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The commotion in Konoha came and went quickly. After the initial shock, people realized there was no giant fox roaming the village, and the oppressive aura had vanished, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief. However, the streets were no longer safe to wander, so everyone returned to their homes.
It's unclear how many people woke up in a cold sweat or wet their beds that night—you tell me, Iruka.
Being severely injured, hospitalized, partially paralyzed, and then frightened by the Kyuubi would naturally lead to such reactions. After hearing Anko's report, the Third Hokage began stroking his beard again. [Twelve years have passed, and the seal is starting to loosen? Thankfully, it hasn't loosened much.]
After all, the Nine-Tails only howled twice before retreating back into its host. Fighting isn't nearly as enjoyable as drinking an ice-cold cola.
As for Naruto nearing death and the Kyuubi stepping in to save him, the Third didn't overthink it. Every hidden village knew that jinchuuriki could explode under extreme emotions, especially when facing death. If the jinchuuriki dies, so does the tailed beast—but both will eventually revive. Still, who wants to die just for the sake of reviving? What if they forget something important during the process?
As for Orochimaru, the Third wasn't particularly concerned. He never intended to cancel the Chuunin Exams anyway.
Konoha couldn't possibly halt the exams because of one man—Orochimaru. Doing so would make the village appear weak. Other villages would surely question Konoha's resolve.
However, Orochimaru's target gave him a headache.
[Uchiha Sasuke, huh?]
The Third tugged at his beard once more.
Standing by the window, he gazed at the now eerily quiet streets, silently resolving, [This time, old man, you must clean house!]
---
Naruto was dreaming. In his dream, he was winter swimming in Russia, surrounded by burly men and bikini-clad women. One of them even teased him, saying that if he could catch her, she'd let him hehehe.
As a virgin, Naruto was absolutely thrilled. Without hesitation, he began swimming with all his might, even choking on water occasionally, but nothing could dampen his enthusiasm.
However, the girl remained just out of reach, no matter how hard he swam. He had already gone back and forth dozens of times.
Kurama looked on disdainfully as Naruto flailed around in the cola pool, occasionally taking sips himself.
The fox felt that this pool of cola was beyond saving. The brat was drooling while drinking from it—it was utterly disgusting.
When Naruto finally woke up, he found himself in the cola pool. Reflecting on his dream, he thought it seemed normal enough, though the chill made sense since there was ice at the bottom of the pool.
"Brat, clean this pool," Kurama said as Naruto climbed out.
"Oh, okay," Naruto replied, not questioning it. After all, cleaning a pet's food bowl was part of being a responsible owner—even if this "bowl" was rather large.
As for Orochimaru, Naruto didn't dwell on it. Kurama had knocked him out, which clearly meant the fight was handled. And if Kurama still had the energy to make him clean the pool, then Orochimaru must've been thoroughly defeated.
Naruto was well aware of Kurama's combat prowess. First, two tails would test the waters; if that didn't work, three tails. Still no luck? Four tails, then five. Each additional tail could leave Orochimaru clutching his head in agony. More tails meant more freedom to act recklessly.
Unlike Shukaku, whose powers were limited, Kurama could unleash multiple tails at will.
What Naruto didn't realize was that Kurama had started with three tails right away.
In Naruto's mindscape, buckets of cola were being cleared out one by one.
In the real world, Naruto opened his eyes.
Moving slightly, he noticed he was holding something in his hand.
Propping himself up slowly, Naruto took a closer look.
"Oh, isn't this the Kusanagi? Looks like Kurama understands my tastes—he protected it well, ensuring Orochimaru couldn't take it back."
Of course, it was protected—by the muscles surrounding Naruto's heart. Combined with Kurama's chakra isolation, Orochimaru couldn't manipulate the sword with his own chakra. And the more he fought, the more tails Kurama unleashed, leaving Orochimaru frustrated.
"Naruto, you're awake!" Sakura exclaimed, her tired face lighting up with relief.
"Yeah, what time is it?" Naruto asked, not particularly concerned about the exam. He just wanted to know how long he'd been unconscious.
"It's noon the next day," Sakura replied.
With Naruto awake, she felt much more at ease. She was well aware of her own limitations compared to her teammates. Now that one of them was awake, she could rest easier.
She wasn't even worried about the strange chakra emanating from Sasuke anymore.
Aliens, after all, were bound to be unusual. One had transformed into a red orb with hands last night, so the other must have some kind of transformation too. She wondered what Sasuke would look like—hopefully, he'd become even cooler.
[That person yesterday was really strong, forcing my teammate to reveal his identity and transform just to drive him off.]
Once Sakura relaxed, her thoughts began to wander.
Would she feel embarrassed about her chuunibyou tendencies later? Who knows.
Naruto calculated the time. He had been unconscious for roughly a night and half a day. It seemed his recovery abilities, boosted by Kurama's chakra, were quite impressive. From near-death to full recovery in less than a day—pretty remarkable.
He forgot about the life force he absorbed from the cola during his dream swim. His body had been severely depleted earlier, and without the vitality provided by the cola pool, he wouldn't have been able to recover so quickly—lying incapacitated for two or three days would've been more realistic.
"Sakura, go ahead and rest. Leave the rest to me," Naruto said, standing up and heading for the door. The room felt stuffy, and he needed some fresh air.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sakura asked, concerned. Her previous battle with Zabuza had taught her that even aliens could get injured. This fight had been far more intense, so his injuries should've been worse.
"I'm fine, rest easy," Naruto reassured her with a comforting smile. The poor girl had been anxiously watching over him for so long; she must've been exhausted.
[So his recovery ability increases after transforming, huh?] Sakura mused. She had seen Naruto's injuries the day before—a knife through his heart—and yet he recovered faster than after the battle with Zabuza. This was the only explanation she could think of.
Sakura lay down to rest, though she didn't sleep. She was waiting for Sasuke to finish his transformation. She wanted to be the first to see it.
[Maybe I should study medical ninjutsu,] Sakura thought, looking at the bandages wrapped around Sasuke. Yesterday, when Sasuke was injured, Naruto hadn't treated him, so Sakura had to make do with bandages.
Yes, studying medicine.
Although Naruto healed quickly and Sasuke could rely on Naruto for treatment, what if Naruto were unconscious again? If she learned medical ninjutsu, she could help Naruto recover faster and stop Sasuke from bleeding like this.
Yes, studying medicine would mean Sasuke wouldn't have to constantly seek Naruto's help. He'd have more time to spend with her instead.
This battle had made her keenly aware of reality. She was useless in combat, unlike their mission with Zabuza, where she could at least guard the client. This time, she contributed nothing.
She didn't plan on matching her teammates' combat abilities—how could a human compete with aliens? But learning medical ninjutsu would give her a purpose.
And while treating her teammates, she could also examine the differences between aliens and humans.
Thinking about examining Sasuke's body, Sakura swallowed nervously, her cheeks flushing slightly.
[What happens when an alien and a human have children together?]
In the world of Naruto, children matured early, especially in matters of love, and often entertained elaborate fantasies.
If Naruto knew, he would definitely tell her that studying medicine wouldn't save Sasuke. Only abandoning medicine for literature, using the power of words, could truly touch his heart.
After all, the ultimate counter to "cool-guy syndrome" was "talk-no-jutsu."