In the dim underground palace, the air was filled with the smell of decay and dilapidation.
I don’t know what time it is now. Only a little light penetrates into the underground palace, and the range that can be seen is very narrow. But because of this, it has become a natural refuge.
Judging from the signs of dilapidation in the underground palace, it seemed that it had been destroyed for at least several decades.
In a secret room in the underground palace, the door has been cracked open. There are a large number of irregular large rocks pressing down on the door, blocking the door tightly, and not a trace of light can be revealed.
In the room, Sakura took out a placement lamp to drive away the darkness in the room. The original lighting equipment in the room had been damaged and was in an unusable state.
Judging from the furnishings of the room, it was originally a bedroom for people to rest, with beds, dressing tables, wardrobes and other furniture. However, due to the damage, the mirror on the dressing table was broken and the wardrobe fell on the floor. Only the bed remained relatively intact.
There was a lot of dust on the ground and no one had cleaned it for a long time.
Sakura swept the dust off the bed and asked Naruto to place Sasuke on the bed board.
I saw Sasuke painfully grabbing the clothes on his chest with his palms while he was unconsciously falling asleep. He held on tightly until there were many wrinkles in the clothes on his chest, with no sign of letting go.
His face was very pale, as if he was having some kind of terrible nightmare. He was sweating profusely and exhaling with difficulty. .
Sweat was pouring down from him, and even the clothes on his shoulders were soaked.
On the side and back of Sasuke's neck, the eye-catching three magatama curse seals appeared. On the surface of the three black magatama curse seals, there was a layer of light purple covering, which was exactly the same color as the different-colored chakra that Sasuke unconsciously burst out of his body before. .
While Sakura was worried about Sasuke's safety, her brows were tightly knitted together, her expression serious.
"Sasuke...is he okay?"
Naruto asked softly instead of yelling like he usually did.
Although he usually doesn't get along well with Sasuke, Naruto still recognizes Sasuke's character and strength, and already regards Sasuke as his important companion.
However, it was useless no matter how anxious he was, because he did not know medical ninjutsu and could only rely on Sakura to save Sasuke.
"I have no idea."
Sakura lowered her head and said with a slightly remorseful tone.
"What? Can't it be treated with medical ninjutsu?"
Naruto was stunned for a moment.
Although he has never met other medical ninjas, he also knows that Sakura's medical ninjutsu is very superb, and even Kakashi has praised her more than once.
"Sasuke's state... doesn't seem to be caused by injury, but by some kind of curse."
Sakura checked Sasuke's body, so it was clear that Sasuke's original injury was not very serious. The root of the problem was not Sasuke's own injuries at all, but the three magatama curse seals on his neck.
"curse?"
"Simply put, it is Cursed Seal Technique. It is a very advanced ninjutsu. It is said that even Jōnin find it difficult to master this advanced technique. Generally speaking, the effect of Cursed Seal Technique is to restrain and control the enemy. And the auxiliary techniques developed..."
However, after checking Sasuke's body, Sakura discovered that the curse seal on Sasuke's body had different effects from ordinary curse seals.
In Sasuke's body, there is a mysterious chakra that is much more powerful than his own chakra. This mysterious chakra has a strong vitality and is constantly eroding Sasuke's body and merging into Sasuke's body.
Although the fusion of such alien chakra will allow the ninja to gain powerful power, but...such a terrifying power that does not belong to oneself, once it is out of control, is likely to lead to death.
This is why Sakura is worried.
"Can't it be lifted?"
Naruto asked Sakura as he didn't understand the curse seal technique.
"This is beyond the scope of what a genin can solve. Even a jounin may not be able to solve it."
Sakura replied.
Because the ability of Cursed Seal Technique is very strange and unique, the spell system used to distinguish Seal Technique exists independently.
Before this, Sakura had never been exposed to the so-called curse seal technique.
Because the conditions for learning the Cursed Seal Technique are very demanding, even among jounin, only a very small number of ninjas can use it.
Only after becoming a chuunin can one be able to learn basic curse seal techniques.
It is a powerful technique with a very high threshold.
"Now what?"
"I can only help Sasuke alleviate the pain so that he can concentrate on resisting the erosion of the alien chakra in his body."
