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[— Manga Scene —]
"Wait!!!"
"Who is Orochimaru?!! What did he do to Sasuke-kun?!! Why Sasuke-kun?!!"
Sakura screamed the questions she desperately wanted answered from the Sound Ninja team.
"I don't know… We were merely ordered to kill Sasuke-kun," Dosu replied with the only information he possessed.
'Telling us to kill Sasuke yet going ahead of us… Then not killing Sasuke-kun, but placing this curse seal…'
'What is your reasoning…?'
Dosu was lost in deep thought regarding the incomprehensible situation, realizing they had been used as testing pawns without even knowing it.
[— End Scene —]
Up until this moment, the name Orochimaru remained unknown to many across the world.
Only a few elite shinobi knew of him, as the Third Great Ninja War, where the Sannin would truly earn their legendary fame alongside other bright names like the Yellow Flash, had not yet occurred in the current timeline.
Of course, the situation was different in Konoha, where Orochimaru was already very well-known…
However, it was still extremely unsettling to see this "future" Orochimaru. This version was completely different from the man they knew so well.
Who is Orochimaru?
The question Sakura asked was the same one Konoha's shinobi and civilians wanted answered at this very moment.
But Dosu's answer provided no satisfaction for the readers' curiosity.
"Tsk… as expected, they are nothing more than testing pawns," Danzo muttered, deeply annoyed that Dosu didn't provide any substantial, actionable information in his response to Sakura.
"Danzo, why are you so curious about the future Orochimaru? You know as well as we do that he has no connection to the current Orochimaru…" One of the village elders, Homura, spoke up.
Danzo's eyes narrowed as he looked at this pathetic colleague, who had grown fond of the luxury of being an elder and neglected his own strength.
He had always looked down on these two; despite being teammates trained personally by the Second Hokage, they remained ridiculously weak in his eyes.
Homura and Koharu felt Danzo's disgusted and cold gaze. Though they didn't fully understand what was wrong with him, they felt a genuine chill, prompting Homura to quickly backtrack. "Well, we don't know what might happen in the future… anything is possible, really."
Ignoring them, Danzo turned his sharp gaze toward Hiruzen and said, "In the chapter following this, two Anbu appear and declare that 'the moment Orochimaru appears, martial law must be implemented'…"
Hearing this, the Third Hokage, who was reading that exact passage, froze.
Martial law… what does that imply?
"It means Orochimaru is dangerous to that extent… that everything must be canceled just to report his arrival. That is the law."
"It seems this Anko still obeys Orochimaru, even if it doesn't appear so on the surface…"
Danzo's words felt like poison dipped in honey to the Third Hokage. He had already realized through the manga that the future Orochimaru was a grave threat, but he couldn't reconcile with that reality yet.
"I will make sure my student does not walk this path… Danzo, more importantly, is the matter of the Uchiha clan… look." Hiruzen pointed behind them, where an eerie silence surrounded the Uchiha clan members, who hadn't made a single sound.
Danzo looked at the scene as well.
'It seems they are worried about the fact of their future annihilation… Tsk, tsk… I truly want to see who did this,' Danzo thought to himself, celebrating the news internally.
'Could my future self have a hand in this?'
'But if that truly happened, it will be revealed in the manga… and if it is revealed, I will be completely exposed! I'll be targeted by these bastards!'
Just thinking about it sent a shiver down Danzo's spine.
Simultaneously, he felt a cold glare directed at him from a specific man: the current Head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Hugaku.
...
Hugaku's eyes narrowed as he looked toward the village elder named Danzo.
'Danzo has always shown hostility toward the Uchiha… his enmity is inherited from his mentor, Tobirama. Could he be the one behind the clan's massacre in the manga?'
Hugaku was analyzing potential enemies who might be behind the horrific incident. Although the manga would undoubtedly address this in the future, the clan leader didn't want to play the waiting game.
He wanted to know who could harbor such terrible hatred toward the Uchiha.
'Massacring the clan… that means even children, women, and the elderly were slaughtered. Only a devil could do such a thing… could you be that devil, Danzo?'
