A Backdoor That Can Be Exploited

"Sasuke!" Kakashi immediately rushed to his student's side. Seeing the curse mark spreading across his body and emitting an evil aura, his expression turned incredibly grim.

He knew what this was; it was one of Orochimaru's most vicious forbidden techniques!

"Ah!!!" Sasuke's agonizing screams echoed through the silent forest, chilling everyone to the bone.

Just as Kakashi prepared to use the sealing techniques he had mastered to forcibly suppress the curse mark, a hand gently pressed onto his shoulder.

"Kakashi-sensei, your Evil Sealing Method can only suppress it temporarily." Ling Xuan's voice pulled Kakashi out of his anxiety. "What you are doing is no different from wrapping a few more ropes around an inflating balloon. The end result won't be restraint, but an even more violent explosion."

"Then what solution do you have?" Kakashi asked urgently.

Ling Xuan did not answer immediately. He crouched down and pressed his hand gently onto the black curse mark, his immense mental energy surging through his arm toward his fingertips.

At this moment, his Eye of Truth was no longer observing the external world; instead, it was peering inward with unprecedented precision to analyze the evil technique planted by Orochimaru himself.

Within his field of vision, a complex, three-dimensional sealing formation composed of countless twisted and filthy runes appeared clearly before him. This curse mark was like a living, malicious parasite, greedily devouring Sasuke's own chakra and converting it into a more corrosive power filled with Orochimaru's will.

But he also saw it: at the most critical energy node in the core of this seemingly perfect curse mark technique, there existed an extremely tiny, almost negligible fracture.

This was a sequela left behind when the Domain of Silence had forcibly disrupted Orochimaru's chakra earlier—a fatal flaw.

A "backdoor" that could be exploited.

"I have a method." Ling Xuan opened his eyes. "I cannot dispel it, but I can modify it. Or rather, add another lock to this cage."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi was puzzled.

"Orochimaru's curse mark corrodes the host's spirit and power through resonance, so what I intend to do is establish a new, more stable sealing barrier to isolate this curse mark from Sasuke's chakra system." Ling Xuan explained. "Simply put, it's building a safety shell to temporarily seal this nuclear bomb inside. This will not only stop the spread of the curse mark but also prevent Orochimaru from influencing Sasuke's will through it."

Kakashi was stunned. This was an unheard-of theory of sealing arts—to perform a secondary modification on an S-rank forbidden technique cast by one of the legendary Sannin?

Was this really a plan a genin could come up with?

"This is too risky! If there is the slightest mistake in the sealing technique, Sasuke might..."

"He will die if we don't do this." Ling Xuan interrupted him, his tone brooking no argument. "Either trust me, or you can only watch as his body and will are completely devoured by Orochimaru. Which do you choose?"

Kakashi looked at Ling Xuan's emotionless eyes, then at Sasuke, who was on the ground in such pain he was about to lose consciousness. He gritted his teeth and finally made his decision.

"...I trust you."

"Very well."

Ling Xuan stopped wasting words. He didn't have much time. From his ninja tool pouch, he took out the special chakra ink and a roll of blank talisman paper he had prepared for his scientific research clone.

He bit his finger, dripped his blood into the ink, and used his own life energy as the golden key for the new seal.

Anbu members helped steady Sasuke, and then Ling Xuan took a deep breath. Using a chakra brush stained with his own blood, he began to draw a brand-new, more complex sealing formation on Sasuke's body, centered around the ominous curse mark.

Ling Xuan's movements were precise and steady, every stroke containing a supreme understanding of sealing arts. What he was drawing was not any sealing technique known to Konoha, but one he had created himself, combining the chain-sealing of the Uzumaki Clan, the stable structure of barrier ninjutsu, and his own understanding of the rules.

"Cage of Isolation!"

As the final stroke fell, a circular barrier emitting a faint light and composed of countless precise runes perfectly enveloped the entire Cursed Seal of Heaven.

Ling Xuan formed seals with both hands and whispered, "Seal!"

The light flashed and vanished, and all the runes sank beneath Sasuke's skin.

Miraculously, the black patterns that had been spreading wildly on Sasuke's body stopped instantly and slowly receded to their original form. Sasuke's painful screams also gradually subsided, and he finally fell into a deep sleep from extreme exhaustion.

The crisis was temporarily averted.

After finishing all this, Ling Xuan felt the world spinning; the excessive consumption of his mental energy made his vision go black.

Kakashi hurriedly supported him.

"Ling Xuan! Are you alright?"

"...I'm fine, just a bit drained." Ling Xuan waved his hand, signaling that he could still hold on.

The road ahead became exceptionally difficult.

Naruto and Sasuke had both fallen into a coma, and Ling Xuan was also severely depleted. The burden of the entire team fell almost entirely on Sakura and Kakashi.

Sakura did not cry or complain. This usually delicate girl displayed astonishing willpower at this moment. Supporting Naruto with a firm gaze, she knew that she was the only one who could contribute to the team right now.

Under Ling Xuan's guidance, they avoided all areas where combat might occur, struggling through the forest.

Several days later, when the towering Central Tower finally appeared in their field of vision, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

In the hall inside the tower, the group opened the hard-won Heaven and Earth Scrolls.

"Poof—"

A burst of white smoke rose, and the figure of Iruka-sensei appeared before them.

"Congratulations..." When Iruka saw the miserable state of Team 7, the rest of his words stuck in his throat, his eyes filled with worry and heartache. "What... exactly happened to you all?"

"It's nothing, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi smiled weakly. "Just some unexpected surprises."

Iruka did not ask further. He patted Naruto and Sasuke on the shoulders and glanced at the pale-faced Ling Xuan.

"In any case, you passed. I am proud of you."

After entering the lounge assigned within the tower, Team 7 finally got a brief moment to catch their breath.

Just as Kakashi was preparing to perform a more detailed examination on Sasuke, a bespectacled, mild-mannered Konoha genin walked over.

"Hello, I am Kabuto Yakushi. I see your companion is badly injured; do you need my help? I know some medical ninjutsu." He said with a smile, appearing very enthusiastic.

However, the moment he appeared, Ling Xuan understood everything.

The chakra flow pattern of this ninja named Kabuto Yakushi was covered by a layer of sophisticated disguise, but hidden beneath that disguise was an aura that was cold, evil, and of the same origin as Orochimaru.