Orochimaru retracted his impossibly long neck, extended his tongue, and licked his lips with satisfaction.
He looked at Sasuke, who had completely passed out with three black tomoe appearing on his neck, and let out a hoarse, joyful laugh.
A perfect masterpiece.
A vessel carrying endless hatred and supreme talent had been branded with his unique mark.
Having completed all this, he slowly turned around.
His gaze fell upon Naruto, who was lying motionless not far away.
And the Chainsword that had fallen beside him, its roar completely silenced.
This kid is even more interesting than Sasuke-kun.
That fighting style that didn't belong to this world, that fervent, almost insane look in his eyes, and the violent Chakra suppressed to the extreme within his body... Orochimaru's greed was ignited once again.
Sasuke-kun was the perfect vessel, while Uzumaki Naruto was the most perfect experimental subject.
"Heh heh, I can't be partial, can I?"
He took a step and walked towards Naruto.
"Let me give you a little insurance first."
Orochimaru raised his left hand, splayed his five fingers, and Chakra of different attributes began to condense on his fingertips, emitting an ominous glow.
Five Elements Seal.
With this move, he could disrupt the Nine-Tailed's Chakra, making him more docile.
Then, he would take this interesting kid, along with his peculiar weapon, back to his laboratory to slowly, piece by piece, dissect and study him.
His hand slowly reached towards the seal on Naruto's abdomen.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch Naruto's clothes.
Crack!
A crisp sound, like ice cracking.
Several translucent, shimmering ice mirrors appeared out of thin air without warning.
They instantly separated Orochimaru and Naruto at a perfectly precise angle, forming an insurmountable crystal ice cage.
Orochimaru's movement suddenly froze, his fingertips touching the cold mirror surface, and a bone-chilling coldness spread through his skin.
This is... a Bloodline Limit?
A young man in light pink casual clothes slowly emerged from one of the mirrors, as if stepping out of a body of water.
His face was delicate, androgynous, but his expression held an unprecedented coldness and murderous intent.
It was Haku.
He stood firmly in front of Naruto, his eyes, which always held warmth, now resembled a cold wind.
He had received instructions from Naruto a week ago to come to the Chunin Exams site to deal with unexpected situations that Naruto couldn't handle.
At the same time.
A dark shadow, like a weightless falling leaf, silently descended from the treetops above everyone's heads.
He held a short blade in his hand, its surface reflecting no light under the dappled shadows of the forest.
Fast, precise, ruthless.
There was no Chakra fluctuation, no hint of killing intent, only pure, ultimate assassination techniques designed to harvest lives.
Target: Orochimaru's nape.
Orochimaru's pupils suddenly contracted.
Without time to think, his body instantly transformed into a puddle of mud with an unnaturally soft posture, narrowly avoiding the dangerous blow.
The mud reformed several meters away.
Orochimaru stabilized himself and rendezvoused with Yakushi Kabuto, who had rushed over, his expression turning grave.
He looked at the two sudden reinforcements with suspicion.
The young man who used ice, and the assassin wearing a blank ceramic mask, exuding an aura of death.
"Lord Orochimaru."
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses, his gaze beneath the lenses rapidly analyzing the situation.
"Is it the Root?"
He whispered his speculation.
"I don't recognize this style of mask, but it's normal; I'm not very familiar with the Root anymore."
Zero said nothing, merely adjusted his grip on the blade.
Haku, however, slowly raised his head, his cold gaze locking onto Orochimaru.
"By order of the Political Commissar, eliminate the threat."
His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone present.
"You have crossed the line."
Political Commissar?
Orochimaru's brows furrowed tightly; it was another term he had never heard before.
But he could hear the undeniable, absolute authority contained within those two words.
He glanced at Haku, then at the eerily aura-ed Zero, and finally, his gaze fell upon Sasuke, who was unconscious after having the cursed seal placed on him.
His objective had been achieved.
There was no need to expose more of his trump cards here for a subject still in the research phase.
Moreover, he had more important plans to set in motion.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Orochimaru's face once again wore his signature chilling smile.
"We will meet again, my dear Sasuke-kun..."
His gaze lingered deeply on Naruto, who was protected by Haku behind him.
"And you... interesting, Uzumaki Naruto."
Before his words finished.
His and Yakushi Kabuto's figures, like ink dissolving in water, silently sank into the ground, disappearing without a trace.
The forest once again returned to a deathly silence.
Only the shattered ground, the fishy stench of blood, and the abandoned, twitching snake tails remained, proving that the battle just now was not an illusion.
After confirming that Orochimaru's presence had completely vanished, Haku finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He knelt on one knee, carefully helping Naruto up and letting him lean against him.
His movements were gentle, and his eyes were filled with worry and self-reproach.
"Political Commissar..."
Zero also disengaged from his combat stance and approached, his voice suppressed and hoarse.
He looked at Naruto lying on the ground; beneath the blank mask, no one knew what emotions lay.
Haku did not answer. He extended a finger, checked Naruto's carotid artery, and then gently opened his eyelids to examine them.
The nerve-paralyzing toxin, combined with Orochimaru's final heavy blow, would have been enough to kill any ordinary Ninja on the spot.
Fortunately, the Political Commissar's body could no longer be judged by ordinary standards.
"Pulse is steady, breathing is normal."
Haku's voice regained a hint of warmth, but still trembled with lingering fear.
"He's just in a deep coma and needs time to recover."
He took a small vial from his pocket, poured out a pill, and carefully placed it into Naruto's mouth.
Zero stood silently to the side, vigilant of his surroundings.
He squatted down and picked up the heavy Chainsword.
The cold metallic touch emanated from his palm; he could feel the pure aesthetic of violence contained within this weapon, completely different from all the assassination techniques he had learned.
This was the Political Commissar's power.
On the other side, Sakura finally snapped out of her daze.
She looked at Haku and Zero who had suddenly appeared, then at the unconscious Naruto and Sasuke, and tears uncontrollably welled up.
She rushed to Sasuke's side, looking at the eerie black cursed seal on his neck, too scared to utter a complete sentence.
"Sas... Sasuke-kun... are you... are you alright...?"
Haku glanced at her, saying nothing.
His mission was to ensure the Political Commissar's safety.
As for the 'tainted' Uchiha, he was not in his priority sequence.
"We must take the Political Commissar away from here immediately."
Zero's voice sounded.
"The second stage of the Chunin Exams is not over yet; new enemies could appear here at any time."
Haku nodded.
He was about to carry Naruto on his back, but Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly.
He struggled to open a slit, and a trace of confusion from interrupted commands still lingered in his ice-blue eyes.
"...Protocol... terminated..."
"...Retrieve... soldier..."
"...Assess... contamination level..."
Fragmented words, like a dream.
But Haku and Zero heard them clearly.
These were the last commands given by the Political Commissar before losing consciousness.
Haku's hand, supporting Naruto, paused slightly.
His gaze turned to Uchiha Sasuke, who was held in Sakura's arms, the cursed seal on his neck faintly visible.
The Political Commissar, even in that state, had not given up on his 'soldier'.
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