Three Battlefields

Orochimaru's face was extremely gloomy.

"Danzo is a master of 'cooperation.' To achieve his goals, he'll cooperate with anyone! And coincidentally, there's a group of people who've been hunting me down..."

Kabuto's expression turned somewhat serious. "Lord Orochimaru, what do you mean by --?"

Orochimaru suddenly raised his head, looked at the distant mountains, and his pupils contracted slightly.

"That old bastard Danzo... he actually came after them!"

Several figures appeared on the distant mountain.

Danzo's conspiracy has been revealed--

"Kabuto, it seems we can't capture Sasuke ourselves..." Orochimaru's hoarse voice slowly rang out.

"Yes, if we're not careful, we might even lose our lives here, Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto, who always seemed to care about nothing, now spoke with a hint of bitterness.

"Is it alright to leave Sasuke to Kimimaro and the others?"

"I've given him a newly developed potion, which will allow him to exert 120% of his strength for at least today. However, this comes at the cost of his life force. If there's no battle today, it'll be fine, but if he engages in strenuous activity... I'm afraid he won't survive until tomorrow! But with their strength, Sasuke back is definitely not a problem. If all else fails, Kimimaro still has that forbidden technique I gave him that he can use..."

Orochimaru glanced at Kabuto indifferently.

"You actually taught him that technique..."

"That's Ninjutsu that instantly increases strength dozens of times over! Although anyone who uses that forbidden technique will die within ten minutes, Kimimaro will be absolutely invincible during that time. Even I would have a huge headache!" Kabuto said coldly. "With that technique, the people of Konoha will absolutely not be able to get Sasuke back."

"I hope so! Too many unexpected things have happened today, and I have a bad feeling... I'm worried that we might not even be able to capture Sasuke!" Orochimaru stopped talking to Kabuto and turned to face the approaching figures.

"Danzo... I never imagined you'd get involved with members of Akatsuki!" he said softly.

The Akatsuki duo appeared simultaneously on the Orochimaru, one on his left and one on his right.

"So it really is Orochimaru... Long time no see! We Akatsuki have been looking for you for ages! You're really good at hiding!"

The burly ninja standing at the very front looked down at Orochimaru, a sinister smile on his face.

"Your bounty is in the tens of millions on the black market list, Orochimaru!"

The black tentacles of the Earth Grudge Fear began to emerge from his body.

"Kakuzu..."

Orochimaru immediately recognized the person who had come.

He turned his head to the other side:

A silver-haired youth, dragging a long-handled scythe, appeared on the hilltop with an arrogant smile.

"Hahaha! Orochimaru, we meet again! This time you can't escape! Prepare to die!"

"And Hidan... you idiot, you're still alive!" Orochimaru squinted, giving Hidan a greeting brimming with malice.

"What?!" The blond youth, enraged by the provocation, raised his scythe. "You stray dog, how dare you call me that!"

He was about to jump down and kill the despicable kimono-clad man with his scythe when Kakuzu stopped him.

"Shut up, Hidan! Don't fall for his tricks. You can't beat Orochimaru... You deal with his subordinates first, I'll take care of Orochimaru myself!"

He stared down at Orochimaru, his eyes cold as ice, the air thick with tension.

Orochimaru's pale face gradually darkened into a gloomy expression.

"You're quite confident, Kakuzu! It's just that I've lived a little longer than others, nothing special... Do you think you can catch me all by yourself?"

A murderous aura gradually permeated the entire valley.

"Really? Then let's give it a try...!"

At this point, Kakuzu stopped talking.

He swiftly Hand Seals, gathering a large amount of Chakra in his chest, then opened his mouth and exhaled—

A raging inferno erupted from its mouth, crashing down on Orochimaru like a tsunami, engulfing half the sky.

Fire Style: Searing Migraine!

The bright yellow Kakkō cast flickering shadows on Orochimaru's face.

A battle between two Kage Level has begun!

On the other side.

"Looks like this is the only option..."

After catching his breath, Sasuke began to Hand Seals.

Ugly-Rabbit-Monkey, "Lightning Release - Lightning Blade!"

Kakashi's signature Ninjutsu once again erupted from Sasuke, the furious lightning casting a dark and uncertain shadow on Sasuke's face.

The massive amount of Lightning Release Chakra gathered in his hands activated his body to the maximum extent, Sasuke unleashed unparalleled speed, launching a sprint!

"So fast!" Kimimaro's eyes widened suddenly. Before he could even make any defensive move, he instinctively drew out his bones, which coalesced into a bone shield to protect his chest. Sasuke instantly rushed in front of him!

What shocked Kimimaro even more was the penetrating power of Lightning Blade, which was enough to pierce through any defense.

Even the hardest bone was shattered by his single blow!

The bone shield only managed to hold the boy's left hand back for a moment before it shattered with a deafening roar, Kimimaro's pupils to shrink violently!

Figures crisscrossed.

Thud--

A violent impact suddenly rang out!

The Lightning Release gradually faded away.

Kimimaro pressed his abdomen tightly, blood flowing uncontrollably from between his hands, the frantically proliferating bone plates firmly covering the wound.

"Did you hit him?" Sasuke gasped for breath, his eyes fixed on Kimimaro.

