Hokage: Ryo's Path

After dealing with Kurotsuchi, Orochimaru summoned dozens of little snakes in the Forest of Death to see if there were any other Ninjas aside from these Genin.

After a while, he concluded that there were only a few Konoha Anbu members to supervise the Genin.

So, Naruto’s safety was ensured. Orochimaru’s mission was over, so he left the forest.

...............

After a while, Naruto and Sasuke started to recover their Chakra while chatting. By the time they almost recovered, Sakura rushed to Team 10 nearby.

Shikamaru looked at the surrounding trees and the scorched land in front of him and made a rough estimation of the situation.

“Why are you guys here?” Naruto asked in puzzlement.

“Sakura said you were caught by Iwagakure Genin and a strong woman. I heard she was an Elite Jounin, so we rushed over immediately. But you guys still win, Sasuke-kun is amazing!” Ino exclaimed.

Hearing this, Naruto protested, “Hey! I did a good job too! And we’re not the one who finished the woman.”

Shikamaru frowned. “It wasn’t you? Then what happened with that scorched land over there? What happened? Tell me now.”

While Naruto was trying to organize the words, Sasuke immediately spoke. “I’ll do it. That time, Naruto and I hit the woman with Ninjutsu...”

Sasuke told Shikamaru the rest of the details. Shikamaru was shocked upon hearing Orochimaru’s name. “Orochimaru? Sasuke, did you mean it? That Orochimaru?”

Sasuke nodded, “Un! That’s right!”

“Truly troublesome. I didn’t expect someone that powerful would be here in the Chunin Exam.”

“Huh? Who’s Orochimaru?” Sakura whispered, Choji on her side also looked curious.

Shikamaru sighed and told them a brief history of Orochimaru’s achievement.

Listening to Shikamaru’s story, Sakura tensed up. Choji’s expression was still indifferent, but he asked the one question everyone was curious about. “Shikamaru, why is there such a powerful person in the Chunin Exam?”

After a moment of silence, Shikamaru pointed to Naruto. “I think it’s because of him!”

“Me? Why me?” Naruto was confused.

“Simple. It’s because of your identity. You’re Konoha’s Kyuubi Jinchuuriki; you can communicate and use some of Bijuu’s power from a young age. It’s only natural that Iwagakure is terrified, so they sent someone to kill you. And someone sent Uncle Orochimaru to protect you.”

After hearing Shikamaru’s words, Sasuke finally understood.

“Sasuke, you said Orochimaru chased the woman, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if they’ve left the forest yet.”

Shikamaru looked down and spoke, “I think they already left.”

“How did you know that?”

“Because Naruto’s still alive and well. Just now, you said those Iwagakure Genin are very respectful when they see the woman. They immediately left after she appeared because they were sure she could kill Naruto. Since she can kill Naruto, Iwagakure didn’t send another person because it would be easier if she was alone.”

“Shikamaru, you said Iwagakure only sent an Elite Jounin. But there’s still a lot of Genin here! Naruto’s not safe yet!” Sakura said.

Ino smiled, “Sakura, you don’t understand. Orochimaru was called by Uncle Ryo. He didn’t care about the Genin battle, and neither did Orochimaru.”

Hearing this, Sakura’s expression drastically changed. “Then... we need to face the Iwagakure Genin?”

Shikamaru nodded .” Un! Iwagakure Genin should still aim to kill him.”

“Tch! I’m not afraid of a bunch of Genin!” Naruto spoke with disdain.

Sasuke glared at Naruto and said. “Stupid! If it’s one on one, we can deal with them with our strength. But what if they ambushed us?”

Looking at Sasuke, Ino’s face brightened. “That’s right! It will be dangerous if they ambush you! Then let’s go together. Shikamaru, how is it?”

“Eh? Such a troublesome thing...” Shikamaru didn’t finish his word because he felt a cold gaze and saw Ino’s killing intent. Shikamaru quickly changed his words. “Uh... I mean... It’s troublesome, but we’re allies, so we should stick together. But I have two conditions.”

“What is it?” Sasuke asked.

“1. Since we decided to work together, you need to listen to my command in terms of battles and actions. 2. Because we’re the one helping you, we will get the Scroll first.”

After pondering, Sasuke agreed. Naruto and Sakura also agreed, so Team 7 and 10 worked together.

After a while, Naruto and Sasuke’s strength fully recovered. The six of them ate and were getting ready to leave.

Just before they left, Shikamaru spoke. “Naruto and Sasuke at the front, Sakura and Ino in the middle, while Choji and I will be at our rear.

Naruto and Sasuke’s power is stronger than us, so you’ll be the tip of the spear. Ino and Sakura are girls, so they should be in the middle.

And because Ino is a Sensor Type Ninja and Sakura is a Medical Ninja so we should protect them...

...Choji and I will be in the rear because our Ino-Shika-Cho clan’s Secret Jutsu needs to cooperate.

In case of trouble, Ino can immediately return to the team to fight. You’ll create a Spiritual Connection with us and pay attention to the other Genin and inform us as soon as you sense something.

That’s all for now. Any question?” After explaining, Shikamaru looked at everyone and asked.

Everyone agreed. Before they left, Sasuke looked at Shikamaru and said, “Nara clan’s intelligence is truly awesome. Right now, intelligence is the most powerful weapon.”

Shikamaru laughed. “My father always says, ‘intelligence is useless against absolute power.’”