Gaara noticed that the occasion wasn't right, so he had to suppress the anger in his heart, but his eyes still stared fixedly at Naruto.
Naruto, on the other hand, had a beaming face and didn't care at all.
Kabuto Yakushi beside them felt strange. He had clearly seen with his own eyes that Gaara had woken up. What on earth had happened that made Gaara fall into a coma again? Finally, Anko Mitarashi stepped in to dispel the [Genjutsu].
Kabuto Yakushi thought to himself, "There are too many strange things. I simply can't figure them out. The Fourth Kazekage standing beside the Third Hokage should be Lord Orochimaru. I need to go and report the situation to Lord Orochimaru."
Naruto was secretly observing Kabuto Yakushi. In Naruto's eyes, Kabuto Yakushi was a rare talent. In terms of information - gathering ability, he could be said to be an expert in the field of espionage.
Naruto thought to himself, "Kabuto, if only you could work for me."
At this time, the Third Hokage glanced at all the Genin in the arena and noticed that one member was missing from Naruto's team. So he said, "The team of Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno is short of a teammate and cannot participate in the next round of the exam."
"Lord Hokage! How can you do this!" Sakura almost roared, "Sasuke will come back soon."
Naruto looked nonchalant. This [Chunin Exams] was nothing but a farce to him.
"Naruto, say something!" Sakura couldn't accept that their qualification for the [Chunin Exams] was so easily deprived.
Naruto couldn't bear to refuse Sakura's request, so he had to say, "Hokage, isn't the next round, the third round, a one - on - one duel? Whether Sasuke is in our team or not doesn't prevent us from continuing to take the exam."
"Oh! You know quite a lot, Naruto." The Third Hokage explained, "According to the old rules, it was indeed like that. But for the third round, a new rule has been adopted. It will be a team free - for - all. Only teams with three members are allowed to participate in the third round of the exam."
The rules of the third round of the exam changed inexplicably. The only reasonable explanation was that Orochimaru had intervened. Besides Orochimaru, who else had the ability to change the rules of the [Chunin Exams]?
Orochimaru had changed his strategy, changing the one - on - one duels to a team free - for - all. He intended to carry out the [Konoha Destruction Plan] ahead of schedule.
Naruto thought to himself, "No matter how much you guard against it, there are always variables. Orochimaru, can't you hold back anymore? You deliberately accelerated the process, but you've actually done me a big favor."
Because if the rules hadn't changed, the next would have been a one - on - one duel between Hinata and Neji. Hinata would have been badly beaten by Neji and finally carried out on a stretcher.
"Humph." Naruto sneered and thought, "I never thought I'd owe Orochimaru a favor. Thanks to Orochimaru changing the rules, the duel between Hinata and Neji won't happen anymore."
Although I've been prepared for a long time, I absolutely won't allow anyone to hurt Hinata right under my nose, no matter who it is...
"This..." Hearing what the Hokage said, Sakura was filled with despair.
"I forfeit!" Kabuto Yakushi raised his hand high and thought to himself: Lord Orochimaru has actually stepped onto the field himself. Then it's time for me to withdraw...
Sakura, who was eager to participate in the Chunin Exams, widened her eyes in disbelief as she never expected that someone would choose to give up.
With Kabuto Yakushi's forfeit, his two teammates were also eliminated. So, those two guys started scolding Kabuto, but he didn't care at all and left gracefully in the end.
After Kabuto Yakushi left, Sasuke walked into the hall, with Kakashi following beside him.
"I'm back." Sasuke seemed a bit unsteady on his feet, but still said handsomely, "Team 7 will continue to participate in the Chunin Exams. Humph."
"Sasuke!" Sakura squealed happily, "You're okay!"
Naruto observed Sasuke carefully. His right hand hung limply, his left hand pressed against his chest, his breathing was rapid, and his knees were slightly bent, as if standing was a struggle for him.
"Can you still fight in this state?" Naruto mumbled so softly that only he could hear, "Can't you just take a good rest? Do you know your own situation?"
Sasuke took a deep breath, straightened his body, and walked straight towards Naruto. When he got close to Naruto, he simply said, "Naruto, I won't hold you back. Just watch." After saying that, Sasuke stood aside.
Sakura looked at Sasuke with concern on her face, and Naruto felt a bit guilty inside.
Naruto asked Kakashi, "How's Sasuke's condition?"
Just as Kakashi was about to speak, Sasuke interrupted, "Naruto! I'm fine!"
Kakashi looked at Sasuke and shook his head helplessly. He really knew Sasuke's situation. Sasuke was affected by the Cursed Seal of Heaven and the Cursed Seal of Earth. These two cursed seals seemed to be in a state of mutual restraint and had reached a delicate balance in Sasuke's body. If this balance was broken, Sasuke would be in mortal danger.
At this time, Kakashi fell into memories:
Previously, when Kakashi heard that Sasuke might be in trouble, he went to look for him. Finally, he found Sasuke in Iruka's hands. After discovering that Sasuke was cursed by Orochimaru, he took Sasuke to a secluded place to perform the Evil Sealing Method.
First, he used blood to draw strange incantations on the ground and also on Sasuke's body. Then, as Kakashi quickly formed hand seals, he poured a continuous stream of chakra into the incantations.
As the chakra was injected, these incantations drawn with blood actually started to jump, just like dancing little people. The incantations lined up and rushed towards the two cursed seals on Sasuke's body, successfully sealing them.
Kakashi told Sasuke, "I've used the Evil Sealing Method to restrict the cursed seals, but this seal is related to your will. Only by combining it with your will can you suppress the cursed seals. Otherwise, this seal won't be able to help you."
Sasuke fell into deep thought. He seemed to be missing a part of his memory. Why did he have no impression of the second exam at all? Could it be that he was caught in the enemy's Genjutsu?
Kakashi inquired, "Sasuke, do you recall what took place? How on earth did you come across Orochimaru?"
"Orochimaru!" Sasuke said. "Is that guy named Orochimaru? I can't remember... All I recall is that when I came to my senses, I saw an eerie face..."
"No matter what I tried, I simply couldn't defeat him..." At this point, Sasuke recalled that terrifying battle. The battle with Orochimaru was truly hair - raising. None of my attacks could harm Orochimaru, and Orochimaru had a whole bunch of weird tricks up his sleeve. Sometimes he turned into a snake, sometimes he summoned snakes, and sometimes he stretched his neck or tongue...
Just the thought of the battle with Orochimaru sent shivers down Sasuke's spine. Those scenes were all nightmares.
Kakashi felt pity for Sasuke. Looking at Sasuke's resolute eyes, coupled with his body trembling slightly from fear, it was evident that Sasuke craved power, yet his current strength was lacking.
"Suppress the Cursed Seal. If you manage that, I'll pass on my secret technique to you!" Kakashi said. "I've observed that your chakra has a lightning - type attribute. This technique is a perfect fit for you."
"Humph," Sasuke sneered with a smile. As long as he could grow stronger, even the most nightmarish memories could be wiped away.
Back in the regular timeline, at the Ninja Hall, seeing Sasuke so hungry for improvement, Naruto was at a loss for words. So Naruto strode forward and declared, "Hokage - sama! All members of Team 7 are accounted for! Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno are present!"
Kakashi beside him grinned with his eyes nearly closed, musing, "Yeah, yeah, and don't forget about me."
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