Sasuke sprinted through the forest.
Faster!
Even faster!
Amber wouldn't last much longer.
"Judging by the humidity, I'm probably still in the Land of Water. Ao left the Land of Hot Water three days ago, and at a normal pace, he should have already crossed into the Land of Water."
"If I'm lucky..."
"I'll make it in time!"
Sasuke reached the mountaintop, climbed the tallest tree, and looked out over the surrounding area—
His heart sank.
There were no villages in sight, let alone any notable landmarks. Only endless stretches of trees, with the edge of the island just visible in the distance.
It was an uninhabited island, untouched by development!
Across a stretch of sea, he could make out a small island on the horizon, with a few tiny villages faintly visible.
But it was too far away. By the time Sasuke got there, found someone, and located a landmark, Amber would already be dead, and the enemy would have caught up.
Sasuke clenched his fists. "What do I do...? Think of something, quickly!"
Wait.
An idea flashed through his mind.
If there was no landmark, couldn't he just make one himself?
Sasuke quickly formed Hand Seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The enormous fireball set the trees ablaze. Flames spread, and thick smoke mixed with firelight as it billowed into the sky.
Sasuke stood before the blazing inferno.
"Ao, can you see this?"
Amber was covered in wounds.
Neither the Ripple nor Orochimaru's ninjutsu could heal him.
The Disc could grant Amber Orochimaru's ninjutsu, but it couldn't give him Orochimaru's body—the one enhanced through hundreds of experiments and surgical modifications.
But Amber didn't back down.
He still clenched his fists. The snakes he'd summoned had lost some of their sinister aura under the Ripple's influence, and now