The First Clash

Halfway through the battle, Kakashi and Sasuke arrived in a recovery room.

"I'll seal the Cursed Seal for you, but the exact effect... depends on your willpower." Kakashi watched Sasuke lying on the ground, drenched in sweat.

"Well done, Kakashi. I didn't know you could use Sealing Techniques..."

A hoarse voice came from behind Kakashi.

"Orochimaru..."

Orochimaru licked his lips and stared greedily at Sasuke on the ground. Then he fixed his gaze on the mask Kakashi used to cover his Sharingan.

"I never noticed you had something like that before..."

After a brief clash of gazes, Kakashi was the first to look away...

"That look you just gave me... were you trying to kill me?" Orochimaru turned to leave, leaving only a taunt echoing through the empty room.

"Go ahead and try..."

"I'd love to!" A figure blocked Orochimaru's path...

"Jimo!" Kakashi struggled to his feet as his body recovered from the paralysis.

"So you're the brat who rescued Anko and shot through my heart... That giant snake didn't eat you... what a shame." Orochimaru appeared behind Jimo like a ghost.

"What I love most is destroying Konoha's prodigies..."

The kunai pierced his chest, but Orochimaru felt none of the sensation of his hand breaking through.

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

A huge blaze engulfed Orochimaru. Unlike an ordinary Fire Release, Jimo's fireball was bright white...

"Is that... the Fireball Jutsu?" Kakashi stared at the floor, which had melted into glass, amazed by the heat of the flames.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Applause rang out from nearby.

"Jimo, was it? You're impressive..." Orochimaru appeared nearby, his face scorched black.

"Unfortunately, I'm not very interested in you... Otherwise, you might have been more worthy than Sasuke."

"Tch..." Jimo looked at the eerie face, knowing this was just one of Orochimaru's many clones.

Orochimaru, you really are cautious...

As Orochimaru's figure disappeared, Jimo went to Kakashi and helped him up.

"I should've told the Third Hokage sooner. Your strength probably surpasses that of many ordinary Jonin." Kakashi lifted Sasuke onto his back, and he and Jimo escorted him to Konoha Hospital to rest.

With Orochimaru's appearance, Konoha's Anbu sent out many elite shinobi to protect Sasuke around the clock.

By the time the two returned to the arena, several matches had already ended.

They arrived just in time for Neji and Hinata's fight. Hinata was already covered in wounds, and Neji showed no intention of stopping.

"That's pretty brutal..."

Jimo frowned.

When Neji was about to deliver the final blow to Hinata, Jimo moved faster than the teachers in the arena.

Neji struck Jimo in the chest with his palm, but the impact felt as if it had hit something hard. His attack hadn't penetrated Jimo's body at all.

"Why meddle? You really are a bleeding heart."

"Hey, hey, that's not the kind of attack you use on a fellow villager, is it?" Jimo pointed a ball of light formed at his fingertip at Neji's forehead.

"Enough. You've already won... so stop."

Hinata had already lost consciousness behind Jimo and was lying in Kurenai's arms.

Neji slowly pulled his hand back, his heart full of shock.

He'd never understood why Jimo had been promoted to Chunin so suddenly. Now, he realized the gap between them was far from small.

Even the other Chunin in the arena would have suffered serious injuries if struck by his palm technique.

Neji returned to the stands, his cold expression giving nothing away.

While the doctor went to fetch medicine, Jimo hurried to the medical room.

He happened to see Tenten watching Hinata nearby.

"You got pretty badly beaten up, too..." Jimo went to the bedside and looked at the wounds the wind blades had left on Tenten.

"What are you doing here?" Tenten didn't have much fondness for this guy who'd been promoted to Chunin ahead of schedule.

"Naruto asked me to come check on Hinata, that's all..." Jimo took out a Senzu Bean and fed it to Hinata.

The bruises and scrapes on Hinata's body visibly healed before their eyes.

"Phew!" Jimo let out a breath of relief.

"Good thing they weren't serious injuries... Otherwise, even I couldn't have healed her..."

Seeing Hinata's condition change, Tenten hurried over to Jimo.

"What did you just give her? How did she recover so quickly?" Tenten stared at him curiously.

"Can't you even call me 'senior'?" Jimo teased, looking rather pleased with himself. "Never mind. Since you got beaten up so badly, I'll give you one, too."

Jimo took a Senzu Bean out of his pocket and went to pop it into Tenten's mouth.

"I don't want to eat something from some unknown source! Mmph—!"

Tenten coughed violently, tears welling in her eyes. A little saliva still clung to the corner of her mouth.

She'd never expected Jimo to shove the bean straight into her mouth.

The Senzu Bean slid down, and a warm current spread from her abdomen through her limbs. The scratches on her arm slowly healed, leaving not even a scar.

"Th-that's amazing..."

"Remember, don't tell anyone I have these... Or... I won't hesitate to crush a cute girl's throat!"

Jimo smiled as he said something horrifying... then disappeared from the medical room in a puff of smoke.

Tenten was left standing there, stunned.

"Did he just call me cute...?"

When Jimo returned to the arena, he spotted Rock Lee lying off to one side.

"Oh no..."

Jimo silently cursed. Rock Lee had multiple fractures and varying degrees of muscle damage.

The worst injuries were the bones crushed by Gaara's Sand Coffin... The Senzu Bean in his hand could heal fractures, cuts, and even burns. But the system's restrictions meant it couldn't restore lost flesh and bone.

"Tch... this is troublesome..." Jimo glanced at the Dragon Ball Bracelet on his wrist. It could do everything except resurrect the dead or grant power... so of course, it could cure Rock Lee.

The problem was that the bracelet still had nearly three months left on its cooldown...

Even so, Jimo gave Might Guy a Senzu Bean and told him to make sure Rock Lee ate it.

Seeing Jimo's serious expression and Kakashi's tacit approval, Guy realized the green bean in his hand had to be some kind of medicine that would help Rock Lee recover.

Since Jimo had pulled him aside, he clearly didn't want anyone else to know about it. That alone showed how precious it was.

"Guy, if you can set Lee's bones first, giving him this afterward might help..."

"If the Medical Corps can't do it, then we'd better send someone to find Lady Tsunade..."