Chapter 281 : Sasuke's Defection!!

[After Sasuke woke up, he put on a cool act and without saying a word, immediately snapped the arm of the Sound ninja, Zaku.

[When the "king of pressure" makes a move, you know it's serious.

[On that day, Sasuke laughed wildly.

[As everyone knows, when an Uchiha experiences their "chuunibyou" phase, a maniacal laugh is a typical symptom.

[Sakura, startled by Sasuke's "wild laugh," instinctively hugged him from behind.

[At that moment, something incredible happened – the cursed mark on Sasuke's body miraculously faded away.

[This is the power of love.

[Let's imagine for a second – if it had been Naruto hugging Sasuke at that moment, the whole Naruto series might have ended right there.]

"Honestly, I didn't expect the cursed mark could be canceled like this."

Among everyone present, only Orochimaru had a say about the cursed mark.

After all, he was the one who created it.

"According to my data, the cursed mark can only be canceled automatically when the person is completely exhausted, having drained the last bit of their chakra."

At this point, Orochimaru gave Sasuke and the blushing Sakura a knowing look, then smiled and said, "Seems like, at that moment, Sasuke, you already had a place for Sakura in your heart."

"...Shut up."

Sasuke didn't deny Orochimaru's words.

At that time, he indeed had Sakura in his heart, but not out of love. It was the bond of teammates.

To be honest, he didn't even understand why the cursed mark vanished so mysteriously.

Back then, his mind was filled with rage, wanting to slaughter the three Sound ninjas in front of him.

When Sakura hugged him, he didn't stop using chakra.

The cursed seal was canceled, but it was quite strange.

Could it be… because of love?

"Not bad, not bad. After the 'candy' between Hinata and Naruto last time, now we've got Sakura and Sasuke's 'candy.' If we get a few more of these, the screen could even moonlight as a matchmaker."

Jiraiya chuckled, teasing them.

He couldn't be happier that the young people of Konoha were falling in love.

The ninja profession itself is about putting your life on the line—who knows when you'll die?

Having someone to care about might help you tap into even greater strength in a life-or-death situation, turning the tide.

This isn't some kind of mystical idea; it's a logic that fits perfectly with the rules of the ninja world.

Take Uchiha for example—when pushed to the edge, they can awaken and evolve their Sharingan. 

Even a regular Genin, when cornered and fighting for the one they love back home, might unleash power stronger than usual.

"Old man, while the ninja world is still calm, how about we host a matchmaking event afterward and find partners for the single ninjas in the village?"

"You're the current Hokage, you make the call."

"Alright, then it's decided."

[After the Chūnin Exams, Sasuke, whose obsession with his 'coolness' was beyond cure, finally decided to leave the village and devote himself to the woman who had left a kiss mark on his neck—Orochimaru.]

[That night, Sakura's plea was so pale and powerless. Compared to something as fleeting as love, Sasuke still craved power more.]

[It was also that night that Sakura, when facing Naruto, said that infamous line that many criticized.]

[Sakura: "Please, Naruto. You have to bring Sasuke back."]

[Let's be honest, Sakura knows Naruto likes her, but still asks him to bring Sasuke back. That's a bit of a green tea move.]

[However, bringing Sasuke back is something Naruto wanted to do anyway. Sakura asking him like that might even give him more motivation.]

[After all, with Naruto's mindset, those who understand get it.]

"Sasuke, you defected?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke in disbelief. He never thought this guy, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, would actually defect.

"What's so surprising about that?"

Before he became Orochimaru's disciple, Sasuke had already analyzed his situation.

If Orochimaru didn't return to Konoha, Sasuke would've probably defected to find him.

Now, seeing his choice on the screen, it just confirmed that his earlier analysis was right.

There was nothing surprising about it.

"Naruto, I'm different from you. At that time, I had deep blood debts to avenge."

"So, you needed power to get revenge?"

"Exactly."

Sasuke nodded and continued, "Konoha is a great place. It's nice to have you, Sakura, and Kakashi around, but in the village, my progress was too slow. During the Chunin Exams, when I faced Gaara in his tailed beast form, I couldn't think of a single way to fight him. But you, you summoned a giant toad and defeated Gaara."

"Heh, didn't think I'd push you to improve your skills."

"Focus, Naruto, stop grinning. You completely messed up my train of thought."

Sasuke, irritated, snapped at Naruto before gathering his thoughts again and said, "That's right, I was stimulated by you. You had Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, as a teacher. But me? I had Kakashi?"

This made Kakashi, who was eavesdropping, feel a little awkward.

No matter how you looked at it, he couldn't compare to Jiraiya.

He even taught Sasuke his original ninjutsu, Chidori, but still couldn't handle Gaara. No wonder Sasuke had some resentment after watching the fight between Naruto and Gaara.

"Orochimaru, as one of the legendary Sannin, equal to Jiraiya, if I can get his guidance, my strength will likely improve rapidly."

"Even if he has bad intentions?"

"I've long realized that there are no free lunches in this world. Taking some risks to gain power isn't a big deal. If I die in the end, it's just because I wasn't strong enough."

Naruto fell silent for a moment. He knew Sasuke thirsted for power, but he didn't expect Sasuke's desire for power to have reached this point.

He didn't continue speaking to Sasuke but instead turned to Orochimaru and asked, "Snake Aunt, can you tell me, what's your real goal in luring Sasuke?"

Orochimaru fell silent when he heard this.

After a few seconds, his face darkened as he asked, "Who told you to call me Snake Aunt?"

Naruto innocently pointed at the screen, "Wasn't it the screen that said so? Snake Aunt."

"...Fine, call me whatever you want. It's just a title, after all."

After all, Orochimaru's current body was indeed female.

The title "Snake Aunt" isn't wrong.

"You're asking me what I want with Sasuke? There's nothing special, I simply covet his body."

"...Snake Aunt, listen to me. You two have such an age gap. Even if you get Sasuke's body, you won't get his heart. You won't be happy together."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru fell silent again and then turned to look at the people next to Naruto.

"Minato, Kushina, can't you control your son anymore?"

"Uh, children say silly things. Orochimaru, don't take it to heart."

Kushina gave a nervous laugh, and Orochimaru wasn't one to hold grudges.

So, this matter ended here.

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