All things under heaven and earth turned gray and dull.
In Kimimaro's field of vision, only Ryosuke rapidly approaching remained.
He was nable to resist, and unable to avoid. Let alone counterattack.
The moment their eyes met, Kimimaro understood what kind of powerful opponent he was facing. His whole body felt as if it had been filled with lead, or as if countless unjustly slain vengeful spirits had entangled his limbs. He couldn't move even a finger.
The air was tinged with a faint golden color, like rippling ocean currents, but was instantly shattered by a blade.
"It's over." Kimimaro closed his eyes in despair.
Suddenly, a stabbing pain struck his chest. Black stripes spread out from the center of his chest.
'This is... The Cursed Seal of Earth?!'
Orochimaru, using Jūgo's power as a reference, had developed the most violent version, currently still in the testing phase. He didn't expect it to activate on its own.
Surging power roared and churned inside his body, and Kimimaro forcibly regained control of his body.
His left wrist tore open, Kimimaro instantly pulled out his own forearm bone, treating it as a short blade to block Ryosuke's slash.
Kimimaro's kekkei genkai, Shikotsumyaku, allowed him to create bones harder than steel. Even elite samurai from the Land of Iron couldn't cut his bones.
He raised his hand to block the Ruin Greatsword.
At the same time, ribs, spine, arms, and various parts of his body all protruded with bones.
At Ryosuke's speed, once he got close, he would be stabbed like a hedgehog.
Ka-cha!
Kimimaro's bone blade, which he had great confidence in, lasted less than half a second before it shattered.
'Harder than steel?'
Even two legendary ninja swords could be broken in one slash by Ryosuke, what's one lousy bone in comparison.
Just then, a gray-black arm stretched over and pushed away Kimimaro, who was about to die under Ryosuke's blade.
A flash of the blade.
A gray-black arm flew high into the air.
Jūgo let out a pained scream. Immediately, a look of savagery and madness flashed through his eyes, he had clearly entered a berserk, out-of-control killing mode.
His already tall body grew taller again, thick and ferocious, muscles bulging, his skin completely turning gray-black. His shoulders and back sprouted "exhaust pipes" spewing blue flames, like a monster walking out from the depths of hell.
The severed limb clotted, flesh squirmed, it looked like a new arm was about to grow.
"Die!"
"Die for me!"
Jūgo roared shrilly, the only remaining arm clenched into a fist, and he smashed it toward Ryosuke's back, who had just landed and was facing away.
"Explosive Smash!"
Ryosuke held his blade in one hand and glanced at Jūgo.
"Star Platinum."
"ORA!"
Star Platinum didn't avoid at all, likewise, it threw a punch.
Two giant fists collided mid-air.
The air seemed to tremble. The hearts of everyone present skipped a beat. The next second,
Shhh!
Jūgo's arm sprayed crimson blood. Cracks deep enough to reveal bone appeared. His muscle tissue suffered large-scale necrosis.
"What?!"
Kimimaro, who had just been pushed away and hadn't landed yet, looked on in disbelief.
He had never seen anyone who could beat Jūgo in terms of strength, not even Orochimaru.
Once berserk, Jūgo became an absolute beast of brute force. The only way to subdue him was with joint locks, illusions, or ninjutsu.
Ryosuke raised an eyebrow slightly.
Countless natural energy surged into Jūgo's body. The cracked arm healed rapidly. Over ten thick cannons grew all over his body, all aiming at Ryosuke and Star Platinum at point-blank range. Strands of blue-green light condensed at the cannon mouths.
Kimimaro clenched his fists.
'Ryosuke is finished!'
This was Jūgo's strongest attack. Using natural energy to charge and release ultra-high-compression chakra shells.
'But... Charging? Who allowed you to charge in front of Star Platinum?'
"ORA! ORA! ORA!…"
In an instant, a barrage of punches shattered all the cannon barrels that extended over.
Star Platinum turned around. Ryosuke no longer looked at Jūgo, but shifted his gaze to Kimimaro.
BOOM!!
High-pressure chakra exploded inside Jūgo. A pillar of fire shot up behind Ryosuke.
At this moment, Kimimaro, who had been pushed away, had only just landed.
The fire was blazing hot, but his heart had gone cold.
Ryosuke was about to walk toward Kimimaro, but then stopped.
"Hm?"
The system didn't give a notification sound.
That meant, the monster burned to a crisp before him hadn't died yet.
Ryosuke walked over to Jūgo's side with his blade.
"You can't kill him!" Kimimaro said.
"Why can't I kill him?"
"He's a lunatic, Ryosuke, a lunatic!"
Kimimaro patted his own chest, shouting at Ryosuke, who was about to strike, "It was me who manipulated him to kill. He didn't want this. All the sins are because of me! Kill me and spare him!"
With just one round of combat, Kimimaro had seen the situation clearly.
The man before them was a complete monster, they couldn't possibly defeat Ryosuke.
Kimimaro had a terminal illness. Even with Lord Orochimaru's treatment, he'd only have four or five years left to live. Compared to him, Jūgo was more useful to Lord Orochimaru.
From the rumors, Kimimaro had learned about Ryosuke's personality.
"Ryosuke! You're a good person. You mustn't slaughter the innocent!" Kimimaro's voice echoed in the village.
At the same time, five more figures appeared.
Ryosuke glanced over and instantly recognized their identities.
"Root Organization?"
When Ryosuke appeared, the five Root ninja had already been watching.
They originally planned to wait until Ryosuke and Kimimaro were deeply engaged in battle, then make a move to kill Ryosuke.
No one expected the fight to end this quickly.
After weighing the options, and considering the long-term cooperation between Orochimaru and Danzo, the five decided to step forward and protect Kimimaro and Jūgo.
A Root ninja wearing a fox mask said, "Since you recognize us, that makes it easier. Ryosuke, this is the Land of Fire. These two wanted criminals should be handled by Konoha ninja. We've been tracking them for a long time. Please step aside."
"The affairs of the Land of Fire being managed by Konoha, that's reasonable." Ryosuke nodded slightly, as if acknowledging.
Kimimaro had just let out a breath of relief, when Ryosuke continued, "But what if I say no?"
The fox-mask ninja raised his voice, "Konoha has already turned a blind eye to your defection from the village. That's mercy! If you insist on being stubborn..."
Blades and kunai were drawn. Two ninjas began making hand seals.
Ryosuke looked around at the corpses scattered everywhere, let out a light laugh, and tilted his chin at Kimimaro, "Didn't you hear what he said? I'm the good guy, they're the bad guys. You're not killing the bad guys, but pointing your blades at me…"
"What, does being a good guy mean you have to get stabbed?"
"And also..."
Ryosuke raised his blade. Under the horrified gazes of Kimimaro and the Root members, he thrust the blade deeply into Jūgo's abdomen.
"How long are you planning to keep hiding in this damn place?"
With these words, Kimimaro and the Root members, who were about to act, froze in place.
They didn't understand what Ryosuke meant. How could someone be hiding in a place like this?
But very soon, Jūgo's stomach bulged like a pregnant woman ten months in, and with a rip, it tore open. A pitch-black venomous snake crawled out from inside his belly.
If Ryosuke hadn't known he was in the Naruto world, he would've thought a Xenomorph had landed on Earth.
The snake opened its mouth, and a wet, sticky man stretched out his head. He stared straight at Ryosuke, as if gazing upon his own Mona Lisa.
"Orochumaru!" Jiraiya's roar echoed from the distance.
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya with disdain, then turned his admiring, longing gaze back to Ryosuke, and said in a hoarse but magnetic voice, "Finally, I've seen you… Mr. Ryosuke."
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