Sakura knew very well what level her medical ninjutsu was. The current level of problems was definitely not something that a medical ninja of her level could solve.
"By the way, Naruto, your injuries are okay, right?"
Sakura asked with concern.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with it. I don't know what's going on, but I suddenly feel less pain in my body."
Naruto scratched his head, looking like he didn't know what was going on.
At first, he felt a lot of pain in his chest, and even a few ribs were broken by the man named Orochimaru, but soon after, he felt no pain anymore.
It made Naruto feel incredible.
Sakura glanced at Naruto suspiciously, not fully believing what Naruto said. You know, he was a powerful ninja, one of the three ninjas.
Any attack is enough to easily kill a chuunin. Naruto was directly hit by the opponent's kick. It stands to reason that at least he would end up seriously injured.
Therefore, Sakura checked Naruto's physical condition and found that, as Naruto said, his injuries were almost healed.
This phenomenon made Sakura puzzled and confused.
Although she knew that Naruto was one of those people with excellent physical abilities, was it too abnormal to have such a strong physical recovery ability?
"Actually, I can't say anything about this. I was hit on the head with a rock when I was a child, and it recovered automatically after a while."
Naruto vaguely felt that this had something to do with something inside his body.
But he also knew that it was inappropriate to tell Sakura too much about the 'things' inside his body.
The most important thing is that he only has suspicion and there is no definite evidence that the demon fox in the body did it.
"Okay, if you have any questions, call me at any time. I am going to give Sasuke some medicine to relieve the pain in his body. Please stand by and watch."
"Sakura, don't worry, leave this matter to me."
Naruto patted his chest and made a strong reassurance, then walked to a corner of the room and stood guard there, staring in the direction of the stone-stacked doorway.
Seeing Naruto standing guard, Sakura nodded, took out a portable medical kit, and began to prepare medicine to relieve Sasuke's pain at the moment.
This is the only thing she can do now.
Not to mention that she does not know any curse seal technique. Even if she is proficient in curse seal technique, using it rashly without knowing the nature of curse seal technique will only further stimulate the curse seal technique to go berserk and put Sasuke into an even more dangerous situation.
Time passed by, and the atmosphere in the room was very quiet. Only Sasuke moaned in pain from time to time, mumbling the name 'Itachi' indistinctly.
When the name was mentioned, Sasuke's expression became extremely weird, including pain, nostalgia, hatred...all the complex expressions made Sasuke seem to be changing his face, making it difficult for Sakura to tell which one Sasuke really looked like. .
"Itachi?"
Naruto heard Sasuke keep mumbling this name, as if this name had a different meaning to Sasuke.
Sakura glanced at Naruto and whispered: "I don't know much about this. The Uchiha clan was exterminated a few years ago. It is said that the murderer was Sasuke's brother, whose name was Itachi. He and we met before Just like Orochimaru who arrived, he is a dangerous S-class renegade nin who defected from the village."
Hearing what Sakura said, Naruto fell silent slightly.
Looking at Sasuke who was moaning the name "Itachi" in pain, I don't know why, but I feel that Sasuke is not as annoying as before.
It turns out that he, like me, has a very tragic past. Thinking of this, Naruto's mood suddenly became complicated.
Behind Sasuke's glamor, there must have always been a painful side that no one knows about.
"Sakura, I..."
Before Naruto could finish his words, there was a boom and the whole room shook, interrupting what Naruto was going to say next.
A large number of stones that had blocked the door suddenly exploded with a loud bang, causing smoke and dust to fill the room, choking Naruto and Sakura to cough repeatedly.
"who!"
Naruto swept away the dust that came over him and stared at the figures appearing at the door warily.
Because the place was filled with smoke and dust, Naruto couldn't tell who was standing at the door.
Sakura also took out a kunai and stood guard next to the bed to prevent the subsequent battle from affecting Sasuke.
"Don't do it, it's me."
A familiar voice came from the smoke, and a slender figure walked out first. He had silver-white hair, a mask on his face, and a short sword on his back. It was Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei!?"
Naruto made a sound of surprise, and then walked over.
"Wait a minute, Naruto! It's the chuunin exam period. Kakashi-sensei, who is the maintenance staff of the exam room, has no chance of ending up. Be careful not to be deceived!"
