Late at night, four figures sneaked into Konoha Village.
These four were Sakon and Ukon, Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Jirobo. They were all ninjas from Otogakure and subordinates of Orochimaru.
Their purpose for this trip was to bring Sasuke to Orochimaru.
After the four sneaked into Konoha, Sakon and Ukon said, "Tsk, is Konoha deserted now? We got in so easily, there isn't even a single guard at the gate."
"Aren't things going well? Let's find Sasuke quickly and finish Lord Orochimaru's mission," Tayuya said.
"Right." The four of them split up and started searching for Sasuke's whereabouts within Konoha.
At this moment, Zabuza Momochi was standing at the main entrance of Konoha.
Behind Zabuza Momochi, there were several Konoha ninjas responsible for guarding the gate, but they were all in a coma.
"Naruto really hit the nail on the head. There really are four people sneaking into Konoha," Zabuza Momochi said. "That brat Naruto, why is he always so good at predicting things?"
Zabuza Momochi recalled what had happened not long ago.
Naruto assigned him a mission, saying, "Lately, Konoha is really short of money. After Orochimaru's invasion, the village needs to be rebuilt, and there isn't enough money."
Zabuza Momochi said, "Naruto, have you gone broke? But if you become the Hokage, I can work for you for free. As long as you let me stay in Konoha permanently after you become the Hokage, I'll do things for you without charging."
"You're the one who's gone broke, and so is your whole family," Naruto said angrily. "I mean, Konoha is short of money. So, for some time recently, all the Jonin in Konoha have to go on missions to earn money to rebuild the village."
"Oh."
Naruto then continued, "For some time recently, there aren't even any Jonin in Konoha. It's a perfect opportunity for the enemy to take advantage of the situation."
Zabuza asked, "Do you want me to help defend Konoha?"
"No," Naruto said with a mischievous smile. "I want you to knock out the Konoha gatekeepers and let the enemies in to avoid unnecessary casualties."
Coming out of the memory, Zabuza Momochi watched helplessly as the four Sound Ninjas broke into Konoha and then let them go.
The four Sound Ninjas who broke into Konoha Village soon found Sasuke's whereabouts and then secretly sent a signal to regroup.
They saw Sasuke walking in an empty alley, and the four Sound Ninjas surrounded him.
"Who are you?" Sasuke asked first.
"Hehehe..." The four Sound Ninjas all let out strange laughter, as if mocking Sasuke.
Sasuke shook his head and coldly said, "You're here to take me away, right? Then let's get it over with."
"What...?" Tayuya said in shock. "Is this for real? He's not even putting up a fight."
Jirobo showed a strange smile and said, "Isn't that even better? It saves us a lot of trouble."
After that, Sasuke voluntarily followed the four from Otogakure out of Konoha.
At this moment, in the Konoha Hospital, the severely - injured Sasuke was still lying unconscious on the hospital bed.
Naruto and Hinata were guarding Sasuke's side.
Hinata was peeling an apple. She stuffed the peeled apple into Naruto's mouth, then blushed and said, "Naruto-kun, I had a strange dream. In the dream, I was taking a hot spring bath..."
Naruto took a bite of the apple piece Hinata offered, and his lips just barely grazed her fingers.
Naruto asked, munching on the apple piece, "Then what? What kind of dream was it?"
Hinata replied shyly, her cheeks flushed, "While I was in the hot spring, all sorts of strange things kept appearing around me, and they all looked like you, Naruto-kun..."
Hinata recalled the dream. It was indeed a very strange one. At that time, all the flowers, plants, trees, stones, benches, and even the wooden basins and water vats around the hot spring had turned into Naruto's appearance and were dancing and singing around Hinata.
Naruto was stunned. The dream Hinata described was actually a Genjutsu[b]Genjutsu[/b] he had cast. He could only force out an awkward laugh.
At this moment, Haku suddenly appeared. Haku said, "Naruto, four people have broken into Konoha and taken Sasuke away."
"The one they took isn't Sasuke. It's Sasuke's older brother," Naruto pointed at Sasuke behind him and said, "Haku, you're in charge of guarding Sasuke. Don't let any strange people get close to him."
"Yes," Haku replied and then hid in the darkness, disappearing into thin air.
"Hehe," Naruto began to look forward to it and whispered, "I wonder what expression Orochimaru will have when he realizes that the Sasuke standing in front of him is actually Itachi."
"Let's go, Hinata. Let's follow them," Naruto said as he led Hinata towards the outskirts of the village.
Naruto brought Hinata to the village entrance, and Zabuza Momochi emerged.
Naruto asked, "How long have they been gone?"
Zabuza Momochi said, "Not long."
"Byakugan[b]Byakugan[/b]," Hinata activated her Byakugan[b]Byakugan[/b] and instantly spotted the enemy hundreds of meters away. She quickly determined the direction.
"Found them," Hinata pointed forward and said, "They're heading north."
"Follow them," Naruto said as he led Hinata and Zabuza in pursuit of the Sound Ninjas.
At this moment, in the bushes hundreds of meters away, the four Sound Ninjas began to unleash the full power of their Cursed Seals[b]Cursed Seals[/b]. All four of them entered the second form of their Cursed Seals[b]Cursed Seals[/b], and their appearances became grotesque.
Sakon and Ukon explained, "Sasuke, you've also been marked with the Cursed Seal[b]Cursed Seal[/b] by Lord Orochimaru. You also possess this kind of power."
Sakon and Ukon took out a bottle of Mind Awakening Pill[b]Mind Awakening Pill[/b] and said, "As long as you take these pills and enter the sealed coffin we've prepared for you, you'll be able to master this power when you come out."
Kidomaru added, "The Heavenly and Earthly Cursed Seals[b]Heavenly and Earthly Cursed Seals[/b] you've received let you enter the second form of the Cursed Seal[b]Cursed Seal[/b] without the Mind Awakening Pill[b]Mind Awakening Pill[/b]. With the pills, you can unlock the third form of the Cursed Seal[b]Cursed Seal[/b], something no one has ever achieved."
Sasuke took the Mind Awakening Pill[b]Mind Awakening Pill[/b]. In fact, this Sasuke was Itachi Uchiha, and he didn't want to take those strange things from Orochimaru.
"Caw—"
Suddenly, the cry of a Puppet: Corpse Crow came from the tree, startling the four Sound Ninjas.
At this moment, Sasuke swallowed the Mind Awakening Pill[b]Mind Awakening Pill[/b] in his hand and then jumped into the sealed coffin.
Tayuya said, "I always feel something's off, but I can't quite put my finger on it."
Jirobo: "Why think so much? Anyway, Sasuke is very obedient and has been doing what we asked. Next, we just need to bring Sasuke before Lord Orochimaru."
"Your Lord Orochimaru is probably wailing in pain right now," Naruto Uzumaki emerged from the grass alone, facing the four Sound Ninjas by himself.
Sakon and Ukon, Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Jirobo all stared intently at Naruto.
Jirobo shouted in a deep voice, "It's just a kid. Let's team up and take him out."
Naruto gave a look as if he were looking at a fool, and with an expectant smile on his face, he said, "Then come at me all four of you."
"No," Tayuya quickly said, "He's Naruto Uzumaki. He defeated Kabuto and Manda and gave Lord Orochimaru a huge setback."
"You even know that?" Naruto continued, "It seems Orochimaru told you. Did he tell you what to do if you run into me?"
"Run!" Sakon and Ukon shouted urgently and quickly fled. The other three quickly followed, with Jirobo carrying the sealed coffin on his back.
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