Naruto :Madam, You Don’t Want Anything To Happen To Sasuke, Right?

"Was it back then…?"

Orochimaru recalled the moment he was leaving the illusion space when Uchiha Haru had patted him twice on the shoulder.

"It must have been then!"

He spoke through gritted teeth, his expression dark.

Originally, he had been planning how to slip away unnoticed after the Chunin Exam. As for the so-called compensation, he had no intention of acknowledging it.

But now…

With the Flying Thunder God Technique mark imprinted on him, no matter where he ran, the other party could appear beside him in an instant. Even if he fled to the ends of the earth, it would be useless.

And with that enormous debt looming over him… where could he possibly run?

Orochimaru's face twisted with frustration. His heart churned with misery and regret.

If he had known this would happen, he would never have provoked those little brats from the Hidden Mist Village.

In the end, he'd gained nothing and gotten himself into trouble. What a damn mess.

Still, this trip to the Forest of Death hadn't been a complete failure. He had found a body that suited him perfectly and managed to plant a Cursed Seal. One day, that body—and those terrifying, envy-inducing eyes—would be his!

…

A few days later, the second round of the Chunin Exam came to a close.

Kimimaro, Uzumaki Karin, and Chojuro had all passed the exam without incident, as expected.

But the end of the second round stirred up a massive uproar.

The higher-ups of many major villages had arrived—Uchiha Haru among them. Even Konoha's Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Orochimaru, who was impersonating the Fourth Kazekage, appeared in person.

The cause of the commotion? A major incident had occurred during the second round of the Chunin Exam.

Twenty-six Grass Ninja who came to participate had died.

Normally, this wouldn't have raised such alarms.

After all, entering the Forest of Death for the second round was inherently dangerous. Every participating genin had signed a waiver beforehand, acknowledging the life-threatening risks.

Each year, accidental deaths occurred during the exam—this wasn't unusual.

But this time… things were different.

The way they died was too strange. The corpses were horrifically mutilated—their faces peeled off alive, leaving behind faceless corpses.

This grotesque style of murder immediately triggered a warning in the mind of Mitarashi Anko, the proctor for the second round.

She recognized the brutality—this was Orochimaru's signature.

Orochimaru, once one of Konoha's legendary Sannin, had long since defected from the village.

Now, this extremely powerful, Kage-level traitor had returned to Konoha during the Chunin Exams.

No matter his reasons, his presence demanded immediate attention.

As a result, nearly all of Konoha's top brass had arrived.

"Could it really be him...?"

Mitarashi Anko stared at the corpse, her expression conflicted.

Once, Orochimaru had been her teacher. Then he betrayed the village. And now, suddenly, he was back. The tangled web of emotions left her lost in thought.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood solemnly nearby, smoking from his pipe as he gazed at the faceless body.

Orochimaru's reappearance was nothing short of a disaster for Konoha—especially with the village hosting the Chunin Exams. It left the Hokage feeling deeply uneasy.

Still, he consoled himself with the fact that the deceased was just a Grass Ninja. No one would pursue the matter too seriously.

If the dead had been from the Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, or Hidden Mist Villages, things would've been far more complicated. Retaliation or diplomatic fallout might've followed.

After all, while it was Orochimaru who killed them, this was Konoha's territory. As the host of the Chunin Exams, the village bore some responsibility.

Whenever someone died during the exams, the first reaction from the victim's village would naturally be to hold Konoha accountable.

It was expected.

But now… it was just a Grass Ninja. Even if the Daimyo of the Land of Grass showed up in person, so what? Would he dare speak out against Konoha—the strongest village in the ninja world?

Surely not.

Konoha might tread carefully around the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone Villages, but when it came to the Land of Grass, the village had full confidence to flex its authority.

This was the time to reinforce the dominance of the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

If you die, you die. Orochimaru killed you—go talk to him about it.

Don't point fingers at Konoha.

Simple as that.

"In addition to this Kusanagi ninja, were there any others who died during the Chunin Exam?" asked Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"There were a few more casualties," Mitarashi Anko replied. "But those were all standard deaths—nothing unusual."

The so-called "standard deaths" included those killed by wild beasts, or those who died fighting over the Heaven and Earth Scrolls.

These were acceptable risks—part of what made the Chunin Exam such a brutal proving ground.

Regardless of which village the fallen ninja came from, their deaths were considered natural consequences of combat training.

After all, the Chunin Exams were designed to test the mettle of young shinobi from every village through real-life battles. Some level of sacrifice was inevitable.

