"Kazama's definitely not gonna let you off! Just wait, you're done for!"
Seeing no way to escape, Sakura furiously cursed at Yakushi Kabuto.
"Haha, you little brat! You really think Kazama's some kind of god? Forget whether he can even find this hidden hideout. Even if he does, it'd take him half a month to break through my barriers. By the time he gets here, I'll be long gone. Kill me? In your dreams!"
Smack!
Before Kabuto could finish his taunt, he was sent flying dozens of meters by a sudden blow.
"Kazama!"
"Kazama-kun!"
The sight of Kazama's sudden appearance created a stark contrast: Kabuto was pale with terror, while Sakura was overjoyed.
"No way! This is absolutely impossible!"
Kabuto couldn't believe his eyes—Kazama had actually found his secret hideout.
"This place is thousands of miles from the Shinobi Allied Forces' battlefield! How could you get here so fast? And I set up multiple layers of barriers around this place—how did you break through them instantly? How the hell did you do it? This is impossible!"
Kazama ignored Kabuto's frantic, lung-bursting roars.
Instead, he turned to Sakura.
"Sakura, get out of here for now. Once I deal with Kabuto, I'll take you back to Konoha."
"Haha, keep dreaming!"
Before Sakura could respond, Kabuto sneered at Kazama again.
"I don't know how you got in, you little punk, but getting out won't be so easy!"
With that, Kabuto quickly formed hand seals, layering several more barriers around the area.
Kazama found the move almost laughable.
In front of someone with space-time ninjutsu like him, no amount of barriers meant a thing.
Without hesitation, Kazama activated Kamui, pulling Sakura into his alternate dimension for safety.
"Space-time ninjutsu! No wonder you broke through my barriers!"
Seeing Kazama whisk Sakura away and realizing he'd been outplayed yet again, Kabuto was livid with embarrassment.
But the next moment, he suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Still smirking when you're about to die?"
"Punk, don't get cocky too soon. You really think I'm the same Yakushi Kabuto as before?"
With a furious shout, Kabuto unleashed a massive surge of chakra from within.
His human body began to morph, transforming into a serpentine form.
"I've now mastered senjutsu—something even Orochimaru-sama couldn't achieve!"
As he spoke, Kabuto pulled his hood down, covering his eyes.
"Trying to block my Betsutenjin with that? How sneaky," Kazama said with a cold smirk, completely unfazed.
Truth was, Kazama had no intention of using Betsutenjin on Kabuto.
That would've been too easy on him. The best way to deal with Kabuto was to crush him—beat him until he was begging for mercy.
"Senjutsu, huh? Nice. I've never absorbed senjutsu before. Bring it on!"
"What? You think you can absorb senjutsu? That's hilarious! Today, I'll show you the true power of senjutsu!"
"Senpō: Hakugeki no Jutsu!"
As Kabuto unleashed the technique, the air in the area began to violently churn, creating intense friction.
The vibrations resonated with the bones in Kazama's body.
Even with his absolute defense, Kazama felt a gut-wrenching, excruciating pain.
"So this is senjutsu? Not bad!"
Hearing Kazama's remark, Kabuto's smugness reached its peak.