The dead silence in the forest was broken by the soft click of bones resetting.
Naruto, expressionless, reset Sasuke's dislocated left arm, then let go, allowing him to collapse to the ground, gasping for air. He stood up, placing one foot on Sasuke's back. The pressure wasn't great, but it was like an unmovable mountain, pinning all of Sasuke's defiance and dignity into the rotting fallen leaves.
"A soldier's desire to become a general is a commendable quality."
Naruto looked down at the "soldier" beneath his foot, his tone as flat as if he were reading a report unrelated to himself.
"But a rebellion launched with borrowed, unstable power isn't ambition; it's merely a cowardly release. You are still far from enough."
Every word of this sentence was like a red-hot branding iron, searing deep into Sasuke's consciousness. He lay on the ground, his cheek pressed against the cold, damp earth, the crazed malevolence receding from his crimson eyes, leaving only boundless gloom and humiliation.
Naruto no longer paid him any mind, turning to the other side. Sakura, due to extreme tension and focus, had collapsed to the ground in exhaustion after completing the seal on the last Chakra point, her eyes vacant.
"Medic," Naruto ordered.
Sakura's body trembled, and she looked up blankly.
"If a soldier still exhibits any risk-taking behavior that could harm himself before the mission ends," Naruto didn't look at her, merely miming a hand-chop motion at the neck, "proceed directly with physical hypnosis."
Sakura's face instantly turned pale. She, of course, understood what that meant, but the phrase "physical hypnosis" coming from Naruto's mouth sent a fresh wave of dread through her.
She forced an awkward smile: "What an interesting way to put it."
Naruto said no more. He walked over to the Hidden Rain Ninja whose limbs had been incapacitated, turning them over as if inspecting goods. He retrieved the Scroll of Earth from one of them, casually stuffing it into his pocket. He didn't kill them, but instead grabbed the collar of the Hidden Rain Ninja who was still conscious.
"Who is in charge of Hidden Rain Village now?"
The Hidden Rain Ninja, held up, trembled all over, his teeth chattering: "It's... it's Lord Hanzou..."
"But based on the current state of Hidden Rain Village, Hanzou should be dead... or at least have lost his rule," Naruto interrupted him. "Answer my question."
The Hidden Rain Ninja's pupils suddenly constricted. He looked at Naruto's emotionless blue eyes, and a fear deeper than death gripped him.
"It's... it's Lord Pain..."
The Hidden Rain Ninja's voice was so faint it was almost inaudible, but that name, like a giant stone thrown into still water, stirred ripples in Naruto's heart.
Pain.
He didn't immediately throw the Hidden Rain Ninja aside. Instead, he released his grip on his collar, letting him fall back to the ground. The Hidden Rain Ninja thought he was saved and was about to struggle backward when a foot gently pressed down on his wrist.
The force wasn't great, but the bones already groaned under the strain.
"Ah—!"
"Don't rush," Naruto knelt down, meeting the fear-contorted face at eye level, his tone as gentle as if he were comforting a frightened child. "I like to work with smart people. Let's play a Q&A game."
He tilted his head, looking at the pale Sakura nearby.
"Answer correctly, and I'll let you go. Answer incorrectly, or lie to me..." Naruto paused, then changed his tone, "My Medic has recently been researching a new treatment plan, specifically for the nervous system. It's said to make a person clearly feel the illusion of every inch of their skin being gnawed by ants, even with all four limbs incapacitated. Would you like to be the first clinical volunteer?"
Sakura's stomach churned, and she barely managed to keep from throwing up. She hadn't researched anything of the sort!
The Hidden Rain Ninja's body began to shake like a sieve.
"I... I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"
"Good, first question." Naruto withdrew his foot, leisurely dusting off his pant leg. "Who is Pain? What does he look like?"
"He's a god! Lord Pain is a god!" the Hidden Rain Ninja shouted incoherently. "He punished Lord Hanzou and ended the civil war in Hidden Rain Village! No one has ever seen his true face!"
"Gods also need envoys to walk among humans," Naruto interrupted him. "I'm asking, how many of his 'envoys' are there?"
This question was like a precise scalpel, cutting through the Hidden Rain Ninja's confused thoughts. He froze, his pupils filled with horror.
How could he know such a question?
Naruto didn't rush him, just waited quietly, the invisible pressure more crushing than any torture.
"How many exactly?" the Hidden Rain Ninja mumbled to himself.
"If your memory is still this bad in five seconds, I'll help you remember."
Naruto's tone was flat, but the Hidden Rain Ninja immediately cried out in fear: "I really don't know how many there are. Maybe four, maybe five, but definitely more than one. Usually, it's Lord Angel who handles the affairs of the Land of Rain. I'm just a Genin, I really only know this much."
"Angel?" Naruto realized that the situation in Hidden Rain Village was a huge hidden danger. The silent overthrow of a country's structure indicated that the revolutionaries' strength was terrifying.
After further questioning, Naruto found no more useful information and left the Hidden Rain Ninja on the ground.
