 Chapter
Lobotomy 110 Chapter
MushokuTensei 490 Chapter
'Pure Evil' Simulator Chapter Ending
Crossover Fic Blapterue-Eyes Chapter Ending
Harry want to be Hero 200 Chapter
A Clever Life in the Naruto World 180 Chapter