"Ha ha ha ha." Orochimaru was laughed angrily by Sasuke's words. He stopped laughing, his pupils filled with killing intent: "Your brother, Uchiha Itachi, had those enviable Mangekyo Sharingan, which gave him the right to act arrogantly in front of me."
"But you, Uchiha Sasuke, haven't even awakened the Mangekyo, yet with just three tomoes, you dare to say you want to subdue me?"
"Too naive! Do you think you're still that genius Genin adored by everyone in Konoha? Here, you'll understand the gap in reality!"
Just as Orochimaru's aura surged, ready to give this ignorant brat an unforgettable lesson, at the laboratory entrance, the Sound Four finally rushed back, panting and looking utterly disheveled.
"Orochimaru-sama! We..." Kidomaru started, but then saw the two confronting each other in the center of the lab. He immediately swallowed the rest of his words, inwardly lamenting their misfortune.
Sasuke didn't care about the four extra spectators. He looked at Orochimaru: "As one of the Sannin, yet you were defeated so easily by Itachi. I guess it's because you repeatedly used [Living Corpse Reincarnation], leaving your soul in a chronically weakened state, right?"
"Unfortunately for you, I recently happened to learn a technique specifically targeting the soul."
The moment his voice fell, Sasuke suddenly punched.
Genro Mao Ken!
An intangible, formless spiritual impact instantly pierced through Orochimaru's mental defenses and swept across his entire consciousness.
"Guh ah!"
Orochimaru let out a scream even more miserable than Danzo's. He felt his soul being pierced and nailed down by countless red-hot iron spikes. The soul cracks left by his reincarnations were magnified infinitely. He even saw the wails and counterattacks of the residual consciousnesses of countless past 'vessels' he had devoured, emanating from within his own soul.
Thud!
With just one hit, Orochimaru, one of the mighty Sannin respected throughout the Ninja World, had his legs give way and he collapsed directly to his knees. His body trembled violently, and pitch-black, blood-like threads seeped from his seven orifices, his aura extremely weak and depleted.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
"How is this possible?"
The Sound Four and Kimimaro, who had just arrived after hearing the commotion, saw this scene and were all shocked beyond belief. The Orochimaru-sama they viewed as nearly invincible had been defeated in one casual punch by Sasuke.
"You... how could you... possess... this... power..." Orochimaru struggled to lift his head, his eyes filled with disbelief. Just during the Chunin Exams, he had still been able to toy with Sasuke effortlessly.
Sasuke said coldly, "You can thank Shimura Danzo for this. It was under his pressure that I successfully learned this technique."
"That fool!" Orochimaru cursed madly in his heart, damning Danzo's ancestors for eighteen generations.
Just then, Kimimaro snapped out of his shock, his eyes blazing with resolute killing intent and a will to protect. "How dare you harm Orochimaru-sama! Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Drills!"
Without hesitation, he fired his ten finger bones like bullets towards Sasuke, while simultaneously charging forward, attempting to force Sasuke back and rescue Orochimaru.
Facing this swift attack, Sasuke's mind instantly recalled the feeling and technique his master had used when controlling his body two days ago… the sense of effortless ease and anticipating the enemy's moves.
He didn't dodge. Instead, with a minute explosion of Chakra under his feet, his body shifted sideways by a hair's breadth, precisely evading most of the bone projectiles.
Simultaneously, his right hand shot out like lightning, and with a smack, seized the pulse point on Kimimaro's wrist. A subtle application of force caused Kimimaro to feel his entire arm go numb, his offensive stalled.
"How did he predict my movements?" Kimimaro was shocked inwardly and decisively activated his Cursed Seal of Earth.
Although Orochimaru was in agony, he was still observing: 'I know Kimimaro's strength best. Shikotsumyaku plus the Cursed Seal of Earth, and his soul has no weaknesses. Sasuke should only be able to use Cursed Seal Stage One now, he's likely no match...'
"Die! Dance of the Willow!" Kimimaro, having entered Cursed Seal Stage Two, finally broke free from Sasuke's grasp. His entire body erupted with bone spurs, transforming into a deadly storm of bone blades.
Orochimaru watched intently, expecting to see Sasuke struggle to defend himself or get injured.
