Chapter 161: Lightning Style - Raikiri Raging Stream
The duel between Sasuke and Kimimaro...
A winner was decided.
The Raikiri Raging Stream slammed head-on into Kimimaro's State Two Dance of the Clematis!
BOOM—!
In the blinding lightning, everything was nearly invisible. Only the hazy figures of two people could be seen fearlessly colliding and crossing paths.
All that could be heard was the sound of the two of them shouting, using all their strength as they charged each other.
Then, in the instant their figures met, the lightning glow of the Raikiri Raging Stream in Sasuke's hand suddenly surged, almost swallowing everything in sight. In the dazzling flash, only the shadow of the giant bone spear in Kimimaro's hand could be vaguely seen!
Then, the vague black shadow of the massive bone spear, after crashing into the brightest point of the lightning, instantly cracked into countless fragments and disintegrated section by section—
Kimimaro's strongest bone spear, against the Raikiri Raging Stream... the result was a complete defeat!
The endless lightning completely swallowed Kimimaro!
Crackle, crackle.
After the deafening roar, the lightning finally dimmed, and the sound of thunder faded into a faint crackling.
After the piercing blue light disappeared, the two figures, pressed tightly together, became clear.
"I win..." A trace of dark red blood overflowed from the corner of Sasuke's mouth as he revealed a cruel smile.
His entire right side and right arm, in the instant he had collided with Kimimaro, had been deeply pierced by several bone spikes created by the Shikotsumyaku's counter-attack. Blood was gushing out, and his right hand hung limply. The scene was abnormally tragic.
However, the injuries Kimimaro had suffered were even more severe...
"This move... did it incorporate the nature transformation of Lightning Style?" Kimimaro's face was as pale as paper as he asked weakly. "I was paralyzed by it and couldn't dodge your pierce!"
The reason the Raikiri Raging Stream was stronger than the Raikiri was that the lightning-natured chakra, brought to its extreme, would cause the part of the enemy's body it touched to be intensely paralyzed. The muscles would be unable to exert force, and the feet unable to move... Thus, as long as the Raikiri Raging Stream successfully got close, it could completely lock down the enemy. This was a one-hit-kill move!
"This Raikiri Raging Stream did indeed incorporate the ultimate lightning nature transformation, so it's normal for you to be paralyzed by it. However, you still dodged it. Your bones helped you block many things..." Sasuke said, looking at Kimimaro coldly, speaking just as weakly. "My Raikiri Raging Stream did not hit your torso!"
The Raikiri Raging Stream had indeed been knocked off target... Kimimaro had covered the entire surface of his body with hard, thick bones, just like Gaara's Sand Armor. The insulating bones had reduced much of the strong electrical damage from the Raikiri Raging Stream.
But more importantly, although Kimimaro's muscles were paralyzed, he could still move his own bones directly using his Kekkei Genkai, without relying on his muscles!
By relying on such a crude method, he had avoided a direct hit to his vitals from the Raikiri Raging Stream and had not been killed on the spot.
It was just that the price Kimimaro had paid to avoid this blow was too great—
His giant bone spear. His spinal cord whip. His entire left hand. His right hand below the elbow. Half of his tail.
All of it had been annihilated by the unstoppable thrust of the Raikiri Raging Stream!
"Cough, cough!" Kimimaro suddenly coughed, spitting out several mouthfuls of dark red blood clots.
"But... although you tried your best to avoid the vital point, in the end, you were still defeated by this move..."
Indeed, although Kimimaro had paid a huge price to avoid the fate of dying on the spot, with both his hands destroyed and his body ravaged, how could he continue to fight?
Sasuke issued his declaration of victory.
"Your body is still paralyzed by the Raikiri right now. You can't move and can't fight anymore, can you?" he said, looking at Kimimaro's weakly hanging head, trying to endure the intense pain on the right side of his body. "Then let me put an end to all this...!"
The black-haired youth took a kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
"You were a terrifying opponent... It's a pity it all has to end!" Sasuke said softly.
