Chapter 255: All of This Is Within the Plan
The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi entered the clearing and saw Naruto lying motionless on the ground, covered in blood, his expression changed completely.
"Naruto!"
There was no time for questions.
Hiruzen vanished from where he stood and appeared beside him.
He immediately checked Naruto's breathing, pulse, and injuries.
Then he froze.
There were no wounds.
Naruto's clothes and skin were stained red, yet the terrible damage Hiruzen had expected to find was simply gone.
His breathing was steady.
His body was exhausted, but intact.
Hiruzen frowned deeply.
How?
He had clearly seen the aftermath of a fierce battle.
The surrounding ground was shattered.
Trees had been cut apart or scorched.
Blood stained the clearing.
Yet Naruto himself showed almost no physical injury.
With his concern slightly eased, Hiruzen rose and turned toward Anko.
"What happened here?"
Anko was still sitting on the ground, battered and exhausted from her confrontation with Orochimaru.
At Hiruzen's question, urgency immediately returned to her face.
"Lord Third, Orochimaru was here!"
Hiruzen's eyes sharpened.
"He only just left."
Anko pushed herself upright.
"If we move now, there may still be time to catch him."
"We cannot let him escape again!"
Hiruzen knew better than anyone how difficult capturing Orochimaru would be.
Even so, he gave the order without hesitation.
He turned toward the ANBU behind him.
"Search the Forest of Death."
Several masked Shinobi bowed.
"Find Orochimaru."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
They vanished into the trees.
Only then did Hiruzen turn back to Anko.
"Now tell me everything."
Anko took a breath.
Then she began recounting what she had witnessed.
"Orochimaru infiltrated the exam disguised as one of the candidates."
She glanced toward the unconscious Sasuke.
"He attacked Team 7."
"Then Naruto changed."
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened.
"Changed?"
Anko nodded.
"At first, it looked like Nine Tails chakra was beginning to leak from him."
"But then it disappeared."
She hesitated.
"What happened afterward was different."
Hiruzen remained silent.
Anko continued.
"Something seemed to take control of Naruto."
"It spoke through him."
"It called itself Asuramaru."
Hiruzen's expression barely moved, but his mind immediately returned to his recent conversation with Naruto.
Asuramaru.
The ancient god of the Uzumaki Clan.
The entity Naruto had claimed was responsible for his mysterious sword and other abilities.
Anko described everything she had seen.
Naruto's eyes turning crimson.
His completely different manner of speaking.
The conversation with Orochimaru.
The terrifying speed.
The strange sword techniques.
The lightning.
The flames.
The invisible attack that severed Orochimaru's arm.
She omitted nothing.
By the time she finished, Hiruzen's face had become grave.
So Asuramaru had not merely granted Naruto power.
The entity could directly control his body.
That changed the situation considerably.
After several moments of silence, Hiruzen looked at Anko.
"Everything that happened here today is classified."
Anko immediately understood.
"You are not to discuss Naruto's condition, Asuramaru, or the abilities you witnessed with anyone who does not have my direct authorization."
Anko nodded firmly.
"Understood, Lord Third."
Hiruzen then approached Sakura.
The girl was still shaken by everything that had happened.
He gave her the same instruction.
Sakura agreed without hesitation.
Only then did Hiruzen turn his attention toward Sasuke.
The boy remained unconscious.
When Hiruzen saw the mark on his neck, his face darkened.
He knew that pattern.
And he understood what it implied.
Orochimaru.
His former student had finally completed that forbidden technique.
Hiruzen stared at the Cursed Seal.
So this was the reason Orochimaru had entered the Forest of Death.
Uchiha Sasuke.
A new vessel.
Hiruzen's eyes became complicated.
"So you chose him…"
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Orochimaru."
Night eventually descended over the Forest of Death.
The ANBU searching for Orochimaru returned one group at a time.
None had found him.
Hiruzen had expected as much.
Once Orochimaru truly decided to escape, locating him inside such a vast forest was extremely difficult.
