From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 432 White Zetsu's Ambition: He Can Be Replaced!
The sharp teeth pierced directly into Naruto's skin.

The next moment, it was as if a chilling aura spread rapidly along his neck and throughout his body, an indescribable and eerie power constantly eroding his will.

pain!
Severe pain!

It felt as if every bone in my body had been crushed, the sensation traveling from the depths of my skin and bone marrow to my central nervous system.

Naruto couldn't help but scream, his whole body convulsing and spasming, and he collapsed to the ground.

At this moment, he couldn't utter a single word, let alone move a finger. He could only stare at the culprit with eyes filled with fear and anger.

"The mark I planted on you is called a 'curse mark'."

Orochimaru licked his lips, a chillingly wicked smile spreading across his face: "Consider this a gift for our first meeting. Of course, if you can't hold on, you'll probably be completely devoured, turning into a monster that's neither human nor ghost, and then you'll lose your mind and slaughter all the monsters in front of you."

"Ahhh"

Naruto wanted to curse, but the constant, agonizing pain, like being burned by a raging fire, left him only able to let out a painful scream.

"If you want to see your parents again, then live on."

Orochimaru looked down at Naruto, who was struggling in pain, and grinned, "Then, abandon everything and come to me. I will tell you the answer."

"Wait"

Naruto tried to reach out and grab the other person's trouser leg.

However, the other party simply vanished into thin air, as if they had never been there, leaving no trace.

"Dad, Mom"

Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, Naruto finally couldn't hold on any longer, his vision went black, and he fainted.

Naruto

Despair flashed in Sasuke's eyes.

She never expected that an ordinary Chunin Exam would end like this.

The howling 'vengeful spirit' within her body was frantically devouring her remaining consciousness, and her body grew colder and colder, completely unlike a living person, pale with a bluish tinge.

Finally, Sasuke couldn't hold on any longer, as if he had been thrown into a cold abyss, his consciousness sinking into darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, a figure shakily parted the layers of grass.

"Naruto. Sasuke!"

It was Sakura. After Naruto told her to run away alone, she finally mustered up the courage to turn back.

But what she saw filled the young girl with fear and dread.

Naruto lay dead to the side, his fate unknown. But what terrified Sakura even more was that the boy's face, arms, and exposed skin were covered with intricate, unfamiliar patterns, like some kind of script, imbued with profound mystery. The nearby vegetation seemed to have been stripped of its vitality, exuding a withered, scorched, and decaying aura.

Sasuke, on the other hand, looked as if he had been dead for many days. His pale skin had an eerie bluish tinge, and his eyes had no pupils, only unsettling whites.

Furthermore, strange phenomena also appeared nearby, with an aura as cold as winter sweeping through and condensing into a thin layer of frost.

"What should I do?"

Sakura, who had little experience to begin with, was immediately thrown into panic by what she saw.

It's like suddenly losing your anchor, being enveloped by immense emptiness and fear, and having no idea what to do.

At this moment, far away in the Hokage Building, White Zetsu was sitting in a chair, staring at a crystal ball.

This crystal ball is not actually a precious treasure; it merely uses this 'medium' to perform the 'telescope technique' to explore the Death Forest.

The image displayed in the crystal ball was blurry, as if someone had deliberately concealed what was happening in the Death Forest.

"Heh, finally couldn't hold back anymore?"

Bai Jue's gaze was fixed on the mist, but a cold smile played on his lips: "It wasn't for nothing that I deliberately used the promotion ceremony to lure them out; the Twilight Hermit Society has finally revealed its weakness."

It had long anticipated that if it wanted to advance to Sequence Four, the Twilight Hermits would not be able to sit still.

Because as long as it can advance to Sequence Four, it can directly enter the ocean of subconsciousness and use the connection between each other's spirits to dig out the identities of all the remaining members of the Twilight Hermit Society, and then wipe out all these annoying guys in one fell swoop!
This is an open conspiracy. If the Twilight Hermits do not want to be found and killed, they must destroy the ritual at all costs or completely eliminate it before it advances to Sequence Four.

Therefore, the Twilight Hermits will not allow it to successfully advance to Sequence Four, no matter what.

It seems that everything is going according to plan!
"Unfortunately, you will only become my stepping stones."

White Zetsu waved his hand, removing the image from the crystal ball, and turned to look at Konoha Village outside the window, grinning as he said, "Adam will not return. I, White Zetsu, am the true master of the Twilight Hermit Society, the sole victor of this game!"

As for Obito, he's just a stupid idiot who can be manipulated at will; there's absolutely no need to worry about him.

