In the dimly lit dungeon, the air was filled with the smell of decay and decay.

I don't know what time it is, only a little light penetrates into the dungeon, and the range that can be seen is very narrow. But that's why it's a natural refuge.

Judging from the traces of the dilapidated underground palace, it has been destroyed for at least a few decades.

In a secret room in the underground palace, the door has been cracked, and the position of the door is pressed by a large number of irregular large stones, blocking the door tightly, and no light can be revealed.

In the room, Sakura pulls out a place-type lamp to expel the darkness in the room. Originally, the lighting equipment in the room had been damaged and was in a state of disuse.

Judging from the furnishings of the room, this was originally a bedroom for people to rest, with beds, dressers, wardrobes and other furniture. However, due to the damage, the mirror of the dresser was broken, the wardrobe fell to the floor, and only the bed was still relatively intact.

There was a lot of dust piling up on the ground, and no one had cleaned it for a long time.

Sakura swept the dust off the bed and asked Naruto to put Sasuke on the bed.

I saw Sasuke in the process of unconscious sleep, painfully grasping the clothes on his chest with his palms, and grasping hard until he grabbed many wrinkles in the clothes on his chest, and there was no sign of letting go.

His face was very pale, as if he was having some kind of terrible nightmare, and he exhaled with difficulty while he was sweating a lot.

His sweat was dripping down his shoulders, and even the clothes on his shoulders were soaked.

Behind the side of Sasuke's neck, a striking three-hooked jade curse mark appeared, and on the surface of the three black magatama curse marks, there was a layer of light purple covering, which was exactly the same color as the heterochromatic chakra that Sasuke unconsciously burst out of his body before.

While Sakura was worried about Sasuke's safety, her brows were tightly locked, and her face was solemn.

"Sasuke...... Is he okay? ”

Instead of yelling as he usually would, Naruto asked softly.

Although he usually doesn't deal with Sasuke very well, Naruto still agrees with Sasuke's personality and strength, and has regarded Sasuke as his important companion in his heart.

However, no matter how anxious he was, it was useless, because he didn't know how to use medical ninjutsu, and he could only rely on Sakura to treat Sasuke at the moment.

"I don't know."

Sakura lowered her head and said in a slightly reproachful tone.

"What? Isn't it possible to be treated with medical ninjutsu? ”

Naruto froze for a moment.

Although he hadn't seen any other medical ninja, he knew that Sakura's medical ninjutsu was very skilled, and even Kakashi had praised him more than once.

"Sasuke's state of ...... It doesn't seem to be the result of an injury, but some kind of curse. ”

Sakura had examined Sasuke's body, so it was clear that Sasuke's original injuries were not very serious, and the root of the problem was not Sasuke's own injuries at all, but the three-hooked jade curse mark on his neck.

"Cursed?"

"To put it simply, it's spelling. It is a very advanced ninjutsu, and it is said that it is difficult for even the upper ninja to master this advanced technique. Generally speaking, the effect of the spell is a secondary technique developed to bind and control the enemy......"

However, after Sakura examined Sasuke's body, she found that the spell mark on Sasuke's body was different from the effect of ordinary spell spells.

In Sasuke's body, there is a mysterious chakra that is much stronger than its own chakra, this mysterious chakra, with a strong vitality, is constantly eroding Sasuke's body and fusing into Sasuke's body.

Although fusing such a xenomorph chakra will allow the ninja to gain great power, it ...... Such a terrifying and unbelievable power, once uncontrollable, is likely to lead to death.

That's why Sakura is worried.

"Can't you lift it?"

Naruto didn't know much about spelling and asked Sakura.

"This is beyond the scope of what the lower ninja can solve, and even the upper ninja may not be able to solve it."

Sakura replied.

Because the ability of the spell seal technique is very strange and unique, the different sealing technique, the technique system adopted is independent.

Prior to this, Sakura had not been exposed to the so-called spell spell technique.

Because the conditions for learning the spell seal art are very harsh, even among the upper ninjas, only a very small number of ninjas will use it.

Only after becoming a middle ninja can you have the ability to learn the basic spell seal technique.

It is a powerful technique with a very high threshold.

"So what now?"

"I can only help Sasuke relieve the pain so that he can concentrate and resist the erosion of that xenomorph chakra in his body."

