"Damn it! Why are these Konoha Genin so damn strong?!"
"Can't shake them at all!"
"Forget it… let's just give up…"
Three Cloud Village Genin huddled inside a cave, trembling, covered in blood and dirt. Their clothes were shredded, their faces pale with exhaustion.
Just as one exhaled in relief — shhk!
A kunai pressed coldly against his throat.
Three more glinted at their necks before they could even move.
"Hand over your scrolls," came the calm, deadly voice behind them.
They froze, hands rising in surrender.
Scenes like this were unfolding all across the Forest of Death.
Everywhere, Konoha Genin were dominating the field. Their teamwork was clean, their experience overwhelming. Even when outmatched in strength, they countered, adapted — and somehow turned the tables.
"I didn't think collecting both scrolls would be this easy," Ino said, grinning.
Sakura smirked. "Yeah, most of these guys leave openings everywhere. It's like they're begging to lose."
Choji trudged behind them, quiet but content as they made their way toward the central tower.
"Let's be real," Sakura added. "If Naruto hadn't trained us that hard, we'd still be struggling like before."
"Yeah," Ino agreed, stretching her arms. "All that torture finally paid off."
Suddenly — boom!
The ground quaked nearby.
"Someone's fighting," Sakura whispered.
The trio crept closer and peeked through the underbrush.
Two teams — Mist and Rock — were clashing in a fierce battle. Water and earth jutsu tore through the jungle.
"The Mist team's got the upper hand," Sakura analyzed instantly.
Ino nodded. "Yup, the Rock nin are done for."
"Water Style: Water Iron Cannon!"
Bang! Bang!
Water bullets pierced through the Rock team's legs like bullets. In seconds, all three opponents collapsed.
Mist's victory was decisive.
"Nice! I told you they had the Earth Scroll," Suigetsu crowed, smirking.
Chojuro adjusted his glasses. "You were just complaining a second ago that I was useless."
"I—uh—hey, watch out!"
Before Suigetsu could finish, the ground exploded.
A massive brown-black serpent erupted from the soil, its jaws snapping open.
Suigetsu was swallowed whole in a blink.
"Suigetsu!" Chojuro shouted, eyes wide.
Sakura's team froze — the attack had happened so fast, no one even saw it coming.
Then — whoosh!
The snake convulsed, and Suigetsu's body burst into water, splattering across the ground.
A water clone.
The real Suigetsu appeared behind them, drenched and panting.
"Who the hell—?!"
He hurled two shuriken toward the treeline.
Clang! Clang!
They were deflected.
Sakura's team stepped out from cover, hands raised. "Not us!"
Suigetsu regrouped with his teammates, scanning the forest. The oppressive presence in the air made every hair on his body stand on end.
The serpent slithered back into view, its monstrous head rising above the trees. Drool dripped from its fangs, hissing where it hit the earth — corrosive.
Sakura swallowed hard. "Yeah, no. This isn't our problem."
"Agreed," Ino said quickly. "Let's just… walk away slowly."
The air shifted.
A gust roared through the forest — and the serpent struck again.
This time, its massive body swept through both groups, Konoha and Mist alike.
"Get back!" Sakura shouted.
"Leave it to me!"
Choji stepped forward, his calm demeanor gone. "Human Boulder!"
His body spun like a wrecking ball, slamming into the serpent's side.
BOOM!
The snake recoiled, its body crashing into the ground.
"Nice hit!" Suigetsu shouted, grinning. "My turn—Water Style: Hydro Arm!"
His arm swelled grotesquely, turning into a giant water hammer.
CRASH!
The punch sent the serpent crashing through trees.
"Water Style: Water Teeth!"
Thousands of water bullets rained down from Chojuro's jutsu, shredding the snake's body.
Toyichiro followed up, unleashing a slicing water blade.
With one final strike, the serpent's head flew clean off — blood spraying across the clearing.
The forest went still.
"Finally…" Suigetsu exhaled, relaxing. "What a pain."
Sakura approached, still cautious. "That was insane."
He grinned weakly. "Yeah, guess I owe you one—"
"Watch out!"
Ino screamed.
Suigetsu's instincts kicked in, and he leapt back just as a spray of water bullets tore through where he'd stood.
His eyes darted to Chojuro's position — his teammate's face was pale, his attack trembling mid-air.
"…That wasn't me."
Sakura's clone exploded beside them in a puff of white smoke.
Suigetsu turned cold.
Before he could react further, he felt it.
A tongue — long, wet, and cold — sliding along his neck.
Every nerve in his body screamed.
"Water Style: Hydration Technique!"
He liquefied instantly, melting into a puddle that splashed away from the attack, reforming near his allies.
And then they saw him.
A tall figure emerged from the shadows, draped in the forehead protector of the Grass Village. But everything about him was wrong — his aura, his smile, his very presence.
It wasn't human.
"Who are you?" Suigetsu barked.
The stranger's grin widened, his golden eyes slitted like a serpent's.
"Little devils… why struggle? Just surrender quietly."
His voice was soft — smooth, almost feminine — but dripping with menace.
He stepped forward.
And the world changed.
A wave of killing intent exploded from his body, crashing through the clearing like a hurricane of death.
Everyone froze.
Sasuke, Mist's trio, Sakura's squad — every one of them felt it.
Their bodies locked. Their hearts screamed.
In their minds, mountains of corpses rose. Blood filled the air. The forest twisted into a field of bones.
Suigetsu's knees hit the dirt. His breathing stopped. Even Chojuro's sword trembled in his grip.
The three Konoha Genin stumbled back, gasping for air — the only ones barely managing to move.
The Grass ninja tilted his head in surprise, his smile curling wider.
"Oh? Interesting…"
His golden eyes shifted — finally landing on Sakura, Ino, and Choji.
"And who," he whispered, voice low and hungry, "might you three be?"
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