"What about the woods behind the hospital?"
Shinji frowned slightly.
He knew Sasuke's current condition well. Not only had his Dojutsu power run dry and his eyesight deteriorated badly, but his body had also been severely corroded by the Cursed Seal.
He couldn't understand why Sasuke wasn't lying in a hospital bed like he should be, and what he was trying to do instead.
"Come on, I'll take you there," Ringo Ameyuri said.
Shinji followed her.
Before long, the two of them arrived at the small woods behind Konoha Hospital.
Two people were fighting in the woods. One of them was Sasuke, whom Shinji had come to find. The other was Ryūsetsuna.
Ryūsetsuna and Chiyo had been sent to Konoha by Kusagakure to take part in the Chunin Ninja Exams.
But they had performed so well during the exams—holding off the First and Second's Impure World Bodies several times, stopping Orochimaru, and protecting Naruto and Sasuke—that Tsunade had personally invited them to stay in Konoha.
After all, no one knew when the next great war would break out. It made sense to retain capable, battle-tested fighters like Ryūsetsuna and Chiyo.
At the edge of the clearing,
Chiyo and Sakura watched the fight anxiously.
A little farther away, Darui, Kurotsuchi, Chojuro, Suigetsu, and other foreign shinobi watched from the branches of a large tree.
When they saw Shinji arrive with Ringo Ameyuri, they all nodded in greeting.
Shinji returned their greetings one by one, then turned his attention to the fight.
Having learned about the Twelve Palaces, Shinji could tell at a glance that Ryūsetsuna wasn't using her full strength. Even so, Sasuke was struggling to defend himself.
Still, the sight surprised Shinji.
By his calculations, Sasuke's current physical condition should have made him no match for Ryūsetsuna.
"He's using Lightning