Sakura knew very well what level of her medical ninjutsu was, and the current level of problems was definitely not something that a medical ninja of her level could solve.

"By the way, Naruto, it doesn't matter what injuries you have, right?"

Sakura asked with concern.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with this, I don't know what's going on, and suddenly I don't feel much pain in my body."

Naruto scratched his head, looking like he didn't know what was going on.

Originally, I felt a lot of pain in my chest, and even my ribs were kicked and broken by the man called Orochimaru, but after a while, I didn't feel any pain anymore.

It made Naruto feel incredible.

Sakura glanced at Naruto suspiciously, not believing Naruto's words, you know, it was a powerful ninja who was one of the three ninjas.

Any attack is enough to easily kill the shinobi. Naruto was directly hit by the other party's kick, and it stands to reason that at least it would end up with a serious injury.

So, Sakura still checked Naruto's physical condition and found that as Naruto said, his injuries were already healed.

This phenomenon made Sakura puzzled and suspicious.

Although she knew that Naruto belonged to the kind of person with very good physical ability, but the recovery ability of the physique was so strong, was it too abnormal?

"Actually, I can't talk about this matter, when I was a child, I was hit on the head with a stone, and it will automatically recover after a while."

Naruto vaguely felt that it had something to do with something in his body.

It's just that he also knows that the 'things' in his body shouldn't tell Sakura too much.

The most important thing is that he only suspects, and there is no definite evidence that the demon fox in his body did it.

"Well, if you have any questions, feel free to call me. I'm going to dispense medicine for Sasuke now to relieve the pain in his body, and I'll ask you to stand by and watch over him. ”

"Sakura-chan, don't worry, leave this matter to me."

Naruto patted his chest, reassuring himself as he walked to a corner of the room, where he stood guard, staring in the direction of the stone-piled doorway.

Seeing Naruto guarding on the side, Sakura also nodded, took out the portable medical kit, and began to dispense medicine to relieve Sasuke's pain at the moment.

That's the only thing she can do right now.

Not to mention that she doesn't know any spell spell technique herself, even if she is proficient in spell sealing, if she doesn't know the nature of the spell spell technique, rashly casting it will only further stimulate the spell spell to go berserk and put Sasuke in a more dangerous situation.

As the minutes ticked by, the atmosphere in the room was very quiet, except for Sasuke's muttered a painful murmur from time to time, muttering the name 'Itachi' in his mouth.

And when this name is mentioned, Sasuke's expression also becomes extremely weird, painful, nostalgic, and hateful...... All kinds of complicated expressions made Sasuke seem to be changing his face, so Sakura couldn't tell which one was Sasuke's real appearance.

"Itachi?"

Naruto heard Sasuke keep muttering the name, as if the name had a different meaning to Sasuke.

Sakura glanced at Naruto and said in a low voice, "I don't know much about this, the Uchiha clan was wiped out a few years ago, and it is said that the murderer is Sasuke's brother, whose name is Itachi." He, like the Orochimaru we saw before, is a dangerous S-class rebel who defected to the village. ”

Hearing Sakura say this, Naruto also fell silent slightly.

Looking at Sasuke, who was there and whispering the name 'Itachi' in pain, I don't know why, but I felt that Sasuke was not as annoying as before.

It turns out that he, like me, has a very tragic past. Thinking of this, Naruto's mood suddenly became complicated.

Behind Sasuke's glamorous appearance, there has always been a painful side that no one knows.

"Sakura-chan, I'm ......"

Before Naruto could finish speaking, there was a boom, and the whole room shook, interrupting what Naruto was about to say.

A large number of rocks that had been blocking the doorway suddenly exploded with a bang, causing smoke and dust to fill the room, choking Naruto and Sakura coughing.

"What people!"

Naruto swept away the dust that poured in, his eyes wary at the few figures that appeared in the doorway.

Because there was smoke and dust in it, Naruto couldn't tell who was standing in the doorway.

Sakura also took out the kunai and guarded it next to the bed board to prevent the next battle from affecting Sasuke.

"Don't do it, it's me."

A familiar voice came from the smoke and dust, and a slender figure walked out first, silver-white hair, a mask over his face, and a short knife behind his back, it was Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei!?"

Naruto let out a surprise and walked over.

"Wait, Naruto! It's the time of the Chunin exam, and Kakashi-sensei, who is the maintenance staff of the exam room, can't get out at all, so be careful not to be deceived! ”

Sakura wasn't as impulsive as Naruto, and the way she looked at Kakashi was more vigilant.

