Kill Kimimaro, Help Orochimaru

As Naruto considered how to kill Kimimaro, Sasuke finally burst out of the barrel.

Shikamaru and Kiba Inuzuka arrived just then.

Sasuke surveyed the area coldly. When he spotted Naruto in the sky, he snorted and ran toward the Land of Rice Fields without hesitation.

"Sasuke!"

Shikamaru shouted after him.

But Sasuke did not even pause. He snorted and ran faster.

To him, Konoha was a place he had left behind. Everything there belonged to the past. All he cared about was revenge, even if it meant throwing himself into a demon's arms.

What he did not know was that, both in the original story and now, Orochimaru had never intended to spend three years training him. Orochimaru had planned to take his body immediately!

It was only the pursuit and interference of Konoha's people that had kept Sasuke from reaching Orochimaru in time.

The agony of having the souls of his hands cursed and sealed had pushed Orochimaru to his limit, forcing him to use Living Corpse Reincarnation early.

That was why Orochimaru had taken Gen'yumaru's body instead, letting Sasuke escape his fate until Living Corpse Reincarnation's three-year cooldown ended.

Who knew whether Sasuke would ever learn any of this? Even if he did, he probably would not care.

Sasuke was Sasuke, after all. What a...

When Shikamaru saw Sasuke flee, he immediately led the others after him, leaving Naruto behind once again to hold off the enemy.

Kimimaro moved to stop them, but a hurricane cut him off. He looked up at Naruto in the sky, furious.

As things stood, neither Naruto nor Kimimaro could hurt the other. They were at a stalemate.

"Kimimaro's agile, and his defenses are ridiculous. In the original story, he even withstood Gaara's Sand Burial. Sweeping him into another hurricane probably won't help."