The attack just now didn't have the tangible sensation of penetration.

"I'm sorry, you missed..." Kimimaro said with some difficulty, "That move was really powerful; just being hit at the edge caused such damage!"

He released his grip, revealing his ripped-open belly and the gruesome internal organs that had narrowly escaped Lightning Blade's attack.

"Hmph... if I had gone any further in, I probably would have died!"

Sasuke frowned, forcibly suppressing the resentment rising in his heart. He had never seen his opponent so difficult in his life; the mere moment his Bone Shield delayed Lightning Blade was enough for him to forcefully avoid a vital point!

However, the bone shield was indeed incredibly strong, not only momentarily hindering him but also subtly deflecting the direction of the Lightning Blade; otherwise, Kimimaro wouldn't have been able to dodge it...

So, shall we do it again?

No, the enemy is already prepared and knows how to dodge. Forcing another attack will likely not be as effective.

Although he could break through the hardest bones Kimimaro created, Kimimaro's extremely high level of Taijutsu and flexible body agility also ensured that he could make an evasive maneuver within the short time it took for the bone shield to slightly block the Lightning Blade.

There's no rush to use Lightning Blade for now. Unless a better opportunity can be created during the battle... After all, Lightning Blade consumes a lot of energy, and even now, he can't use it many times in a row. It's impossible to use Lightning Blade in such a risky offensive.

As for Taijutsu? They're also at a disadvantage, so it's not very meaningful.

How about trying a different approach?

Seal. Si-Wei-Shen-Hai-Wu-Yin: "Fire Escape - The Art of the Great Fire Ball!"

A surge of Chakra rose to his throat, which he then forcefully exhaled.

Fire Style Chakra surged in the wind, transforming into a blazing orange-red fireball!

Boom!

In the sweltering heat, large beads of sweat streamed down Sasuke's face.

"Phew... It's been so long since I used Fire Style with this kind of power!"

He casually wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, his Mitsudomoe fixed on the spot where the fireball had struck.

Judging from the Chakra sensation... it must have hit. Sasuke thought to himself.

The results are in.

The thick smoke and dust gradually dissipated.

The first thing Sasuke saw was a white wall of bones extending from Kimimaro's hand—the parts that had been bombarded by Ninjutsu were completely charred black.

However, it only blackened it.

"Even the Great Fireball Jutsu couldn't do anything to him..." Sasuke's gaze grew increasingly serious.

The battle became tricky. Sasuke had to admit that his earlier assumption that he could easily resolve the fight was a huge mistake.

If they continue fighting, it will only end up being a Fifty-Fifty situation...

It seems that to resolve the battle...

That's the only option we can use.

If Sakura were here, her Ninjutsu would be a piece of cake to deal with this monster who only Taijutsu, right? Sasuke suddenly thought of it and began to miss the time when Team 7 was still around and he went on missions with Sakura Haruno.

The reason he dared to recklessly fight the enemy one-on-one in the Land of Snow was precisely because he had his trusted teammates behind him.

Chunin Ninja Exams, he bravely chased after the Sand shinobi who were trying to escape because he knew that Team 7 would definitely come to his aid!

So what about this time...?

Sasuke's mind drifted to the images of the other members of Team 7.

Kakashi... his respected teacher and mentor, a man who usually seems carefree but is more reliable than anyone else when it matters. But he was on a mission before, and even though he's back in Konoha now, he can't catch up with his battle with Kimimaro.

Naruto... that idiot from the Music School, if his Wind Release had amplified his Great Fireball, it might have posed a threat to Kimimaro. But that loser has already gone on a training trip with Jiraiya, so there's no way he could be here.

And there's also the only girl in Team 7, Sakura Haruno...

"Sakura, I sensed your Ice Release Chakra. Was it that Frost Ice Burial technique?" Sasuke glanced at the spot where the Chakra had erupted in the distance and muttered to himself, "Hurry up and finish off the enemy so he can come and support me... If using that technique still doesn't solve him..."

"Sakura, it's all up to you now!"

"I bet Yuuka has already dealt with those Sound Ninja by now, right?" Yugao murmured, savoring the last energy pill in her mouth. "I suddenly think it would be better if you, Captain, held off the first group of Sound Ninja while Yuuka and I charged forward. Her Ninjutsu can take down a whole bunch of them in one go, making things much easier!"

"Those Sound Ninja possess several Secret Techniques; it might take some effort for Tobi to deal with them..."

Shino swallowed the last of his Military Ration Pill, then took a big gulp of water to wash away the bitterness in his mouth, and continued, "But judging by the time, it should be almost over now, right? If I were fighting those people, we'd probably still be in the probing stage, and it wouldn't be over by the time you meet Sasuke."

Before the enemy arrived, the two sat quietly for a while.

Alright, break time is over!

Shino threw the bag of military Military Ration Pill to the ground and stood up.

"They arrived pretty quickly, these Sound Ninja..."

Yugao's relaxed expression turned solemn and murderous, and the long sword on her back was now in her hand.

(Please recommend, comment, and add chapters!)

(This book's performance wasn't great; it was just average. Perhaps it wasn't written to the general public's taste... If you like it, please try to support it by voting or adding it to your bookshelf... I will update at least two chapters daily until the book is finished.)