Hearing Sakura say this, Naruto, who was originally excited, also calmed down, took a step back, and looked at Kakashi vigilantly.

Indeed, as Sakura said, it is now the second exam of the Chunin exam, and Kakashi, who is the person in charge of the examination room, cannot enter the examination room in person until the end of the exam.

"You're not Kakashi-sensei, tell me, who the hell are you? Don't try to fool us! ”

Naruto poses the seal, and if the other party does not give a reasonable explanation, he will use the shadow clone technique to solve the other party.

"That...... It's a bit sudden, but I'm right. ”

Kakashi explained.

"You're too slow to explain that. To put it simply, because some unexpected situations were found in the examination room, we, the maintenance personnel of the Zhongnin exam, will be specially approved to come in! ”

Behind Kakashi, two more figures approached.

It's Kazuhime.

Next to him is a young man with long red hair, a member of the Oni Country Shinobi who followed Ichihime this time.

"Ah, you're the ...... of the country of waves."

Naruto recognized Kazuhime.

"See you again, yellow-haired boy. But this sentence is not right, not only the country of waves, but also in Konoha before. But now is not the time to talk about that, we need to know about it from you. ”

Because of the tight schedule, Kazuhime didn't plan to catch up with Naruto, but went straight to the point.

"Situation?"

Sakura frowned.

"That's right, we found Konoha S-class rebel ninja Orochimaru and lurked in the examination room under the neglect of the people on the periphery of the examination room. We, the maintainers, came in to deal with this. But depending on the situation, that Orochimaru guy should have retreated. Originally, I wanted to get him a new Kusanagi sword. ”

Kazuhime pressed her hand on the hilt of her saber at her waist and smiled softly.

"However, how can you prove that you are not the rest of the candidates who used the transformation technique to deceive us?"

Sakura still hadn't let her guard down.

Although Naruto seems to have a bit of a friendship with Kazuhime, she still can't trust the people in front of her.

Kazuhime looked at Kakashi, who scratched his head helplessly and said, "Then I'll tell you an important secret that only our seventh class knows." ”

Hearing this, Naruto and Sakura suddenly became curious.

If the other party can really tell the secret that only Class Seventh knows, it can indeed prove that the identities of Kakashi and the others are true.

I only heard Kakashi cough, glanced at Ichihime on the side, hesitated for a moment, and said, "You should remember that during the first survival drill, Naruto was stabbed in the ass by me......"

The next words, Kakashi really couldn't say any more, he believed that this secret was enough to exchange Naruto and Sakura's trust in him.

“……”

“……”

Naruto and Sakura were stunned on the spot, falling into an eerie state of silence.

"What a secret! Damn, I'm going to kill you! ”

After Naruto's silence, he suddenly became furious, as if he felt a dull pain in his butt again.

It was not easy to end that unbearable past, and now that Kakashi was mentioned, or in front of outsiders, Naruto had the idea of killing Kakashi.

"Naruto, calm down, this person in front of you is indeed Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura stopped Naruto's impulsiveness.

Although Kakashi's way of proving it is a bit unusual, Kakashi did it when he stabbed Naruto's ass. Even now, in retrospect, Sakura still remembers it vividly.

While holding Naruto, he was also trying to hold back his laughter and not let him laugh out loud.

"Sakura-chan is right, and I'm here to prove that my identity is true, not to deceive you."

"Yes...... But you don't have to say such things to prove it, do you? You just said that it would be good to kill it for a thousand years? ”

"I'm afraid that if you don't say it enough, you won't believe it."

Kakashi spread his hands helplessly.

Even so, Naruto was a little hard to let go.

"Your teacher-student relationship in Konoha is really complicated, so now you can prove our identity, right?"

Kazuhime asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry for doubting you like that."

Sakura bent down to apologize.

"No, you're doing well, Sakura-chan. As a ninja, you must always be vigilant. It's the same even with acquaintances. ”

Instead of blaming Sakura, Kakashi praised Sakura's actions.

Only Naruto stood sullenly on the sidelines, but he also knew that now was not the time to lose his temper.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, are you here for Orochimaru?"

Sakura asked.