However, facing this vastly more powerful attack, Sasuke, expressionless, tore off his shirt. He too entered the Cursed Seal mode, but instead of transforming into a monster, he shaped the Natural Energy into an ink-like robe with a Kirin motif.
Kimimaro's bone blade storm, capable of tearing through steel, slashed violently against this ink robe, producing a series of crisp sounds like metal striking metal. Sparks flew across the robe's surface, but it remained undamaged, not even a scratch left.
"???" Kimimaro's eyes were filled with confusion.
"What?" Orochimaru nearly popped his eyes out, 'What the hell was this black 'armor'? Why didn't I know my own Cursed Seal had such a mode?'
In the instant Orochimaru and Kimimaro were shaken, Sasuke moved. The ink robe granted him greater strength and speed. Pushing off the ground, which trembled slightly, his figure closed in on Kimimaro. There were no flashy techniques, just simple punches, kicks, and an elbow strike.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists smashed into Kimimaro's blocking bone arms... the faint sound of cracking bones was audible.
A kick struck his ribs, sending him stumbling back.
An elbow slammed heavily into his chest... the force amplified by the ink robe penetrated his body!
Kimimaro was beaten back by this clean set of Taijutsu combos, unable to mount any effective resistance.
Seeing his most capable subordinate easily defeated in just over ten seconds, and feeling the still aching trauma deep within his soul, Orochimaru finally faced reality. "Uchiha Sasuke, you win. Speak. What do you want me to do for you?"
He raised his bandage-wrapped hands, self-deprecatingly saying, "However, as you can see, the souls of my hands were already devoured by the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal]. Not only can I not perform Ninjutsu, but I can't even make the basic hand seals."
"It doesn't matter." Sasuke's tone was flat. "As long as your mouth still works."
Orochimaru: "???"
'What kind of perverse thing was this guy planning to make me do?'
Sasuke pointed to the Cursed Seal pattern on his own neck and stated matter-of-factly, "I've just about used up the Natural Energy in my Cursed Seal. Replenish it for me later."
Orochimaru: "..."
He felt like he was about to have a heart attack. The Cursed Seal he had painstakingly researched to control and grant power to his subordinates was being treated like an ATM for Natural Energy!
Though deeply frustrated, Orochimaru could only nod stiffly.
Just then, Kimimaro, who had been knocked to the ground, suddenly coughed up a large mouthful of blood. "Cough, ptui!"
"Hmm?" Sasuke frowned, looking at Orochimaru. "Did I hit him too hard and cause internal injuries?"
Orochimaru looked at Kimimaro, a trace of regret in his eyes. "It has nothing to do with you. Kimimaro has long suffered from an incurable disease… [Kekkei Genkai Sickness]. If not for that, I wouldn't have shifted my target for a 'reincarnation vessel' from him to you."
Sasuke recalled the opponent's fierce Taijutsu and fearless fighting spirit, feeling a slight pity. "It's rare to encounter such a skilled Taijutsu user. Being able to spar with him regularly would be very beneficial for improving my own Taijutsu. What a shame."
Just as he felt regret, Setsuna's voice echoed again deep in his consciousness: "Saving him isn't actually difficult."
Sasuke's spirits lifted, and he immediately asked in his mind: 'Master, what disease does Kimimaro have? Can he really be saved?'
Setsuna explained: "The root of this so-called [Kekkei Genkai Sickness] lies in his long-term habit of frequently extracting his own bones for battle. When the bone is exposed to the air, it becomes contaminated with countless bacteria and viruses in the environment. When he retracts these used bones back into his body, these contaminants are brought inside as well. Accumulating over time, these pollutants continuously erode and destroy his immune system and internal organs, eventually leading to this terminal illness."
After hearing this, Sasuke's expression became extremely strange, even somewhat speechless. 'So this Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai is basically a 'useless bloodline'? Using it once means injecting a dose of viruses into your body. Who can endure that?'
"Not exactly." Setsuna slightly shook his head. "Just don't retract the used bones into the body. You could say this kid is too thrifty."
Sasuke suddenly understood. It wasn't that the Kekkei Genkai was garbage... the issue was the method of use and understanding.