As his body was forcibly separated from Sasuke's, Sakon's monstrous face was filled with shock and terror.
Ukon, who wasn't far away, sensed something was wrong and hurried over.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked.
Sakon staggered as he fully disengaged from Sasuke.
Ukon stepped forward and caught him, frowning.
"What the hell are you doing? Why didn't you take the chance to kill him?"
Puchi!
Before he could finish speaking, Sakon's arm suddenly pierced straight through Ukon's unguarded chest, blood spraying everywhere!
"Y-you…?!"
Ukon stared at him in disbelief.
In the next instant, Sakon showed no hesitation. His blood-soaked arm turned inward and stabbed straight through his own chest!
Thud.
Both bodies collapsed to the ground at the same time, and the power of the Cursed Seal rapidly faded from them.
"Haa…"
After using genjutsu to finish off Sakon and Ukon, Sasuke exhaled heavily.
The fight hadn't lasted long, but it had consumed a large amount of chakra. Still, he had obtained an Earth Scroll, so at least the effort hadn't been wasted.
Boom!
Suddenly, a figure was blasted out of the forest and smashed hard into a massive tree. The thick trunk—so wide it would take four or five people to encircle—snapped cleanly in half.
Sasuke glanced over and saw that it was the last remaining Sound ninja.
At the same time, Naruto and Sakura rushed over.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" they asked anxiously.
Sasuke casually tossed over the Earth Scroll he had just acquired.
"What do you think?"
Seeing Sakon, Ukon, and Kidōmaru lying in pools of blood, Naruto immediately started shouting,
"Sasuke, you went too far! You didn't kill them, did you?!"
Sakura quickly knelt down to examine them.
After her recent internship at Konoha Hospital, she hadn't fully mastered medical ninjutsu yet, but she already possessed solid basic medical knowledge.
After checking them over, she said,
"Their wounds avoided vital points—they're not dead yet. But they need to be sent to the medical station immediately, or their lives will be in danger."
Near the broken tree, Tayuya struggled to her feet. Ignoring her injuries, she staggered toward Sasuke, muttering hoarsely,
"Kill you… I… I have to kill you…"
Seeing her obsession, Sasuke frowned in confusion.
"Why?"
---
In the distance
Leaning against a large tree, Orochimaru's eyes slowly narrowed.
He knew the strength of Sakon, Ukon, Kidōmaru, and Tayuya better than anyone. In their Cursed Seal states, if the three worked together, they could easily overwhelm a jōnin.
Yet they had been defeated by Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura—three brats who had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy.
What shocked Orochimaru even more was how effortlessly Sasuke had handled Sakon, Ukon, and Kidōmaru, without the desperate struggle Orochimaru had expected.
It was obvious—their strength wasn't even enough to force Sasuke to his limits.
"A bunch of trash,"
Orochimaru sneered inwardly, showing no pity for subordinates who had risked their lives to carry out his orders.
His gaze then locked onto Sasuke, and his tongue unconsciously slid across his lips.
After this battle, his interest in Sasuke grew even stronger. Sasuke was even more outstanding than he had imagined—truly worthy of the title Uchiha prodigy.
---
Inside the monitoring room
Itachi, disguised as Hyūga Kagami, watched the entire fight between Sasuke and the Sound ninja through the monitor.
Though Sasuke was arrogant, his growth was obvious. His handling of multiple crises had been precise and decisive, making him look more and more like a mature Konoha shinobi.
From several subtle details in the fight, Itachi also sensed something amiss.
The behavior of these Sound ninja is abnormal…
Jiraiya smiled.
"That kid Sasuke—his moves are getting sharper by the day."
There weren't many battles happening simultaneously in the Forest of Death, so as Sasuke's teacher, Jiraiya naturally paid close attention to his fight.
Itachi nodded.
"Yes. Kakashi's guidance has clearly been very effective."
Nearby, Tsunade frowned.
"Those Sound ninja are strange. I wonder what kind of secret technique could cause such drastic bodily transformations."
Jiraiya agreed.
"They're definitely off. They're far too focused on Sasuke. That doesn't match the rules of the second exam, which is supposed to be about competing for scrolls."
Suddenly, Tsunade pointed at another monitor.
"Look!"
Itachi and Jiraiya turned their heads together. On the screen, they could clearly see another team of Sound ninja approaching Sasuke and Naruto within the Forest of Death.
---
After easily dodging Tayuya's unsteady attack, Sasuke grabbed her in one motion, twisted her arms behind her back, and slammed her hard into the ground.
"Talk," he said coldly. "Why are you targeting me?"
Naruto and Sakura watched with equal curiosity.
The behavior of these Sound ninja—trying to kill Sasuke even at the cost of their own lives—was far too abnormal. It was as if they weren't here for the Chūnin Exams at all, but solely to assassinate him.
Tayuya laughed hoarsely.
"Even if you beat us, it won't change anything! Uchiha Sasuke—you're going to die today no matter what!"
A dark expression crossed Sasuke's face.
"You trash think you get to decide whether I live or die?"
At that moment, slow footsteps echoed from the depths of the forest.
From the calm, unhurried pace—and the complete lack of any attempt to hide—it was clear the newcomer was utterly composed.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all turned to look.
A figure emerged from the shadows: white hair, two prominent red markings on his forehead, pale features—and eyes that were cold and razor-sharp.
"Kimimaro…"
Sasuke's expression instantly darkened.
Naruto and Sakura tensed as well. They knew about Sasuke's past conflict with Kimimaro and understood that this Sound ninja was extremely dangerous. Kakashi had even privately judged Kimimaro to be on the level of a jōnin.
Sasuke released Tayuya and said coldly,
"Kimimaro, if you're the one who ordered them to attack me, then I can only say this is boring. Trash like them can't hurt me in the slightest."
Kimimaro glanced at the severely injured Sakon, Ukon, Kidōmaru, and Tayuya. His expression didn't change in the slightest.
"I'm glad," he said calmly, looking at Sasuke,
"that you didn't die at their hands."