Naruto: Mikoto and Tsunade, don't let either of them go.

Page 157

Sasuke glanced at the Heavenly Scroll in his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips, and casually tossed it to Naruto beside him.

"Naruto, put the scroll away."

"Hey, Sasuke, we've already collected all the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, so there's no need to take his scroll away, right?"

Naruto hurriedly took the scroll while shouting.

After hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke simply dusted off non-existent dust from his hands, glanced at him calmly, a slight smile playing on his lips, before continuing:

"What do you know? This is the price they paid for attacking us just now. This is also the rule among ninjas: if someone does something wrong and doesn't pay the price, they will do it again next time."

"Besides, as you should have seen, they weren't attacking the two of us, but rather Karin. For guys like that, just knocking them down is already quite an achievement."

At this point, Sasuke glanced at Karin, who was currently examining the ninja's injuries, and said with a slightly softened expression:

"Karin, don't worry. I knew what I was doing when I made my move. They should be able to recover in about half an hour."

Karin had finished inspecting the squad of ninjas and knew that Sasuke was right; he had indeed shown mercy. She nodded and said:

"Alright, let's throw these guys up into the trees first. That way, before they regain their mobility, they won't be helpless when they encounter wild animals."

Sasuke and Naruto naturally had no objection to Karin's suggestion. Each of them picked up one person and hung them on the treetops. That way, even if there were wild animals that could climb trees, they would be helpless against them.

After settling everyone in, Karin glanced at Naruto, who seemed rather downcast, hesitated for a moment, and then offered words of comfort:

"Naruto, you don't need to feel guilty. Putting aside the fact that they attacked us first, we're currently in the Chunin Exams, and those who are eliminated are the weaker ones to begin with."

Even if they were promoted to Chunin with your consent, it wouldn't be a good thing for them.

Because if they do that, the enemies they encounter in the future will be much stronger, and if they are not capable enough at that time, it could very well cost them their lives, understand?

After receiving comfort from Karin, Naruto's expression improved considerably. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and explained:

"Karin, I was also very angry when they attacked you, but seeing how they still didn't give up at the end touched me a little. I know that they deserve what they are like now."

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke, though silent, showed a strange emotion in his eyes, and even the lines on his face softened.

Karin, after hearing Naruto's words, simply smiled and continued:

"Don't be embarrassed, Naruto-kun. This just shows that you, like your father, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, are both strong and gentle people."

At this point, Karin clasped her hands together and recalled:

"It is said that the Fourth Hokage was like that. He was like a little sun, and he was very gentle to the people of Konoha. Otherwise, he would not have been elected as the Fourth Hokage."

Upon hearing Karin mention his father, Naruto's face lit up with pride, and his spirits lifted considerably. He nodded repeatedly and said:

"My goal is to become a gentle and strong person like my father. That way, everyone will recognize me, and I will be able to become Hokage."

Hearing Naruto's words, not only did Karin's face light up with a happy smile, but even Sasuke, standing beside her, smiled. After cautiously scanning their surroundings, he spoke up:

"Alright, now that we've collected all the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, let's hurry to the very center. That way, we can not only avoid those annoying guys, but also get some more rest."

Upon hearing Sasuke's suggestion, Naruto and Karin nodded in agreement and headed towards the center.

Just as the group had walked a short distance, a very pitiful wail suddenly came from their left. However, perhaps because of the distance, the sound had become much weaker by the time it reached them.

Upon hearing the sound, Naruto's heart skipped a beat, and he involuntarily stopped, standing by a tree trunk, looking hesitantly in the direction from which the sound came.

Seeing Naruto stop, Sasuke naturally stopped as well, standing atop a tree trunk much taller than Naruto, looking down at him, and said:

"What, your sympathy is overflowing again?"

After seeing Naruto's expression, Sasuke knew exactly what he was thinking, so he said with a hint of sarcasm.

Hearing Sasuke's words, Naruto felt a little embarrassed, but after meeting Karin's slightly helpless gaze, he still explained:

"Sasuke, Karin, that voice I just heard sounded a bit like Sakura's. After all, we're classmates with Sakura, and she's liked you for so long. Why don't we go check it out?"

After Naruto finished speaking, he looked at Sasuke with a rather expectant expression.

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke frowned slightly, his expression turning serious as he looked at Naruto and confirmed:

"Naruto, can you confirm that the voice you just heard was Sakura's?"

