Deathmatch at Tenchi Bridge and the Seed of the Curse Mark

Orochimaru's figure looked especially long and eerie in the twilight. He merely stood there, yet the cold chakra radiating from him seemed to freeze the air around him solid. Sasuke's Sharingan spun wildly, fixed on this enemy who brought him an unprecedented sense of pressure. The embryonic form of Chidori leapt restlessly in his palm, giving off broken cries like birdsong.

"Run? Why would I run?" Sasuke's voice was hoarse with tension, flames of fear and anger mingling in his Sharingan. "A guy like you is perfect for testing my new power!"

"Sasuke, don't be reckless!" Uchiha Ling shouted in a low voice. He could clearly sense the abyss-like, unfathomable chakra inside Orochimaru. It was on a completely different level from Zabuza, whom they had encountered before in the Land of Waves. This was a true Kage-level powerhouse, absolutely not someone they could face head-on right now.

Naruto also felt the deadly threat, but he still gritted his teeth, split off more than a dozen shadow clones, and shouted, "Bastard! Don't you dare hurt Sasuke!"

"Hehehe..." Orochimaru let out a low, delighted laugh. His golden vertical pupils swept over the three of them with interest before finally stopping on Uchiha Ling. "That little trick you used last time to interfere with perception was quite interesting... and your chakra is very special too." His gaze seemed to have a tangible piercing force, sending a chill through Ling.

"But today, my target is Sasuke." Orochimaru's tongue slowly licked over his lips, the movement carrying an inhuman strangeness. "Come. Let me see the potential of the Uchiha bloodline!"

Before his voice had even faded, Orochimaru's figure abruptly blurred! It was not the Body Flicker Technique, but a pure burst of physical speed, pushed to the absolute limit!

"So fast!" Sasuke's Sharingan barely caught an afterimage. Almost by instinct, he thrust the condensed embryonic Chidori forward!

However, Orochimaru was like a boneless snake. His body twisted at an unbelievable angle, easily avoiding the lightning, and one hand shot out like a viper leaving its hole, going straight for Sasuke's neck!

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere! At the critical moment, Uchiha Ling intervened, pushing his dual-blade style to the limit. Two kunai wrapped in faint lightning crossed and braced against Orochimaru's wrist! But that tremendous force jarred both of his arms numb, forcing him back several steps.

"Oh? You again..." A flicker of surprise flashed through Orochimaru's eyes, followed by even stronger interest. "Your speed and strength are both good, and your blade technique is quite unusual. You're more interesting than I imagined."

Just then, Naruto's army of shadow clones pounced at Orochimaru from every direction!

"Boring." Orochimaru did not even look back. He only stamped his foot lightly.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!

Several thick venomous snakes shot out from his sleeve, precisely biting through the throat of every shadow clone, so fast it was dumbfounding. Naruto's real body turned pale with fright.

"Sasuke, Naruto, work with me! We can't let him pick us off one by one!" Uchiha Ling forcefully suppressed his churning blood and shouted. He knew there was no chance of winning one-on-one.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke immediately understood. He rapidly formed hand seals, and a blazing fireball blocked Orochimaru's left side.

"Shadow Clone Technique: Disruption!" Naruto also mustered his courage and once again split off a large number of shadow clones, harassing from the right and from above.

Uchiha Ling charged straight in from the front. [Wind Release: Speed Attack Technique] and his just-begun Lightning Release Activation took effect at the same time, raising his speed to the limit! He no longer pursued killing power. Instead, he used the bizarre, ever-changing nature of his two-sword style, combined with [Sharingan Insight Enhancement], to interfere with everything he had and restrain Orochimaru's movements, creating an opening for Sasuke.

Under the pressure of life and death, the three of them actually coordinated with abnormal tacit understanding. For a moment, Orochimaru was slightly hindered by this desperate chain of attacks, but the smile on his face grew even more delighted.

"Not bad, truly not bad... But the game should end now."

Orochimaru's hands suddenly formed seals at a speed difficult for the naked eye to distinguish, and a vast amount of chakra erupted in an instant!

Summoning Technique: Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!

The ground shook, and countless brilliantly colored venomous snakes surged out from underground like a tide, instantly drowning the large area around them! The snakes hissed, their fangs flashing with cold light. The scene was like hell!

"Ah!!" Sakura, who had been supporting them from a little farther away, screamed in terror. Naruto's shadow clones were instantly swallowed by the sea of snakes. Sasuke's fire release could only clear a small, brief gap amid the swarm.

"This is bad!" Uchiha Ling swung his blades and cut down several venomous snakes that lunged at him, but the swarm was endless. He tried to use lightning release to disrupt them again, but the area was too large!

