XX-level Hokage

Just then, a voice she knew all too well came over.

"My friends from the Sound Ninja, it's not right to bully our Konoha ninjas." Sakura looked up and saw Mashiro standing not far away, speaking expressionlessly.

“So it’s just another young girl. Tie, go and bring her here.” Simple and straightforward, the three of them didn’t take it to heart.

Mashiro stretched out her hand and drew a line in the air. Three Sound Ninja were instantly beheaded.

Sakura was startled again and stood frozen in place, too afraid to move. "It's alright now."

Mako gently hugged Sakura.

Feeling the warmth of Mashiro's embrace and hearing her comforting voice, Sakura instantly burst into tears.

After crying for a while, Sakura suddenly remembered that she needed help and hurriedly said to Mashiro, "Quickly go help Sasuke and Naruto! They've been attacked by a strange sound attack!"

Mashiro stroked Sakura's hair and said softly, "I already know."

On the other side, the female Sound Ninja had now revealed her true identity; it was none other than Orochimaru.

He easily caught Sasuke's various attacks and said in a hoarse voice, "I should have come here on the first day, but I was afraid that the person Sasori mentioned to me might make a move because of his clan identity. So I secretly investigated for a long time and found that the person doesn't seem to be in Konoha at all. Maybe he doesn't even exist."

"What exactly do you want?" Sasuke asked angrily. "Your eyes are very powerful," Orochimaru replied.

"Do you want to gain power?" Orochimaru asked enticingly.

Power, I have it. Sasuke's chakra suddenly surged, and a purple mask pattern appeared on his back.

Then several shadowy ninjas with sharp claws emerged from the shadows. "What is this?"

Even Orochimaru was astonished by this strange thing.

Sasuke threw a punch, which Orochimaru blocked with his hand, but he couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"Power greatly increased." Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

A fireball twice the size of the previous one hurtled straight at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru spat out the same water sphere to defend himself. "His chakra levels have also increased several times over."

The bladed ninjas attacked Orochimaru, who tried to defend himself but discovered that these strange ninjas were very powerful; their claws could tear through rocks.

"Ghostly Snake Hand"

Orochimaru flicked his hand, turning the several shadowy ninjas in front of him into black mist. "These strange creatures have high attack power, but their defense seems weak."

Orochimaru is recording everything that happened after Sasuke's transformation, and he is now increasingly satisfied and eager for Sasuke.

At that moment, a sharp claw pierced Orochimaru's heart. Orochimaru turned around and saw a clawed ninja emerge from his shadow. "So that's how it is. This strange creature can blend into the shadows."

Then he collapsed. "Is he dead?"

Sasuke released his demon mask form, a state that had placed a great burden on his body.

“Very good, Uchiha Sasuke, you have given me a great surprise.” A person crawled out from among the dead corpses.

Sasuke was about to retaliate, but Orochimaru was serious this time and captured Sasuke in an instant.

Just as he was about to place the curse mark on Sasuke, Mashiro walked over. "Still as impressive as ever, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru turned his head and saw Byakugan. He smiled and said, "Is that Junior Sister? You actually dared to come here. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you? I won't let you go back and inform others."

"Do you want to know how resurrection can be done without harming the soul?" Mashiro asked.

"Who exactly are you?" Orochimaru's expression turned cold. "My name is Zero."

Chapter 24: Ino, are you satisfied with what you see?

"Zero?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing the name. Then he burst into laughter: "You really think I'd believe that?"

“You already believe it, don’t you?” Mashiro said, looking directly at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru remained silent, seemingly deep in thought. "Wind Release: Heaven Breakthrough"

Orochimaru suddenly formed a hand seal and unleashed a gust of wind from his mouth, attacking Mashiro. Mashiro raised her hand, and several stone walls rose from the ground to block her. "Shatter! Bang!"

Orochimaru truly lived up to his title as one of the Legendary Sannin, using a C-rank ninjutsu to forcefully break through three stone walls. "It seems we have no choice but to take action."

Mashiro stretched out her finger and drew a horizontal line in space.

