Chapter 37: Fearless Sasuke  

"Lord Orochimaru, you should take your medicine," Kabuto said. Orochimaru, lying on the couch, was extremely weak. He felt better after drinking the hot medicine Kabuto had made.

"Wan, are all the things I asked you to prepare ready?" Orochimaru asked. Kabuto, being favored by someone like Orochimaru, was extremely competent. He had prepared everything in advance and was waiting for Orochimaru's signal.

"Yes," Kabuto replied. "Everything is ready."

"Go and call Sasuke over. I have something important to discuss with him."

Crash! The shabby wooden door shattered, and Sasuke walked in from outside with a calm expression.

"No need, Orochimaru. I'm here," Sasuke said.

Orochimaru smiled sinisterly. "Sasuke, I really didn't misjudge you."

Orochimaru didn't believe that Sasuke was unaware of the reincarnation ceremony. It seemed that Sasuke had absolute confidence in himself, which was exactly what Orochimaru wanted.

"Come on, if you want to consume me, then do it! Don't blame me for not giving you a chance," Sasuke said. "I'll let you make the first move, just as a way to repay you for your teachings over the past two years."

Sasuke spread his arms and walked towards Orochimaru without any defense.

"Hahaha, interesting, interesting," Orochimaru laughed wildly, his body shaking violently. "Too crazy, Sasuke. Since you can't wait to merge with me, then I will fulfill your wish."

Orochimaru transformed into a white phosphorus snake and lunged at Sasuke. The space around them swirled strangely, like a flesh and blood embryo. This strange space was the inside of Orochimaru's body, which explained his confidence.

Sasuke, wrapped in the white flesh, smiled as he was gradually swallowed. Kabuto tactfully walked out, knowing that the battle between the two had just begun.

Orochimaru's base was built in the yellow sand, and it was usually deserted. But this time was different. Several uninvited guests had arrived in the desert.

"Captain Yamato, are you sure you've found traces of Sasuke nearby?" Naruto asked. In nearly three years, Naruto had grown taller and matured a lot, but his impetuous personality had not changed.

Yamato looked at Naruto helplessly. Since he had succeeded Kakashi as the jonin of Team 7, he had faced many challenges. Not only did he have Naruto, a problem child, in the team, but there was also Sai, the spy planted by Danzo. Except for Sakura, who was worry-free, the other two were very annoying.

"Naruto, I know you want to find Sasuke, but don't be impatient," Yamato said. "Don't forget, Orochimaru is with Sasuke."

Naruto clenched his fists. He knew Orochimaru was the one who had led Sasuke down a dark path, causing him to lose his most important partner.

"Captain Yamato, please, I must find Sasuke."

"This time we're the closest we've been to Sasuke. It's not easy to find news about Sasuke after searching for so long. Even if it's a fake lead, I don't want to miss it."

"Captain Yamato, please," Sakura also begged.

"There's nothing I can do about you," Yamato finally agreed to their request. As for Sai, Yamato ignored him.

"I'll go check it out. If everything is safe, you can come in later." Yamato and the other two used wooden clones to enter the cave.

After Yamato entered, Sai immediately gave Naruto a fake smile, which made Naruto very angry.

"Sai, don't give me that kind of smile. It's very annoying," Naruto said.

"Naruto, Sai is also our teammate. Don't be so mean," Sakura scolded. Sai suddenly didn't know what to say. He just wanted to get closer to Naruto, but didn't expect to be disliked. Fortunately, Sakura helped him out.

"Thank you, Forehead Girl," Sai said politely to Sakura.

"Idiot, what did you call me? I'm going to kill you!" Sakura's anger was completely ignited. She hated it when people made fun of her forehead.

Sai didn't know what he said wrong, so he could only escape the situation. He had followed the book's advice, thinking giving friends nicknames would help them grow closer, so he gave nicknames to Sakura and Naruto.

Sai was a ninja trained by the Root and had been raised as a killing tool since childhood. This time his mission was to watch the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but during his time with Naruto and the others, he saw Naruto's persistent search for his former companions and felt affected.

That's why he, who was not good at expressing emotions, tried to communicate with Naruto and the others. But it seemed that he had not mastered the decision yet, and he was always inexplicably angering them.

Yamato, who had entered the base, was exploring carefully. He was lucky; Kimimaro and others were not there at the time, and only Kabuto was left at the base. Besides, Kabuto had no time to care about other things at the moment. He was waiting outside the ritual space. Until Sasuke and Orochimaru decided the winner, Kabuto would not leave.

"No one?" Yamato used plants to explore along the path and found no one. He couldn't help but worry. Could it be that the people inside had already left and they were too late?

After confirming that there were no safety hazards, Yamato sent a signal to let Naruto and his team enter. Yamato's clone outside immediately informed Naruto of the situation inside. The three of them looked at each other and quickly rushed in. In about a quarter of an hour, Team 7 was together.

Yamato explained what he had found out, "The traces along the way are very fresh, but there are almost no guards inside. Sasuke and the others have probably left."

Naruto nodded in disappointment, but he still wanted to go in and see what was going on, hoping to find some clues.

"Captain Yamato, please."

Led by Yamato, they rushed to the depths of the base. Getting closer to Kabuto's position, Kabuto had to take action now. Sensing a familiar chakra, Kabuto showed a strange smile, "Naruto? Really persistent!"

Over the years, Naruto had been chasing Sasuke everywhere and had crossed paths with him and others several times. This time he had actually found him.

"This guy is so lucky. I can't let you disturb them," Kabuto's figure disappeared into the darkness.

In the dark passage, the four ran for a while and then saw the light. Yamato was careful and replaced himself with a clone, letting it pass through the exit first.

Boom!

The continuous explosions confirmed Yamato's guess. The enemy had set a trap, but fortunately, he was cautious. Otherwise, the explosion would have seriously injured him.

"Captain Yamato, are you okay?" Naruto asked with concern.

Yamato felt a little relieved hearing Naruto's caring words, but Naruto's next sentence made his face instantly pale.

"It's okay, just move away so you don't affect my search for Sasuke."

If possible, Yamato wanted to get rid of Naruto right there, but considering Kakashi-senpai's kindness to him, Yamato decided to endure it again.