The team set off again.
Sakura, gritting her teeth, supported Sasuke. Sasuke remained silent throughout, his head bowed, his bangs obscuring his face so no one could see his expression. But his uninjured hand was clenched tightly, his fingernails digging deep into the flesh of his palm.
Naruto's words echoed in his mind like a curse.
"Cowardly release..."
He had never felt such humiliation, nor had he ever so clearly realized that the gap between himself and Naruto had grown to a nearly desperate degree.
When Team 7's figures appeared before the gate of the finish tower, time seemed to stand still.
Inside the gate were the teams that had passed the exam first. Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Kiba, Shino, and Ninja from other Villages. They sat or stood, looking relaxed, waiting for the next stage to begin.
When the gate slowly opened, everyone's laughter and chatter abruptly ceased.
In the light and shadow of the doorway stood a "Team 7" they had never seen before.
Naruto, at the forefront, carried the gruesome-looking Chainsword, stained with dirt and dark red blood, on his shoulder. His orange jacket was tattered, and his entire being exuded an aura of iron-blooded intensity that warned others to keep their distance.
Sakura, pale-faced and tight-lipped, supported a person who was almost unconscious.
It was Sasuke. His face was ashen, his eyes tightly closed, as if he were dead.
Everyone was stunned.
Kiba's mouth hung open, and even Akamaru on his head let out an uneasy whine.
Ino covered her mouth, unable to believe that Sasuke, who always handled everything, would be in such a state.
"Troublesome guy..." Shikamaru frowned, his hands in his pockets, murmuring, "He's become even more troublesome."
Naruto ignored everyone's gazes and walked directly to Ibiki, who was in charge of registration. He calmly placed the Scroll of Heaven and the Scroll of Earth on the table.
"Report, Team 7, mission complete." He paused, then added, "We encountered an attack from Konoha's S-rank rogue Ninja, Orochimaru, en route."
Ibiki and the examiners present changed their expressions dramatically.
Naruto didn't explain more, especially regarding the cursed seal on Sasuke's neck; he didn't mention a word. He didn't want his soldiers to be scrutinized by these people, whom he considered weak and incompetent.
Just then, a figure emerged from the crowd.
It was Hinata.
While everyone else was intimidated by the murderous aura emanating from Naruto, not daring to approach, this girl, who was always timid and shy, lowered her head and walked step by step to Naruto.
Her fingers were nervously pressed together, and she didn't dare to look up at him, asking in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet incredibly clear:
"Na... Naruto-kun... are... are you hurt?"
The entire tower was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Naruto's ice-sculpted face showed a hint of softening for the first time. He turned his head, looking at the girl in front of him, who was almost curled into a ball.
He felt no fear from her, only pure, unadulterated concern.
Naruto was silent for a moment.
"I'm fine."
His answer was still brief, but the coldness that kept people at a distance had melted a little.
Hinata seemed greatly encouraged. She looked up, and Naruto's reflection was mirrored in her white eyes. She took out a small ointment box from her embrace and handed it over with both hands.
"This... is a wound medicine I made myself... it's... it's very effective for scrapes..."
Naruto looked at the box of ointment but didn't take it immediately.
"Thank you, you worked hard."
During the break while waiting for the preliminary rounds to begin, Naruto called Haku to an empty corner.
"From now on, you will operate covertly," Naruto said, his back to him, looking out the window. "Infiltrate Konoha Hospital as a Medic. I need an intelligence and logistics point independent of Root. Establish it."
"Yes, Political Commissar." Haku's figure flickered and disappeared into the shadows of the corner.
He used Root's secret channels to contact Zero, giving similar orders.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura's joyful cry came.
Kakashi finally arrived, still his usual lazy self, but when he saw Sasuke being supported by Sakura, his listless, dead-fish eyes instantly sharpened.
He flashed in front of Sasuke in one step, pulled open his collar, and saw the ominous black cursed seal. He reached out to examine it, his brow furrowing even deeper.
The power of the cursed seal was evil, but it was temporarily sealed and suppressed by another, purer Chakra, in a strangely stable state.
Kakashi looked up at Naruto, who was wiping his Chainsword nearby.
"Only you can control him," Kakashi sighed, his voice filled with helplessness and a trace of relief that even he hadn't noticed.
"All examinees, gather in the center!"
The preliminary rounds of the third exam were about to begin. The chief examiner had been replaced by a constantly coughing, sickly man who looked like he could drop dead at any moment, Gekkō Hayate.
On the giant electronic screen, names began to scroll rapidly.
Finally, two names stopped.
"Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi"
Hearing his name, Sasuke, who had been leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
He shakily stood up, pushing away Sakura's supporting hand.
He didn't look at anyone, just stared intently at the center of the arena. The humiliation he had suffered from Naruto, the violence that had been forcibly suppressed, now had an outlet.
He wanted to fight.
Sasuke walked step by step towards the arena. His figure was unsteady, yet incredibly resolute.
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