Sasuke straightened up and looked down at Kimimaro.
"You dare to talk about the Uchiha!" The Mitsudomoe on his neck turned into black lines that spread all over his body.
" Cursed Seal?" Kimimaro chuckled. " Sasuke Uchiha, you said you didn't want to serve Lord Orochimaru, but it turns out you'll need his power too."
Sasuke scoffed, "Does a cowardly Orochimaru even deserve the loyalty of the Uchiha?"
Kimimaro stopped smiling and suppressed his anger.
He pulled a glass bottle from his pocket and said to Sasuke, "This is a medicine developed by Lord Orochimaru. It can help you enter the third stage of the Cursed Seal and gain even greater power."
"Let Orochimaru eat it himself. Is all you can do with your so-called Shikotsumyaku ) is convince others with words?"
"It seems I'm indeed not suited to persuading others. Well then, let me show you the true power of the Cursed Seal!" Kimimaro shoved the glass bottle back into his pocket. The black markings on his body continued to spread, merging into one, like flames burning.
His appearance changed drastically; his skin turned dark, several huge, sharp bone spurs grew on his back, and a long tail grew from behind him.
Sasuke's eyes flashed with Futatsudomoe as he looked at Kimimaro had turned into a monster on the ground.
Kimimaro swung his right arm, cleaving the tree Sasuke was standing on in two.
Sasuke pushed off with his feet and jumped onto another tree the instant it collapsed.
A loud cracking sound rang out, and Kimimaro cleaved the tree in two once more.
Sasuke was in mid-air, his hands Hand Seals. When he landed on the ground, he was already spitting out balls of flame.
Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Fire!
Too slow! The speed of Fire Style is far too slow. Kimimaro in this monstrous form is incredibly fast, easily dodging bursts of Chakra flames.
Sasuke hand Hand Seals.
Lightning Release: Chidori!
The raging Chakra within him made the Chidori form larger, its cry more ferocious, and its power seemingly much greater than the previous Chidori. But Sasuke knew perfectly well that this was simply due to having more Chakra.
Kimimaro extended his left hand, from which a huge bone spike grew, forming a spiraling bone spear.
The bone spear collided with the Chidori, Chidori flashed with lightning and shattered the bone spear section by section. Countless fragments of bone flew out.
Kimimaro curled his lips into a smile, and a new bone spear grew from his palm, continuing its charge towards Sasuke.
Sasuke pushed off with his foot, retreating backward, and the still-burning Chidori in his right hand broke the newly grown bone spikes.
" Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, raising her hands to form hand Hand Seals.
Water Release · Water Formation Wall!
A wall of water rose from the ground, spinning and separating the two.
Kimimaro was propelled away by the force of the spinning water wall, landing steadily on the ground. " Sasuke Uchiha, how much Chakra do you have left? Let's finish this in one blow!"
Shikamaru, looking at Naruto was raging in the center of the arena, said to Ino beside him, "Should we help?"
Ino brushed her blonde hair aside, raised an eyebrow, and retorted, "Why won't you help? This is Shinsei's assigned task."
Kiba Inuzuka, his face brimming with fighting spirit, declared, "We'll show them what we're made of, won't we, Akamaru!"
The Akamaru in his arms barked, as if agreeing with its master.
Ino pointed to the only woman opposite them. "Let our group handle that one."
Kiba Inuzuka pointed at the fat guy in the middle of the field. "Then leave him to our group."
Neji Hyuga raised an eyebrow. "Leave the bows and arrows to us."
Neji Hyuga looked at Kidomaru, who was holding a bow and arrow, and felt an inexplicable anger rising within him.
Shikamaru shrugged. "What about the last one?"
Ino said with a grin, "Watch me."
She clasped her hands to her mouth and shouted, " Naruto! That two-headed monster is yours to deal with! If you don't listen, I'll tell Sakura you bullied me!"
Naruto, with his three tails, seemed to still be conscious. His gaze instantly fixed Sakon the two-headed Sakon, and he leaped forward to pounce on him.
