However, when Sasuke regained his composure slightly, he noticed the burning explosive tag and quickly released his grip, letting himself fall towards the ground. But he was half a beat too late. As the explosion sounded, Sasuke was slightly affected.
The Amegakure's Ninja seized this opportunity, appearing behind Sasuke with a shuriken in hand.
"How lucky. One more move and I'll kill you. Hand over the scroll quietly," The Amegakure's Ninja said with an air of certain victory.
"Ah, Sasuke!" Sakura, not far away, could only call out worriedly.
At that moment, the Amegakure's Ninja heard a noise behind him and instinctively turned to look. Sasuke used this chance to create a bit of distance.
Then, a kunai shot from above towards the Amegakure's Ninja's position. Seeing this, the Amegakure's Ninja had no choice but to leap away, landing on a branch of an ancient tree.
"I won't let you escape!" Naruto quickly landed on the ground, looking at the Amegakure's Ninja angrily.
'Naruto, you're always too slow,' Sasuke thought to himself, watching Naruto arrive. But he channeled a large amount of Chakra into his feet, adhering the kunai Naruto had thrown to the soles of his shoes.
Then he took the opportunity to activate his Sharingan, focused on the direction the Amegakure's Ninja fled, and gave a powerful kick. The adhered kunai shot out with extreme speed and force towards the Amegakure's Ninja.
The Amegakure's Ninja noticed the rapidly approaching kunai and managed to shift his body slightly in mid-air to dodge it.
But when he regained his bearings, Sasuke was already charging up with a shuriken in hand, thrusting it fiercely towards his body. It turned out the earlier kunai was just a distraction Sasuke used.
"Sasuke!" The series of attacks from Sasuke left Sakura below momentarily stunned. Now seeing Sasuke seemed to have subdued the enemy, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Don't let your guard down, Sakura! This guy might not be alone. Listen, if you lose focus, you will really get killed!" With the Amegakure's Ninja's blood splattered on his face, Sasuke shouted at Sakura.
"This is really unlucky. It seems I was wrong to come alone to eliminate my presence," The Amegakure's Ninja said, enduring the pain and forcefully pushing Sasuke away. Using the momentum, he quickly disappeared into the forest.
"Ran away?" Seeing the Amegakure's Ninja completely vanish, Sasuke landed on the ground, somewhat exhausted.
"Is this Ninja combat? It seems really dangerous!" At a spot not far from the group, Ritsu, having witnessed the scene, exclaimed in surprise.
Takeru's group had arrived only when Sasuke used the Phoenix Sage Flower Technique, so Ui and Ritsu only saw the second half of the fight.
As for Takeru, with his vast Observation Haki range, he observed the entire process.
"No, that was just an appetizer. The real confrontation hasn't even begun yet," Takeru said directly to Ritsu upon hearing her words.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hearing Takeru, Ritsu was confused.
"Takeru-nii, are you talking about that person hiding underground? His life energy seems really powerful," Ui said, using her Observation Haki to spot Orochimaru hidden beneath the ground.
"Exactly. It seems that guy's target is those three. Let's watch quietly from here. It'll give us a more direct understanding of this world," Takeru said with a light smile to Ui upon hearing her words.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were discussing their next move. Sasuke suggested using a password. He recited a long password to Naruto and Sakura, stating that if they got separated and reunited, they must confirm the password before trusting each other.
Then Sasuke took the Heaven Scroll.
Just as Naruto wanted to hear the password again, he suddenly seemed to be hit by something. Immediately after, a powerful gust of wind came from a distance, striking all three.
Caught in this powerful wind current, the three quickly dodged. The massive explosion caused by the wind blast undoubtedly scattered them.
Even Takeru's hiding spot was affected. It seemed Orochimaru not only wanted to separate Sasuke and the others but also intended to drive Takeru's group away in the process.
