I Have Shed My Snakeskin and Ascended to a Dragon

No wonder Sasuke looks down on me; after all, Sasuke's bounty on Konoha's wanted poster is much higher than mine.

To Konoha, he was just a minor, dispensable character.

If he hadn't followed Orochimaru, Konoha might never have paid any attention to this character.

But that's no reason for me to be humble.

"Sasuke, watch out! His Chakra is everywhere!"

Uchiha Itachi pointed out that, through his Sharingan, he could clearly see that everything around him consisted of Kabuto Yakushi's Snake Clones.

"This skin-shedding technique is generated through the Hozuki Clan's ability to transform their bodies. You know that person too, it's Suigetsu."

This incredibly powerful hydration ability, combined with the strong regenerative abilities he gained from Karin.

In short, your abilities are good, but the next second they'll become mine.

Kabuto's form began to undergo a dramatic change, with countless giant pythons staring menacingly at Sasuke.

Itachi stared in astonishment at Kabuto Yakushi in his snake form; he had only ever seen this ability in Orochimaru.

"Could this ability be from the Ryūchi Cave?"

Faced with countless giant pythons, it was impossible to distinguish which was Kabuto's true form and which was his clone.

However, Sasuke had clearly reached his limit. In order to quickly defeat Kabuto, it seemed he had to resort to that move.

The purple Susanoo pulled out a huge bow, aimed at one of them, and shot it.

Sasuke, don't panic!

Before he could stop it, the massive arrow locked onto one of the clones. Sasuke Mangekyō, was confident that the arrow would hit its mark.

But Kabuto seemed to have anticipated that Sasuke would shoot in this direction, and easily dodged it.

[Yugito Nii: You dodged it? How is that possible?]

[Hanzō: Such a powerful arrow, is it even possible for a human to launch such an attack?]

The sheer sharpness of the arrow was enough to make even the demigod Hanzo of the Salamander unsure if he could dodge it, so why did this guy named Kabuto dodge it so easily?

[The Fourth Raikage: This guy named Sasuke is so young, yet he can use Ninjutsu of such scale.]

Now that Sasuke has had the Mangekyō Sharingan transplanted, he has overcome the drawback of blindness caused by excessive use of the Mangekyō, and Sasuke now has every reason to be proud.

[Hozuki Mangetsu: Suigetsu, is this person from the Hozuki Clan?]

The ability Kabuto just used was similar to the Hydrification Technique, so it seems he absorbed the abilities of the Hozuki Clan.

This kind of Ninjutsu that can absorb the abilities of others at any time is just too abnormal.

At this moment, the giant python spat out the true form of Kabuto Yakushi.

"As expected, you're just like Orochimaru, a useless snake." Sasuke commented.

It seems that Sasuke doesn't have much respect for Orochimaru, his teacher. After all, Kabuto dared to send Orochimaru to his death, so scolding him a few times isn't a big deal.

However, what Sasuke didn't know was that Orochimaru couldn't master Sage Mode as perfectly as Kabuto.

But when Sasuke mocked Kabuto's appearance, did he remember that he wasn't much better off when he used Orochimaru's Cursed Seal ability? Neither of you should laugh at the other for looking like that.

"Since you know me, I hope you understand that I am no longer a snake."

"The complete power of the immortals allowed me to shed my snake skin."

"Transform into a dragon!"

Kabuto was radiating countless Natural Energies, and coupled with his current erratic behavior, he somehow gave off a dangerous aura.

"Sage Art, White Rage Technique. A Red Snake spewed out from the opening of the bag, followed by a Purple Bead."

The Red Snake coiled around the Purple Bead, which then exploded violently. The powerful sound made Sasuke cover his ears tightly, Sasuke as if his head was about to explode.

"Using air vibrations to paralyze our senses and shut down our Ninjutsu?" Itachi wondered, enduring the immense tremors.

