White Cursed Seal: State Two! Adaptive Modification!

—White Cursed Seal: State Two!

The White Cursed Seal unleashed its power without pause, transforming all of Sasuke's skin into a pristine silver-white. His hair turned the same shade, its spikes sharper and stiffer!

Outside Heavenly Gate Gorge, Sasuke's new form appeared in the crystal ball!

Kabuto Yakushi said, "So that's the White Cursed Seal's state two? It seems simpler than his old cursed seal's state two, and it doesn't have the wings for flight..."

Orochimaru said, "This White Cursed Seal was modified from Sasuke's old Cursed Seal of Heaven, too. You could call it a complete evolutionary upgrade. Kabuto, do you think... evolution would discard advantageous traits?"

Kabuto Yakushi said, "Ah! Could it be that he hasn't fully unleashed it yet?"

Orochimaru smiled. "No. After all, wings aren't what he needs underwater. Just watch..."

Sizzle!

Just then, Sasuke's facial features changed in the crystal ball. Gill-like "cursed seal markings" actually appeared! Those markings were white as well, but paler than the surrounding areas, making them distinguishable!

Bubble, bubble, bubble...!

Though they were gills formed from the cursed seal, they actually let him breathe underwater like a fish!

Watching the bubbles rise around the cursed seal markings on Sasuke's cheeks, Kabuto Yakushi exclaimed in astonishment, "What on earth is going on? Did you predict that he'd fight underwater and deliberately give state two this ability?!"

"No." Orochimaru smiled and shook his head. "A battlefield changes in an instant. Accounting for only one or two factors won't solve the problem, so all he needs to do is change along with his environment, like a chameleon. White Cursed Art: Adaptive Modification incorporates hidden modifications, including my Soft Body Modification, that let him adapt to almost any environment!"

Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble...!

Once the suffocating sensation vanished, Sasuke's mind cleared! Rip! He tore off the upper half of his white kimono, revealing a sword-like dorsal fin growing from his back... It allowed him to glide freely through this sphere of water, just like Kisame fused with Samehada!

Kabuto Yakushi marveled, "This already goes beyond what Hashirama Senju's power can do, doesn't it...?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Hashirama's power is the White Cursed Seal's immutable core. As for everything beyond that core, surely I can exercise my own ingenuity?"

Sensing through the water, Kisame immediately detected the changes in Sasuke!

Huh?! I was clearly about to drain his chakra dry. How did he suddenly become stronger? And not just a little stronger, either. More importantly...

He felt the currents shifting around him.

That bastard is charging at me like a flying fish!

Whoosh!

With a piercing rush through the water, a white silhouette swept toward him like a fleeting reflection!

White Chidori lightning danced in Sasuke's palm, driving away the darkness!

Kisame shouted, "What the hell is this?!"

Slash!!

"The real mystery is why you'd dare use ninjutsu when you know I can absorb it. Looks like I overestimated you!"

As they closed in, his right arm transformed into a huge shark-fin blade, which he swung straight at his attacker!

Slash!!

Yet the instant they crossed paths, Kisame felt his arm grow strangely light. Only seconds later, when searing pain struck and blood gushed out, did he finally realize what had happened...!

His bladed arm... had been severed!

I didn't absorb it?!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...!

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the white lightning fading behind him.

No...

He had indeed absorbed it.

His Lightning Release sliced faster than I could absorb it!

Watching the battle, Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses. "Still, I have a question. Once Sasuke-kun fully absorbs the White Cursed Seal in the future, will he still be able to use those abilities that don't come from Hashirama Senju?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Kabuto, do I look like someone who'd make a losing deal? Once he absorbs the core, the extensions naturally become part of his abilities as well. Of course the white cursed arts derived from the White Cursed Seal will remain!"

Kabuto Yakushi said solemnly, "Lord Orochimaru, I truly admire you from the bottom of my heart!"

Orochimaru's expression grew serious. "My research is conducted precisely for Sasuke-kun, and only he can make the most of its results. Rather than saying I made him what he is, it's more accurate to say we fulfill each other. So don't admire me. Sasuke-kun is the true hope!"

Kabuto Yakushi said, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"

"..." While the two spoke, Karin silently followed the battle—not through the crystal ball, but through... chakra sensing!

She had sensed a hidden power within Sasuke from the beginning, so she hadn't panicked too much when he had fallen into danger earlier.

But precisely because it was her, she noticed something else that even Orochimaru and Kabuto had missed!

That Akatsuki member called Kisame Hoshigaki seems to have another source of chakra inside him, too. I'm certain it isn't from a tailed beast, or the chakra he absorbed from Sasuke earlier. What exactly is it...?

Splash! Underwater, Sasuke turned around coldly, and the lightning that had vanished from his palm lit up again!

In the blood-stained water, Kisame clutched the shoulder of his severed arm and retreated at top speed. As he fled, the flesh at his shoulder writhed, rapidly regenerating a new arm!

He was using the chakra he had absorbed from Sasuke before Sasuke entered state two. There was so much of it that regenerating an arm was no trouble at all!

But what left Kisame shaken and furious was this.

If he'd used that form earlier, I probably couldn't have pulled this off at all. He only activated it once he was cornered. Was he saving it specifically for Itachi? Heh, he really underestimated me, Kisame Hoshigaki! Let's end this. If you won't, I will!

Once his right arm had finished regenerating, Kisame forcefully formed hand seals with it and his blood-stained left hand!

—Summoning Technique: Thousand Feeding Sharks!!!

Amid bubbles bursting underwater, over a thousand enormous sharks opened their gaping maws and surged toward the lone Sasuke to devour him!

* A Summoning Technique that can summon over a thousand sharks in an instant? Looks like this really is his home turf...*

Watching the sight, Sasuke silently dispersed the lightning in his hand.

I'll use that technique...

Sizzle!

Light flared in both his eyes. Boom! Susanoo emerged once more, its skeleton and muscles rapidly taking shape before heavy armor encased it. This was the strongest form of Susanoo available through the Mangekyo—Crow Tengu Susanoo!

Shing!

Susanoo raised its right palm. The mass of black flames clutched within it turned into a sphere and moved close to its faceplate!

Click! Then... Susanoo's faceplate opened, pouring a powerful stream of wind into it!

The black fireball expanded underwater with terrifying speed and force!

Kabuto Yakushi exclaimed, "That's...!"

Orochimaru said, "Oh, so he's using that technique? Inspired by Kaguya's Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb, he shapes the black flames with Kagutsuchi, then uses powerful Wind Release unleashed through Susanoo to expand the Blaze Release. By perfectly exploiting the properties of both techniques, he pushes their effectiveness to the limit. So Sasuke-kun can finally perform his original secret technique in white cursed seal: state two..."

His slit-pupiled eyes lowered as thoughts stirred within him. But that was originally a collaborative ninjutsu he wanted to perform with Naruto. Using it alone now must leave him with mixed feelings...

Inside Susanoo, Sasuke's longing conjured a phantom of Naruto beside him!

"..."

Sasuke shook his head hard, banishing every stray thought from his mind and focusing on the technique!

—Scorch Release: Blown-Glass Flame World!