Naruto was not the only one who had been injured. Sasuke was hurt too. Once he had gone some distance, an unbearable tightness filled his chest, and he could no longer suppress the injuries he had been holding back. He spat out a mouthful of blood, which relieved much of the pressure, but his face was deathly pale. Clearly, the damage had taken a serious toll on him.
"That big idiot. If he knew I was hurt, he'd definitely laugh at me," Sasuke said. "Hmph, good thing I kept it under control. Still, I never expected that explosion to be so powerful. It nearly destroyed the Valley of the End."
Just as Sasuke was about to move on, he sensed people ahead. He immediately pulled himself together and put on an air of indifference. The people who appeared before him were Kimimaro and Tayuya, who had withdrawn earlier.
Looking at Sasuke, Kimimaro said, "I thought you'd catch up right away. I didn't expect you to take this long. Now that you're here, hurry back to the base. Lord Orochimaru is still waiting for you."
Sasuke replied coldly, "Orochimaru is waiting for me? Then let him wait a little longer. What's the big deal? I'm not his subordinate, and I haven't become his disciple yet. He isn't my teacher, so it doesn't matter."
Seeing Sasuke show such disrespect toward the Lord Orochimaru he revered above all others, Kimimaro frowned. "Sasuke, although Lord Orochimaru values you highly, I still expect you not to disrespect him like that. Otherwise, I'll kill you." As Kimimaro spoke those last words, an exceptionally pure killing intent radiated from his body.
Sasuke released his own killing intent and faced off against Kimimaro. Worried that the two would suddenly start fighting, Tayuya said to Kimimaro, "Kimimaro, Lord Orochimaru