"Orochimaru? Cursed Seal of Heaven? Cursed Seal of Earth?" Sakura looked utterly confused. She stared intently at Sasuke's chest, only to see three crescent - shaped curse marks appear on it. Then she noticed three tomoe - shaped curse marks on the back of Sasuke's neck.
Damn it! Naruto really wanted to slap himself. He originally didn't want Sakura to know, but now he'd let it slip.
Naruto played dumb and said, "The kunoichi from Kusagakure Village we met before, she said her name was Orochimaru. But you were unconscious at that time, so you don't know about these things."
"What about the Cursed Seal of Heaven and the Cursed Seal of Earth?" Sakura continued to ask.
"..." Naruto was sweating profusely and didn't know how to answer.
"Ah—" Suddenly, Sasuke let out a loud scream, which startled both Naruto and Sakura.
"Sasuke—" Sakura ran over with a concerned look and stood by Sasuke's side, anxiously staring at him with her eyes.
Naruto thought to himself: Sasuke, I never thought you'd help me out so much in your unconscious state. That scream of yours came at just the right time.
Sasuke's condition was very bad. He had his eyes tightly shut, his hands balled into fists, his whole body was twitching, his face was ashen, and he was clenching his teeth, as if enduring great pain.
In Sasuke's consciousness, he was still fighting Orochimaru. Orochimaru was a terrifying opponent. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even hurt a single hair on Orochimaru. Orochimaru was like a nightmare, constantly pestering Sasuke.
In Sasuke's dream, a huge snake with a human face was coiled up like a mountain. The snake with a human face looked very much like Orochimaru, and just looking at it could strike fear into one's heart.
Sasuke was gasping for breath. The enemy in front of him was too powerful. Even after awakening his double - tomoe Sharingan, he still couldn't defeat this formidable enemy.
"Sasuke!" The snake with a human face hissed, "The survival rate of the Cursed Seal of Heaven is one in ten. I once implanted the Cursed Seal of Heaven in my most beloved disciple. After I saw Naruto, I decided to implant both the Cursed Seal of Heaven and the Cursed Seal of Earth in you."
"What!" Sasuke roared angrily, "What does Naruto have to do with me?"
"Naruto is extremely outstanding. As my vessel, Sasuke, you have to be even more outstanding. You must surpass Naruto."
"..." Sasuke gritted his teeth. He knew Naruto was strong and outstanding, but his strong sense of self - esteem made Sasuke throw a [kunai] at the snake with a human face.
The [kunai] hit the snake with a human face, but it didn't do any damage. The snake with a human face sneered, "Is this all your strength? You're far inferior to Naruto."
"Damn it!" Sasuke desperately desired power. He wanted to outshine Naruto and defeat all the geniuses from every ninja village. Gaara, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, etc., were all opponents he wanted to vanquish.
There were so many powerful opponents in this world. If he couldn't defeat them, how could he kill that despicable man—Itachi Uchiha!
"Sasuke! I know the desires in your heart!" The snake with a human face opened its huge mouth, and to Sasuke's utter shock, a long - haired man slid out from the snake's mouth. This eerie scene left Sasuke stunned with his mouth agape.
The long-haired man who slid out of the Snake with a human face slowly got to his feet. He was Orochimaru, covered in snake mucus, which was nauseating to look at.
"And I can fulfill your desires!" Orochimaru walked up to Sasuke, stretched out his slender five fingers, and gently stroked Sasuke's cheek.
"This feeling is truly wonderful. It's like I'm touching my own face." Orochimaru said as he stroked Sasuke's face.
Sasuke showed a shocked expression and picked up a kunai, slashing fiercely at Orochimaru.
"Hehehehe..." Orochimaru let out a strange laugh and spat out a long tongue from his mouth. The long tongue was extremely flexible and instantly tied up Sasuke's hand holding the kunai.
Under Sasuke's terrified gaze, Orochimaru took a bite at Sasuke's chest and implanted the Cursed Seal of Earth on Sasuke.
"Ah—" Sasuke felt as if his chest was about to explode and fell to the ground, tightly clutching his chest.
Sakura's face became more and more anxious because Sasuke's condition was getting worse and worse. At a loss, Sakura could only turn to Naruto for help and said, "Naruto, hurry up and save Sasuke. You must have a way."
Naruto looked at the two cursed seals on Sasuke's body and was in a daze for a long time. After being reminded by Sakura, he cursed in his heart: Orochimaru, you're so extreme. The survival rate with one cursed seal is only one in ten, but you're so greedy that you've implanted two cursed seals on Sasuke. Wouldn't Sasuke's survival rate then be only one in a hundred!
Orochimaru! How could you do such a thing! What makes you think that Sasuke can endure it! If Sasuke can't make it through, I'll be the first to kill you!
"Naruto! Hurry up and save Sasuke..." Sakura was almost in tears.
Naruto quickly took out the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll, then opened them at the same time. He tossed the two scrolls aside, and thick white smoke billowed out of them. Then a figure appeared in the white smoke.
"Long time no see, Naruto." Teacher Iruka stepped out of the white smoke, smiling proudly, and said, "It seems you've suffered a lot. Congratulations on passing the second round of the Chunin Exams."
Teacher Iruka's full name is Iruka Umino. He is a teacher at the Ninja Academy and was Naruto's first teacher, while Kakashi is Naruto's second teacher.
Teacher Iruka can be said to be Naruto's enlightenment teacher. Thanks to his guidance, Naruto managed to graduate from the Ninja Academy and took the first step towards becoming a Genin.
"Teacher Iruka, there's no time for a reunion now," Naruto said hurriedly. "Sasuke has a problem. We need to take him to see Kakashi quickly."
"Sasuke does seem a bit strange," Iruka asked. "Why did you take Sasuke's clothes off?"
"Isn't that important?" Naruto urged. "If we don't hurry, Sasuke will be dead!"
Iruka showed a hesitant look and said, "But I'm a messenger. My duty is to explain the purpose of this exam to you and tell you the content of the next exam."
"None of these matters!" Naruto shouted.
"Naruto, you're talking nonsense again. Then tell me, what's the purpose of the second round of the exam?"
"Teacher Iruka! I'm not kidding around with you!"
"Sasuke's situation really can't wait!"
Only then did Iruka realize the seriousness of the problem. So he quickly picked up Sasuke and went to find Kakashi.
Before leaving, Iruka didn't forget to tell Naruto, "Naruto, stay put here. I'll come back for you after taking Sasuke to Kakashi. If you can't tell me what the second exam is for, you'll get it from me." After saying that, Iruka left with Sasuke.
Naruto wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and comforted Sakura, "With Teacher Kakashi around, Sasuke will be okay. Don't worry."
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