Orochimaru Who Doesn't Use People

After the referee announced the start, neither Sasuke nor Kabuto Yakushi rushed to move, quietly observing each other.

Suddenly, Sasuke spoke: "You are one of Orochimaru's men, aren't you?"

"?!"

Kabuto Yakushi was secretly shocked, putting on a confused expression: "What are you talking about? Orochimaru is an S-rank missing-nin from our village; how could I possibly be his man?"

"It doesn't matter if you want to keep acting, but you aren't the kind of opponent I can deal with casually. I won't hold back."

Sasuke's eyes turned red, the Three-Tomoe spinning and morphing into an overlapping Hexagram pattern as his hands formed seals quickly and rhythmically: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

Flames erupted from his mouth, condensing into a massive fireball about two meters in diameter that flew toward Kabuto Yakushi.

"So big!"

Kabuto Yakushi's attention was drawn to the fireball, and he was somewhat surprised: "To have made such progress in just one month—is this the talent of the Uchiha?!"

But the Great Fireball moved too slowly; Kabuto Yakushi didn't even need to show his true capabilities, easily dodging it with just the strength he had been displaying.

Seeing the fireball about to hit the ground, Sasuke suddenly formed seals again: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Explosion Technique."

The fireball, just about to land, exploded instantly. The power was even greater than the original, with flames scattering and splashing everywhere, turning the surroundings into a sea of fire and engulfing Kabuto Yakushi.

In the next second, Kabuto Yakushi turned into a wooden log.

Sasuke's eyes shifted slightly, and he threw two Shuriken and two Kunai.

"As expected of the Sharingan, your perception is truly strong!"

Kabuto Yakushi dodged the Shuriken and Kunai at the very limit: "With my current strength, fighting an Uchiha is indeed too much of a stretch."

Kabuto Yakushi knew very well that as a spy, admitting defeat now would be the wisest course of action, but: "The mission Lord Orochimaru entrusted to me has not been completed yet!"

Kabuto Yakushi's gaze toward Sasuke turned dangerous. He refined a large amount of chakra in his body, his speed suddenly increased, and in the blink of an eye, he finished his seals, his palms covered in a layer of Chakra Scalpel.

Those with decent eyesight immediately spotted the problem: this Kabuto Yakushi had been hiding his strength!

Those who were even stronger inferred his true level based on the speed he was currently displaying: he could be considered an elite among Jonin!

"Finally willing to use your full strength?"

Sasuke muttered, his hands forming a hollow grip: "Susanoo."

Deep purple chakra armor wrapped around Sasuke's wrists, and in his hollow-gripped hands appeared two Kusanagi Swords, also deep purple and composed of chakra.

"An ability I've never seen before!"

Kabuto Yakushi didn't know what effect the ability Sasuke was displaying had, but that didn't stop him from sensing the danger: "I'll test it first."

Kabuto Yakushi, who was charging forward, suddenly stopped abruptly and threw two Kunai at Sasuke.

Sasuke blocked in front of himself with his hands and charged straight toward Kabuto Yakushi. The Kunai hit the deep purple chakra armor and bounced off directly, not leaving a single mark.

As soon as the distance closed slightly, Sasuke swung a blade rapidly. But at this moment, the distance between him and Kabuto Yakushi was clearly greater than the length of the Kusanagi Sword in his hand.

Misjudged the distance? No, the Sharingan couldn't have misjudged!

Kabuto Yakushi instantly reached a conclusion. He kept his eyes locked on the deep purple blade, controlling his body to shift sideways to avoid the extended line of the blade's attack.

The next moment, Kabuto Yakushi saw an invisible slash released from the tip of the deep purple blade, leaving a bottomless, five-centimeter-wide, ten-meter-long scar on the ground.

"!!"

Kabuto Yakushi's back was instantly drenched, cold sweat flowing uncontrollably: "If I were hit head-on by an attack like that, I would die!"

"You still won't admit defeat after that?"

Sasuke adjusted his posture, setting up a dual-wielding stance on the spot: "It seems you have already made your resolve."

No, I haven't!

Kabuto Yakushi wanted to shout that, but unfortunately, he couldn't: "I have a little bit of confidence in my speed. Your technique is very powerful, but as long as I don't get hit, it's fine!"

"What a coincidence."

Sasuke smiled: "I also have a little bit of confidence in my speed."

As soon as his voice fell, Sasuke suddenly disappeared, leaving only a clear footprint where he had been standing.

Kabuto Yakushi felt a strong sense of mortal danger again. Without time to think, he moved slightly by body instinct—the deep purple blade grazed his scalp, nearly shaving him bald.

But this didn't mean he was safe, because Sasuke had two blades in his hands; dodging the first one still left the second.

Almost at the same moment, the other deep purple blade fell vertically from above Kabuto Yakushi's head, splitting him in two, before he turned into a wooden log once again.

"The Substitution Technique has its limits."

Sasuke said softly, and the first blade he had dodged suddenly accelerated and thrust forward.

Kabuto Yakushi reacted quickly and wanted to dodge, but his body couldn't keep up, and he could only watch as the tip of the blade pierced his abdomen.

"Puh-wah!"

Kabuto Yakushi spat out a mouthful of blood, grabbing the deep purple blade with both hands and attempting to cut it with his Chakra Scalpel, while simultaneously concentrating a large amount of chakra at the wound to heal it from the inside and minimize the injury as much as possible.

"With that loose Chakra Scalpel of yours, it is impossible to cut through Susanoo."

As he spoke, Sasuke had already held the second blade to Kabuto Yakushi's neck and looked at the referee on the side: "Can you declare me the winner now?"

"Of course."

The proctor nodded and announced in a loud voice, "The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!"

After a brief silence, sparse applause drifted down from the spectator stands.

There was no helping it; while this battle wasn't entirely devoid of spectacle, it could only be described as one-sided.

The strength displayed by Uchiha Sasuke lived up to everyone's expectations of the Uchiha clan. Unfortunately, his opponent, Kabuto Yakushi, was not strong enough to force Sasuke to reveal the full extent of his power, which greatly diminished the entertainment value of the match.

The few individuals with genuine strength and keen insight noticed that Kabuto Yakushi was no weakling, but precisely because of that, they were so astonished by the power of the unknown technique Sasuke had used that they chose to overlook Kabuto's performance entirely.

Seeing the proctor declare his victory, Sasuke immediately dispelled his Susanoo. He noticed that the wound on Kabuto Yakushi's abdomen was barely bleeding and was even healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"So you really are a medical ninja."

Sasuke showed a hint of surprise. "Does that Orochimaru really not know how to use people at all?"

Kabuto Yakushi desperately wanted to retort, but since his true identity could not yet be revealed, he had to rely on superb acting, feigning indignation. "You may be stronger than me, but you have no right to slander me like that!"

"Whatever you people are planning, it will not succeed."

Sasuke turned and walked away. "Next time we cross paths, I will kill you for real."

Kabuto Yakushi did not speak again; clutching his wound and feigning weakness, he was carried off the field on a stretcher by two medical ninjas.

Watching Kabuto depart, the proctor announced loudly, "We will now begin the second match. Will Shikamaru Nara and Temari please enter the arena!"

Temari used her giant fan as a parachute, standing atop it as she drifted slowly down into the arena.

Just as Shikamaru was debating whether to simply forfeit, Naruto shoved him from behind, sending him tumbling onto the field. "Go for it, Shikamaru!"

"Naruto, you jerk!"

Caught off guard, Shikamaru fell straight down and slammed into the ground. He simply lay there, motionless, staring up at the white clouds drifting lazily across the sky, and sighed, "How nice..."