The massive Oozaru staggered, its enormous body shrinking fast, collapsing inward like a balloon with a slow leak. In mere seconds, it had dwindled back to Naruto's normal shape. The whole shift ignored every rule about mass and matter, which was downright puzzling. All that bulk and fur, where had it even come from? And now, where had it vanished to? More baffling still, his clothes hung on him without a single tear or rip, pristine as if nothing had happened.
"Naruto!" The sight of him returned to normal hit Sasuke like a wave of relief, the fight just drained out of him right then. Orochimaru didn't hesitate, calling up a huge snake to block Sasuke's way while he dissolved into a slick puddle of mud and slipped off with an Earth Release technique.
A Sasuke armed with the Mangekyo Sharingan was more than Orochimaru could handle. Genjutsu wouldn't stick and might bounce right back at him, ninjutsu barely gave him an edge, and then there was Naruto with whatever that unknown Tailed Beast power was. No point risking his hidden aces now, Orochimaru pulled back without a second thought. 'Tsk. Those eyes are just like Itachi's.'
'Looks like I'll need to grow a fresh body if I want that Uchiha bloodline. Good thing Danzo handed me such a fine parting gift.'
'Hashirama's cells mixed with Uchiha eyes... now that could be interesting.'
His Earth Release was swift, and in moments he had vanished at the edge of the Forest of Death.
"So sore," Naruto muttered. He'd come around by then, shifting just a bit and drawing in a sharp breath through his teeth. His muscles burned and spasmed everywhere, even his calves shaking like they might give out. He looked wrecked, the way someone does after grinding through an insane workout.
How long since he'd last felt this beat? Back when he'd just started training under Goku Sensei, probably. Once he'd nailed the basics, he seldom worked up a sweat, let alone woke up sore all over.
Naruto reined in his ki next, pushing it down to almost nothing. That Oozaru shift had likely pinged every sensor for miles, but he wasn't about to tip his hand yet.
From the moment the Ape got pinned to him snapping back to normal, it had all wrapped up in just a few minutes. Short as it was, though, it had felt like pure chaos to most of the ninja who could sense it, drawing eyes from nearly everyone tuned in. Anbu and Root would be here soon to sift through the mess.
At least Orochimaru had poked his head into the Forest of Death, anything weird could get laid at his feet. The guy's always messing with forbidden jutsu, right? If questions came up, blame it on one of Orochimaru's experiments.
No need to dig deeper. Just point to Orochimaru.
Sasuke walked over, his eyes scanning Naruto from head to toe. "You okay?" he asked, his voice cool. But the coolness couldn't hide the deep concern in his eyes.
Naruto waved a dismissive hand. "Just exhausted. Nothing serious."
That's when Naruto noticed the new, intricate pattern in Sasuke's eyes.
"Your eyes?!"
'He'd actually awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan,' Naruto realized with a jolt. 'At twelve years old. That's Downright intimidating.'
But this version didn't match the one Naruto remembered, no basic floral swirl. Instead, it spun with something deeper, more layered: a pentagram tucked inside two rune-scratched rings that bent just shy of perfect circles. The detail outstripped any Mangekyo he'd heard of.
'The Sharingan is the "Eye that Reflects the Heart," after all,' Naruto mused. 'This Sasuke is different from the one I knew in personality and strength, so it would be stranger if his Mangekyo was the same.'
He also noticed a faint, shimmering hexagram floating just in front of Sasuke's left eye, layering itself over the pentagram within.
Sasuke dipped his head in a nod. "I've awakened my Mangekyo."
"That's incredible." With the Mangekyo, Sasuke's power would have skyrocketed. It was also a perfect counter for Orochimaru, so it made sense he'd retreat. The only problem was the blindness that came with overuse, at least until he could obtain the Eternal Mangekyo. "What are its abilities?"
As Sasuke focused on Naruto, the hexagram began to rotate slowly.
'Analyzing... Subject.'
'Analysis failed... High-density body... Threat Level: Extremely High.'
'Weakness... Unknown.'
'Combat Power: ???'
The flat, mechanical voice echoed in Sasuke's mind.
"My left eye analyzes an opponent, their abilities, strength, weaknesses," Sasuke explained. "But it's limited by what I can understand. The stronger I get, the more information it can pull."
'So it's basically a scouter,' Naruto thought. It was a support ability, but far more versatile than something like Kagutsuchi, which only controlled the shape of Amaterasu's flames. "So, can it display strength as a number?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yes." He focused his left eye on Naruto again.
'Analyzing... Subject.'
'Combat Power: ???'
'Even with the Mangekyo, the gap is still this big?' Sasuke thought. 'At least give me a single digit.'
As if hearing his request the number changed, 'Combat Power... ??9'
Sasuke fell silent.
"Saa~su~ke~" Sakura lingered off to the side, arms folded, shooting him looks full of that sidelined resentment, like a girlfriend cooling her heels.
Sasuke glanced at her. "Thanks."
Naruto grinned. "What he's trying to say is, 'Thanks, Sakura. You were amazing back there. because of you, the seasons are warm and I can't wait to see cherry blossoms with you.' He's just not good with words."
"Oh, stop it!" Sakura blushed, giving Sasuke a playful shove that nearly sent him stumbling.
Sasuke just looked confused. 'Is that what I meant?'
"Naruto!" A figure with dark purple hair burst from the trees, throwing herself into Naruto's arms. It was Hinata.
Naruto held her, patting her back gently and breathing in the faint, clean scent of her haste. "Don't worry," he said softly. "I'm okay."
"Naruto."
"Naruto-sensei!"
Rock Lee and Neji hurried over a moment later.
"Naruto-nii-san, you really had us worried sick." A slightly displeased voice came from the trees above. Karin and her temporary squad had arrived.
They all started talking at once, asking what had happened.
Looking at the concerned faces of his friends, Naruto felt a genuine smile spread across his face. "Sorry, everyone. I made you all worry."
'These are my companions,' he thought. 'The foundation of my team.' It felt so good not to be constantly surrounded by malice.
After a quick explanation, they all understood that the Oozaru had been him. Hearing he was unharmed, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Alright, that's enough," Naruto said, waving a hand. "We need to keep moving. The second stage of the exams isn't over yet." He looked at them all, his expression serious again. "Stick to the plan. We carry on as normal."
"Yes."
===============
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