Of the three pairs, Sasuke and Kimimaro were the first to decide the winner.
Sasuke panted heavily, looking somewhat tired, but his eyes were filled with delight. This time, he had finally defeated Kimimaro with his own hands.
Not far away, Kimimaro lay on the ground as the marks of the Karma released across his body slowly faded.
The Karma within him came from Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki.
In the original timeline, Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki couldn't even defeat Sasuke when he was one-armed and hadn't yet fully reached Six Paths level. This showed that Kinshiki had only barely entered that level, and was far weaker than Momoshiki.
The power gained by releasing the Karma obviously couldn't compare to Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki himself, so this match had been very unfair to Kimimaro.
Then again, what in this world was ever completely fair?
After catching his breath, Kimimaro got to his feet. "I lost!"
Sasuke curled his lip. "You're something else!"
Kimimaro was just as he'd been at the Ninja Academy: even in defeat, his expression remained indifferent, leaving Sasuke with no sense of accomplishment.
Then Sasuke shook his head. "The Otsutsuki power inside you is nothing special. I had the advantage this time! If you're not satisfied, hurry up and reach Six Paths level. Then we'll fight again, and I'll make you admit defeat!"
Kimimaro nodded, still expressionless. "All right!"
Just then, Yakumo, Haku, and the others came over and asked, "Are you two okay?"
Sasuke shook his head, then asked, "How are the others doing?"
Yakumo replied, "Why don't you listen? Their fight's making a lot more noise than yours!"
Sasuke listened and, sure enough, a continuous rumbling came from far away. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought there was a thunderstorm.
On the battlefield where Hikari and Neji were fighting, the