The Sakura Legend

Within the Forest of Death

"Kid, are you going to hand it over or not?" the lead Rain ninja asked, seeing Sakura just standing there, panting heavily and not speaking.

"Then don't blame me."

The lead Rain ninja threw a kunai at Sakura. Sakura didn't speak or defend herself, a slight smile playing on her lips. The Rain ninja was even more enraged. "You dare to smile when you're about to die?" The Rain ninja, due to his blind faith in his own ninjutsu, didn't believe his opponent had any chance of turning the tables.

The kunai struck Sakura's body, and she burst into a cloud of smoke with a "poof."

"A Substitution Jutsu?" The Rain ninja, seeing Sakura disappear, immediately became cautious.

"No, it's Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" Just as the Rain ninja muttered to himself, the ground suddenly cracked open, and Naruto burst out from below, delivering an uppercut to the Rain ninja's jaw. At the moment Naruto emerged, the other two Rain ninja were also struck in the knees by kunai and water bullets, respectively, and collapsed.

"Idiot, Naruto! Don't shout when you're launching a sneak attack!" Sasuke said, displeased, seeing that their opponents were down.

Sasuke then stepped forward and knocked out the two incapacitated Rain ninjas.

"Damn it, Sasuke, shut up! You're always picking on me!" Naruto snapped, instantly flaring up at Sasuke's words.

"You two, stop arguing. Search them and see which scroll they have," Sakura said casually. As long as the enemy had revealed themselves, whether the sneak attack was successful or not, it didn't matter to Sakura. With the Strength of a Hundred Seal activated, she could simply overpower them with ninjutsu.

Sakura searched one of them for a while but found nothing. Suddenly, Naruto shouted from the side, "Here it is! It's the Earth Scroll!"

The Earth Scroll? Sakura was relieved to hear it was the Earth Scroll. Their efforts hadn't been in vain. Her team had the Heaven Scroll, so they now had a complete set. Excellent.

"Naruto, Sasuke, let's head directly to the central tower. We might be the first team to complete the mission," Sakura said to them.

"The first? Wow, that's great! We're the first!" Naruto exclaimed, excitedly clutching the Heaven and Earth Scrolls.

"Hmph," Sasuke's face also showed a hint of happiness. He, too, was pleased with the possibility of being first, not wanting to be second to anyone. "But, Sakura, it's too early to relax. We might encounter other teams trying to intercept us along the way. Do you have enough chakra?"

Sasuke was a little worried about Sakura's condition. He knew Sakura had a special way of storing chakra, but he didn't know how much she had stored.

"Don't worry, I'm in great shape. I'll still be alive even if you die," Sakura joked, a rare occurrence.

"Tch," Sasuke huffed, turning his head away with a dark look on his face after hearing Sakura's words.

"Then, Sakura-chan, let's hurry. Let's get to the central tower before nightfall," Naruto said eagerly. "It'll be harder to travel once it gets dark."

"Sasuke, what do you think? I'm fine with resting or not," Sakura said.

The three of them hadn't exerted themselves much. Sasuke and Naruto hadn't engaged in much combat, and only Sakura had used a significant amount of chakra. However, with the replenishment from the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she was in even better condition than Naruto and Sasuke.

After the three made their decision, they immediately set off towards the tower. But things never go quite as planned. Not long after they set out, they finally encountered an enemy.

Seeing the figure ahead, with no attempt at concealment, the Grass headband, the pale complexion, and the predatory aura, appearing suddenly in their path...

Sakura's heart sank. She hadn't managed to avoid Orochimaru's interception after all. If it weren't for the need to obtain the scrolls, Sakura would have suggested that Sasuke head directly to the central tower.

She had thought that by getting the scroll at the beginning and heading straight for the central tower, they would bypass Orochimaru's interception. But they had still been intercepted. Could it be that Orochimaru had already marked Sasuke back at the exam venue?

The more Sakura thought about it, the more likely it seemed. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. She needed to stall for time and get to the central tower. That was the priority.

She roughly estimated the distance; they were still about 4 kilometers from the central tower. Anko should have entered the Forest of Death by now to search for Orochimaru. It would take time for the personnel at the central tower to notice the disturbance here, and it would take time for them to arrive.

Orochimaru wasn't trying to kill Sasuke; placing the curse mark only took a second.

It seemed they would have to fight while moving forward, getting as close to the central tower as possible. Relying solely on Anko wasn't safe; the central tower was the safer option.

"Hehehe, more enemies? Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you!" Naruto said, seeing only one person blocking their path. He clenched his fists and stepped forward.

"Naruto, fall back. This enemy isn't someone we can take lightly," Sakura said, stepping in front of Naruto to block him.

"Hehehe... Do you want this scroll?" Orochimaru said, holding up the Earth Scroll. "You have the Heaven Scroll, right?"

"No, we don't want it," Sakura replied firmly, rejecting Orochimaru's offer.

"..." Orochimaru was momentarily silent. "Then I want your Heaven Scroll."

"Here you go, take it," Sakura said, taking the Heaven Scroll from Naruto's grasp.

They would have to fight sooner or later anyway. Might as well stall for time, even if it angered Orochimaru.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing?! How can you give the Earth scroll that we fought so hard for to the enemy? This is not the Sakura-chan I know!" Orochimaru didn't say anything, but Naruto was the first to object, shouting at Sakura.

Sasuke was also puzzled, looking at Sakura. But his hand held a kunai, silently on guard. Unlike the hot-blooded and naive Naruto, Sasuke understood from Sakura's actions that the person in front of them was dangerous, so dangerous that even Sakura had to give up the scroll.

"..." Orochimaru was silent again. If Orochimaru had a sense of humor, he would have cursed "mmp" by now.

Sakura didn't directly throw the scroll to Orochimaru. Sakura knew that even if she gave him the scroll, Orochimaru wouldn't let Sasuke go.

"Come and get it," Sakura said, relaxing her entire body to deceive Orochimaru. Orochimaru had a deep understanding of the human body. He could tell whether she was preparing to launch a sneak attack or sincerely handing over the scroll just by observing her muscle movements.

She held the scroll in her hand, waiting for Orochimaru to approach. When he did, Sakura would use her superior chakra control to launch a surprise attack.

"Hehehe... I hope you really intend to hand over the scroll," Orochimaru said, starting to walk towards her.

Orochimaru wasn't so easily fooled. He was confident that even if Sakura attacked, she wouldn't be able to harm him. All he needed to do was get close to Sasuke and, taking him by surprise, place the curse mark.

Orochimaru didn't want to cause too much commotion here. The real action would be during the third exam. One of his main purposes in coming to Konoha was Uchiha Sasuke.

And so, the two individuals, each harboring their own schemes, slowly drew closer to each other...