Bab 51: Chapter 66
"Jesus Christ, I thought Sakura was annoying. This girl...I just want to strangle her. Now I understand why Sasuke didn't mind spearing her with the Chidori to kill Danzo," I thought to myself as Karin incessantly asked me questions as she followed me through the Forest of Death.
"Are we there yet? What is my cousin like? How do you know who I am? Why do you have chakra again? What does Konoha want with me?"
"Remember, Haru. Good cop, bad cop doesn't work if you kill her. Just gotta reach Naruto and let him win over his cousin." I just ignored her and followed my crow. I trusted Naruto's social skills far more than mine. He could make friends with just about anybody.
I kept my eye out for any signs of other teams, although I doubted I'd be able to notice anything before Shino's bugs noticed me. It would only be a little longer until I could dump Karin off onto Naruto. I'd just have to endure her shrill squawking until then.
"Hey, Naruto!" I said as I dropped down from the trees to meet Team Kurenai. I dropped the struggling Karin onto the ground.
"Hey, Haru. Who...is this?" Naruto asked as he crouched down and ripped the duct tape off Karin's mouth.
Still bound in layers of ninja wire, the redhead screamed "I'll kill you!" She wriggled toward me to bite my ankles.
"I'd like to introduce you to your cousin, Karin Uzumaki. She'll probably be living with you after the exam." I walked over to Hinata and petted her on the head. "How are you doing Hinata?" I looked over to the silent Aburame, "And how are you, Shino?"
Hinata smirked and pushed my hand away, saying, "We're doing just fine." We both pulled off our hoods with matching smirks.
I handed her Karin's scroll. "Do you need this one?"
"Yes! Thank you, Haru-kun!" Hinata exclaimed happily.
"No problem. Can just guys do me a favor and keep Karin with you until the end of the exam? You should be able to finish no problem." I turned to Naruto and said, "After the exam, talk to the Hokage. He'll sort things out for you. I gotta go check on my teammates. Hopefully Sakura and Sasuke haven't messed things up."
Before I left, Naruto exclaimed, "Wait! I want to talk to you about something..."
The two of us walked alone in the forest. Naruto finally asked, "Have you noticed anything different about Sakura? I asked her about it and she just avoided my questions."
I simply shrugged and said, "Sometimes people change, Naruto. You can't expect her to always be the same girl you knew while you were growing up."
A dead crow fell to the ground in front of us. We looked up to see a pale-faced ninja with slick, black hair and a thick rope for an obi. He dropped to the ground.
I steeled myself and greeted him, "It's nice to finally meet you, Orochimaru-sama."
"I've heard a lot about you, Haru-kun," Orochimaru said with a terrifying smirk. "I was in the neighborhood and decided to pay you a little visit and meet you for myself." I always believed that the paleness in his face was because of face paint. But I was wrong. His skin simply came that way.
"Haru, do you know this guy?" Naruto asked me, not understanding the danger we were in.
I tried to smile. "Yes. I've been expecting him, although I wasn't sure whether he would show up."
"You've been expecting me?" Orochimaru laughed in a way that sounded like a sickly groan. The curl of his lips lingered on his face as he spoke, "Your manners are passable but it seems you need to be taught the meaning of respect."
The Sannin whipped forward and a throng of snakes sprouted from his arm, slamming into me at at lightning speed. I barely had time to block with both of my arms before being blown away into a tree dozens of meters behind me.
Naruto leapt to my defense. A pair of clones held down Orochimaru as Naruto prepared to toss a couple Rasengans at him. Orochimaru commented to himself, "So this is Jiraiya's student." Unfortunately, before Naruto could launch his attacks, he was swallowed whole by a giant snake.
"That'll probably only hold Naruto for a few seconds." I stumbled forward, unsure if I had any brusied ribs. Judging from the pain it was a distinct possibility. I put on my best face and said, "Aha, I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama. I was merely excited to see you. I'm afraid it's a bit early for us to meet, however." I heard a crow caw in the distance. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time later to discuss something I'd like to propose. I have an offer I think you'll be interested in."
It was evident that Orochimaru also knew that Jiraiya was coming when he glanced in the direction of the incoming pervert. "Hahahaha, how interesting! I was about to say the same thing. However, you should remember that I don't like it when people borrow my toys without asking."
Orochimaru's summon stopped thrashing about and violently spit up Naruto. The snake gave his summoner a nasty look before poofing away. Naruto groaned when he slipped on the slimy fluid he was covered in as he was trying to stand up.
"It is a shame I have to cut our first meeting short. I was going to give you a gift but it can wait until later. Don't disappoint me, Haru-kun. It would be a shame if you failed your exam because your teammates died," Orochimaru said in a teasing way.
Before I could respond, Jiraiya arrived. "Orochimaru! What are you doing here?" he yelled seriously. He was surrounded by a small squad of toads.
Orochimaru taunted his fellow Sannin, "Ah, it's been a while Jiraiya. I'd stay and catch up but I have an urgent need to be anywhere else right now. I'll be seeing you later...old friend..." He disappeared in a whirl of leaves and wind, his hoarse cackling echoing throughout the forest. Jiraiya's toads ended up grasping only thin air with their tongues.
"You and I are going to have a talk," Jiraiya angrily growled at me.
"Later. First, I need to find my teammates. Then you can ask me whatever you want." I had a bad feeling brewing in my gut since Orochimaru mentioned them.
Naruto finally stood up, wiping digestive fluids off himself. "Ugh, I'm covered in snake spit! What happened? What's going on? Why do you guys look so angry?"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone