Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

The dense canopy of the Death Forest blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving only scattered patches of light on the damp ground.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto from time to time.

After witnessing Naruto unleash chakra far exceeding Sasuke's expectations under Shen Jue's guidance that day, Sasuke's heart remained unsettled for a long time.

As a survivor of the Uchiha clan massacre, revenge has always been a deep-seated obsession for Sasuke.

The fire of revenge nearly consumed Sasuke's heart.

Therefore, Sasuke also made his choice.

If even Naruto can become this strong, then what about Sasuke? How could someone as weak as him possibly kill that man?

Even after awakening the two-tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke still couldn't see the enormous chasm between himself and that man.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura noticed his silence and turned around with some concern.

Sasuke didn't respond, but continued walking forward with a gloomy face.

Just then, a strange sound wave surged in from all directions without warning.

Sasuke's pupils constricted sharply, and his eardrums felt like they were being pricked with needles.

"There's an enemy!" Sakura clutched her head in pain, her voice trembling.

Three figures slowly emerged from the dense forest.

The leader was a young man with long black hair and a thin face. His arms were wrapped in white bandages, and there was a round hole in each of his palms, from which the sound waves had clearly come.

Behind him stood a burly man with hair standing on end like a hedgehog, and a petite girl wearing an earth-yellow coat and with short black hair.

All three wore headbands from the Sound Village on their foreheads, the musical note-shaped mark standing out starkly in the dappled light.

"Not bad luck," the long-haired boy said, his cold gaze sweeping over the three of them, a cruel smile curving his lips.

"A brat genin from Konoha."

"I am Dosu Kinu of the Sound Ninja. If you know what's good for you, hand over the scroll and you'll suffer less."

Sasuke snorted coldly, his Sharingan instantly activating, the two tomoe slowly rotating in his pupils.

He suppressed the chaos in his chakra circulation, stepped to the side to block Sakura's path, and coldly said, "Get lost."

"Oh, pretty arrogant." Tos chuckled and winked at the burly man behind him.

"Sak, go."

The burly man named Sack grinned and raised his arms, his palms also bearing round holes.

Suddenly, he pointed his hands at the three of them, and a violent burst of air pressure erupted from the hollows in his palms.

The air emitted a piercing shriek under high pressure, transforming into an invisible shockwave that blasted towards the three of them.

The cleaving wave carried an overwhelming force, shattering tree branches into fragments and carving a deep trench into the ground.

Sasuke's expression changed slightly, and he was about to form hand seals to deal with the situation when a figure moved even faster than him.

Naruto stepped forward, blocking everyone's path.

His hands didn't even come out of his pockets, and there was no sign of tension on his face.

Facing the whistling air-cutting wave, Naruto merely narrowed his eyes slightly.

Then, a golden light shone behind him.

The light did not come from any hand seals of a spell, but rather burst forth directly from his body.

The chakra coalesced, intertwined, and took shape behind him, transforming into thick chains.

The chains were entirely golden, with dense black patterns flowing across their surface; they were the unique sealing technique of the Uzumaki clan: the Vajra Lock.

One, two, three—nine chains in total unfolded behind him, spreading out in a fan shape like a peacock's tail.

The chain was as thick as an adult's arm, yet it moved nimbly through the air like a living thing, its diamond-shaped cone at the end gleaming with a chilling light.

At this moment, Naruto no longer resembled a Konoha genin.

He stood there, surrounded by nine golden chains, like a god descended to earth.

The cleaving wave collided with one of the chains.

There wasn't even a decent sound; the high-pressure airflow, powerful enough to shatter trees, vanished silently into the air the moment it touched the chains.

The sealing incantation flowing across the surface of the chain didn't even cause a ripple.

Sack's sinister grin froze on his face.

"What the hell?!"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Because a chain had already pierced through the air, moving so fast that it left a golden afterimage.

Before Sak could even raise his arms, chains wrapped around his body. The sealing technique activated the instant it touched his skin, freezing the flow of chakra within him.

Immediately afterwards, the chains tightened sharply, and an irresistible force lifted him off the ground, then sent him flying through the air in an arc before slamming him back down to the ground.

With a muffled thud, Sack's body slammed into the mud, creating a shallow crater.

He had already lost consciousness when the chains were loosened.

"Sak!" Tos cried out, but fear made his voice sharp and trembling.

"Damn it!" Kim Doi gritted his teeth, formed hand seals, and slammed his hands onto the ground.

"Earth Release·Earth Spear!"

The soil churned, and several sharp earthen spears pierced out from the ground beneath Naruto's feet.

However, before the earthen spear could pierce its target, two chains had already driven vertically into the ground, forming a golden barrier around Naruto's feet.

The earthen spear shattered into pieces the moment it struck the chains, turning into a pile of broken earth.

At the same time, two other chains attacked simultaneously from the left and right sides.

Jin's eyes widened; her body couldn't keep up with the speed of the chains, and even her thoughts couldn't keep up.

When she realized she was being attacked, two chains were already wrapped around her arms and waist.

The sealing technique was activated, the chakra was sealed, and the body was lifted high.

With a gentle flick of the chain, she was tossed into the air and landed steadily on the branch of a large tree.

Qin was chained to a tree trunk, her head tilted to one side, and she fainted.

From the moment Naruto released the chains to the moment Zaku and Jean both lost consciousness, only a few breaths passed.

Tos's legs were trembling violently.

He watched as his two companions were subdued in an instant, unable to put up any decent resistance.

Sak's air pressure barrier was useless against the opponent, and Jean's earth-遁 (earth-遁) technique couldn't even get close to the opponent's body.

The blond brat in front of me is not a genin at all.

"Monster!" Tos stammered out the two words, then turned and ran away without caring about anything else.

He didn't even dare to look back, abandoning his unconscious companions, and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest in a few leaps.

Naruto did not give chase.

He stood still, and nine golden chains converged behind him from all directions, one after another merging into his body as if they had never existed.

Only when the last ray of golden light dissipated did he put his hands back in his pockets and turn his head away.

His face wore his usual bright smile.

"It's all done! Sasuke, Sakura, are you alright?"

Sakura opened her mouth, unable to speak for a long time.

Although she had already witnessed Naruto's sudden increase in strength, seeing it in person again still made her heart race with shock.

That former bottom-of-the-class student is now completely different.

The killing intent emanating from the three Sound Ninja was genuine; they were definitely not benevolent. However, they were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in front of Naruto.

Sasuke remained silent.

He saw Naruto's every move clearly, but precisely because of this, he became even more aware of the growing gap between the two.

The Sound Ninja's attack methods are bizarre and deadly. Even if he could handle it, he would never be as relaxed and comfortable as Naruto.

Jealousy, resentment, and anger surged within Sasuke, ultimately culminating in a barely audible, cold snort.

He turned his face away, no longer looking at Naruto.

Naruto seemed oblivious to Sasuke's odd behavior and was about to urge the two to continue when he suddenly stopped before he could speak.

A faint, almost imperceptible aura appeared behind me, silent and unnoticed, as if it had descended from nowhere.

Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra stirred almost instinctively, warning him that the newcomers meant him no good.

He turned around abruptly, his right hand already clenched into a fist.

Less than three steps behind them, another person appeared out of nowhere.

The man was wearing a black cloak, the hood covering most of his face, with only a small section of his fair chin visible underneath.

The cloak was stretched taut by her figure, outlining her slender and graceful curves. Judging from her figure, she was a woman, and petite at that, even shorter than Sakura.

Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply, and his Sharingan spun wildly.

He had no idea when this person appeared; within the range of his Sharingan's perception, this woman's aura seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Sasuke's back was covered in a layer of cold sweat.

Sakura was so frightened that she took a half step back and instinctively reached for her ninja tool pouch.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked in a deep voice, his tone unusually wary.

The Nine-Tails roared within him, and that instinctive alertness made Naruto dare not be careless in the slightest.

The person in front of him gave him a completely different feeling from the Sound Ninja he had just met. He was like a bottomless abyss, calm on the surface but lurking with unimaginable dangers beneath.

The woman in black did not answer.

She raised one hand, her slender fingers pinching the edge of the hood.

That hand was so white it was almost transparent, gleaming with a porcelain-like luster in the dim forest light.

The hood was slowly lifted.

The first thing to be revealed was a head of long, jet-black hair, cascading down from the hood and falling over her shoulders and back.

The strands of hair shimmered with a faint glow in the glimmer of light filtering through the tree canopy, a beauty that seemed otherworldly.

Her features were exquisitely beautiful, as if the Creator had poured all his heart and soul into sculpting them.

Her skin was like solidified cream, and her eyes and brows carried a cool and aloof air. The slight upturn of her lips gave people a contradictory feeling that was both approachable and dangerous.

The most eye-catching feature, of course, was the pair of fluffy cat ears on the person's head.

Sakura's eyes lit up with hearts; she really wanted to rub those fluffy ears.

She'd be willing to give him a massage even if it meant not getting promoted to Chunin!

"My name is Maoxuan," the man said softly.

"I came here to follow my father's will and to test Naruto's current fighting strength."

Mao Xuan raised his head and looked at Naruto. Naruto's immense chakra stirred a trace of fighting spirit in Mao Xuan.

As Shen Jue's creation, Mao Xuan is now proficient in various ninjutsu and illusion techniques. With Shen Jue's help, he has even successfully cultivated the first level of Yuan Magnetic Rotation.

This also means that Nekogen has no weaknesses now, and the fused Hashirama cells have given Nekogen a terrifying vitality that far surpasses that of the Uzumaki clan!

And Wood Release!

The Forest of Death is Cat Xuan's home turf!

Cat Xuan's hands moved.

Her hand seals were incredibly fast; her slender fingers flew so fast they were almost a blur, each seal completed with effortless grace, without the slightest pause.

A deep, dense humming sound filled the air; it was the vibration produced when the Magnetic Chakra was mobilized to its limit.

戌, 亥, 巳, 午, 寅.

With each imprint that fell, the earth groaned in pain.

The air around Maoxuan began to distort and deform, and an enormous amount of chakra, far beyond what ordinary people could comprehend, surged out from her petite body.

