Chapter 73: Entering the Forest of Death
Naruto looked at Hinata, both amused and exasperated, and said, "You absolutely cannot faint! If you faint now, you won't be able to participate in the Chunin Exams later."
Upon hearing Naruto's words, Hinata immediately stood at attention and promised seriously.
"I won't faint!"
"Good that you won't faint! Hurry up and sign the consent form, then go find your team!"
"Okay! I'm leaving now. Naruto-kun, you be careful too, and don't get hurt."
Naruto smiled and nodded, watching Hinata leave.
As soon as Hinata left, Sakura Haruno and Uchiha Sasuke walked over.
Naruto looked at Sakura Haruno and Uchiha Sasuke and asked, "Are you both done signing?"
Both nodded, indicating they had signed.
"Since you've signed, let's go exchange for our scrolls!"
With that, Naruto stood up, patted his butt, and led the two to exchange for their scrolls.
After Naruto received the scroll, he looked at Sasuke and Sakura Haruno and said, "Let's go! Let's discuss whether we should reach the Central Tower as quickly as possible, or take our time in the Forest of Death, as long as we arrive at the Central Tower on time."
Sasuke and Sakura Haruno didn't quite understand Naruto's meaning, but they still followed Naruto to discuss.
Once they reached an open area, Naruto looked at the two and said, "Reaching the Central Tower the fastest is relatively the safest, but it has a drawback: you won't get any training. Conversely, if we take our time, while it will hone our three-person combat strength, there's an unavoidable risk of injury or death. You two decide how to choose."
Sasuke naturally wanted to take his time to reach the Central Tower, but Sakura Haruno's strength was a hindrance.
Sakura Haruno also understood the meaning behind the two choices Naruto offered: one was for Sasuke's sake, and the other was for her own.
After a long silence, Sakura Haruno looked at Naruto and said, "Let's take our time to the Central Tower!"
Sasuke immediately said, "No! We'll do both. Sakura, you and Naruto will quickly head to the Central Tower, and I'll go alone, taking my time."
"But... that would be very dangerous for you. You might face a one-on-three situation, which is absolutely unacceptable."
"Enough nonsense! Just do as I say. Naruto, you don't have any objections, do you?"
Naruto shrugged and said, "I don't care!"
"Good, then we'll do as I say."
Sakura Haruno wanted to argue with Naruto and Sasuke, but neither of them seemed to have any intention of listening to her opinion.
While Naruto and his team were waiting for others to exchange their scrolls.
Naruto suddenly asked the System, "Will there be any problems if I inject Hashirama cells?"
"Ding, the System does not recommend the hostinject Hashirama cells. After the host cultivates Sage Mode, whether learning Wood ReleaseNinjutsu or signing in for Wood Release Ninjutsu, the host will be able to use Wood Release."
"You mean, as long as I learn Sage Mode, I can use any Ninjutsu?"
"Ding, that's right! As long as the host understands the Chakra flow method, using Sage Mode to perform it will allow you to use any Ninjutsu."
"Is Sage Mode really that powerful? What about the properties of Wood Release? Yamato's Wood Release and Senju Hashirama's Wood Release are not the same thing. Senju Hashirama's Wood Release can absorb the opponent's Chakra."
"Ding, the host has not yet learned Wood ReleaseNinjutsu, so the System cannot judge."
"Darn it! I originally planned to stay in the Villageafter the Chunin Exams, but it looks like I'll have to go with Jiraiya after all. Otherwise, it'll be hard to get my hands on Wood Release Ninjutsu!"
Just as Naruto was lost in thought, Anko Mitarashiannounced that they could now enter the Forest of Death.
Not long after entering the Forest of Death, Narutoused Kagura Minds Eye and quickly sensed two teams following them, one after another.
One Ninja from one of the teams had a Chakravolume comparable to ten Kakashi, which must be Orochimaru.
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, unsure whether he should intervene in Orochimaru biting Sasuke.
As Naruto hesitated, one person from one of the teams had already rushed over quickly.
Naruto looked at Sakura Haruno and Sasuke and said, "Wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Sasuke and Sakura Haruno knew what Naruto was going to do, so they nodded and waited in place.
Naruto used Body Flicker Technique, standing in front of the Ninja who was rushing towards them.
"Oh! A Kirigakure Ninja, huh? Did you bring a Ninjutsu scroll? If you did, I can spare your life. If not... you might have to leave your life behind."
"Don't be so arrogant! Die!"
After the Kirigakure Ninja finished speaking, he threw a Kunai.
Naruto didn't want to play games with the opponent, so he directly used five Chakra Chainsand quickly killed the opponent.
Naruto searched the opponent's body and found the Earth Scroll. He looked at the corpse and said, "Why bother! It's just a scroll, just a Chunin Exams. There's no need to stake your life on it."
With that, Naruto used Body Flicker Technique and appeared beside Sasuke and Sakura Haruno.
Naruto held the two scrolls and said, "We have both! Should we split up now? There's a big guy behind us."
Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let's split up now!"
But Sakura Haruno looked at Naruto stubbornly and said, "No! On the first day we became Ninja, Kakashi-sensei told us that the three of us are one. Moreover, Naruto just said there's a powerful guy following us."
As soon as Sakura Haruno finished speaking, a giant snake rushed out, heading straight for Naruto.
Naruto saw the giant snake and knew that Orochimaru had arrived.
Naruto blocked the snake's nose with both hands and was pushed back at least fifty meters by the snake.
After the giant snake stopped, Naruto quickly performed several backflips and stood on a large tree.
"I wonder if this snake has a gallbladder! That stuff is quite nourishing."
With that, Naruto took out Zabuza's executioners blade from his Spirit Spring Space.
"Who cares if it does! I'll just kill it first."
With that, Naruto swung the greatsword and began fighting the giant snake.
However, the giant snake fought unfairly and directly swallowed Naruto.
Naruto covered his nose and couldn't help but curse.
"Is the giant snake's suction power that strong? It stinks! It looks like I'll have to kill it from the inside."
With that, Naruto covered the greatsword with a layer of Lightning-style Chakra and, holding the greatsword with one hand, drew a circle in front of him.
Immediately after, Naruto heard a loud roar and was drenched in a bloody shower.
After kicking away the snake's head, Naruto stood on the large tree, looking at the giant snake split in two.
"Such a big snake, where's the gallbladder? Never mind, I'll peel off this snakeskin first. I'll take it back and have Hyuga Hiashi make an inner armor for Hinata; maybe it can help Hinata get less injured! If there's any extra... I'll give it to Neji! Neji died in the end, so maybe this could save his life!"