Sakura was not as impulsive as Naruto, and looked at Kakashi more warily.
Hearing what Sakura said, Naruto, who was originally excited, calmed down, took a step back, and looked at Kakashi warily.
Indeed, as Sakura said, it is now during the second Chunin Examination. As the person in charge of the examination room, Kakashi cannot enter the examination room in person before the examination is over.
"You are not Kakashi-sensei, tell me quickly, who are you? Don't even think of deceiving us!"
Naruto put on the seal gesture, and if the other party didn't give a reasonable explanation, he would use the shadow clone technique to deal with the other party.
"That... although it's a bit sudden, I am indeed who I am."
Kakashi explained.
"You are too slow to explain like this. To put it simply, because some unexpected conditions were discovered in the examination room, we, the maintenance staff of the Chuunin Exam, were specially allowed to come in!"
Behind Kakashi, two more figures came over.
It was Ichiji.
Next to him was a young man with long red hair, a member of the Jonin from the Kingdom of Demons who had followed Ichiki this time.
"Ah, you were from the time of Wave Country..."
Naruto recognized Ichiki.
"We meet again, yellow-haired boy. But this sentence is wrong. Not only in the country of Waves, we have also met in Konoha before. But now is not the time to talk about this. We need to understand the situation from you."
Because of time constraints, Ichiki had no intention of reminiscing with Naruto, but went straight to the point.
"Condition?"
Sakura frowned.
"Yes, we discovered Konoha's S-class rebel Orochimaru. He lurked into the examination room while being ignored by the people outside the examination room. We maintenance staff came in just to deal with this matter. But it depends on the situation, that guy Orochimaru He should have retreated. Originally, I wanted to find him to exchange for a new Kusanagi sword."
Yiji put her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist and smiled softly.
"But, how are you going to prove that you are not using the transformation technique by other candidates to deceive us?"
Sakura still didn't let down her guard.
Although Naruto seemed to have some friendship with Kazuki, she still couldn't trust these people in front of her.
Ichiki looked at Kakashi, who scratched his head helplessly and said, "Then let me tell you an important secret that only our seventh class knows."
Upon hearing this, Naruto and Sakura suddenly became curious.
If the other party can really tell the secret that only Team 7 knows, it can indeed prove that the identities of Kakashi and others are true.
Kakashi coughed and glanced at Ichiki. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "You should remember that during the first survival drill, I stabbed Naruto in the butt... "
Kakashi really couldn't say what he said next. He believed that this secret was enough to earn Naruto and Sakura's trust in him.
"..."
"..."
Naruto and Sakura both froze on the spot, falling into an eerie silence.
"What kind of secret is this! Damn it, I'm going to kill you!"
After Naruto fell silent, he suddenly became furious and seemed to feel a dull pain in his butt again.
After finally ending that unbearable past, now that Kakashi mentioned it, or mentioned it in front of outsiders, Naruto had the idea of killing Kakashi.
"Naruto, calm down, the person in front of you is indeed Kakashi-sensei!"
Sakura stopped Naruto's impulse.
Although Kakashi's method of proof was a bit different, Kakashi had indeed done it when he poked Naruto in the butt. Even thinking about it now, Sakura's memory is still fresh.
While holding Naruto, he was also trying hard to hold back his laughter and prevent him from laughing out loud.
"Sakura is right, and I am here to prove that my identity is true, not to deceive you."
"But...but you don't have to say such things to prove it, right? Couldn't you just say kill for a thousand years?"
"I'm afraid I'm not specific enough and you won't believe it."
Kakashi spread his hands helplessly.
Even so, Naruto still had a hard time letting go.
"The teacher-student relationship in Konoha is really complicated. So, can we prove our identities now?"
Ichiji asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry for doubting you like that before."
Sakura bowed and apologized.
"No need to be like this, you did a good job, Sakura. As a ninja, you must be vigilant at all times. Even when facing acquaintances."
Kakashi did not blame Sakura, but praised Sakura's behavior.
Only Naruto stood there glumly, but he also knew that now was not the time to lose his temper.
"So, Kakashi-sensei, are you here for Orochimaru?"
Sakura asked.