"Is it an illusion?" Orochimaru keenly sensed the presence of an illusion.

His soul is flawed, making him very susceptible to illusions, which is why he has a deep understanding of them.

Orochimaru quickly disrupted the flow of his own chakra in an attempt to resist the genjutsu released by Mashiro, but the genjutsu he expected did not appear, and his hand was cut off out of thin air.

Orochimaru quickly realized what was happening. "This is... the Kurama family's bloodline limit?"

Orochimaru had previously considered researching the Kurama family's bloodline limit, but the Kurama family had been small for generations, and in this generation, only Kurama Yakumo remained, who was even sealed away by the village.

With Orochimaru's hand severed, Sasuke regained his freedom and quickly ran towards Mashiro.

Orochimaru glanced sideways, and his severed hand instantly transformed into two white snakes that flew out and bit Sasuke's neck, causing indescribable pain to fill Sasuke's entire body.

"Oh, really."

Mashiro created a clone. While the original rushed towards Orochimaru, the clone picked up Sasuke and rushed towards Naruto.

Naruto had just dealt with a giant snake. Unlike snakes that were ripped open from the inside, these snakes had incredibly tough scales. Mashiro's clone appeared, striking the remaining giant snake with lightning and then handing a pained Sasuke to Naruto. "Naruto, take Sasuke and find Sakura. It's dangerous here."

Then Mashiro's clone pointed Naruto in a direction and disappeared before Naruto could ask anything. Knowing they couldn't help now, Naruto grabbed Sasuke and ran quickly in Mashiro's direction.

On the other side, Mashiro and Orochimaru were engaged in battle. "The Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes"

Orochimaru unleashed several venomous snakes, surrounding Mashiro. "Fusion Release: Heavenly Descent"

Flames instantly erupted from the ground, followed by a bolt of lightning that reduced the venomous snake to ashes.

"Hyuga Mashiro, or rather Uchiha Zero, do you have enough chakra to unleash this ninjutsu?" Orochimaru asked.

"Perhaps," Mashiro didn't give a direct answer. "Kusanagi Sword"

Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth, and a long sword shot out instantly with incredible speed.

Although Mashiro had noticed the attack under Byakugan's gaze, she still didn't completely dodge it. The longsword tore through Mashiro's clothes, revealing one of her fair arms with a bloody gash.

Orochimaru was somewhat surprised by this. Despite the sharpness of the Kusanagi Sword, even though it was only a brief contact, it had not seriously injured Mashiro's arm.

"Is that all? Kakashi and the others will probably be here soon. Let's finish this quickly," Mashiro said calmly. "Fusion: Torrent"

Mashiro formed a hand seal and blew on it.

A mudslide, accompanied by lightning, rushed towards Orochimaru.

Seeing this, Orochimaru quickly pressed his hand to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashomon"

Three enormous Rashomon gates appeared one after another.

The torrent crashed down, shattering the first Rashomon gate. The second Rashomon gate held out for a long time, finally blocking Mashiro's attack just as it was about to break.

Before Orochimaru could even rejoice, a kunai pierced his heart. Orochimaru turned around and saw a shadowy ninja standing behind him. Without a word, Orochimaru collapsed to the ground.

Mashiro walked to the side of his body, kicked it with her foot, and sure enough, he ran away.

Orochimaru clearly didn't go all out in this battle. He didn't summon the Fang Snake, nor did he reveal his true form. Of course, Mashiro was the same. We knew her greatest skill was genjutsu.

Ignoring the mess, Mashiro disappeared from the spot, now standing beside a large tree.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are resting. This attack has severely damaged their morale, especially Sasuke, who felt a strong sense of powerlessness after witnessing the battle between Mashiro and Orochimaru.

"You three are alright, aren't you?" Mashiro suddenly appeared and asked.

Naruto and Sakura were incredibly excited to see Mashiro arrive, and Sasuke also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mashiro-nee, are you alright? Did you defeat that Sound Ninja?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"It's alright, I've already killed that Sound Ninja. She was actually a rogue ninja who disguised herself to sabotage the Chunin Exams," Mashiro said. Sakura hugged Mashiro tightly.