Continuing the search throughout the entire night would achieve little.
Hiruzen eventually called it off.
Naruto and Sasuke were still unconscious.
Despite everything that had happened, Hiruzen did not remove Team 7 from the examination.
Doing so would punish them for being attacked by an intruder rather than for any failure of their own.
Instead, he ordered several ANBU to remain hidden nearby.
They would observe.
If another serious threat appeared, they were to intervene immediately.
Only after arranging everything did Hiruzen leave.
Morning came.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy.
Inside a sheltered hollow beneath a massive tree, Sakura sat beside her unconscious teammates.
Naruto had not awakened.
Neither had Sasuke.
Sakura's eyes were heavy from exhaustion.
She had barely slept.
Every noise in the surrounding forest made her tense.
She kept thinking back to Orochimaru.
To Naruto's crimson eyes.
To the voice that had come from his mouth.
Asuramaru.
She still did not understand what she had witnessed.
But none of that mattered right now.
Naruto and Sasuke needed protection.
So Sakura remained awake.
Then she heard movement.
Her head snapped toward the clearing.
Three figures emerged.
Sakura immediately rose.
She recognized their forehead protectors.
Hidden Sound.
The trio approached without attempting to conceal their hostility.
The one in front had a hunched posture and wore a thick garment covered in shaggy fur. Most of his face was concealed, leaving only one eye visible.
Dosu Kinuta.
He looked toward the hollow.
"So they still haven't woken up."
His gaze settled on Sasuke.
Then on Sakura.
"You."
Sakura's expression hardened.
"Wake Sasuke up."
Dosu's visible eye narrowed.
"We came here to fight him."
Sakura stared at the three Hidden Sound Genin.
Then she remembered Orochimaru.
The connection was impossible to ignore.
"You were sent by Orochimaru, weren't you?"
Her voice became sharper.
"He already left Sasuke like this."
She stepped in front of her teammates.
"And now you still want to attack him?"
"What exactly are you after?"
None of them answered.
Zaku Abumi stepped forward instead.
His hair stood upright, and impatience was written plainly across his face.
"Why waste time talking?"
He looked toward Naruto and Sasuke.
"They're unconscious."
His mouth twisted into a cruel smile.
"Let's just kill all three of them."
The Sound Trio moved.
Hidden among the trees, several ANBU silently prepared themselves.
They had been ordered to protect Naruto.
If the situation became truly dangerous, these three Genin would die before they understood what had happened.
But intervention proved unnecessary.
Naruto's fingers moved.
His eyes opened.
The moment consciousness returned, he felt killing intent.
Naruto pushed himself upright.
Sakura heard the movement and turned.
Her exhausted expression immediately brightened.
"Naruto!"
Relief flooded her face.
"You're finally awake!"
The Sound Trio saw the distraction.
They attacked.
Naruto's eyes sharpened.
His hand moved toward his ninja tool pouch.
Several three pronged kunai flashed through the air.
The Sound Genin barely registered them.
Naruto disappeared.
Flying Thunder God.
Flash.
A golden streak crossed the clearing.
One.
Two.
Three.
Naruto appeared behind the final enemy.
For a fraction of a second, nothing happened.
Then three heads separated from three bodies.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
The Sound Trio collapsed.
Naruto landed lightly.
The sword in his hand returned to its sheath.
Inside him, the system responded.
[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from the three Hidden Sound Genin at the moment of death.]
[Gained 3000 emotion points.]
[Gained 1500 Demon Power.]
[Fifty percent of the obtained Demon Power will be returned to the Sword Master.]
Warm strength flowed into Naruto.
The change was small.
But unmistakable.
His body became slightly stronger once again.
Naruto looked at the three corpses with a calm expression.
Then memories began surfacing.
The fight with Orochimaru.
Sasuke receiving the Cursed Seal.
His failed attempts to escape.
Anko appearing.
Orochimaru taking Ryūjin Jakka.