Sasuke wasn't heartless either. Although he had never been particularly fond of Sakura, he couldn't bear to watch her die.

Therefore, after hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke changed his mind.

Karin, standing nearby, looked at Naruto with an anxious expression. After all, as a girl, she was quite familiar with Sakura.

Naruto hesitated for a moment after hearing Sasuke's words, but still nodded in confirmation:

"It should be right, there's a high chance it's Sakura."

At this point, Naruto was getting a little anxious, looking at Sasuke with great eagerness. If Sasuke didn't agree, he would have no choice but to go over first.

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke knew there was no time to lose, and while rushing in that direction, he said:

"Naruto, Karin, let's go. Karin, you should recognize Sakura's chakra, right? Use Kagura's Mind's Eye to pinpoint her location. Let's hurry over there."

Chapter 465 Xiao Li's Rescue

After hearing Sasuke's reminder, Karin remembered that she had only recently awakened her Kagura Mind's Eye. She stuck out her tongue sheepishly before quickly closing her eyes and performing this secret technique.

Soon, Karin reopened her eyes, staring intently at a certain spot, and called out to Sasuke and Naruto who were walking ahead:

"It is indeed Sakura. She is about 600 meters away in the direction we are heading. Moreover, her chakra is very disordered, and her condition should not be very good. Also, there are two people with very weak chakra next to her. They should be her teammates. Even if they are not unconscious, they should not be able to resist."

At this point, Karin frowned slightly and continued:

"Not far from Sakura, there are three other people. These three people smell disgusting; they must be Sakura's enemies."

When Sasuke heard what Karin said, he frowned slightly. With a thought, his body was enveloped in a large amount of bright blue lightning, which crackled and popped.

"I'll go check first. Naruto, Karin, you two come over later."

As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, he seemed to transform into lightning, rushing forward at an extremely fast speed, leaving only a fleeting afterimage in his wake.

Naruto, who remained behind, was also startled by Sasuke's actions. Seeing that Sasuke had even used his Lightning Release Armor, Naruto shouted at Sasuke's back, "You're cheating!" while speeding up as well.

······

Sakura was also a mess at this moment. Not only did she have many injuries, but her clothes were also torn and tattered. Even her long pink hair, which she had previously cherished, was now a mess.

However, Sakura couldn't care less about that at the moment. She looked at her teammates who had fallen into a coma, and then at the three menacing and strange-looking enemies in the distance. Her eyes were filled with fear. Finally, she shakily took out the Earth Book that their team had previously possessed from her ninja tool bag and threw it at the guy sitting on the rock with two huge "death" characters written on his body.

"We surrender. This is our Book of Earth. We hope the people of Otogakure will spare us."

Sakura was terrified; her voice trembled and she was on the verge of tears, as if she were about to collapse at any moment.

At this moment, after catching the Book of Earth that Sakura threw to him, Zakuran casually tossed it in his hand before looking at the strangely shaped person next to him, whose entire body was wrapped in white bandages, and said:

"Boss, what do we do?"

This guy is the same one who attacked Kabuto Yakushi during the first exam.

After hearing what Saksend said, he merely glanced at Sakura with what appeared to be a sinister look, and then gave the order:

"Kintsuchi, this guy seems to have given you a little trouble just now. Go and take care of them. These Konoha ninjas are all useless people who wear the name of a great ninja village. Even if you wipe them all out, it won't attract Konoha's attention."

Kintoki, who had been watching Sakura with great interest, naturally didn't stand on ceremony after hearing his boss's instructions. He pulled out a long needle and walked towards Sakura at a leisurely pace.

When Sakura saw the enemy on the other side catch the Book of Earth that she had thrown, she was initially relieved, thinking that her side had been eliminated and everything should be fine.

However, after hearing what that strange-looking guy (Tos's Anvil) said, she was immediately startled. Seeing Kinto approaching her, she retreated repeatedly and finally tripped and fell to the ground.

"No, no, we've already given up, why are you doing this? I... I don't want to die..."

Hearing the pink-haired girl's mutterings across from him, Kintoki revealed a cruel smile as he walked towards her, saying:

"Heh, how naive. Among us ninjas, it's a matter of life and death. Don't think this is just a competition. In the eyes of us small ninja villages, any competition must be a matter of life and death, understand?"

As he said this, Kintoki had already approached Sakura, looked down at her, and then said with a sinister smile:

"It's okay, I'll be quick, you won't feel any pain, don't worry."