Sasuke sensed the Chakra within his body. His gaze was resolute as he Hand Seals, and a large amount of Chakra crackling with lightning gathered from his right hand.
Lightning Release: Chidori!
Chidori and Bone Spear collided again, and the violent Lightning Release Chakra shattered the Bone Spear into fragments of bone, while new bone spikes continued to form.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, channeling all his Chakra into the Chidori in his hand.
Kimimaro smiled, and his tail suddenly shot up, hurtling towards Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke was about to retreat when the bone spear in front of him suddenly opened, revealing Kimimaro's left hand, which grabbed Sasuke's wrist with such force that Sasuke could not break free.
Am I going to die here today?
Suddenly, a figure blocked his way, opening his arms to embrace Sasuke.
It's Sakura!
The long tail passed through Sakura's body and struck Sasuke, sending both of them flying with tremendous force.
Sasuke instinctively pulled Sakura into his arms.
" Sasuke." Sakura nestled in Sasuke's arms, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She gently brushed the stray hairs from his forehead. "I can finally protect you."
Sasuke felt a warm sensation in his abdomen, and when he touched it, he saw a blood-red scene before his eyes.
Sasuke seemed a little dazed, feeling a stinging pain in his eyes, and a strange Chakra surging towards them. The Futatsudomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, evolving into another Tomoe.
He instinctively hugged Sakura tighter, and his eyes suddenly felt a little sore, as if tears were about to spill over.
He felt he should be angry, but his lonely heart seemed to be enveloped by something that gave it warmth.
Kimimaro approached step by step, the bone spear in his left hand restored to its original state.
He raised his arm and stabbed at the two men!
A white line of water, approaching from afar, swept across the three of them.
The immense force sent Kimimaro staggering, his bone spear severed by the waterline and falling to the ground.
The waterline made a sharp turn and slid towards Kimimaro. Kimimaro retreated rapidly, running around the arena, dodging the waterline back and forth.
" Orochimaru really knows how to train his subordinates." Shinsei stood in front of Sasuke. "They even dare to come and capture people from Konoha. I wonder if Orochimaru came in person this time, or if he'll just slink away like a rat?"
Kimimaro looked at the boy before him, comparing him to the information in his mind, and his expression became serious.
This isn't Sasuke. I tried to avoid him, but I didn't expect Sasuke to keep me occupied for so long.
Shinsei turned around and looked at Sakura's injuries. Her abdomen had been pierced, and she also had a finger-sized wound on her shoulder.
"It's alright, it's not serious. The current Hokage is Lady Tsunade, quickly take her back to treat her injuries. I'll take care of this one."
Hope ignited in Sasuke's eyes. He had heard a lot about Tsunade lately, and this kind of injury shouldn't be a big deal for her.
Without a word, Sasuke scooped Sakura up in his arms and dashed towards Konoha.
Kimimaro, wielding a massive bone spear, blocked Sasuke's path.
"Ignore him, keep going." As Shinsei finished speaking, a blue Chakra sword materialized between his two fingers.
Lightning Release: Lightning Sword!
The Lightning Sword hummed as it slashed down from above, cleaving Kimimaro's hard bone spear in two like tofu.
The Lightning Sword, its momentum undiminished, continued its slash towards Kimimaro's body. Kimimaro's tail touched the ground, propelling him to dodge the Lightning Sword.
Sasuke, carrying Sakura, had already walked far away. Kimimaro stopped chasing and instead looked at Shinsei.
"When I set off, Lord Orochimaru warned me to be careful of Konoha's Shinsei and even prepared a special medicine for me. I didn't think I'd need it." Kimimaro took out a glass bottle from his robes, inside which was a red pill the size of a finger.
He crushed the bottle and put the pill in his mouth.
Shinsei didn't stop him. Kimimaro in his current state didn't interest him much, and he felt a bit like he was bullying him.
Kimimaro's aura changed drastically, Chakra surged, almost as if it were a physical substance covering his entire body.
He straightened up and gave a slight bow.
"Let's get to know each other again, Kimimaro Kaguya."
" Shinsei."