The trees within a radius of several hundred meters were shaking violently, countless birds took flight in terror, and beasts scattered and fled, as if the entire Death Forest was instinctively gripped by fear.

Mao Xuan put his hands together in prayer.

This gesture is simple yet solemn, like an ancient Buddha smiling while holding up a flower.

The ground beneath her feet suddenly cracked open, with countless thick fissures spreading in all directions like a spider web, each crack spewing out dazzling green light.

"Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"

The earth began to tremble violently, as if some enormous creature was awakening deep underground.

Centered on the spot where Maoxuan stood, the forest floor within a radius of several hundred meters rose up simultaneously, and the roots of countless giant trees were forcibly pushed out of the soil by this force.

Thick, ancient trees collapsed in clumps, falling outwards like dominoes.

The rising dust blotted out the sun, shrouding the entire area in a gray-yellow smog.

Sakura clung tightly to a fallen tree trunk beside her to avoid being thrown off balance; her face was filled with terror, and her lips trembled uncontrollably.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, his kunai already in his hand, but he knew in his heart that in the face of this level of power, his kunai was no different from a withered branch.

Naruto's pupils suddenly contracted.

The nine-tailed beast within him let out a low roar, a roar that carried with it a deep sense of fear.

The ground behind Mao Xuan exploded with a deafening roar, and the head of a giant Buddha slowly rose from the ground.

This head alone is several times larger than any of the ancient trees in the Death Forest.

The Buddha's face was solemn and dignified, with a touch of vermilion between his brows, his eyes half-open and half-closed, and a compassionate smile on his lips.

But that compassionate smile appeared all the more terrifying amidst the devastating power.

After the Buddha's head comes the Buddha's massive body, as large as a mountain range, followed by the appearance of arms.

Countless giant wooden arms unfolded from behind the Buddha's body, each hand as large as an independent roof, with five distinct fingers and mysterious patterns carved on the palm.

Thousands of arms spread out in a fan shape behind the Buddha's body, arranged in layers, like a peacock spreading its tail, covering the entire sky.

Above the Forest of Death, the dense canopy that had blocked out the sun year-round was now completely opened up.

Mao Xuan stood atop the giant Buddha's head, her long, dark hair fluttering wildly in the raging air currents, creating an extreme contrast in size between her figure and the colossal object beneath her feet.

Not far away, on the branch of a towering ancient tree, Orochimaru was watching Shen Jue with great interest, his tongue habitually licking the corner of his lips, just about to say "interesting" in the fourth tone.

Then, his voice caught in his throat.

A surge of chakra erupted from the depths of the Death Forest, like a silent thunderclap striking the ground.

The waves were deep, powerful, and carried a familiar feeling that transcended time, sweeping across the entire forest with an unstoppable momentum.

Orochimaru's smile froze, and his golden vertical pupils suddenly contracted into thin lines.

He didn't speak, but suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction from which the fluctuation came.

There, a colossal Buddha with a thousand arms, capable of blotting out the sky, rises from the horizon, its countless wooden arms unfolding layer by layer, swallowing half the sky.

Kabuto Yakushi had never seen Orochimaru with such an expression.

That face, which was always calm and composed, as if it had everything under control, now showed a look that could be described as "out of control".

The signature curve of his lips had disappeared, replaced by slightly parted lips and a stiff jawline.

"Wood Release..." Orochimaru's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth, hoarse and dry, completely different from his usual calm and playful tone.

"A Thousand-Armed Buddha? The scale of that chakra."

His words came to an abrupt halt, and his pupils contracted again.

In his mind, the quantity and quality of that chakra, the oppressive feeling that made the entire forest tremble, belonged to only one person.

A legend that died decades ago and was buried deep in the history of Konoha.

"The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?"

Orochimaru's voice cracked on the last word.

He stared intently at the giant Buddha in the distance, his expression rapidly shifting between shock, confusion, and disbelief.

The Impure World Reincarnation was a forbidden technique he had personally researched. He knew every detail of the technique very well, and he also knew that no one in Konoha could perfectly summon the First Hokage at present.

So, who summoned that Thousand-Hand Buddha?

He suddenly turned around and looked at Shen Jue.

The man maintained his smile, his expression unchanged, as if the colossal Buddha in the distance, capable of destroying the heavens and the earth, was merely an insignificant sight.

This calmness caused Orochimaru's pupils to contract for the third time, because it meant that everything was within his expectations.

Shen Jue met Orochimaru's gaze and asked, "How is it?"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze passing through the gaps in the branches and landing on the majestic thousand-armed Buddha, the corners of his mouth curving into a deeper smile.

"This is one of my works."

Orochimaru was stunned.

He re-examined the man named Shen Jue in front of him, and the previous disdain and curiosity in his eyes were replaced by a completely new emotion.

It was a complex emotion, a mixture of shock, greed, excitement, and madness, that flickered alternately in his golden snake eyes.

Orochimaru tilted his head back and let out a hoarse chuckle.

"This is so interesting~" He licked his lips, the fervent light on his face almost tangible.

"Shen Juejun, we absolutely need to have a serious talk."