Is it over?
Kimimaro's head was drooping. His body was severely damaged, and what's more, he was completely paralyzed by the lightning. He had already lost even the strength to lift his head.
He could only passively listen to Sasuke's words.
In his hazy mind, he suddenly thought of the conversation he had with Kabuto that day—
"Kimimaro, you don't need to participate in this operation. Although your body has improved recently under the careful care of Lord Orochimaru and myself, you must also know that if you act rashly during the operation, then your body, which has just started to get better, will instantly worsen and return to the worst state. And if you attack with all your might, it's very likely that you will die on the spot after the battle...!"
"Kabuto-sensei, don't comfort me anymore. I am very clear about my own body... The bloodline disease has already penetrated deep into my bones. It's impossible to cure. My life is just the difference between living for a few more hours in battle or living for a few more years in a hospital bed."
"..."
"No one comes into this world for nothing. I have my own mission that I must complete. Lord Orochimaru has already confirmed a new vessel, right? Is it that boy named Sasuke? Although I can no longer become Lord Orochimaru's vessel, I can bring the new vessel back for him, even if I have to risk my life..."
"...You have already prepared yourself for death?"
"Right now, this is the only way I can repay Lord Orochimaru's kindness..."
"Then, eat this. This pill will maintain the stability of your body when you are fighting, so that you won't suddenly collapse in battle. On the contrary, it will allow you to display one hundred and twenty percent of your strength. But this way, your life will only last for one more day at most! However, if you do not participate in battle, the function of the pill will not be activated, and you can still live for a long time..."
"Is it a drug that overdraws one's life potential? Very well, give it to me."
"Oh right, one more thing. Although as long as you ultimately decide to attack, you will definitely be able to complete the mission, as an insurance, I will tell you one more technique. This scroll records a secret technique. Combined with that pill, it can allow you to open your body's death gate without dying immediately... Remember, once you open it, you will only have ten minutes at most...!"
"Ten minutes... I understand."
The memory faded, and Kimimaro's spirit returned to the battlefield.
The death gate, is it?
He muttered to himself.
And Sasuke had already raised the kunai high.
Then, he swung it down forcefully!
Thud! The kunai pierced into flesh and blood, making a dull, unpleasant sound.
Sasuke was slightly taken aback, his eyes widening. "You... still have the strength to dodge!"
—At the last moment, Kimimaro had actually been able to struggle and avoid the vital point!
"You're already dead. Why are you still struggling!"
"My mission is not yet complete. How can I fall so easily here!"
Kimimaro suddenly raised his head. His pale face was coated with an abnormal flush.
"Setsugakkō - Open!"
Kimimaro's already depleted chakra suddenly began to surge wildly!
"Ugh— This is...!"
Sasuke's pupils shrank violently. He could never have imagined that the enemy, who had already exhausted all his strength, could still produce such a change...
"This is the last of my strength, gained by burning my life, my spirit, and my everything!"
Kimimaro gritted his teeth. His gaunt body felt an intense pain as if it were being cut by a thousand knives, as if his entire body were burning violently. However, with his astonishing willpower, he forcefully suppressed the pain that could drive a person mad and stubbornly brought this surging chakra under his control.
"Even if I have to break all your arms and legs and cut all your muscles, I will bring you back... Take this! This is my final dance—"
"Dance of the Seedling Fern!"
Endless bones grew from Kimimaro's body, spreading, evolving into bone pillars as thick as a waist and over ten meters high. And those countless bone pillars turned the entire land into a forest of bones!
This was the final dance of this dying man, the Dance of the Seedling Fern...
A sharp bone spike aimed at Sasuke, whose half body was already unable to move.
"Damn it, my body won't move...!"
The thick and sharp bone blade pressed step by step closer, reflected in his three-tomoe Sharingan.
Sasuke, who could no longer struggle, had completely fallen into despair!
And then, at this very moment, he sensed a familiar chakra.
"Ice Style - Absolute Defense!"
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