Orochimaru Was Terrible at Choosing People

After the referee announced the start, neither Sasuke nor Kabuto Yakushi rushed to attack. They quietly watched each other.

Suddenly, Sasuke spoke. "You're one of Orochimaru's people, aren't you?"

"?!"

Kabuto Yakushi was secretly startled, but put on a puzzled expression. "What are you talking about? Orochimaru is an S-rank missing-nin from our village. How could I possibly be one of his people?"

"You can keep pretending if you want, but you're not the kind of opponent I can take lightly. I won't hold back."

Sasuke's eyes turned red. As the Three-Tomoe spun, they transformed into overlapping Hexagrams. His hands swiftly and methodically formed Hand Seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

Flames poured from his mouth and gathered into a fireball about two meters in diameter, flying toward Kabuto Yakushi.

"That's huge!"

Kabuto Yakushi's attention was drawn to the fireball, and he looked surprised. "You've improved this much in just a month? Is this the Uchiha's talent?!"

But the Great Fireball moved too slowly. Kabuto Yakushi easily dodged it using only the strength he had let on.

Just as the fireball was about to hit the ground, Sasuke formed Hand Seals again. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Explosion Technique."

The Great Fireball exploded just before it hit the ground. Its power surpassed that of the Great Fireball Technique, and flames scattered in all directions, turning the area into a sea of fire and swallowing Kabuto Yakushi.

The next instant, Kabuto Yakushi had become a section of a wooden post.

Sasuke's eyes shifted slightly as he threw two Shuriken and two kunai.

"As expected of the Sharingan. Your perception is incredible!"

Kabuto Yakushi narrowly dodged the Shuriken and kunai. "With my current strength, fighting an Uchiha really is too much for me."

Kabuto Yakushi knew that, as a spy, the wisest move would be to admit defeat right away. But, "Lord Orochimaru's mission isn't complete yet!"

Kabuto Yakushi's gaze turned dangerous. He refined a large amount of chakra in a single breath, and his speed suddenly increased. In the blink of an eye, he finished forming Hand Seals, and a layer of chakra scalpels covered his palms.

Some spectators with a decent eye for detail immediately spotted the problem: Kabuto Yakushi had been hiding his strength!

Those with sharper eyes judged his power from the speed he was showing now: he was an elite even among the jonin!

"So you've finally decided to put some effort in."

Sasuke murmured as he held his hands out in a loose grip. "Susanoo."

Deep purple Chakra Armor encased Sasuke's wrists. Two equally deep purple Kusanagi Swords, formed from chakra, appeared in his loosely clenched hands.

"I've never seen an ability like this!"

Kabuto Yakushi had no idea what Sasuke's ability did, but he could sense the danger. "I'll test it first."

Kabuto Yakushi abruptly stopped in the middle of his charge and threw two kunai at Sasuke.

Sasuke held both hands in front of himself and charged straight at Kabuto Yakushi. The kunai struck the deep purple Chakra Armor and bounced off without leaving a mark.

As the distance between them shortened, Sasuke swiftly swung one sword. But the distance between him and Kabuto Yakushi was clearly greater than the length of the Kusanagi Sword in his hand.

"Did he misjudge the distance? No, the Sharingan couldn't get that wrong!"

Kabuto Yakushi figured it out at once. He stared at the deep purple blade and shifted sideways, avoiding the path the blade's attack would extend along.

The next moment, Kabuto Yakushi saw an invisible slash shoot from the tip of the deep purple blade, leaving a gash in the ground about five centimeters wide and ten meters long, so deep he couldn't see the bottom.

"!!"

Kabuto Yakushi's back was drenched in an instant, and cold sweat poured down his face. "If I take a hit like that head-on, I'll die!"

"You still won't admit defeat?"

Sasuke adjusted his stance and took up a Two-Sword Style pose. "Looks like you've made up your mind."

No, I haven't!

Kabuto Yakushi wanted to shout that, but he couldn't. "I have a little confidence in my speed. Your technique is powerful, but as long as I don't get hit, I'll be fine!"

"What a coincidence."

Sasuke smiled. "I have a little confidence in my speed, too."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sasuke vanished, leaving only a clear footprint where he had stood.

Kabuto Yakushi sensed a deadly threat again. With no time to think, he moved slightly on instinct. The deep purple blade grazed his scalp, narrowly missing and almost giving him a receding-hairline haircut.

But that didn't mean he was safe. Sasuke had two swords. Even if he dodged the first, there was still the second.

Almost at the same moment, the other deep purple blade came straight down from above Kabuto Yakushi's head, splitting him in two. Then he turned into a wooden post again.

"The Substitution Technique has its limits."

Sasuke spoke softly. The first sword, the one Kabuto Yakushi had dodged, suddenly accelerated and thrust forward.

Kabuto Yakushi reacted quickly and tried to dodge, but his body couldn't keep up. He could only watch as the sword pierced his abdomen.

"Puh!"

Kabuto Yakushi spat out a mouthful of blood. He grabbed the deep purple blade with both hands and tried to cut through it with his Chakra Scalpel, while concentrating a large amount of chakra around the wound to begin healing it from the inside and reduce the damage as much as possible.

"With your sloppy Chakra Scalpel, you can't cut through Susanoo."

As he spoke, Sasuke had already placed his second sword against Kabuto Yakushi's neck. He looked toward the referee. "Can you declare me the winner?"

"Of course."

The referee nodded and announced loudly, "The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!"

After a brief silence, scattered applause came from the stands.

There was no helping it. The fight wasn't completely without interest, but it had been one-sided.

The strength Uchiha Sasuke had shown matched everyone's expectations of the Uchiha. Unfortunately, his opponent, Kabuto Yakushi, wasn't strong enough to make him reveal much of his strength, greatly reducing the entertainment value of the match.

Although the handful of spectators with skill and a sharp eye had noticed Kabuto Yakushi was no pushover, that only made them more astonished by the power of Sasuke's unknown technique. They selectively ignored Kabuto Yakushi's performance.

When the referee declared him the winner, Sasuke immediately released Susanoo. He noticed that Kabuto Yakushi's abdominal wound had barely bled and was even healing at a visible speed.

"So you really are a medical ninja."

Sasuke showed a hint of surprise. "That Orochimaru really is terrible at choosing people."

Kabuto Yakushi badly wanted to argue, but he couldn't reveal his identity yet. So, with superb acting, he pretended to be furious. "You may be stronger than me, but that doesn't mean you can slander me like this!"

"Whatever you're plotting, it won't work."

Sasuke turned to leave. "Next time we fight, I'll kill you for real."

Kabuto Yakushi didn't say another word. He clutched his wound and pretended to be weak as two medical ninja carried him away on a stretcher.

Watching Kabuto Yakushi leave, the referee announced loudly, "The second match will now begin. Nara Shikamaru and Temari, please enter the arena!"

Temari used her Giant Fan as a parachute, standing on it as she slowly descended into the arena.

While Shikamaru was debating whether to forfeit right away, Naruto shoved him from behind with a slap on the back. "Go on, Shikamaru! Give it your best!"

"Naruto, you—!"

Caught off guard, Shikamaru fell straight down and hit the ground. He lay there without moving, watching the leisurely clouds drift across the sky. "This is nice..."