Chapter 52 The Eccentric Man with Pica
"What a troublesome guy." Sasuke Uchiha crossed his arms impatiently.
"Alright, alright, by the way, has Sasuke grown a little taller again?" Haruko Hayama leaned closer to him and gestured with her hands to show their heights.
Previously, Sasuke Uchiha was only a forehead taller than her, but now, when they measured again, Sasuke Uchiha was actually half a head taller than her. Haruko, unwilling to give up, measured him again in the morning, and only put her hand down after confirming that he had really grown taller.
"Um."
Uchiha Sasuke straightened his back unconsciously, recalling how he secretly drank three cups of milk every day to grow taller faster, and thought that it was still somewhat effective.
Haruko looked pleased. "I knew I could take good care of Sasuke!"
Is this the joy of raising a child? Becoming a mom without any pain!
Sasuke Uchiha felt his face inexplicably hot and shrank back into his collar. "What strange things are you saying?"
Oh dear, they're arguing again.
Haruko was itching to tease this aloof cat.
"Wow, that was so smooth!" Naruto Uzumaki walked out after resolving this major life event, pulling up his pants as he did so.
Sasuke Uchiha's eyes narrowed, and he thrust out a kunai that grazed Sasuke's face.
Naruto, who barely dodged the attack, yelled at him, "What are you doing?!"
"Where is the real Naruto?" Haruko Hayama's face also darkened, and she took out a kunai.
"They actually found out..."
The person laughed, reverting to their original form—the female ninja who had previously provoked the proctor, with long, jet-black hair, sickly pale skin, and an unusually long, thin tongue.
In short, he looks like a villain.
Haruko Hayama made up her mind.
Then, a shocking scene unfolded: the strange man swallowed the scroll into his mouth amidst their disgusted expressions.
...Are there really no normal people left in this ninja world?!
"Then let's begin the battle for the scroll!" The strange man grinned wickedly at them.
Haruko quietly moved closer to Sasuke Uchiha and said in a voice loud enough for all three of them to hear, "Sasuke, could she possibly have some kind of pica?"
Connecting this to her thought process, Sasuke Uchiha chuckled, "I guess so. It's been a long time since I've seen such a weirdo."
"Has it been a long time? I think those two thick eyebrows are pretty weird too." Haruko Hayama thought they were about the same.
“That’s true,” Sasuke Uchiha agreed.
"..."
Watching them chat as if no one else was around, the strange man's expression twisted for a few seconds before he roared, unleashing a terrifying killing intent.
The murderous aura that swept over us was cold and sharp, almost capable of tearing through the air and chilling us to the bone.
Sensing an overwhelming power, Haruko forced herself to calm down. The woman in front of her was definitely not an examinee; such a strong sense of oppression suggested she might be an enemy who had infiltrated the area.
In short... if you can't win, playing it safe is the best option!
Haruko felt that she had used her taunting skill on the monster enough. After exchanging glances with Sasuke Uchiha, they quickly threw all the shuriken together and fled the spot while her vision was obstructed.
"Not only is he an oddball, but he's also an oddball with a terrible temper." Haruko Hayama commented scathingly.
"careful!"
Uchiha Sasuke pulled Hayashi Haruko away from the tree trunk, and behind them, a python as wide as three people silently spread out and opened its bloody mouth when they weren't paying attention.
The moment she was lifted up, Haruko used her Thousand Water Burst to dismember the python, but she didn't expect that the strange man from before would crawl out from the dead python's corpse.
Just as the strange man was about to charge at them, he was interrupted by a kunai that flew out.
"Sorry, Haruko, I had to look for the way a little."
Naruto Uzumaki stood on a tree trunk not far away, smiling to reassure them.
That overwhelming killing intent was indeed real. Even though Naruto Uzumaki used the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox and Sasuke Uchiha activated his Sharingan, the three of them were still no match for that strange man.
After being knocked to the ground, their bodies covered in wounds made it difficult for them to stand up again.
The strange man didn't even know what kind of ninjutsu he used to press down on Naruto's stomach, completely knocking Naruto unconscious.
In a moment of crisis, Sasuke Uchiha activated his two-tomoe sword and tried his best to fight back, but the monster impatiently threw him several meters away, where he remained motionless.
Only the conscious Haruko Hayama remained on the field, locked onto by the long-haired woman's eager, predatory eyes. She gritted her teeth.
With her life hanging by a thread, she no longer cared about being exposed to the enemy. Not knowing how long she could hold out, Haruko suddenly opened her eyes and activated her eye technique.
"Construct an illusion!"
After dragging the monster into the killing illusion, she finally had a moment to catch her breath.
Unable to control an enemy so many times stronger than herself, Haruko could only hope that the illusion could last a little longer, so she quickly checked on their injuries.
Naruto's body was covered in bruises from being thrown to the ground. Worried about the monster's next move, Haruko carefully picked up his shirt, but was stunned when she saw the black curse marks on Naruto's stomach.
This is……
It wasn't a good time to investigate, so Haruko quickly treated her minor wounds and then checked on Sasuke Uchiha's injuries.
Halfway through the treatment, Haruko turned around and looked behind her, as if sensing something.
The strange woman broke free from the illusion so quickly, even faster than Haruko Hayama had predicted. It seems her true strength far exceeds the illusion she displayed in front of them.
The dark gold snake eyes darted around, catching a glimpse of the torn human skin beneath its eyes, and its expression turned somewhat grim.
Her face looked as if half of her skin had been torn off, revealing the grayish-white skin underneath, like two severed faces pieced together. Haruko immediately realized that she had disguised herself as an examinee and infiltrated Konoha.
Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.
"What a magical illusion! Your name is... Haruko, right? I'll remember you."
Haruko was on edge, constantly watching for his attack.
To everyone's surprise, Orochimaru bypassed her, stretched out his neck, and set his sights on Sasuke Uchiha, who was lying on the ground. Before Haruko could stop him, he bit Sasuke on the neck.
"Sasuke will definitely need me; he needs power. But I'm glad to have witnessed your abilities."
Amidst the billowing smoke, the last thing Haruko saw was the dark golden snake eyes that were locked on their target.
Although she didn't know why the enemy left after biting Sasuke, Haruko was glad that they had survived. Unable to carry the two of them, after finding a suitable tree hollow to hide in, Haruko carried the two of them back and forth into the hollow.
"Sasuke has a fever, and Naruto won't wake up for some reason. My teammates, how can you fall down like this!"
Just as Haruko was pondering what kind of wreath to send, she heard a rustling sound outside.
Three ninjas suddenly jumped down from the tree. Judging from the headbands on their foreheads, they were ninjas from the Hidden Sound Village. It seems one problem after another has arisen.
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