"By the way, Mashiro-nee, Sasuke was injured by that rogue ninja and he's in a lot of pain right now," Naruto said, looking at Sasuke. Mashiro stepped forward and looked at the mark on Sasuke's neck; it was indeed a cursed seal.

"It's alright, I'll help Sasuke solve this problem after the exam." Mashiro didn't mention the cursed seal.

"By the way, you probably haven't collected all the Heavenly Scrolls yet, right? I happen to have one here, so that shouldn't count as cheating." Mashiro said, handing a scroll to Sakura.

"Alright, you guys go take the second exam. I have something to do." Mashiro said, secretly pinching Sakura's buttocks before disappearing from the spot. Only a happy Naruto, a shy Sakura, and a dejected Sasuke remained.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Forest of Death, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji were being attacked by a combined force of Grass Ninja and Sound Ninja. "Ino, you take the scroll and leave first. Choji and I will hold them off," Shikamaru said, using his Shadow Binding Technique to restrain the attackers. "Then be careful. We'll meet at the venue entrance in a bit," Ino said without hesitation, grabbing the scroll and running into the forest.

Ino ran for a long time when suddenly a ninja from Taki blocked her path. "Hand over the scroll."

Namino quickly used the "Mind Transfer Technique" to control the Taki ninja's body to crash into the tree.

But just as Ino returned to her body, a female Takigakure ninja suddenly jumped out from the tree behind her. The female Takigakure ninja struck Ino on the neck with a palm, and Ino automatically fainted. Just as she was about to take Ino's scroll, she suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Oh dear!"

Mashiro walked over from not far away.

Namino Shizuka opened her eyes and immediately assumed a fighting stance. She looked ahead and saw a small river. "How did I end up here?"

While Ino was wondering what was going on, she noticed that Mashiro was swimming in the river without any clothes on.

"No, you must be dreaming."

Ino stared intently at Mashiro in the river, muttering to herself. Just then, Mashiro stepped out of the river and onto the bank.

Looking at the snow-white Mashiro, Namino was momentarily stunned. "Ino, are you satisfied with what you see?" Mashiro said with a half-smile. Namino didn't speak, and blood started flowing from his nose.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Fish's Struggle

Mashiro's scheme against Namino had been brewing for a long time. During the time she and Sakura were at school, Mashiro deliberately made Namino aware of it. In the following year, she also intentionally or unintentionally made Ino notice her many intimate interactions with Sakura.

Ino doesn't only like men; Mashiro discovered this when they were at the Ninja Academy. Therefore, Ino feels intense curiosity and excitement about Mashiro and Sakura's behavior.

As Mashiro mentioned before, many bookstores in Konoha have investments from the Hyuga clan, including the one near Ino's house. During that time, the bookstore near Ino's house placed some LGBTQ+ themed books that were rarely seen in normal times in a more prominent position, which gradually changed Namino's mindset.

And among Ino's circle, there's only one person who perfectly matches her aesthetic criteria: Hinata Mashiro. Now, it's time to close the net.

Namino pinched her nose to stop the bleeding, then turned the light away and asked, "Mashiro, what are you doing here, and why aren't you dressed?"

“There were some rogue ninja causing trouble in the Forest of Death just now, and they even attacked Naruto and the others. I happened to find out and dealt with that rogue ninja. After settling Naruto and the others, I was a little worried about your safety, so I rushed over. I didn’t expect to witness you being ambushed by the Takigakure ninja. After dealing with that Takigakure ninja, I brought you here. There’s a stream here, and I’m covered in some injuries and dust from the battle, so I washed myself here.” Mashiro said as she put on her clothes after using the Wind Deflector to dry herself.

"Yamano Ino's favorability +20, reward: improved perception ability."

"Are you injured? Is it serious? Are you alright?" Ino blushed slightly after hearing Mashiro's words, and then asked with concern.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury," Mashiro said, looking at Ino. [Name: Yamanaka Ino]

Gender: Female Age: 12 Affection Level: 60 Relationship: Friends