This White Rage Technique not only produced a loud noise but also created a white light powerful enough to blind people. However, Kabuto Yakushi possessed something similar to Snake-Eye Cornea, which allowed him to ignore the intense light.

Taking advantage of their inability to move, Kabuto transformed into a giant snake head, intending Sasuke swallow Sasuke whole.

At the critical moment, Itachi activated Susanoo, blocking the crucial attack for Sasuke.

It seems Itachi anticipated that he would Sasuke.

Once the white light dissipated, Sasuke unhesitatingly threw Chidori at Kabuto.

However, the powerful sensory abilities Kabuto gained from Jūgo allowed him to easily dodge the attack.

Kabuto couldn't understand what the two brothers were saying at that moment, but then Itachi and Sasuke both activated Susanoo.

Itachi was responsible for close-quarters combat to distract the enemy, while Sasuke was responsible for using arrows to find openings.

In an instant, the brothers' tacit understanding reached a new level.

With Itachi holding them back, Sasuke quickly set his sights on Kabuto Yakushi again.

"Stop!"

Another arrow struck Kabuto's tail with pinpoint accuracy.

"A great opportunity!"

Itachi immediately moved closer, intending to deliver the final blow to Kabuto, but Kabuto instantly swung his Chakra Blade Sasuke in two.

[Rasa: Damn, what is this thing? It's stripping other people of their senses.]

[Ōnoki: The powerful white light and the resulting air vibrations make it impossible for ordinary people to see or hear the caster, thus making it impossible to dodge the attack.]

[Jiraiya: As expected, Ryūchi Cave, which can be ranked alongside Mount Myōboku, is no ordinary place.]

[Uchiha Mikoto: Itachi!]

[Obito: Ah, Itachi...]

Obito stared in disbelief Obito Itachi, who had been cut in two. How could he have lost so easily?

Itachi: Sasuke won't lose.

However, the young Itachi firmly believed that Sasuke would not lose, and it's unclear why he had such trust in his future younger brother.

As expected, Itachi's eyes kept darting around after he slashed down.

In an instant, the corpses from before turned into a flock of Crows, obscuring Dou's view.

Kabuto was caught off guard when Itachi swung his sword and cut off a section of his Snake Horn.

Seeing that he couldn't directly defeat Sasuke and Itachi, Kabuto resorted to his Talk no Jutsu.

Kabuto bluntly stated that he and Itachi were the same kind of person.

He was adopted by Konoha and trained to be a spy, traveling from village to village to carry out espionage activities, presenting a false self and deceiving others with lies.

Despite having done so much for Konoha, all they received in return was slander and defamation.

[Rasa: I knew there were no good people in Konoha. Tenten act like they're the best of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, but behind your back they even betray their own people.]

[Hiruzen Sarutobi: Konoha will never mistreat those who have contributed to Konoha.]

[Rasa: Really? I heard that Hatake Sakumo was forced to his death by the Konoha High Command.]

[Hiruzen Sarutobi: This is a lie! This is completely a lie! Sakumo is my right-hand man, how could I do something to harm a meritorious person like this?]

[Hiruzen Sarutobi: Danzo, on the other hand, was secretly using my name to do things that no one else knew about. Perhaps it was Danzo who did it.]

[Hanzō: So, I heard that Konoha was also Danzo the Third Hokage of Konoha spying on the women's bathhouse?]

[Hiruzen Sarutobi: That makes sense. Looks like I need to criticize Danzo.]

[Danzo: Hiruzen, you...]

Shimura Danzō never expected that Hiruzen would even pin something like this on him. "I can take the blame for Konoha's crimes, but you want me to take the blame for peeping at the women's bathhouse? Hiruzen Sarutobi, are you inhuman?"

There was nothing I could do, Danzo. I am a leaf bathed in sunlight, and you are a root buried in the darkness underground.

My reputation cannot be damaged; I can only rely on you, Danzo. Rest assured, Konoha will not forget your contributions.