"Hmm." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and took another puff from his pipe. "Go ask around. Find out if any of the examinees encountered a particularly strange Grass Ninja."

"I want to know exactly what Orochimaru did in the Forest of Death."

As Orochimaru's former teacher, Hiruzen understood his student's methods—at least to some extent.

Orochimaru wouldn't risk coming here just to kill a few genin. He must have had a purpose.

If they could uncover what Orochimaru had done, perhaps they could predict his next move.

"Yes," Anko responded, turning to carry out his order.

After receiving the order, Mitarashi Anko quickly retreated.

By this time, the severity of the incident had become clear, and the leaders of each Hidden Village were urgently demanding updates about their own genin participants in the Chūnin Exams.

" Haru Sensei!"

Kimimaro stepped up to Uchiha Haru's side.

Though Haru wasn't officially their teacher, he occasionally gave them guidance and training. Still, Kimimaro, Chōjūrō, and Uzumaki Karin all addressed him as their sensei—and Haru never corrected them.

"What is it?" Haru asked.

Kimimaro's expression was serious. "We encountered the ninja they're talking about inside the Forest of Death."

Even now, just thinking about the encounter, he could still feel the suffocating pressure—the overwhelming force that came from such a massive gap in strength.

When the mysterious Kusanagi ninja was mentioned, Chōjūrō and Karin's faces also tensed. They looked slightly embarrassed as Chōjūrō admitted, "He… he was too strong. The three of us couldn't even touch him together."

"I know," Haru said calmly.

"You… you already knew?" Kimimaro asked in surprise. But then he caught himself and quickly understood.

He looked at Haru. "Sensei , that Kusanagi ninja… he showed up in the Forest of Death because of you, didn't he?"

"Mm," Haru nodded, signaling for Kimimaro to stop talking.

The fact that Haru had seen Orochimaru in the Forest of Death wasn't something that should be widely known. Especially now—with so many ninja from different villages around—any loose lips could lead to disastrous consequences.

Kimimaro, Chōjūrō, and Karin were sharp. They immediately understood the need for discretion.

At the same time, something that had puzzled them was now finally explained.

So the reason that mysterious ninja from Kusagakure had fled so suddenly… was because he'd seen Sensei Haru.

No wonder.

With Haru present, it didn't matter who it was—anyone would run with their tail between their legs.

Haru reached out and gave Kimimaro a light pat on the shoulder. His gaze softened as he looked at the three young ninja in front of him.

"It's not shameful to lose to someone like that."

"After all, he's a Kage-level opponent."

"K-Kage-level?" Kimimaro, Chōjūrō, and Karin's eyes widened in shock.

No wonder that man had been so terrifying. Even the three of them working together hadn't been able to lay a finger on him. Now it all made sense—he wasn't just stronger. He was on an entirely different level.

"Don't rush. Don't doubt yourselves," Haru said. "You're all still young. Among your peers, your strength is already near the top."

"When I was your age… I might not have been any stronger than you."

"But as long as you keep growing, your power will continue to rise. I'm looking forward to the day all three of you reach the Kage-level yourselves."

He glanced at Kimimaro, Karin, and Chōjūrō.

Kimimaro bore the purest bloodline of the Kaguya Clan—his Shikotsumyaku was more refined than any before him, including the clan head.

Karin was a true Uzumaki, with a resilient body and massive chakra reserves. She was also the Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails, Saiken.

Chōjūrō, though humble and lacking confidence now, would one day become the Sixth Mizukage.

Haru had high expectations for them all.

Upon hearing Haru's words, the trio felt a surge of confidence.

They believed in him—and they believed in themselves. They vowed that one day they would reach the level Haru spoke of.

Still, they didn't quite believe one thing.

That Haru had been weaker than them when he was their age?

Not a chance.

This was the man who had singlehandedly suppressed the Hidden Mist Village.

A monster whose very presence made Kage-level enemies retreat without a fight.

There was no way he had ever been "ordinary."

Even if they were confident in their own talents, they knew: compared to Haru, they still had a long way to go.

But they didn't say any of that aloud.

They accepted his words as encouragement—words that gave them purpose and motivation.

They were determined to shine during this Chūnin Exam—to live up to their teacher's expectations and make their village proud.

"In the Forest of Death," Haru asked after a pause, "did you see Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Uchiha… Sasuke?" Kimimaro echoed.

"The clan member Sensei left behind in Konoha," Karin murmured.

"We did meet him," Kimimaro confirmed.

.

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This Week Bonus Chapter - 200 Power stones

2nd Bonus Chapter - 400 Power Stones

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