The Nine Tails chakra beginning to leak.
Then...
Asuramaru.
Naruto remembered crimson eyes looking through his own.
He remembered watching everything while someone else controlled his body.
The impossible speed.
The battle.
Orochimaru retreating.
Naruto lowered his head slightly.
"Asuramaru."
His voice remained internal.
"Thank you."
No answer came.
Naruto waited for a moment.
Still nothing.
He smiled faintly.
That was fine.
He knew Asuramaru had heard him.
Naruto walked over and retrieved his three pronged kunai.
Then he searched the Sound Trio.
Among their belongings, he found another scroll.
Naruto examined it.
Earth.
His expression relaxed.
They already had a Heaven Scroll.
Now Team 7 possessed both.
At least that problem was solved.
Naruto returned to the tree hollow.
Sakura was still standing guard, but now that the danger had passed, the exhaustion on her face was impossible to miss.
Naruto smiled at her.
"Thanks for looking after us, Sakura."
She blinked.
Naruto continued.
"You've been awake this whole time, haven't you?"
Sakura did not answer.
She did not need to.
"Get some sleep."
Naruto sat beside Sasuke.
"I'll take over from here."
Sakura hesitated only briefly.
Naruto was awake now.
For the first time since the previous day, she felt like she could finally relax.
"All right."
She lay down inside the hollow.
"I'm counting on you, Naruto."
"You can."
Sakura closed her eyes.
Her breathing soon became steady.
Naruto turned toward Sasuke.
His teammate remained unconscious.
Naruto's gaze fell upon the strange markings around his neck.
He had seen Orochimaru bite him.
He knew this was the result.
But he did not understand exactly what it was.
"Asuramaru."
This time, Asuramaru responded.
"What?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke.
"Do you know what happened to him?"
Asuramaru's attention shifted toward the Cursed Seal.
"That thing is a Cursed Seal."
Naruto frowned.
Asuramaru continued.
"Orochimaru implanted it into him."
"In simple terms, Sasuke has now become one of that man's potential vessels."
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"A vessel?"
"A spare body."
Asuramaru's explanation was blunt.
"When Orochimaru needs a new body, Sasuke can potentially become one of his choices."
Naruto looked at Sasuke again.
His expression immediately became serious.
"Can it be removed?"
Inside the mental world, Asuramaru's lips curved upward.
Everything had reached exactly the point he had been waiting for.
Orochimaru's appearance.
The Cursed Seal.
Sasuke becoming a potential vessel.
Naruto asking for a way to save him.
All of it created the perfect opportunity.
The main mission required Naruto to defeat Sasuke eventually.
And the stronger Sasuke became before that battle, the greater Asuramaru's reward would be.
He had been considering how to grant Sasuke power without making the situation feel forced.
Now the answer had delivered itself directly to him.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
Asuramaru spoke slowly.
"The Cursed Seal involves more than the physical body."
"There is also a soul level component."
Naruto listened carefully.
"But yes."
"There is a way to suppress it."
Naruto's eyes brightened.
"What do we need to do?"
Asuramaru smiled.
"I can split off part of my own power."
Naruto blinked.
"That portion can enter Sasuke and suppress the foreign soul influence within the Cursed Seal."
Naruto immediately asked,
"Would doing that hurt you?"
Asuramaru paused.
Of all the questions Naruto could have asked, that was his first concern.
Not whether Sasuke could survive.
Not whether Naruto would lose anything.
Whether Asuramaru himself would be harmed.
His smile faded slightly.
"It won't affect me much."
Naruto relaxed.
Then Asuramaru continued.
"But it will affect you."
Naruto looked puzzled.
Asuramaru's voice became serious.
"If I divide my power and give a portion to Sasuke, your connection to my complete power will be permanently reduced."
Naruto remained silent.
"You will never again be able to draw upon my true power in its entirety."
Asuramaru let the meaning settle.
Then he asked the question that mattered.
"Knowing that…"
"Do you still want to save Sasuke?"
....
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