However, just as Orochimaru prepared his next attack on Sasuke, four shuriken and one kunai flew in, intercepting his path and causing his movements to pause slightly.
"Sorry I'm late, Sasuke!" Naruto stood on a branch, arms crossed, looking at Sasuke with a confident smile.
"Naruto!" For some reason, seeing Naruto appear suddenly gave Sakura a sense of relief.
"The password? I forgot it!" Hearing her words, Naruto replied with his same confident smile.
"Good, Naruto! Well done!" Hearing his words, Sakura looked at Naruto with a smile.
"Naruto, I don't care if you're trying to act cool by saving me, but stop showing off! Run! This guy is way out of our league!" Sasuke shouted at Naruto.
"It seems you defeated that big snake quite nicely, Naruto," Orochimaru said. Seeing Naruto appear unscathed made it clear the giant snake he controlled had been taken down.
'This guy... looks exactly like a snake. So he's the one behind all this!' Looking at Orochimaru and hearing his words, Naruto realized the one who nearly turned him into snake dung was right before him.
On Sasuke's side, Naruto's arrival didn't bring much joy. From their brief encounter, Sasuke knew Orochimaru's power far surpassed theirs. One Naruto couldn't bridge that gap.
"Tsk, tsk. You, bullying the weak. Now that I, the great Uzumaki Naruto, am here, I'm going to teach you a lesson!" Meanwhile, Naruto, unaware of Orochimaru's terrifyingness, continued his taunts.
'This is bad. If this goes on, all three of us will be killed. What do we do?' Sasuke was frantic, unable to think of a solution. Finally, an idea struck him. He deactivated his Sharingan.
"Wait! The scroll... take it. Please, just take it and go!" After some thought, Sasuke ultimately chose to forfeit the fight against Orochimaru.
After all, whether from Orochimaru's initial words or the exam's content, the conflict stemmed from the scrolls. If they gave up the scrolls, there would be no reason to fight.
It must be said, Sasuke's reasoning wasn't without merit. Unfortunately, he miscalculated. Orochimaru didn't care about the Chunin Exam. His goal was to gauge Sasuke's potential, and what he truly wanted was Sasuke's body...
"Hey, Sasuke! What are you doing? Giving the scroll to the enemy? What are you thinking?!" Hearing Sasuke, Naruto exploded.
"Shut up!" Seeing Naruto's impulsive behavior, Sasuke felt angry. In his mind, Naruto, having just arrived, had no idea how terrifying the man before them was.
"I see. Quite the idea," Orochimaru instantly understood Sasuke's intent. It was like prey offering other prey, hoping the predator would spare them...
"Take it!" Sasuke quickly threw the scroll towards Orochimaru. But Naruto launched himself, intercepting and snatching the scroll mid-air.
"Idiot! Stop doing unnecessary things! Do you understand the situation?!" Seeing Naruto's action, Sasuke was furious.
Faced with Sasuke's rebuke, Naruto, his face dark, threw a powerful punch at the unprepared Sasuke.
"Bastard! What was that for?!" Feeling the merciless attack, Sasuke glared angrily at Naruto.
Witnessing this, Orochimaru watched calmly, not intervening.
"Huff, huff... I just forgot the password, so I couldn't confirm. You're a fake Sasuke, right?" Naruto said, breathing heavily.
"Naruto, what are you saying? What nonsense!" Sakura exclaimed angrily upon hearing Naruto.
"You super-idiot! I'm the real one!" Sasuke glared at Naruto angrily.
Hidden in the shadows, Ui and Ritsu were also puzzled by Naruto. Putting themselves in his shoes, they wouldn't think Sasuke's choice was wrong at all. The gap in power was too vast, and the only point of contention was the scroll. Handing it over to save their lives seemed the most rational approach.
As for the scrolls, they could find others later. If unsuccessful, they could withdraw from the exam and try again next time. But if they died here, there would be no second chance...
"This weakling idiot definitely isn't the Sasuke I know! I don't know how strong this guy is, but giving him the scroll guarantees he'll let us go? Since when? You're the one who's lost his nerve and can't see the situation clearly!" Naruto retorted angrily.
While his words sounded reasonable, even hitting a nerve, Takeru didn't think Sasuke's approach was entirely wrong. Against overwhelming power and a ruthless opponent, while there was no guarantee, trying wasn't a shameful act.
"Hehe. Naruto, correct answer. The scrolls? I can just kill you and take them," Orochimaru smirked. He quickly bit his thumb and drew a straight line on his arm with the blood.
"You've got to be kidding!" Seeing Orochimaru's action, Naruto felt an ominous premonition. He charged at him with a kunai.
"Stop, Naruto! Run!" Seeing Naruto charge recklessly, Sasuke shouted in concern.
"Bastard! I misjudged you, Sasuke!" Naruto, hearing Sasuke, took it as cowardice.
"Summoning Technique!" After completing the seal, Orochimaru swiftly formed hand signs. A massive surge of Chakra Fluctuation appeared around him, and a gigantic python materialized beneath Orochimaru.
The python immediately swung its body, crashing hard towards Naruto. At the critical moment, Naruto managed to leap out of its attack range.
Landing on a thick branch nearby, Naruto panted heavily, looking at the giant snake and Orochimaru.
"Mmm, so cute. Such adorable prey," Orochimaru felt a surge of pleasure looking at Naruto's eyes.
He then directed the giant snake to whip its tail towards Naruto's position. The tremendous force shattered the branch beneath Naruto, sending him flying through the air.
After crashing through several branches, Naruto finally stopped his momentum when a branch blocked his path. He then fell freely towards the ground.
"Well then, let's eat him first," Orochimaru said lightly to the giant snake below, looking at Naruto, who seemed to have lost his ability to resist.
"Damn it! Take this!" However, when Naruto's falling body was less than two meters from the giant snake, his eyes snapped open again. His pupils had turned red, and his gaze was completely different from usual… more like a wild beast's.
He quickly adjusted his posture and delivered a powerful punch to the giant snake's body, surprising even Orochimaru.
Using the reaction force from the punch, Naruto put distance between himself and the giant snake and Orochimaru.
"This kid... could it be?" Seeing the look in Naruto's eyes, Orochimaru quickly reacted, forming a certain guess.
"That's strange. His life force suddenly increased!" Ui in the distance also sensed Naruto's change, looking towards him in shock.
Naruto attacked again, leaping in front of the giant snake's massive head and relentlessly pummeling it with his fists.
With each of Naruto's strikes, the branches around the snake shattered from the impact of the force.
"Naruto's gone berserk. But why is that Naruto so strong?" Sakura stared blankly at the scene.
However, even after Naruto went berserk, aside from a slight red mark from his initial punch, the giant snake showed no visible damage. It simply flicked its massive forked tongue, pushing Naruto away.
Naruto, undeterred, used a giant tree behind him as a springboard and shot back towards the giant snake.
Orochimaru, atop the snake, smirked coldly and spewed a stream of fire, blasting Naruto away again.
"Those eyes... without a doubt. Hehe. This just got interesting. Now, Sasuke, it's your turn. What will you do?" After blasting Naruto away, Orochimaru turned his gaze to Sasuke, who had been standing frozen.
Watching Orochimaru and the giant snake charge towards him rapidly, Sasuke stared in terror. His body, as before, was completely paralyzed, unable to move.