However, facing this wind blast, Takeru directly activated the protective barrier from his Star Ring and calmly moved Ui and Ritsu to a different location with him.
Boom!
Accompanied by the explosion and billowing dust, a deep trench appeared where the wind blast had passed...
"You two go play over there. I'll handle things here alone," said the source of the wind attack, which is the disguised Orochimaru, as he dismissed his two companions.
"Sakura!" Sasuke, who had been hiding in the grass, noticed movement behind him and turned to see a somewhat disheveled Sakura.
"Sasuke!" Seeing Sasuke, Sakura was overjoyed and tried to approach.
"Don't come closer! First, the password! The Ninja poem, 'Ninjutsu Mechanism'!" Seeing Sakura's movement, Sasuke remained wary, holding a kunai as he looked at her.
"Ah, um... A Ninja waits for the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a Ninja to strike,'" Sakura quickly recited upon hearing Sasuke.
Only after hearing Sakura's words did Sasuke relax his guard and nod at her.
"Ow, that hurt! Hey, guys, are you okay?" At that moment, a somewhat disheveled Naruto ran over.
"Naruto, wait! The password!" Hearing Naruto, Sakura imitated Sasuke's earlier stance, looking at Naruto.
"I know, I know! A Ninja waits for the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his...'" Naruto quickly recited the password accurately with a smile.
Hearing Naruto's words, Sakura finally breathed a sigh of relief. Sasuke, however, showed a cold smile.
Then, Sasuke threw a kunai at Naruto. Naruto quickly dodged to the side, leaving both Sakura and Naruto staring blankly at Sasuke.
Not just Sakura and Naruto, but Ritsu and Ui, hiding in the shadows, were also astonished by Sasuke's decisive attack.
Although they had sensed something off about Naruto using Observation Haki, they didn't know how Sasuke had discovered it. After all, this time the Transformation Technique user was much more perfect than before.
"What are you doing?!" Naruto, having dodged the kunai, complained as he looked at Sasuke.
"Are you the kind of guy who could dodge an attack like that from me earlier?" Sasuke said without hesitation upon hearing Naruto.
"What are you talking about, Sasuke? Naruto remembered the password perfectly!" Sakura said excitedly to Sasuke upon hearing his words.
"That's precisely the problem! Do you think that guy could remember such a long password? If asked what the password is, what do you think that guy would normally say?" Seeing Sakura still hadn't realized the imposter, Sasuke reminded her again.
"Hmm... 'Sorry, I forgot'," Sakura said, now looking gravely at 'Naruto' after hearing Sasuke.
After entering this place, Sakura, due to nervousness, had overlooked many things. Normally, whether it was Naruto's sudden disappearance of the wound, becoming left-handed, or such a long password, Sakura would definitely have noticed something was off immediately.
But here, having to translate all theory into practical experience, she had become clumsy. Only Sasuke maintained his usual caution and attentiveness.
Sasuke then pointed out that Naruto's dodging movements just now were completely different from the real Naruto's.
"It's about time you showed your true form, you imposter!" Sasuke quickly said to 'Naruto'.
"I see," 'Naruto' said upon hearing Sasuke, licking the corner of his mouth with his long tongue before revealing his true form.
As smoke billowed and dissipated, the Snake Sannin appeared before everyone. "But since you knew he would forget, why didn't you choose a shorter password?"
After dispelling the transformation, Orochimaru still looked at Sasuke with a puzzled expression.
"Because I knew you were lurking underground, eavesdropping on our conversation. That's why I used that kind of password," Sasuke explained with a slight smile upon hearing the Snake's words.
"I see. You don't get tired or careless. More fun than I imagined," Orochimaru said, giving Sasuke approval. After speaking, he licked the straw hat with his long tongue.
'This guy is way too creepy. So where is the real Naruto?' Sakura frowned upon seeing this.
"It's really terrifying," Not just Sakura, but even Ritsu, hiding in the shadows, found the Snake Sannin disgusting.