Bab 349: Chapter 349: The Fish Blasters
With the Heaven and Earth Scrolls in hand, Shishou, Sakura, and Kiba quickly made their way to the Central Tower in the Forest of Death.
For ninjas, the ten-kilometer distance wasn't far.
Upon entering the Central Tower, an examiner immediately came out to check their Heaven and Earth Scrolls.
"Impressive, you're the second team to reach the Central Tower," the Konoha examiner praised after verifying their scrolls.
The speed with which they had arrived was something the examiners hadn't seen in a long time.
Hearing this, Kiba asked, "Someone arrived before us?"
The examiner nodded. "The three siblings from the Sand Village arrived half an hour earlier than you."
Hearing this, Sakura and Kiba exchanged incredulous looks.
But Shishou, knowing the original story, wasn't surprised.
In the original series, Gaara was the strongest in this year's batch, even with his unstable mental state.
Now, because Shishou had frequently borrowed chakra from Shukaku over the past few years, Shukaku had become quite docile and had even formed a good relationship with Gaara.
Gaara already had an enormous amount of chakra and specialized in large-scale jutsu that altered the terrain. With Shukaku's additional chakra, his strength was nearly on par with that of an ordinary Kage-level ninja.
So, despite his young age, Gaara was also a "fish blaster" in this Chunin Exam.
Thinking of this, Shishou couldn't help but smile wryly.
Including himself, Ringo Ameyuri, and Gaara, how many fish blasters were there in this Chunin Exam?
After verifying their scrolls, the examiner led Shishou, Sakura, and Kiba back to Konoha.
For the next four days, they were free to move about, but they had to return to the Central Tower on the fifth day for the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exam.
While Shishou was heading back to Konoha, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were facing a crisis in the Forest of Death.
Given their current abilities, passing through the Forest of Death should have been easy.
However, they were being targeted by two fish blasters and were under attack by a group of ninjas from the Land of Rivers.
"So, this is Uchiha Itachi's little brother? He's already awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan. What a great experiment subject," Orochimaru, hidden in the shadows, licked his lips in excitement upon seeing Sasuke's eyes.
He had originally intended to have some fun before hunting down Tsunade, but he had stumbled upon a valuable treasure.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that blond kid must be the Fourth Hokage's son. Judging by his chakra, he likely has the Uzumaki clan's constitution."
"And the girl has the main family's Byakugan. This is fantastic."
"This is quite the haul!"
Gazing at Naruto and Hinata, Orochimaru's excitement grew.
Having three excellent experiment subjects at once was more than he could have hoped for.
Elsewhere in the shadows.
Raiko, a white-haired woman, had her hand on the ground, sensing the vast amount of chakra within Naruto and nodding in approval.
"Not bad, not bad. Such strong chakra makes him a perfect vessel for my rebirth. The only downside is he's a male; he'll need some modification."
"And those other two are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths and Hamura. They can be taken as well."
"Hmm?"
"There's a girl over there with chakra comparable to the blond boy's. This is a real find."
Raiko suddenly opened her eyes and looked towards another location.
"Orochimaru, I finally found you."
"But how dare you try to take my targets? You're courting death!"
Seeing Orochimaru emerge and head towards Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata, Raiko became furious and rushed towards him. She planned to seize Orochimaru's body first, then capture her three targets.
As Orochimaru approached Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata, he suddenly frowned, feeling a sense of foreboding.
An instinctive fear, as if he were being hunted by a predator, sent chills down his spine.
"What could be causing this feeling...?"
Orochimaru's expression changed dramatically. Abandoning his prey, he fled towards the outskirts of Konoha.
"Hmph! Let's see where you run."
Raiko snorted and pursued Orochimaru. She could sense that Orochimaru's current body had formidable physical energy, perfect for her rebirth, and it required no modification.
After Orochimaru and Raiko, the two fish blasters, left, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata managed to defeat the attacking ninjas from the Land of Rivers.
"Damn, they have the Heaven Scroll just like us."
Naruto, after searching the defeated team's scroll, threw it away in disappointment.
Hinata picked it up, placed it in her pouch, and said to Naruto, "Naruto, we can keep it for now. Maybe we can trade it with another team from our village later."
In reality, Hinata intended to save the scroll for Shishou and Ino, in case they needed it.
"Didn't think of that," Naruto said, scratching his head.
Sasuke, still on alert, felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
For some reason, he had felt like two heavy stones were pressing on his heart, a sense of impending doom.
But now, that feeling had vanished.
"In any mission, any abnormality must be taken seriously," Sasuke recalled the teachings of a certain older sister and turned to Naruto and Hinata, "Hinata is right."
"Let's head to the Central Tower. Both those with the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and those who have lost their scrolls will gather there. We'll have more chances to get the Earth Scroll."
Naruto and Hinata agreed with Sasuke's suggestion and followed him towards the Central Tower.
On their way to the tower, they encountered another team.
After defeating them, they finally obtained the desired Earth Scroll.
By evening, the three reached the Central Tower. Led by the Konoha examiners, they returned to the village to await the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exam.
Elsewhere.
In an unknown forest in the Land of Fire.
Orochimaru stopped his escape and turned to face the pursuing woman.
Raiko stood opposite him, smiling as she said, "Hehehe, Orochimaru, have you finally stopped running?"
Orochimaru frowned at the white-haired woman and asked, "Who are you?"
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POWER STONE!!!!
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This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek.
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