Josuke took a few steps back. Evil Chakra emerged from his body. As expected of an evil little Uchiha brat—that was the power of the Cursed Seal. Cursed Mark Stage Two, activate!
He had mastered Lord Orochimaru's improved Cursed Seal and Cursed Mark Stage Two three years ago.
It was simply incredible. Compared to Sasuke's chicken-wing-looking form, Josuke's Cursed Mark Stage Two was divine.
As his Chakra surged, even Naruto couldn't help being startled.
What an evil power!
Wrapped in black Chakra, Josuke's entire body was covered in armor. Being a Rogue Ninja really was awesome, huh? Heh. The armor covered him from head to toe, helmet included, and a sword extended from his right hand.
(What did it look like? (⊙o⊙)... Like Japanese samurai armor, with a sword attached to his right hand.)
There was no denying it: the person who invented Orochimaru was a genius!
Josuke looked incredibly cool. Compared with the original Cursed Seal, the improved version completely outclassed the regular one in appearance, strength, and speed.
But!
It wasn't without its drawbacks.
It consumed far more vitality than Stage One, and its aftereffects were much worse.
At his current level, Josuke could maintain it for three minutes at most. Just asking—are you Ultraman, Josuke? Ahem. Josuke's transformation was complete.
Josuke felt the power stirring within him. He raised his right hand and pointed it at Naruto.
"Come on. Let me see what you can do!"
With that, Josuke charged without hesitation and swung the sword in his right hand at Naruto's tail!
The tail of Naruto's cloak was sliced off just like that. Naruto was shocked and swiped at Josuke's armor with his fox claws, leaving a deep gash.
So this was the Nine-Tails' power?
Too weak, Josuke thought, shaking his head. But it was only the Two-Tails form. What else did you expect? Heh. I couldn't beat you in your Perfect Form.
But right now, I can just slaughter you, can't I?
He grabbed Naruto with his left hand and thrust his sword at him with his right. The Tailed Beast Cloak he'd been so proud of was pierced by Josuke's blade, which then ran through Naruto's chest. But he didn't die.
After all, a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki had an enormous life force.
Still, Naruto was plunged into a deathlike agony and fell into a near-death state.
No!!!!
Naruto's consciousness was dragged into his mindscape, where evil Chakra gathered into a fox-shaped bubble.
"Do you crave power?"
The Nine-Tails' voice tempted Naruto.
"I want it... I want it!"
The Nine-Tails watched Naruto with satisfaction. This was exactly what he wanted: for Naruto to fall, step by step, until his body was under the Nine-Tails' control.
"Good. Then I'll give it to you!"
Outside the mindscape, Josuke had already dropped the unconscious Naruto and was preparing to leave. But then an explosion burst behind him, scattering sparks everywhere. Josuke felt something pierce the armor on his back!
Josuke turned around and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Three-Tails already?
No matter. The shattered armor on his back gradually repaired itself under the Cursed Seal's power.
He swung his sword!
Josuke shot toward Naruto like a cannonball. Naruto's second Tailed Beast Ball was stifled right in his mouth, and Josuke cut off one of Naruto's tails with a single slash.
Naruto struck back, snapping the armor on Josuke's left shoulder with his claws. Josuke's left shoulder was slashed to a bloody mess. By now, neither of them had any use for fancy moves or orderly duels.
There was only the most primal hand-to-hand combat.
Josuke had only one minute left before the Cursed Seal wore off. He had already cut off all of Naruto's tails, but his armor was completely destroyed, and his body was covered in injuries of every size.
His back was especially bad. Naruto's Tailed Beast Ball had already hit him there once, and Naruto had also ambushed him, injuring his back. If Josuke wasn't mistaken, his back had probably been torn open.
Let's end this with one last strike, Naruto!
Chidori gathered in his left hand. With his last reserves of Chakra, he activated his Sharingan.
"Naruto!"
In his Three-Tails form, Naruto looked over and roared back at Josuke!
He charged forward too, just like the Battle of the Valley of the End back then—only this was far more brutal than the battle at the Valley of the End between Naruto and Sasuke.
Take this, Naruto! This is my final Chidori!!
As he drew closer to Naruto, the Sharingan activated!
Naruto was caught in a Genjutsu for three seconds, and Chidori pierced his Tailed Beast defenses!
Naruto had lost!
Josuke's Cursed Mark Stage Two wore off as well. There wasn't a single part of his body that wasn't injured. His left shoulder looked as though an animal had torn away a huge chunk of it.
After only a few steps, Josuke spat blood. He wouldn't die, but if he didn't receive treatment soon, he'd be left with lasting injuries, and the consequences would be disastrous.
The location of Orochimaru on the scroll was getting closer. Josuke tossed his Konoha Forehead Protector beside Naruto and forced himself onward to meet Orochimaru.
In the nearby woods, Orochimaru had long since shaken off Kakashi and was following the scroll to find Josuke.
The journey was only a dozen meters, but it took more than ten minutes. At last, a man riding a snake appeared before him, and Josuke finally let out a sigh of relief before collapsing.
Orochimaru came to Josuke's side and looked at the injured boy, as well as Naruto lying on the ground. He had absolutely no interest in Naruto. Not a bit.
Using some unknown scroll, he extracted some of the Chakra from Naruto's body, then turned to examine Josuke's condition. Kabuto, his lackey, had apparently arrived at some point too.
He gave Josuke's wounds a simple cleaning.
The situation wasn't looking good. "Lord Orochimaru, what should we do?"
Orochimaru glanced at Josuke's injuries. It would be a lie to say they weren't serious, but they weren't severe enough to kill him.
As if an idea had occurred to him, he let out a cackling laugh.
"Kabuto, the improved Hashirama Cells just need a clinical trial, don't they?"
A flash of madness crossed Orochimaru's eyes. He was a ninja, yes—but more than that, he was a scientist!
"Th-this..."
Kabuto had his reservations.
But Orochimaru's authority left him no room to argue. After giving Josuke's wounds some basic treatment, the three hurried to a nearby base.
If Josuke didn't receive treatment in time, he would be left disabled.
Oh, Josuke. Dear Josuke. I do covet your body, but Sasuke is still my vessel, so I suppose you can have this. (You might ask why I don't choose Josuke. I'd say the author won't let me.)
He took a small, wriggling lump of flesh from a refrigerated cabinet.
After mixing it with some unknown solution and the improved Hashirama Cells, he smeared it over Josuke's body.
The moment the cells came into contact with Josuke, they began to merge with his own cells. The fusion wasn't going smoothly, though. The Hashirama Cells' powerful life force resisted merging with Josuke's cells, and the two sides were locked in a struggle.
The improved Hashirama Cells were more than twice as advanced as ordinary Hashirama Cells. They also had an advantage ordinary Hashirama Cells couldn't match: they could take on the color of their host's skin.
And the drawback—
(Plant your marker here. The beginning of some later chapter will describe this incident with Naruto and Josuke. Mainly to give Josuke a cheat powerup—cough, I mean, boost his combat strength. It's not a cheat powerup, really.)
Before you continue