Chapter 158: Stalemate
In the distance, where Sasuke was looking but couldn't see, on the battlefield that Ice Style had ravaged.
The battle with the Sound ninja had already ended.
The young girl wearing the cat-face mask took a deep breath.
She calmed the excited and agitated chakra within her body.
Her pink hair, which had been moving without any wind, also obediently fell back to her shoulders.
"One dead, three injured... The cleanup work will be left to the support staff. The amount of chakra stored in the Yin Seal is still at seventy to eighty percent. That's enough." Her gem-like, crystal-clear, beautiful eyes glanced coldly at the three Sound ninja who had fallen on the ice layer, and she said faintly, "First, I'll rendezvous with Shino and Yūgao, and then we'll rush over in one go..."
"In a normal rhythm, this battle should have ended five minutes ago... Experimenting with the new jutsu dragged on for a few minutes, but it was worth it..."
Because she had been waiting for Sakura Rush - Phase Two to be officially completed, she had not yet experimented with the power of this combat system. Therefore, she had to experiment with it before encountering Orochimaru or other powerful ninja... Otherwise, if something went wrong when she was facing those truly strong opponents, it would be no laughing matter.
"I've kept you waiting..."
"Hold on, Sasuke!"
After the Great Fireball, the two fell into a brief standoff.
A stalemate.
Kimimaro was wary of the power of the Raikiri. Even he would be seriously injured, if not killed, if he were the slightest bit careless against that jutsu.
And Sasuke was similarly at a loss as to how to deal with this powerful opponent before him.
His body was covered in all sorts of cuts and bloodstains. These were the traces left behind after engaging in an extremely fierce and difficult battle with the white-haired youth before him.
The battle between the two had left the grassland in a state of devastation: from the large area of withered black left by the explosion of the Great Fireball, to the trench scraped from the ground by the charge of the Lightning Style: Raikiri. There were also all sorts of damaged shuriken and kunai, bone spikes broken off from Kimimaro's body, and so on...
This was the first time Sasuke had encountered a Kekkei Genkai that used one's own bones as weapons.
In the materials left by the Uchiha clan, there were a few brief mentions of this strange bloodline, called "Shikotsumyaku."
It was rumored that this was passed down from the Sage of the Six Paths. A ninja who awakened the Shikotsumyaku could freely control their own osteoblasts and osteoclasts, and could even pull out their own bones from their bodies for hand-to-hand combat. Their bones, after being strengthened, were far harder than steel, and were known as the strongest spear in taijutsu combat.
The materials also specifically mentioned that ninja who awakened this Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai all had very strong taijutsu abilities. Uchiha clansmen who had not awakened a two-tomoe or higher Sharingan were advised not to engage them in close combat!
"Hmph... forget about a two-tomoe Sharingan. Even I, with a three-tomoe, am having this much trouble dealing with him!"
Sasuke gritted his back teeth and let out a muffled grunt.
In the battle with Kimimaro, to be honest, he considered himself to be the one at a disadvantage.
The reason he had used his Fire Style ninjutsu, which he hadn't used in a long time, was precisely because his Raikiri and taijutsu had been unable to achieve any results!
He had to admit that the arrogance of the white-haired youth before him was well-founded.
That guy named Kimimaro had some skill!
While Sasuke was feeling wary of Kimimaro...
The white-haired youth standing opposite the red-eyed boy also felt that his current opponent was extremely troublesome!
"Truly a respectable opponent..." Kimimaro waved his hand to disperse the scorching hot bone wall. Even with the bone wall blocking, he could still feel the terrifying impact and scorching temperature of the Great Fireball.
If not for him strengthening the defense of the bone wall as much as possible, it probably wouldn't have been as simple as just the bones being scorched black...
As expected of a ninja with the name Uchiha!
However, Kimimaro could see that a fire jutsu of this power was not even Sasuke's main ninjutsu.
He's a Lightning Style ninja...
At the beginning of the battle, the moment Sasuke had drawn his kunai and met his attack, Kimimaro had realized this.
The extremely high speed and powerful strength, characteristic of a lightning ninja, were all displayed to the fullest in Sasuke's body.
Using lightning-natured chakra to activate the body, making the muscles stronger, the explosive power greater, and the reaction speed faster—this was something only a skilled lightning cultivator could do. The ninja who had walked this path to its extreme were all famous figures in the ninja world. And Sasuke had already taken his own solid step on this path!
His taijutsu was already stunning enough.
Not to mention that move of his, the Lightning Style: Raikiri.
To be able to condense such a vast and pure amount of lightning-natured chakra in his hand, and still be able to control it to be as calm as water—just this control of ninjutsu and chakra was already eye-catching. What was even more terrifying was its power. Even the hardest bone Kimimaro had created had been broken by this Raikiri in one blow!
If not for the fact that when it broke this bone, the Raikiri had also been slowed down for a moment, giving him time to dodge, he would probably have had a hole poked through him by now and be lying on the ground!
That's right. Even without mentioning his Uchiha bloodline or his three-tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke was still a very outstanding ninja... To have such attainments in Lightning Style at such a young age, Sasuke's talent was indeed astonishingly powerful!
"No wonder Lord Orochimaru wants your body so much..." Kimimaro looked at Sasuke and said faintly. "The Sharingan, taijutsu, Lightning Style, and Fire Style, your talent is truly drool-worthy."
"Hmph, it's a pity. I'm not interested in that slimy monster... Although you're very strong, with just this, you still can't capture me. If we continue to fight, you'd better be prepared to die!" Sasuke said coldly.
If he was going to have his body taken over by that disgusting Orochimaru, he would rather choose to kill himself!
Sasuke was already prepared to fight to the death.
"My life is already running out. I am currently relying entirely on medicine to support my body... When the battle began, I had already overdrawn everything. I'm afraid I won't live past tomorrow."
Even when speaking of such a cruel matter, Kimimaro was still very calm.
Sasuke was slightly stunned. He had only prepared to fight to the death, but he hadn't expected that his opponent had already disregarded his own life long ago...
"...Why can you do so much for a person like Orochimaru, even giving up your life?"
Why a person like Kimimaro would be so loyal to that crazy and disgusting Orochimaru, Sasuke was really a little confused.
"When I was young, I lived an extremely miserable and lonely life. It was Lord Orochimaru who saved me from the endless darkness... So he is the only important person who can understand me. Helping him achieve his dream is the meaning of my existence... And I won't die, I will just live on forever in Lord Orochimaru's heart!"
"..." Sasuke was speechless.
Repaying a debt of gratitude? He could understand Kimimaro's feelings.
But isn't Orochimaru's dream... to get my body?
And Orochimaru is not a good person. He only saved him because he coveted his body with the Kekkei Genkai.
To sell your life for such a person with ulterior motives...
"...Have you been brainwashed?"
"You don't know anything at all. Say whatever you want! Next up," Kimimaro glanced coldly at Sasuke, "I will use my true skills."
"I've shown you my three dances just now. Now, what I will use is the Dance of the Clematis in Curse Mark State Two. Watch closely, Sasuke!"
An evil and familiar chakra erupted from Kimimaro's body.
"So this is the power of the curse mark..." Sasuke's expression became even more grave.
The strange curse mark spread over Kimimaro's body, quickly covering his entire body. Along with it, the chakra he was sensing from his body skyrocketed!
The changes happening to his opponent seemed to have completely tipped the scales of the battle to the other side!
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