At the mere thought of this possibility, Hugaku's eyes shifted into a strange, intricate shape, but that terrifying aura was immediately suppressed by the authority of the Art Store.
...
'Was that the Mangekyō Sharingan…?'
Rob felt the Art Store intervene to suppress Hugaku's attempt to launch a high-level Genjutsu. Since it happened inside the art store, any form of attack, hostile or otherwise, could be nullified.
Rob was able to glimpse Hugaku's Mangekyō.
'As expected of the current Uchiha head, he's powerful,' Rob thought with a smile, quickly setting the matter aside to focus back on work.
...
Elsewhere, Minato and Kushina were staring at the events following Naruto finally waking up from his faint.
"It seems Naruto will always get beaten up by Sakura…"
The fires of anger began to kindle again in Kushina's heart. "For heaven's sake! I cannot like this character! Why does Naruto like her!?"
"I feel Naruto is quite unlucky in this regard… he was at the peak of his power. If Orochimaru hadn't used the Five-Pronged Seal to suppress his awakening chakra and knock him out, he would have dealt with those Sound Ninja alone without any trouble," Minato analyzed the situation.
"Orochimaru must have knocked him out because he didn't want Naruto interfering with his little experiment… that's why he looks so pathetic now that he's awake."
"He really is unlucky… even that fat kid from the Akimichi clan mocks him, saying he isn't the type to be a main character in a story!"
Kushina's hand formed a near-smoldering fist; she felt provoked with every verbal or physical attack Naruto suffered in the manga.
"But we already know that Naruto is the main character of this story, don't we?" Minato smiled, sharing Kushina's perspective.
...
[— Manga Scene —]
"Lee-san… Thank you."
"Thanks to you, I have awakened."
"I feel like I've become a little stronger." Sakura smiled, acknowledging that she had grown stronger thanks to Rock Lee's intervention.
'Sakura-chan…' Rock Lee's eyes teared up with emotion. He quickly wiped them away, saying:
"It looks like I need more hard work…"
"Sasuke-kun, the Uchiha clan sure is great."
"To drive off those Sound nins, you are the owner of incredible powers."
"I got my butt kicked," Lee admitted with a somber expression, shocking Sasuke.
'What!? He was beaten!?'
'What's going on? They were that strong?' Only now did Sasuke realize how strong he had been moments ago, considering he had previously been defeated by Lee.
"Sakura-san… The leaf lotus blooms twice…"
"The next time we meet, I will be a stronger man… I promise."
"Yeah!" Sakura smiled.
[— End Scene —]
"Ooooooh~!"
"That's my boy! Aww—"
Maito Dai and Gai were hugging each other, crying the most 'manly' tears possible, completely moved by the scene.
"That's right, Lee! 'The leaf lotus blooms twice' is a true saying! And it can bloom even more than that!"
As he spoke, Maito Dai wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, though his face remained beaming.
Little Gai was even more moved. "My counterpart will be so proud to gain such a student!"
"Tenten is right! There's no way Lee would have lost if he were fighting those Sound Ninja alone without having to protect Sakura!"
"Look, Father… even Sasuke was surprised by the fact that Lee lost…"
"That's right, Gai. The previous battle Lee lost had its reasons, but it doesn't matter! Men lose! What's the shame in losing if it teaches us not to break!?"
"Listen to me, Gai! Go fight, lose, and win! That is the mindset of a hero! You will inevitably lose because there will always be a stronger opponent! But with willpower, you will triumph again!"
"Go, Gai! Learn from Lee… one day, I trust I will see you standing before the strongest in the world and winning! That is because I believe in you!"
Dai slapped his son's back as he said this, sending Gai flying until he crashed into Kakashi, who had been listening with a dazed look.
"Ooh… it seems I got a little carried away. Sorry."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 147: The Fastest Team to Pass the Second Exam!
Chapter 148: A Rain of Blood…!
Chapter 149: Things Are Getting Exciting.
Chapter 150: Naruto Hates Having the Spotlight Stolen From Him.
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