"Yes, we received information that Orochimaru broke into the examination room for some purpose. Looking at you like this, you should have already encountered him. I'd like to hear from you about what happened. ”

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke lying on the bed and whispered.

"Okay."

Sakura also glanced at Sasuke lying on the bed with concern, and began to tell the whole story of what happened to her team and Orochimaru.

And also explained to Kakashi and the others about the curse mark on Sasuke's body.

"Curse seals? Speaking of which, in the past, our Oni Country military also caught some of Orochimaru's test subjects, and on those test subjects, traces of spell seals were found. ”

Kazuhime walked over to the bed and looked down at the curse mark on the back of Sasuke's neck.

It is very similar to the pattern of the three-hook jade writing wheel eye, but the power contained in it is completely different.

"Is there a solution to that?"

Sakura asked.

Kazuhime didn't speak, but looked at the red-haired Shinobu who followed her.

The red-haired Shinobu walked over, inspected Sasuke, shook his head slightly, and said, "I can temporarily suppress the power of this curse, but I can't solve it once and for all." It's beyond my means. If you want to solve it once and for all, I'm afraid you need to take action from Lord Shiraishi himself. ”

"So, in other words, just go to what you call 'Shiraishi-sama', right?"

Sakura had a look of hope in her eyes.

"Sakura-chan."

Kakashi walked over with a serious face.

Sakura gave Kakashi a blank look, not knowing what Kakashi was doing when he stopped him.

"My old man has a lot of opportunities, so he doesn't have the time to pay attention to such a trivial matter. What's more, this is an internal matter of your Konoha and there is no reason for the Oni Country to get involved. Otherwise, your three generations of adults will have something to say again. ”

Kazuhime said.

"How so? Sasuke: He was ...... by Orochimaru because of the negligence of the maintenance staff"

Sakura wants to argue with reason.

"The second exam is not under the management of the Ghost Country, even if there is an uncontrollable accident during the exam, it is the main responsibility of Sha Yin, and it has nothing to do with our Ghost Country. Don't get things wrong. ”

Kazuhime said lightly.

Sakura was about to say something, but Kakashi patted her on the shoulder to stop her from speaking.

"Okay, Sakura-chan, she's right, it's not the responsibility of the Oni Country. Now I'm going to give you two options. ”

"Two choices?"

Sakura asked.

"First, you give up the exam and wait for next year's exam."

"What!?"

Before Sakura could speak, Naruto couldn't sit still.

It's finally come to this point, how can you give up the exam?

Kakashi's suggestion, Naruto was the first to disagree.

Ignoring Naruto's jumping reaction, Kakashi continued, "Second option, you guys continue with the exam. But to carry Sasuke's oil bottle with you may cause Sasuke to die from his injuries, and it may also cause Sasuke to drag you down, so that you will fall into an unfavorable situation in the next battle and be completely annihilated. ”

After saying the second option, this time Naruto also quieted down a little, with a blank look in his eyes.

It is true that he is very eager to pass the Zhongnin exam.

But as Kakashi said, Sasuke's current situation is not good.

Choosing to continue with the exam means that Sasuke will become a drag oil bottle in the team, and his life will be in danger at any time, and it will also lead to the destruction of the team.

This is also something that Naruto can't bear.

"The choice is given to you, how you choose is up to you."

Kakashi said in a calm tone.

Sakura fell silent, her mind preferring the second option - to give up the exam.

The Shinobi exam is held every year, but there is only one life.

In such an unfavorable situation, there is no need to risk your life to gamble.

It's just that this is just her personal opinion, as the temporary captain of the squad, she also needs to respect Naruto's thoughts.

The expression on Naruto's face was very complicated, and after struggling for about ten seconds, Naruto exhaled and calmed down.

"Kakashi-sensei, you once said we were one, right? Respect and value the lives of your peers at all times. ”

"Yes. But missions are also very important for ninjas. For you, the Shinobi exam is a task that must be completed. ”

Kakashi stared at Naruto.

"That being said, the current situation does not allow us to have both......"

Naruto was also very reluctant in his heart, and he also knew the rules of ninjas.

Because the first exam has already made it clear how important the mission is for a ninja.

To give up the mission is to give up the dignity of a ninja.

Naruto didn't blame this act against his will, the only thing he felt unwilling was to hate his lack of strength.

If he is strong enough, there is no need to make such a difficult choice.

But for now, a decision must be made.