"The only drawback is the potions from Sequence 4 onwards."

White Zetsu frowned slightly. Before 'Adam' fell into a deep sleep, he only gave it the potions and rituals up to Sequence Four.

As for the content that follows, it was not mentioned at all.

In other words, if it wants to continue advancing, it must find Adam and, with a suitable reason, deceive Him into handing over the remaining sequence potions.

"It's alright, I'll go find Adam after I advance to Sequence Four." Its eyes were gloomy, flashing with a mad and greedy light: "What reason should I use? Hmm, Obito Uchiha destroyed the Twilight Hermit Society, hehehe, that reason must be good!"

A sinister and malicious plan gradually took shape in White Zetsu's mind.

If Adam could become God, why couldn't He Himself?
Besides, Adam, who was sitting in that chair, wasn't that powerful at all; he was at most a Sequence Four!

By now, White Zetsu has seen through the true nature of that 'Adam'.

If he truly was a 'god,' why was he defeated by a mere Uchiha Obito?
After gifting Naruto a cursed seal, Orochimaru immediately used a secret technique to conceal his form and spirit.

After all, this is Konoha. If the Third Hokage finds out, this whole plan could be destroyed.

After carefully concealing his form and spirituality, Orochimaru used a previously set up reverse summoning technique to appear in a strange and mysterious cave.

The room was pitch black, yet a long table stood there, with three chairs on each side. On the table were six antique brass candle lamps, but only one was burning at the moment. The dim candlelight flickered, illuminating a middle-aged man with white hair sitting in one of the chairs.
As if sensing his return, another lamp was lit.

"You're back? Oh, why do you look so disheveled?"

White Fang looked at Orochimaru, who was covered in dust and looked somewhat disheveled, and his expression changed slightly. He said with some surprise, "You are a Sequence 5 secret technique instructor, and you have mastered so many secret techniques. Could it be that you have run into the 'Third Hokage'?"

"No, it's just a pleasant surprise."

Orochimaru shook his head, then sat down in a chair and said calmly, "It has nothing to do with the 'Third Hokage,' it's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. That kid is quite interesting."

"It's good that we didn't run into that guy."

White Fang breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, what's wrong with that kid? He actually interests you."

"Hehe, it's too early to say."

Orochimaru deliberately kept everyone in suspense, saying mysteriously, "I'll tell you the results after I've done my research."

"Never mind, as long as it doesn't affect this operation." White Fang nodded slightly and said calmly, "We've waited so many years and finally found this opportunity, we can't miss it."

"I see."

Orochimaru nodded, then looked at the remaining empty seats: "Where are the others? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

"Something must have been holding him up."

White Fang frowned, but he didn't know what had happened either.

Just then, one after another, blurry, ghost-like figures appeared on the empty seats.

Each brass lamp opposite the chairs glowed with a bluish-green light. "Looks like everyone's here."

Orochimaru gazed at the hazy figures that appeared, a slight smile playing on his lips as he licked them. "Now that everyone's here, let's begin."

At this moment, a figure resembling a burning flame, positioned at the far left, turned to Orochimaru and asked, "Orochimaru, what happened to the matter I asked you to do last time?"

"I've already tested you, and your qualifications are acceptable."

Orochimaru paused, then said, "As for the mental level, at least I haven't found any signs of being 'hypnotized'."

"That's good."

The figure engulfed in flames nodded slightly and said, "Consider it a favor I owe you. Take good care of 'Sasuke' for me."

"No need to be so polite, Mikoto."

Orochimaru smiled and shook his head, saying, "It was just a small favor, and besides, I didn't come away empty-handed."

"Let's get back to the point."

White Tooth coughed lightly, looked at everyone present, and said calmly, "It can be confirmed that that guy is indeed carrying out some kind of scheme, and I suspect it is very likely related to the 'promotion ceremony'."

"So what? This is our last chance!" Onoki, sitting opposite him, sneered and said, "By combining all our strength, even if we can't kill him completely, we can at least severely injure him, making it impossible for him to have any chance of advancement for a long time to come!"

"The key issue lies with 'Obito'."

Orochimaru said in a deep voice, "If we all move out together, the other side may not be unprepared, and may even have set a trap in advance, intending to wipe us out in one fell swoop."

"Obito is indeed a problem."

Mikoto sighed. Over the years, they had been chased and scattered, never daring to show their faces, which showed just how powerful 'Obito' was.

"I have some bad news to tell you all."

At this moment, Xiao Nan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "Recently, the Aurora Society, which has been dormant for many years, seems to have 'awakened'."

