"Boom!"
Kakashi glanced behind him. " Tenten's making a commotion, it's even bigger than Sakura's! Guy, are you sure you're okay?!"
Kai nodded and said, "Yeah! Even Rock Lee would have a hard time dodging Tenten's Firearm Ninja Tools without using the Eight Gates Released Formation."
Naruto was surprised. "That powerful?"
Rock Lee: "Yes!"
The Ninja Dog Pakkun sniffed the air. "Judging from the concentration of the scent, Orochimaru and the others have slowed down. We can catch up with them in ten minutes. Get ready for battle."
Kakashi and the others' expressions turned serious. "Let me reiterate, Orochimaru was once one of the Sannin. He has mastered a large number of forbidden techniques and is extremely dangerous. Therefore, in this battle, Naruto and Rock Lee Might Guy seize the opportunity to steal Sasuke. Once successful, we must retreat immediately and not linger in battle."
"Knew!"
"Alright! Take the enhanced Military Rations Pill and prepare for battle!"
Orochimaru and his group of four moved quickly through the forest, but because Orochimaru had just undergone the Living Corpse Reincarnation and had not yet fully adapted to Kidomaru's body, their pace was slow, and they had already exhausted a lot of their energy.
Kabuto, seeing Orochimaru covered in sweat, asked with some concern, " Lord Orochimaru, perhaps we should take a break?"
"Unnecessary."
Just then, several birds flew up in front of Jūgo. Jūgo frowned. " Lord Orochimaru, someone is catching up soon, four of them."
Orochimaru chuckled, " Konoha's quick on the uptake. Who's going to stay and have some fun this time? The opponent might be a really strong ninja."
Suigetsu: " Lord Orochimaru, let me handle this. Jūgo and Kabuto still need to help you deal with the Cursed Seal later."
Jūgo looked ahead, as if he had sensed something. " Suigetsu, you don't need to stay."
Everyone looked up and saw a figure gently landing.
Orochimaru: "So it's Kimimaro."
The newcomer was pale, with cold, sinister eyes, and looked sickly. He was none other than Kimimaro should have been critically ill.
Kimimaro, holding a scroll in his hand, landed lightly like a dancer and knelt before Orochimaru: " Lord Orochimaru, this is Konoha's declaration of war against the Sound Ninja."
"A declaration of war?" Orochimaru was quite surprised, taking the declaration and unfolding it. "It's really interesting that Tsunade is the Fifth Hokage. Even the Konoha High Command can't control her? Hehehe, how interesting."
The Konoha High Command is known for its conservatives and is extremely sensitive to the word "war." After the Sand Ninja apologized, they did not pursue the matter of the Sand Village's attack on Konoha.
At that time, Hiruzen Sarutobi resigned from his position as Hokage, and the Fifth Hokage had not yet taken Tobirama. Tobirama, who was in a spirit state, could not appear to direct operations. Orochimaru never expected that Tsunade would be to attack the Otogakure, which surprised him.
Fortunately, Orochimaru had already resumed preparations for the Konoha Crush Plan, and had concentrated some of his fighting force and a large number of experimental subjects in the Otogakure.
Kabuto stepped forward to check on Kimimaro and found that his condition was extremely serious, and he could die at any moment. " Kimimaro, you... you will die."
Jūgo and Kimimaro were longtime friends, so he naturally knew Kimimaro's condition. " Kimimaro, why aren't you getting proper treatment at the base?"
Kimimaro remained expressionless. "My body is about to die. What has sustained me here is my loyalty to Lord Orochimaru. This will be my last dance. Lord Orochimaru, you may leave. I will hold them off from here."
Orochimaru grinned wickedly. "Before a warrior who embraces the wisdom of certain death, any attempt to hold him back is unforgivable. Alright, let's go. Kimimaro, enjoy your final battle."
At this moment Jūgo put down the black coffin containing Sasuke behind him, as if he had made a decision, and stood beside Kimimaro: " Suigetsu, Sasuke is in your hands now. I'll stay and fight alongside Kimimaro."
Kimimaro: " Jūgo, you'll probably die if you stay."
Jūgo looked into Kimimaro's eyes. "If I hadn't met you back then, I'd be nothing more than a dead man now."
Kimimaro chuckled, a rare occurrence for him. "Heh, Jūgo, the scene of our first meeting is still vivid in my mind. Now you can fully immerse yourself in that state."
Suigetsu grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. "You two are really something, vying to die?"
Orochimaru put away the declaration of war scroll. " Konoha actually attacked Otogakure under the pretext of saving the Daimyo and experimental subjects, but they are too arrogant, actually letting Genin lead the attack."
Kabuto sensed the gravity of the situation. " Lord Orochimaru, we don't know the number and strength of the ninjas Konoha has sent. Should we move the important experimental results from the base? At least Sasuke..."
Orochimaru's face broke into a fanatical smile, "Heh, no need. After the thirteen best experimental subjects in the lab escaped, the rest are of little use. In that case, let's teach Konoha a lesson and see what Sasuke's true character is like."
Suigetsu seemed to know what Orochimaru was about to do. " Lord Orochimaru, what do you mean?"
" Suigetsu, immediately gather all the forces of Otogakure, release all the experimental subjects in the laboratory, and prepare for battle. Kabuto, come with me to the lowest level of the laboratory!"
