Konoha: Naruto, Taught by Aizen

Basking in the numerous awestruck gazes, Sasuke finally felt like he'd regained some face. He and Rock Lee exchanged a smile, then simultaneously headed towards their team, Sasuke adopting a captain-like tone as he said, "Let's go."

"These two idiots," Sakura muttered, pressing a hand to her forehead in exasperation.

The thought that her future self would be healing morons like these made her feel uncomfortable all over.

She really didn't understand why Ino liked Sasuke.

Sakura glanced at Naruto with a touch of admiration, her heart feeling warm and fuzzy.

Naruto really is the best~~~

Naruto had been observing the examinees throughout this time.

Soon, his attention was drawn to a woman with a cold, gloomy aura.

This woman was wrapped in plain clothes and appeared quite timid and submissive.

By all appearances, she was an utterly ordinary ninja.

But for some reason, the probing gaze she cast on Naruto felt particularly glaring.

"That woman… she's so strange," Naruto murmured, feeling a sense of unease.

"Naruto, be careful. That woman is not to be underestimated," Kurama couldn't help but warn him from within the seal space.

The Nine-Tails itself was extremely sensitive to negative emotions and possessed a beast's intuition.

He sensed a disquieting aura from that woman and thus spoke up.

After all, he and Naruto were in the same boat now.

Naruto withdrew his gaze and followed Sasuke and Sakura into the examination classroom.

Many examinees were already waiting inside.

Among them were several familiar faces: Hinata's and Ino's teams, as well as a certain "eternal Genin" of Konoha, Yakushi Kabuto.

However, what Naruto didn't know was that after he entered the classroom, the seemingly ordinary woman stuck out her scarlet tongue, lightly licking her lips, a smile of interest playing on her face.

"Did he sense something? Uzumaki Naruto… truly a Jinchuriki one cannot afford to ignore."

Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, possessed Kage-level strength.

He was also a trusted comrade of Tsunade and Jiraiya, and a former candidate for Fourth Hokage.

But this very ninja, whom everyone believed to be loyal to Konoha, had delved into forbidden human experimentation and became a rogue ninja.

Ever since childhood, Orochimaru's thoughts had leaned towards negativity and self-centeredness. Fearing harm to his comrades, he refused to trust in their strength.

Compared to the passionate Jiraiya, he was more like a silent viper, lying in wait in a corner to deliver the final blow to his enemies at the critical moment. Thus, his aura was generally quite cold and sinister.

Due to the experience of his parents' deaths, witnessing the deaths of his close friend and disciple, and observing how life was disrespected during wartime, his personality further darkened, and his methods grew increasingly terrifying.

He was obsessed with research, hoping to find the meaning of life through human experimentation, transcend the fragility of life, and thereby achieve immortality.

He collaborated with Konoha's dark underbelly, conducting forbidden human experiments.

Eventually, when his deeds came to light, he conveniently defected from Konoha and established Otogakure.

Looking back at his past, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was the one who understood Konoha's darkness best.

He understood Danzo's ambition and brutality, and used this to cooperate with Danzo, providing him with research.

But once Danzo obtained the research results, he abandoned Orochimaru without hesitation.

Orochimaru initially bore no particular malice towards Konoha; he even hoped Konoha could become stronger.

But alas, Konoha's roots had already rotted.

Following Orochimaru's defection, Jiraiya also left Konoha to pursue his trail, and Tsunade too became disheartened with the village.

Orochimaru's infiltration this time naturally had its objectives.

One was the Konoha Crush Plan.

The other was the Sharingan, and while he was at it, to get a look at the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

From the intelligence he had gathered, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's personality was similar to that of the Fourth Hokage.

Moreover, that brief exchange of gazes earlier had surprised Orochimaru with Naruto's keen perception.

He could even sense a hint of natural energy from Naruto.

Mount Myoboku? Then Jiraiya is also in Konoha? Orochimaru frowned, a trace of annoyance surfacing.

Konoha gaining another Kage-level powerhouse was not good news for him.

I hear the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has also awakened a Kekkei Genkai. I'll have to experience it properly this time, he thought.

Meanwhile, in a small town near the Land of Fire…

Haku, dressed in modest white robes, strolled leisurely along a small path.

The shops on either side were open for business, and passersby chatted amiably about their daily lives.

Occasionally, someone would pass by with a horse-drawn cart laden with goods.

Experiencing the bustle of a town as a free person for the first time offered a different kind of feeling.

His Reiatsu was abundant, and he even felt a slight spring in his step.

The Land of Fire's public order was relatively good, so the residents of the nearby towns lived in peace and worked contentedly.

However, there were still many displaced people who couldn't afford food or clothing.

Haku found a quiet place to stay temporarily, adopting the alias Murakami Haku.

Due to his delicate features and gentle temperament, he quickly got along well with the locals.

But the townspeople didn't know that the seemingly gentle Haku had a different identity.

Late at night, just as Haku drifted off to sleep, his consciousness appeared in a world of ice and snow.

He stood amidst a raging blizzard, snowflakes dancing wildly as they fell from the sky. Looking around, everything was white, as if stretching endlessly.

Haku extended his hand, letting the snowflakes land on his palm, yet he felt no coldness at all.

The Ice Release within his body began to circulate instinctively.

For him, the weather here was the most pleasant, the most comfortable.

Suddenly, he saw an elegant woman walking slowly towards him through the blizzard.

Focusing his gaze, he found that the woman had features similar to his own, only more alluring and feminine.

She looked like a female version of himself.

From his previous conversations with Naruto, he had learned about Zanpakuto, so he had a rough idea in his mind.

This woman was perhaps his Zanpakuto.

The woman stopped in front of Haku. Her captivating eyes were as gentle as water, and her curvaceous, sexy figure made Haku blush slightly, daring not to look directly.

He thought to himself, Why is my sword spirit female? How strange!

"Excuse me, are you my Zanpakuto?" Haku suppressed his shyness, looked up to meet the woman's gaze, and asked politely.

"That's right. Remember, my name is…" Haku saw the woman's lips move but couldn't make out the final name.

After seeing the woman flash a devastatingly beautiful smile, Haku's consciousness spun, and when he awoke again, he was back in his warm bed.

"What happened?" He sat up, clutching his head, feeling bewildered.

Shing. A snow-white sword slid from his side, falling to the floor with a crisp sound.

As it landed, the ground around it seemed to be coated with a fine layer of snow, exquisitely beautiful.

"This is… an Asauchi?" Haku picked up the sword, his expression dazed.

Everything was just as Naruto had described.

He had become a Shinigami capable of wielding a Zanpakuto!

He was one step closer to achieving Shikai.

"I'll be able to help Lord Naruto soon." A charming smile instantly blossomed on Haku's face.