"what?!"

These words cast a shadow over the hearts of everyone present.

The threat posed by the Aurora Society far surpasses that of 'Obito'. Based on the limited information available, there are three 'Saints' within its ranks.

Not to mention, since Itachi Uchiha joined the Aurora Society, the entire organization has disappeared for more than ten years. Now, it is unknown what level it has advanced to. If it is Sequence Four, then the Aurora Society has four, or even five, Saints. With such a huge power, it would be easy to overthrow the ninja world.

"Are you sure it's true?"

Onoki's face was extremely grim, and he asked again.

He still found it hard to believe that the Aurora Conference, which had been dormant for more than a decade, would suddenly reawaken at this critical juncture.

"can."

Konan nodded and said, "As you should know, Amegakure is shrouded in rain all year round. Nagato's detection barrier found people related to the Aurora Society's beliefs."

"It seems like it's true."

Onoki sighed inwardly and rubbed his forehead, saying, "The Aurora will awaken; this is a threat that was completely outside of our plans."

“Those guys from the Aurora Society are much more troublesome than ‘Obito’.” White Fang pinched his brow, his expression slightly bitter, and said, “Moreover, given the Aurora Society’s style, they are most likely doing this for some purpose. Could it be that they have discovered traces of the ‘Desecration Tablet’?”

"Probably."

Orochimaru's brows also showed a hint of worry: "Given the Aurora Society's nature, they won't make a move unless it's confirmed information."

“If it’s a ‘blasphemous stone tablet,’ then we’ll be in trouble.”

Onoki knew that if the Aurora Club got there first, they would be in an even more passive position.

"Let's put the aurora festival aside for now."

In the end, Orochimaru made a decision. He looked around and said in a deep voice, "Besides, even if the Aurora Society gets it first, the 'Spirit Summoning Ritual' will not succeed without collecting all the 'Blasphemy Tablets.' Our main goal right now is to stop that guy's advancement ritual as much as possible."

"Agree."

Mikoto nodded and said calmly, "That guy poses a greater threat to us than the Aurora Society."

"agree."

Xiao Nan said indifferently.

"Agree."

"Agree."

Shiroga and Onoki then expressed their opinions in turn.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Orochimaru turned his gaze to the last person who had not spoken until now, and said with a serious expression and a hint of respect, "Then, the task of holding off Obito is entrusted to you, Sage of Six Paths."

"half an hour."

The Sage of Six Paths slightly opened his eyes and said calmly, "No matter the outcome, I must return to the Pure Land in half an hour."

Half an hour was the ideal time he had estimated. If he stayed away from the Pure Land for too long, the strange substance that had been suppressed by 'Adam' would completely lose control.

Of course, he wouldn't tell everyone this, since the fewer people who knew about that 'strange substance,' the better.

"Do you think Mr. Adam will wake up again?"

At that moment, Onoki suddenly asked everyone a very strange question.

"What do you mean?"

Mikoto's eyes were slightly cold, as if they contained a mad spirit, scrutinizing the person opposite her.

In the pitch-black environment, at the long table lit by brass candles, facing 'Mikoto's' questioning, Onoki remained calm and composed, saying, "I'm just expressing reasonable concerns."

"Hmph, I hope so."

Mikoto snorted coldly, then raised her hand to extinguish the candle flame, and her figure vanished instantly.

Konan gave Onoki, whose expression remained unchanged, a meaningful look, and said calmly, "Don't forget who gave you your power."

Then, the candlelight was extinguished, and the figure disappeared into the cave.

One figure after another disappeared. Before leaving, Onoki glanced at Orochimaru, his eyes seeming to hold some unspoken message, but in the end, he said nothing and vanished.

"There's something wrong with Onoki."

White Fang stared at the seat the other person had left in, pondering, "His question just now was a test for Mr. 'Adam'."

“If someone disappears for too long, naturally some people will get restless.”

Orochimaru remained calm, but said meaningfully, "Otherwise, why would that guy betray us? Ohnoki, heh, no need to bother with him."

"Aren't you worried?" White Fang frowned and turned to look at Orochimaru.

"Why worry?"

Orochimaru smiled and said, "Mr. Adam controls destiny. Even if he falls into a deep sleep, he can still see the future clearly. Why should I worry about him?"

"Hopefully, Mr. Adam will return soon."

White Fang gazed at the candlelight before him, and said with deep concern, "The Aurora Society will resume its activities, and it will be difficult for us to sustain it with our own strength alone."

(End of this chapter)