"Naruto, this is all your fault! You must've taken the wrong turn," Sakura's accusing voice rang out from within a dense forest.
Sasuke flipped through the map in his hands and said, "According to our route, we should have already entered Takigakure territory by now. We should be seeing waterfalls reaching up to the sky. But here, all we see are trees."
Naruto scratched his head with an awkward smile. "No worries. Let me study the map again. I'll definitely find our way out."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto and reminded him, "The food supplies on the carriage are almost gone."
Upon hearing those words, Sakura's anger flared. She slammed a punch into Naruto's head and snapped, "That's what you get for stuffing your face earlier! You couldn't even stop eating for five seconds!"
Rubbing his sore head, Naruto whined pathetically, "Sakura…"
Ignoring Naruto, Sakura walked over to Sasuke and asked, "Then what? Should we wake Master up?"
Sasuke immediately shook his head. "No. I think this is his second test for us. If we fail again, it'd be truly unacceptable."
After replenishing their supplies in town, the group received a map to Takigakure from Anya, who casually said to call her when they arrived, then left everything to them.
The three discussed among themselves and decided to take turns driving the carriage. Sakura drove first, while the physically strongest Naruto took the rear. Everything went well at first, but when unpredictable Naruto finally got his turn, naturally something went wrong—they got lost.
They had been going in circles through this forest for quite a while now, unable to find a way out and completely drained of energy.
"Damn it, where did we go wrong?" Frustration brewed inside Sasuke. They had practically reached the designated location, yet were stuck at the final step.
Suddenly, Sakura standing beside Sasuke had an idea. "Sasuke, do you remember the intelligence report we collected in town about that dead gold mine?"
Naruto cut in, "Come on, seriously Sakura, that's just a rumor. It says there's a hidden gold mine near Takigakure. Countless people searched for it, but no one's ever found it—those who went in simply vanished without a trace. How could that possibly be real?"
"No, maybe it actually is true."
With his Sharingan activated, Sasuke had a different opinion. He pointed at a location and said, "There—it used to have traps, and more importantly, traces of barriers. Over time, these barriers have formed natural obstacles. That explains why we couldn't get out—we're trapped."
"Barriers?" Sakura sounded fearful. "Doesn't that mean powerful ninjas were here before? Can we really handle this?"
Sasuke's face showed clear confidence. "This rumor dates back a very long time, long enough for these traps to lose their power. With my eyes, getting us out shouldn't be difficult."
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Naruto was already impatient.
Inside the carriage, Anya had already been awake for a while. Seeing the environment, memories surfaced. Unexpectedly, Naruto had accidentally led them straight to the birthplace of the Zero Organization.
I even had Genzo gather some peripheral members from the Zero Organization, preparing to let them test their skills against these three. Now, it seems that won't be necessary.
However, this place is far more dangerous than those members ever were.
The toxins I created back then, which Kakuzu removed from King's body, were all left in this area. Because of the barrier, the toxins accumulated here without dispersing. Gradually, the local wildlife absorbed the poisons and became savage and brutal, forming a small-scale Deadly Poison Valley. In her spirit state, Anya already sensed the toxic creatures smelling fresh life nearby—they were approaching the three.
"Just hold on a bit longer," Anya murmured to herself. "They are the protagonists after all—they won't die that easily. Hmm, ten more minutes of rest."
Ten minutes later, Sasuke—who had released his cursed seal—was already unconscious and lying motionless. Naruto protected Sakura and Sasuke fiercely with his Multiple Shadow Clones. Surrounding them were countless swarms of poisonous creatures: rats, ants, scorpions, snakes.
Their eyes glowed with a bloodshot green hue as they continuously emitted a rustling sound. The air also filled with purple toxins. As Naruto expended more and more physical energy fighting, his eyelids began uncontrollably drooping—he was about to faint.
Shaking with terror, Sakura couldn't help screaming desperately toward the sky, "Master, where are you?"
"Coming right up," said Anya, her familiar lazy voice appearing.
Blades rained down from the sky like torrential rain. Under the influence of the Sword Manipulation Art, the Supreme Blade finally unleashed its full power for the first time. In an instant, over a thousand whirling blades swept through the area, obliterating every single toxic creature surrounding the three.
Arriving at the scene, Anya took out a pill, crushed it lightly between her fingers, and scattered it into the air. The purple poison gas vanished instantly, as if meeting its match.
Rescued just moments from death, Naruto witnessed this scene and couldn't help but smile in relief before his body finally gave way and he fell to the ground. His several shadow clones also vanished into thin smoke.
"Naruto!" Worried, Sakura supported Naruto's body. Looking at the two boys lying beside her, fear gripped her heart—it was just like what happened during the Chunin Exams in the Death Forest.
With tears welling up in her eyes, Sakura looked at Anya who had appeared so calmly and asked, "Master, please tell me they'll be okay. Hurry and save them!"
Anya smiled and said casually, "Don't worry, they just inhaled some poison gas. A ten-day or half-month nap will fix everything. Although... Sasuke..."
Sakura's face paled, and she tightened up nervously. "What's wrong with Sasuke? He'll be fine, right?"
"He used an immature power, putting his body on the verge of collapse. On top of inhaling the toxin, he's now teetering on the edge of death."
Seeing how pale Sakura turned and noticing the dullness returning to her eyes, Anya changed tone quickly. "But it's nothing serious. Who says misfortune can't strike when you have someone like me as your master? I'll heal him."
Frustrated, Sakura snapped, "Master, could you just finish your sentences at once next time? Hurry and treat them already!"
Anya shrugged. "I've already taken action. The poisonous gas from the pill was released into the air just now. Through their breathing, the poisonous gas will gradually be expelled from their bodies. As for how long it takes for them to wake up, that depends on each individual's physical condition."
"So simple as that?" Sakura looked at Anya with doubt, clearly not buying it.
"Huh, what's going on? How long was I out?" Naruto sat up, completely confused.
Before anyone could react, Sakura had a dark line twitching on her forehead before landing a punch straight into Naruto's face, shouting, "You can keep sleeping!"
Still confused, Naruto took the hit and collapsed once again.
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