Orochimaru leaped several times, quickly advancing atop Madara Uchiha's statue. The black smoke from the coffin behind him grew thicker and began to tremble. "Can't wait any longer, Sasuke?"
"Click click click"
Cracks appeared at the edge of the black coffin; it had reached its limit.
Orochimaru had already reached the top of the Madara Uchiha statue, lowered the black coffin, and stood to one side, looking at it like a father awaiting the birth of his child. "Child in darkness, now is the time for you to awaken!"
"Boom!"
The black coffin finally shattered, and a large amount of black mist scattered. After two days of feigned death, Sasuke's body was finally able to fully adapt to the Stage Two the Cursed Seal. He stood in place, his body black, but his hair had grown much longer and turned white.
Orochimaru looked at Sasuke in his Stage Two: "Hahaha, amazing! Sasuke, how does it feel to gain power? Isn't it wonderful!"
The Cursed Seal on Sasuke gradually faded, eventually returning to the back of his neck. With the Cursed Seal control training he received from Hongshi, he was now much more adept at using the Stage Two.
Sasuke felt the Chakra surging within him, his eyes filled with triumph. "Hehehe... Hahaha... More power, more Chakra!"
Orochimaru: " Sasuke, you were able to perfectly control the Cursed Seal of Heaven in just two days. This talent far surpasses mine back then."
Sasuke heard the sounds of battle nearby, his eyes filled with cold indifference. " Kakashi? Naruto? How did they get here?"
Orochimaru also looked at Kakashi: "Heh, of course it's for you. You just obtained the Cursed Seal energy, want to try it out?"
Sasuke straightened up, his hair fluttering in the wind, his eyes gleaming with killing intent. "The wind has stopped, the rain has stopped, and I feel myself..."
Lord God: "It worked again! Yay!"
"Ahem." Sasuke: " Kakashi will get in the way."
Orochimaru: "Don't worry, I'll handle it."
After saying this, Orochimaru used Kidomaru's Kekkei Genkai, Sticky Gold, to create a pair of battle bows and ten Sticky Gold.
" Naruto also has the same Cursed Seal of Heaven as you, so don't let your guard down."
"Hmph, mind your own business."
Orochimaru nocked an arrow and drew his bow, each nocked with five Sticky Gold. Then, he spat out ten white venomous snakes from his mouth, which coiled around the arrows and then merged into them.
"Then let's go."
"Dudu"
Ten golden arrows were fired at the same time, and Sasuke also moved, leaping high into the air.
" Naruto!"
"Oh!"
Kakashi Sharingan to predict the trajectory of the golden arrows and discovered that they were all aimed at him.
With the help of the Sharingan, he dodged all the golden arrows with a few quick dodges, and the golden arrows flew into the water.
"So fast, thanks to the Sharingan."
With a pause, Naruto had already dashed twenty meters.
Just as Kakashi was about to continue forward, he suddenly noticed Orochimaru on the statue wearing a triumphant smile, "Hmm?"
"Hiss!"
Two white snakes, each about the thickness of two fingers, suddenly leaped out from beneath the water, their mouths agape, their fangs gleaming with a purple venomous light.
Kakashi reacted extremely quickly, pulling out two Shuriken and throwing them, which accurately hit the white snake.
"Hiss!"
Two more white snakes leaped up behind Kakashi.
"Anything else?!" Kakashi, now in mid-air with nowhere to gain leverage, shouted, " Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
"Whoosh!"
Four walls of water rose from the surface, protecting Kakashi within them. The two white snakes crashed into the water walls and were cut in two by the rapidly flowing water.
Before he could even catch his breath, he felt a sharp pain in his feet. Two white snakes had mingled with the Water Formation Wall and seized the opportunity to bite Kakashi's ankles.
"Not good!"
The white snake's venom was potent, but it didn't seem fatal; instead, it left the person feeling unable to move, kneeling on the water's surface.
Four white snakes appeared in the four directions around Kakashi, and then, after a wriggling motion, they transformed into four Orochimaru.
"Heh, Kakashi, have years of peaceful life made you lose your accurate judgment?"
Orochimaru's Snake Clone grinned wickedly at Kakashi: "I'm really looking forward to seeing how the battle between Sasuke and Naruto ends. Don't interfere. Don't worry, it's just a paralyzing poison. I don't want you, my teacher, to miss a single moment."
Four Snake Clone slowly approached Kakashi, their six hands constantly Hand Seals: " Kidomaru's body may not be perfect, but it has many advantages: Barrier Ninjutsu: Four Violet Flames Formation!"
A small-scale Four Violet Flames Formation trapped Kakashi.
Kakashi, fighting off the dizziness in his head, shouted, " Orochimaru! What is the purpose of all this?!"
Snake Clone: "Hehe, it's nothing, I just wanted to know just how strong Sasuke has become. I see my younger self in Sasuke."
Kakashi shouted, " Sasuke is not like you!"
"Heh, the only difference between us is that I went first, while he, too, is destined to fall into darkness. Look, they're fighting."
Naruto's original intention was to attack Orochimaru, but the thought of Sasuke jumping in front of him filled him with joy, " Sasuke, how could you be with these guys? Quick, let's get out of here with Kakashi-sensei!"
Sasuke stood still, staring directly at Naruto: "Hehehe..."
Naruto, noticing Sasuke's continued laughter, sensed something was wrong. "Hey, Sasuke, are you even hearing me?!"