Suigetsu: "Yes!"
Kabuto: "The lowest level laboratory? Isn't that where they store..."
Orochimaru was now as excited as a beast seeing blood. "That's right, hehe, since you want to use me as a sacrifice to intimidate the surrounding countries, then let my Konoha Crush Plan begin."
Suigetsu: "Oh my, it seems I came to the right place. I wonder how many people I'll be able to gather this time."
Kabuto pulled out two blank scrolls and handed them to Kimimaro and Jūgo: "Just in case, each of you should seal a piece of your own flesh into them."
Without hesitation, Jūgo's right arm Sage Transformation a black, shell-like armor, and he tore off a piece of flesh the size of a palm from his chest and sealed it into a scroll. Kimimaro did the same.
Both of them had amazing regenerative abilities, and their wounds were completely healed in no time.
Kimimaro seemed to hear footsteps coming from the forest opposite. His palms split open, and two sharp bones slowly emerged. " Lord Orochimaru, the ninjas of Konoha are pursuing us."
Orochimaru and his two companions turned and slowly left. "Then, while you two are still alive, unleash your killing intent to the fullest."
After Orochimaru left, only Jūgo and Kimimaro remained.
Kimimaro: " Jūgo, you didn't have to stay. My bloodline Shikotsumyaku is enough to stop four people, and... in any case, my life has come to an end."
Jūgo smiled faintly, "I know that after you die, once my Sage Transformation goes berserk, no one will be able to control it. So I want to take this opportunity to fight while remaining clear-headed one last time."
Kimimaro heard the pursuers getting closer, he turned around and said, " Jūgo, promise me that after I die, you must take good care of Sasuke until Lord Orochimaru obtains his body. Because he is someone who can completely replace me."
" Sasuke, huh. I see."
Originally, if Kimimaro hadn't been plagued by a serious illness, his Kaguya Clan physique, which was perfectly suited to the Cursed Seal, and his extremely rare Kekkei Genkai " Shikotsumyaku " would have made him the perfect vessel for Orochimaru.
Kaguya Clan, Kimimaro was imprisoned as a child, used as a human shield and weapon. Later, the Kaguya Clan attacked Kirigakure, resulting in the annihilation of the entire clan. Kimimaro was unable to participate in the war due to illness, thus escaping with his life. As the sole survivor, he was captured by Orochimaru and raised under Orochimaru's tutelage. Under Orochimaru's charisma, he developed an extreme admiration for Orochimaru, even to the point of fanaticism.
Even after Orochimaru met Uchiha Itachi and became madly infatuated with the Sharingan, he had no complaints. Instead, he transferred that expectation to Sasuke Uchiha, and even on the verge of death, he wanted Jūgo to protect him.
"Alright, let's begin."
Jūgo exhaled, and the surrounding Natural Energy rapidly surged into his body. Incantations began to spread quickly across his body, completely covering his left side, entering Stage One. His left arm began to transform into a pedal. " Kimimaro, let me begin the curtain on your final dance."
"Um!"
At this moment, Kakashi and his companions, led by the Ninja Dog Pakkun, finally encountered the two.
Naruto roared upon seeing Kimimaro, "There's someone else here! Damn it!"
Ninja Dog Pakkun, sniffed the air. " Kakashi! These two guys are alive, but I smell a very dangerous scent on them!"
Kai stopped running. " Kakashi, leave this to me and Rock Lee!"
Rock Lee, barely able to contain his fighting spirit, cried out, " Naruto-kun! Kakashi-sensei! Please, Sasuke back!"
" Eight Gates Released Formation - Fifth Gate of Limit - Open!"
" Eight Gates Released Formation, Sixth Gate of View - Open!"
Although Rock Lee received the enhancement from the Hongshi, he was still no match for Kai, who had trained diligently for forty years, and could only keep the Fifth Gate open for a long time.
Kimimaro looked at Guy and Lee after they opened the Eight Gates Released Formation, a hint of fighting spirit igniting in his cold eyes. "The legendary Eight Gates Released Formation, huh? What a grand opening ceremony!"
"Go, Li!"
"Okay! Teacher Guy!"
Rock Lee and Kai launched the first attack. The tree branches under their feet shattered under their tremendous force, and the two of them transformed into two cannonballs, one blue and one green, rushing down.
" Youth Duet!"
Kimimaro moved with the grace of a water dancer, lightly touching the ground as he leaped onto Jūgo's arm. " Jūgo."
"Um!"
"Boom!"
The pedal formed by Jūgo's left arm changed again, and a large amount of Chakra began to condense and compress on the other side of its base, and then began to spray violently, causing a large amount of dust to rise from the ground.
Kakashi and Naruto were going around from below, had never seen such a change before. "What's wrong with this guy? Has his entire body shape changed?!"
Kimimaro's expression remained unchanged, but he kept his eyes fixed on Rock Lee and Gai, predicting their attack directions. Numerous bone spurs erupted from his entire body. " Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch!"
"Let the ceremony begin! The final dance, performed to the music played by Lord Orochimaru."
"Go, dancers on the scales! Hahaha! Slaughter them all!"
Jūgo out a wild laugh and used the impact generated by the Chakra in his arm to fling Kimimaro away.
A sonic boom occurred the moment it was thrown out.
"So fast!"