Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 219 Orochimaru's Excitement

To Naruto, Satsuki was merely pursing her lips, looking sullen and waiting for an explanation. However, the thoughts churning in her mind were far more intense and...dangerous than they appeared.

That bastard who forced Naruto to use this power... he absolutely cannot be let go! He must be found and torn to pieces!

A chilling, bone-chilling killing intent swirled in her heart.

"It's okay, Naruto. I will become stronger than that monster you're relying on now. Strong enough to eliminate all threats. When that time comes, you just need to stay by my side and not go anywhere. I will protect you."

But she bit her lower lip hard, swallowing back this almost obsessive declaration. She knew that saying such things would sound extremely abnormal to most people.

She could only bury this overwhelming protective instinct deep in her heart and continue to maintain that seemingly just "sullen" expression.

After a brief standoff, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence that sounded more like a mixture of concern and reproach.

"You mustn't... keep ruining your body like this..."

Naruto was completely oblivious to her intense inner struggle, her determination to find out what the power within him was as soon as the exam was over, and her resolve to surpass that power.

Naruto took it as a normal concern and replied in a reassuring tone, "I understand, I'll be more careful in the future."

Sakura, who had been temporarily sent away, returned with a bewildered look on her face. "So... what should we do now?" Everything that had just happened was too surreal for her.

Ultimately, since the exam was not canceled, Naruto and his group decided to continue their journey toward the tower in the center of the Forest of Death as planned.

However, the journey was unusually quiet. They encountered no other teams, not even a single animal. The straight-line distance from the entrance to the central tower was only ten kilometers; it seemed the earth-shattering explosion had terrified all the examinees and other living beings in the vicinity, causing them to flee far away.

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Deep within the dark forest of death, after repeatedly confirming that there were no signs of Konoha's ANBU following him, Kabuto Yakushi finally cautiously took out a specially made summoning scroll from his robes.

"Spiritualism".

He unrolled the scroll and laid it on the ground, quickly biting his thumb and smearing the blood onto the spell symbol in the center of the scroll. Accompanied by a thick cloud of white smoke, a huge white snake, barely alive and with an unhealthy pale skin, appeared in the open space. Its body still bore the mucus and signs of weakness from its recent molting.

The next moment, the seemingly half-dead white snake suddenly opened its blood-red maw, and a figure slowly emerged from it—it was Orochimaru, who had just narrowly escaped from Naruto's Tailed Beast Ball.

At this moment, he had removed all his disguise, revealing his originally pale face, and was wearing a black robe embroidered with red auspicious cloud patterns.

"Lord Orochimaru! Are you alright?"

Kabuto quickly stepped forward to support Orochimaru, whose breathing was slightly disordered but whose expression was unusually excited.

However, Orochimaru completely ignored his subordinates' concern. Despite his exhaustion from the fierce battle, his snake eyes gleamed with an almost insane, burning light, as if he had discovered some rare treasure.

Because in that brief but shocking exchange just now, one fact completely overturned his preconceived notions about the existence of "Tailed Beasts"!

So that's how it is... So that's how it is!! Those things aren't mindless chakra aggregates at all! They... are higher-level beings that can be controlled and can 'cooperate' with their hosts!

Orochimaru's heart was screaming wildly. As an explorer who had almost touched the threshold of "immortality," his lifelong pursuit had long since turned to exploring all the truths and mysteries of the world.

He had witnessed the destructive scenes of tailed beasts going berserk, and had even obtained the Eight-Tails' cells for in-depth research. But they were simply too difficult to control.

Ultimately, Orochimaru concluded about the existence of the Tailed Beasts as "boring tools of war," devoid of beauty and depth, which caused him to lose interest in them.

Today, he witnessed the so-called "perfect Jinchuriki" for the first time! Although he had received relevant information before, he always had doubts deep down - how could a teenager possibly control a power that he himself had spent countless efforts to perfect?

However, facts speak louder than words. After transforming into a miniature nine-tailed fox, the blond boy not only did not lose his mind, but also precisely controlled that devastating energy, even protecting his teammates behind him!

Can tailed beasts really achieve a "peaceful coexistence" with humans?

This is simply...a revolutionary discovery! It's amazing!! I want...I really want to delve deeper into this power! What is the secret behind it, and what are its underlying principles?!

He forcibly suppressed the excitement and greed that almost spilled across his face. It seemed it was time to activate the connections and resources he hadn't originally intended to use so easily.

"Kabuto," Orochimaru ordered in a hoarse voice, "end your mission here immediately."

"The end?" Kabuto paused, adjusting his glasses. "Is it no longer necessary to gather intelligence?"

"Hmm," Orochimaru nodded, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "I've discovered something far more interesting and valuable than this information. This tedious assessment is pointless now. We need to leave and prepare for the next 'plan'."

After saying that, the two figures disappeared silently into the depths of the Death Forest, blending into the shadows.