"Yes, we have received information that Orochimaru broke into the examination room for some purpose. Judging from your appearance, you should have encountered him before. I want to know what happened to you."
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke who was lying on the bed board and said softly.
"OK."
Sakura also looked worriedly at Sasuke who was lying on the bed, and began to tell the whole story of her team's encounter with Orochimaru.
He also explained the situation of the curse mark on Sasuke to Kakashi and others.
"Curse seal? Speaking of which, in the past, our Demon Country military also captured some of Orochimaru's experimental subjects, and traces of the curse seal technique were found on those experimental subjects."
Ichiki walked to the bed and looked down at the curse mark on the side and back of Sasuke's neck.
It is very similar to the seal of the Three Magatama Sharingan, but the power it contains is completely different.
"Is there a solution to that?"
Sakura asked.
Ichiji didn't speak, but looked at the red-haired Jonin who followed.
The red-haired Jonin came over, checked Sasuke, shook his head slightly and said: "I can temporarily suppress the power of this curse seal, but there is no way to solve it once and for all. This is beyond my ability. If you want to solve it once and for all, I’m afraid I need Mr. Shiraishi to take action himself.”
"Then, in other words, just go find the 'Shiraishi-sama' you call me, right?"
Sakura's eyes showed hope.
"Sakura."
Kakashi walked over with a serious expression.
Sakura glanced at Kakashi blankly, not knowing why Kakashi stopped her.
"My old man has so many things to do, he has no time to pay attention to such a trivial matter. What's more, this is your internal matter in Konoha, and there is no reason for the Demon Country to get involved. Otherwise, your third generation master will have something to say again."
Yiji said.
"Why is this? Sasuke was killed by Orochimaru because of the maintenance staff's negligence..."
Sakura wanted to argue.
"The second exam is not managed by the Kingdom of Demons. Even if an uncontrollable accident occurs during the exam, Sunagakure will bear the main responsibility and has nothing to do with our Kingdom of Demons. Don't get the order of things wrong."
Yiji said lightly.
Sakura wanted to say something else, but Kakashi patted her shoulder to stop her from speaking.
"Okay, Sakura, she is right, this is not the responsibility of the Demon Country. Now I will give you two choices."
"Two choices?"
Sakura asked.
"First, you give up the exam and wait to prepare for next year."
"What!?"
Before Sakura could say anything, Naruto couldn't sit still.
How could I give up the exam after finally reaching this point?
Naruto was the first to disagree with Kakashi's suggestion.
Ignoring Naruto's jumping reaction, Kakashi continued: "Second option, you continue the exam. But if you bring Sasuke, who is a dragster, it may cause Sasuke to be seriously injured and die, or it may cause Sasuke to drag you down, so that In the following battle, you will fall into an unfavorable situation and your entire army will be wiped out."
After saying the second choice, Naruto became slightly quieter this time, with a blank expression in his eyes.
Admittedly, he was eager to pass the Chuunin Exams.
But as Kakashi said, Sasuke's current situation is not good.
Choosing to continue the exam would mean that Sasuke would become a drag in the team, his life would be in danger at any time, and the team would be wiped out.
This is also what Naruto can't stand.
"The choice is given to you. How you choose is up to you."
Kakashi said calmly.
Sakura fell silent, and she was more inclined to the second option - giving up the exam.
The Chunin Exams are held every year, but you only live once.
There is no need to risk your life in such adverse circumstances.
However, this is just her personal opinion. As the temporary captain of the team, she also needs to respect Naruto's ideas.
The expression on Naruto's face was very complicated. After struggling for about ten seconds, Naruto took a breath and calmed down.
"Kakashi-sensei, you once said that we are a whole, right? We must respect and value the lives of our companions at all times."
"Yes. But the mission is also very important to ninjas. For you, the Chunin Exam is a mission that must be completed."
Kakashi stared at Naruto.
"That's the case, the current situation does not allow us to have both..."
Naruto was also very unwilling and knew the rules of ninjas.
Because the first exam has already made it clear how important the mission is to a ninja.
Giving up the mission would be equivalent to giving up the dignity of a ninja.
Naruto did not blame this behavior against his own will. The only thing he felt unwilling to do was to hate his own lack of strength.
If he was strong enough, he wouldn't need to make such a difficult choice.
But now, a decision must be made.
Naruto sighed, raised his palm and said, "Kakashi-sensei, I choose second..."
However, a cold voice broke in:
"I choose to continue with the exam."
Calm, cold, and full of determination.
Everyone looked at the source of the sound. Sasuke woke up at some point and was sitting on the bed with difficulty with his arms. His eyes were blood red. Two black magatama appeared in each Sharingan eye, which looked unusual. mystery.
Has it evolved into the second magatama form? interesting. Ichiki saw that Sasuke's Sharingan had evolved from the first magatama to the second magatama, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly.
It seems that the genin of the Demon Country will meet their opponents this time.
"Sasuke!?"
Naruto and Sakura looked at Sasuke who woke up in surprise.
"Sorry for worrying you two, and...Naruto, thank you."
Sasuke said this awkwardly.
He had heard clearly the conversation between Naruto and Kakashi just now, and knew exactly what choice Naruto was going to make.
I also understand why Naruto made such a choice.
"Uh, it doesn't matter, you just need to wake up."
Being thanked like this by Sasuke, Naruto scratched his head at a loss. He had never seen Sasuke like this before, and he didn't know how to face it.
"Um."
After Sasuke thanked Naruto, he covered his heated neck with his palms, where the curse seal was located.
He said to Kakashi: "Kakashi, we choose to continue the exam next. This is my answer."
"But, Sasuke, you..."
Sakura wanted to say something, but she heard Sasuke say: "Don't worry, Sakura, I won't force myself. I know my current state very well. For me now, the curse seal is not a bad thing. I have found a way to control it." It does the trick.”
Sasuke's voice was filled with confidence.
Sakura stopped talking and just kept her worries in her heart.
"Is it okay now, Kakashi?"
Sasuke looked directly at Kakashi.
"You are still the same as before and like to show off yourself. But I feel relieved to see that you are fine."
As he spoke, Kakashi looked at Kazuhime and said: "Since there is nothing here, let's go. Maki Jounin needs to report on the situation here."
"It's up to you. As long as it doesn't affect the progress of the third exam, there's no problem for me."
Kazuki answered with a shrug.
Kakashi nodded, glanced at Sasuke and the others, and turned to leave.
"Then, I wish you all the best to pass the exam. As a genin, it should be very interesting for you then."
Ichiki smiled, turned around and left with the red-haired Jōnin of Oni Country, without any sloppiness at all.
After Ichiji and others left, Sasuke relaxed his tense nerves and sat on the bed, frowning as if he was in pain.
But soon, this pain was suppressed by Sasuke, and his expression returned to normal.
"Sasuke, are you really okay?"
Seeing that Sasuke still seemed to have some physical discomfort, Sakura thought that Sasuke was trying to hold on.
Sasuke still shook his head and said: "No problem, my current condition is better than ever. Instead of worrying about my body, I should think about how to pass the exam next."
His health wasn't as bad as Sakura thought.
Although the curse seal did have some negative effects on his body, as long as the negative effects are suppressed, then not only will the curse seal not become a drag, but it will also become a huge boost to his strength.
"There is also that guy named Orochimaru. Sooner or later I will learn about Itachi from him, even if he uses violent means."
Sasuke's tone was unusually firm.
The way Orochimaru mentioned Itachi, it was obvious that he knew Itachi.
In addition, both of them were rebel ninjas from Konoha, so they must have had some interactions with each other after their defection.
In this way, if you want to get news about Itachi, Orochimaru is a good breakthrough point.
Sasuke has decided that even if Orochimaru doesn't come to him in the future, he will still look for Orochimaru.
Before that, passing the Chunin Exam and becoming a Chunin was the top priority.
As the level of ninja increases, the authority in the village will become larger and larger. When the time comes, you can also get some support from the village in dealing with Itachi.
Therefore, for Sasuke, there is only one way to go in this chunin exam from beginning to end, and that is to achieve the final victory in the exam and defeat all the powerful enemies in front of him!
Likewise, just to revitalize Konoha's Uchiha in the future, he must also upgrade his ninja rank as soon as possible.
Chuunin is just a starting point, not his end.