Sasuke: "Hehehe..."
Naruto: "(°ー°) What's wrong with your brain?"
Sasuke: "Stop talking nonsense, you who's holding me back."
Naruto then realized that Sasuke was already under the Cursed Seal Stage One, his left eye had turned black, and his Chakra was extremely cold.
"Your Cursed Seal is completely different from the Hongshi Cult's. What exactly happened?!"
The method of controlling the Cursed Seal taught by Hongshi is to minimize the influence of the Cursed Seal energy on the mind while strengthening Chakra as much as possible. Sasuke's method is the most primitive one, and the amplification is much greater than Naruto's.
Sasuke chuckled, " Naruto, I'm going to kill you first, then learn powerful Ninjutsu from Orochimaru. After killing Hongshi, I'll kill Itachi."
"Nani!"
Seeing Sasuke, who seemed like a completely different person, Naruto finally understood that he had willingly gone with Orochimaru.
Naruto's eyes blazed with anger. "You! Why have you become like this! Tell me!"
Sasuke: "What I become is my own business, none of your concern. And you shouldn't meddle. To tell you the truth, I don't want to stay in Konoha anymore. This place is just a prison for me."
Naruto: "You! You're not even going to abandon your comrades?!"
Sasuke snorted coldly, "So-called bonds are nothing but ropes that hinder my progress. I will sever these bonds, whether it's you, Sakura, or Hongshi, I will sever them all."
Hongshi: "Emm, should I be happy or sad?"
Naruto grew angrier as he listened. "You bastard! Sakura and the others risked their lives to chase after you!"
Sasuke seemed unconcerned. "Heh, I didn't ask you to come after me. You were just being presumptuous. You deserved to die."
Upon hearing Naruto 'Sasuke words, Chakra surged. "I never thought you were this kind of person! What do you take your fellow Konoha members for?!"
Sasuke touched his wind-blown hair. "Them? They're nothing."
Naruto, unable to bear it any longer, charged straight at Sasuke, causing the water to ripple violently.
"Heh, finally couldn't hold back, huh! Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Call!"
A massive fireball hurtled towards Naruto, Naruto didn't dodge but instead began Hand Seals: " Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
Sasuke, on the other side of the fireball, saw it sliced in two by a straight Wind Blade, with the force still remaining. "Not bad, I admit, your Chakra reserves are indeed superior to mine."
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, clearly seeing the Wind Blade. He easily dodged it with a simple sidestep, and the Wind Blade sliced through the water around him before stopping.
Orochimaru on the statue, seeing Naruto use this technique, was somewhat surprised. "Isn't this Danzo's technique? How come this kid knows it too!"
Orochimaru and Danzo were allies, so Danzo naturally knew some of the techniques Danzo frequently used.
Naruto's speed increased rapidly, and he soon arrived in front of Sasuke: " Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
A barrage of clones blocked all of Sasuke's escape routes. "If you don't come back to Konoha with me, I'll break your arms and legs and bring you back!"
Looking at the numerous clones, Sasuke remained calm. " Naruto, you're too naive. Your clumsy Taijutsu is no match for mine."
"Puff puff..."
Indeed, with the aid of his Sharingan, Sasuke could predict Naruto's every move perfectly. Even if he couldn't tell which one was the real Naruto, he could still use his Shuriken to deliver a flurry of punches and kicks, constantly destroying the Shadow Clone without even touching the Kakuzu Naruto's clothes.
Soon, all the Shadow Clone disappeared, leaving only the original body facing Sasuke: "Come on, if you don't have the will to kill me, you can't defeat me. You will be the first step in my revenge!"
Naruto had regained his composure and was deeply disappointed by Sasuke's change in attitude. " Orochimaru such an evil person, he's done so many bad things. Following him is just a recipe for disaster for you."
"I have made my decision: how will I gain strength among you?"
" Hongshi-kun has been training us all along, isn't it to make us stronger?"
" Hongshi is nothing but a fool. What can I gain from cultivating with him? It will only make me as foolish as you."
Hongshi: "Σ() You two can argue all you want, but can you at least not hurt me?"
"You bastard!"
Sasuke seemed to remember something. "Speaking of which, Sakura interrupted our match on the hospital rooftop, so we're resuming it now."
Naruto said no more, clenched his fists, and attacked again.
"Clap clap clap"
The two exchanged blows, but Naruto's Taijutsu was no match for Sasuke's Sharingan, and he was quickly hit by several punches.
Naruto was also in Cursed Seal Stage One at this time, which greatly increased his defensive capabilities, so he didn't suffer much damage from those punches.
Feeling the power surging within him, Sasuke grew increasingly excited. "This is the power Orochimaru spoke of! It's much faster than the Hongshi method!"
To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke's punches were getting stronger and stronger, and the area covered by Sasuke's Cursed Seal was also getting larger, while the Cursed Seal patterns on his own body were gradually fading.
Sasuke also saw the changes in Naruto's Cursed Seal: "How is it? Your Cursed Seal is getting weaker, while mine is getting stronger."
The two exchanged blows for a few more rounds. Naruto's Cursed Seal completely disappeared, and Sasuke perfectly seized the opportunity, throwing a punch at Naruto: "Die!"
"Smack!"
Naruto also threw a punch at the same time, and the two punches collided, shaking back the lake water.
For some reason, Naruto's Cursed Seal reappeared, and he chuckled, "Heh heh, how come you think you can kill me with one punch?"