At that critical moment, Orochimaru's true body pierced through the snake swarm like a ghost and instantly appeared in front of Sasuke! His speed had reached the extreme. Sasuke's Sharingan had not even fully kept up!

"Savor the taste of the curse mark, Sasuke..." Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched like rubber, and his head, carrying an eerie smile, bit toward Sasuke's neck!

Pchh!

Blood splattered! But it did not come from Sasuke's neck.

At the final moment, Uchiha Ling used his speed to forcefully ram Sasuke aside, and Orochimaru's teeth sank deep into his left shoulder! An indescribable agony instantly swept through his entire body, as if countless red-hot needles had stabbed into his bones. At the same time, a cold, violent, alien chakra filled with destructive desire poured madly into his body through the wound like poison!

[Warning! Foreign high-priority energy invasion detected! Energy nature: natural energy (sinister variant), soul fragment, and curse power composite!]

[System automatically activating defense mechanism! Analyzing energy...]

["Curse mark" energy analysis progress 10%... 20%... Limited by host's current authority and strength, complete rejection is impossible!]

[Attempting energy isolation and suppression...]

The system prompts rang urgently in his mind. Uchiha Ling could feel that most of the curse mark energy invading his body was forcefully bound and compressed by an invisible system power, finally forming a dull-colored three-tomoe mark only the size of a fingernail behind his left shoulder. But a small portion of the energy still scattered outward, striking at his meridians and mind.

"Ling!!" Sasuke and Naruto cried out at the same time.

Orochimaru withdrew his head and licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. Looking at Uchiha Ling, who staggered backward with a pale face, his eyes filled with surprise and even denser interest. "You actually took it for him of your own accord? What touching camaraderie... And your body is a little strange. You can resist my curse mark to a certain extent? Too interesting..."

He looked deeply at Uchiha Ling, as if he wanted to see through him from inside to out. "I'll remember you, interesting little one. We will meet again."

After saying that, Orochimaru's body slowly sank into the snake swarm and vanished along with the retreating tide of venomous snakes, leaving only a field of devastation and the three of them still shaken.

"Ling! How are you?" Sasuke rushed forward and supported Uchiha Ling, who could barely stand. Looking at the clear bite mark on his left shoulder and the dim mark behind it, Sasuke's eyes filled with complicated emotion. Ling had taken this clearly ominous thing for him.

Naruto also ran over, his face full of anxiety. "Are you okay? What did that bastard do to you?"

Uchiha Ling panted violently, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He could clearly feel waves of burning pain and numb itching coming from his left shoulder, as well as the violent energy forcibly suppressed by the system deep within the mark. It was like a dormant seed that could erupt at any moment.

"No... I'm fine." He barely steadied himself, his voice a little hoarse. "It's just a flesh wound. We need to leave here as soon as possible. We'll only be safe once we reach the tower."

He looked inward at the condition inside his body. Although the system had suppressed most of the curse mark energy, a small amount still seeped out, constantly stimulating his body and mind. A violent, murderous desire tried to crash against his reason from time to time, but it was forcefully pushed down by his powerful mental strength and the resilience brought by [Physique Enhancement].

[Ding! Special state "Curse Mark (Unactivated · Suppressed State)" detected.]

[State description: A cursed mark containing natural energy (sinister variant). After activation, it can greatly enhance physical functions and chakra, but it will continuously corrode the mind and body, with a risk of losing control. It is currently suppressed by system power by 85%. The remaining energy continues to stimulate the host's body and may produce unknown effects.]

[Warning: Please treat this state with caution. Avoid intense emotional fluctuations or severe chakra overdraft, lest the suppression fail.]

Unknown effects? Uchiha Ling's heart chilled. He tried to mobilize his chakra and discovered that its circulation seemed more active than usual, even carrying a faint restlessness that was hard to detect. The nature transformation of his lightning release also seemed to flow a little more smoothly, but that feeling... carried a dangerous edge.

"You..." Sasuke looked at Ling's pale face and the occasional flash of red light in his black eyes, hesitating to speak. He knew Ling had become like this to save him.

"Finish the mission first." Uchiha Ling cut him off, took a deep breath, and forcefully suppressed the restlessness inside him. "I can still hold on. We have to reach the tower as soon as possible."

He glanced at the outline of the tower close at hand, then sensed the suppressed curse mark inside him and the warning prompts that kept coming from the system. Orochimaru's "gift" was like a time bomb, and the trial of the Forest of Death was still far from over.

The three supported one another and, carrying the newly obtained Heaven and Earth Scrolls as well as the ominous mark on Uchiha Ling's shoulder, staggered yet firmly advanced toward their final destination. The forest's shadows stretched behind them, as if foretelling even more hardship and trials on the road ahead.