Naruto sighed, raised his palm and said, "Kakashi-sensei, I choose the second ......"

However, a cold voice interjected:

"I chose to continue with the exam."

Calm, cold, but also full of firmness.

Everyone looked at the location of the sound source, Sasuke didn't know when he woke up, and he was struggling to sit on the bed with his arms propped up, his eyes were blood-red, and two black magatama appeared in the eyes of each writing wheel, which looked extremely mysterious.

Have you evolved to the form of Nimagatama? Interesting. Ichihime saw Sasuke's writing wheel eyes, which had evolved from one hook to two hooks, and the corners of his mouth hooked slightly.

It seems that this time the ninjas of the country of ghosts will meet their opponents this time.

"Sasuke!?"

Naruto and Sakura looked at Sasuke in surprise, who had woken up.

"Sorry to worry you two, and ...... Naruto, thank you. ”

Sasuke said this awkwardly.

He had heard the conversation between Naruto and Kakashi clearly just now, and he knew very well what choice Naruto was going to make.

Also understood why Naruto made such a choice.

"Well, it's okay, you just need to wake up."

Naruto scratched his head a little at a loss for being thanked by Sasuke like this, he had never seen such a Sasuke, and he didn't know how to face it.

"Hmm."

After thanking Naruto, Sasuke wrapped his palm around his hot neck, where the curse mark was located.

He said to Kakashi, "Kakashi, let's choose to continue with the exam. That's my answer. ”

"But, Sasuke, you ......"

Sakura wanted to say something, but heard Sasuke say, "Don't worry, Sakura, I won't force myself." I know exactly where I am, and the sigil isn't a bad thing for me right now, and I've found the knack for mastering it. ”

There was confidence in Sasuke's tone.

Sakura stopped talking, just keeping her worries in the bottom of her heart.

"That's all right, Kakashi?"

Sasuke looked directly at Kakashi.

"You're still the same, and you like to be self-reliant. But I'm relieved to see that you're okay. ”

Saying that, Kakashi looked at Kazuhime and said, "Since it's okay here, then let's go, Maki Kamishinobu is there, and I still need to report on the situation here." ”

"Whatever you want. As long as it doesn't interfere with the conduct of the third exam, for me, there is no problem. ”

Kazuhime shrugged her shoulders and replied.

Kakashi nodded, glanced at Sasuke and the others, and turned to leave.

"So, I wish you all the best of luck in your exams. As a shinobi, you should be very interesting at that time. ”

Kazuhime smiled, and the red-haired Oni no Shinobu turned around and left, not dragging his feet at all.

After Kazuhime and the others left, Sasuke relaxed his tense nerves and sat on the bed, frowning, as if he was in a little pain.

But soon, this pain was suppressed by Sasuke, and his expression returned to normal.

"Sasuke, are you really okay?"

Seeing that Sasuke's body seemed to be a little inconvenient, Sakura thought that Sasuke was holding on.

Sasuke still shook his head and said, "No problem, I'm in better shape than ever." Instead of worrying about my body, let's think about how to pass the exam next. ”

His body wasn't as bad as Sakura thought it would be.

Although the curse mark did have some negative effects on his body, as long as the negative influence was suppressed, then the curse mark would not only not become a drag, but would also become a huge boost to his strength.

"And that guy called Orochimaru, sooner or later I'll have to learn about Itachi from him, even if it's by violent means."

Sasuke's tone was unusually resolute.

Orochimaru mentions Itachi's tone, and it's obvious that he knows Itachi.

Coupled with the fact that both of them are Konoha rebels, it is very likely that the two have had some communication after defecting.

In this way, if you want to know the news of Itachi, Orochimaru is a good breakthrough.

Sasuke has already decided that even if Orochimaru does not come to him in the future, he will go to find Orochimaru himself.

Until then, passing the Nakashinobi exam and becoming a Nakashinobi is the top priority.

As the level of the ninja increases, the authority in the village will become greater and greater, and when it comes to dealing with Itachi, you can also get some support from the village.

Therefore, for Sasuke, there is only one way to go in this middle ninja exam from beginning to end, and that is to achieve the final victory of the exam and defeat all the strong enemies that appear in front of him!

Similarly, just in order to revitalize Konoha's Uchiha in the future, he must also raise his ninja class as soon as possible.

Nakashinobi is just a starting point, not an end for him.