As Jin Tu spoke, he raised the long needle in his hand and thrust it towards Xiao Yi.

"Leaf Whirlwind, I'm in!"

Just as Kintoki's long needle was about to pierce Sakura's vital point, a loud shout rang out, and a green figure suddenly rushed over and attacked Kintoki.

Kintoki was startled by the sudden appearance of the figure. He didn't care about Sakura who was right next to him. In order to avoid the person's attack, he quickly flipped his whole body backward.

After chasing away Kintoki, Lee didn't pursue him relentlessly. Instead, he stood still in a fighting stance, shielding Sakura behind him.

"Xiao Li!!"

Sakura, who was in despair, recognized the person who had saved her at the critical moment and shouted out excitedly.

After hearing Xiaoying's shout, Xiao Li didn't turn around. Instead, he cautiously observed the people in front of him and asked:

"Sakura, are you okay?"

Hearing what Xiao Li said, Xiao Ying quickly shook her head and said:

"I'm fine, just some minor injuries, but my teammates..."

At this point, Sakura was almost speechless. Although her two teammates were not very strong, they showed no fear when facing the enemy.

However, sometimes courage doesn't equate to strength, which is why they were easily defeated by these three from the Hidden Sound Village when they were protecting Sakura.

Although they were not in mortal danger, they each had a broken arm and a broken leg, and given their current condition, they could no longer continue.

Upon hearing Sakura's words, Lee paused only slightly before continuing:

"Sakura, you take your companions and run away first. I'll fight them. Remember, run as far away as possible."

Just as Sakura was about to say something, the guy named Saksera became impatient, nodded to the boss, and charged towards them.

“You guys are so noisy and annoying. All of you, stay here.”

As he spoke, Sacks had already raised his arm, revealing the wind tunnel in his palm.

"Sound Release - Sky-Slicing Extreme Wave, you all shall die!!"

Chapter 466 Sakura's Tears

Facing the enemy's attack, Xiao Li showed no fear. He stomped his foot on the ground and dodged the shockwave at lightning speed.

chirp~

After dodging the opponent's ninjutsu, Lee turned and changed direction, rushing towards Zaku at great speed.

"So fast~"

Sakden and the others hadn't expected that this seemingly ordinary, even somewhat rustic, guy would be so fast. He didn't have time to react and could only raise his arm, somewhat awkwardly blocking Xiao Li's attack.

Meanwhile, Dos and Jintu, realizing how difficult Xiao Li was to deal with, didn't hold back and charged straight at him.

Facing the attack from the three from Otogakure, Lee dared not be careless. He carefully protected his own safety while taking the opportunity to counterattack them.

Buzz~~

Just as Xiao Li dodged the attack from the hunchbacked guy, he suddenly felt a buzzing in his head, which made his usually agile movements become unsteady, and he almost fell to the ground.

bang~

Doszczuk and the others naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. Just as Xiao Li lost control of his body, Doszczuk directly used the protective gear on his arm to smash him hard on the head.

Jin Tu and Sak Deng, standing nearby, showed no mercy, launching a barrage of attacks on Xiao Li, leaving him only able to curl up on the ground and passively endure the beating.

"Xiao Li..."

Before Sakura could escape with her teammates, Lee was knocked to the ground, which made her look even more terrified. Finally, she gritted her teeth, gripped her kunai tightly, and rushed towards the three people from Otogakure with her body trembling slightly.

However, Sakura had little deterrent effect on them. In just one exchange, Kintoki knocked the kunai out of her hand and kicked her to the ground.

"Ah~"

Sakura had just been kicked to the ground and hadn't even reacted when Kintoki reached out and grabbed her hair. The intense pain of his scalp being torn made Sakura scream.

At this moment, after hearing Xiaoying's shout, Xiaoli only struggled weakly for a moment before being trampled to the ground again.

As Kintoki looked at Sakura, who was pinned to the ground, a mocking smile crept onto his lips:

"Heh, you Konoha ninjas are really naive. You dare to keep your hair this long? Don't you know that these things are weaknesses?"

As Kintoki spoke, he raised the kunai in his hand, ready to finish Sakura off on the spot.

"Hey, I advise you guys to let them go right now, or you'll be going home lying in bed today."

The sudden sound immediately caught the attention of everyone in Otogakure, and they finally found the source of the sound.

Upon seeing the young man before them, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Toshen, in particular, gave a chilling order:

"Sakstedt, take care of that guy."