I was resting my head on Karin's lap. It was soft. She smelled like wild berries and anxiety.
"Kenji-kun..." Karin whispered, her hands hovering over my face, not sure if she was allowed to touch. "Are you... asleep?"
"Meditating," I lied, keeping my eyes closed. "visualizing my victory."
"He's napping," Sasuke scoffed, sitting against the root wall, clutching a kunai so hard his knuckles were white. "How can you be so calm? That was Orochimaru. He's still out there."
"Relax, Sasuke," I yawned. "I blinded him. Snakes rely on heat and smell, sure, but pepper spray to the cornea is a universal language for 'back off'. We have at least—"
CRACK.
The wooden wall behind Sasuke exploded.
Splinters flew everywhere. A massive, purple snake tail smashed through the trunk, wrapping around Sasuke's waist before he could even blink.
"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed (she was uselessly guarding the entrance).
"Found you..."
A hiss echoed from the darkness.
Orochimaru stepped through the hole in the tree. His eyes were bloodshot and watery (the pepper spray worked, but he healed it). He looked pissed.
"You possess annoying toys, boy," Orochimaru glared at me. "But play time is over."
"Karin! Move!" I shouted, rolling off her lap.
I grabbed a kunai.
[Skill: Elastic Chakra (Bungee Gum)]
I shot a line of gum at Sasuke, trying to pull him free from the snake.
Stick.
Yank.
The snake didn't budge. It was like trying to pull a mountain.
"Useless," Orochimaru sneered.
He raised a hand.
"Kanashibari no Jutsu (Temporary Paralysis Technique)."
An invisible weight slammed into us.
It felt like gravity had increased tenfold. I saw visions of my own gruesome death—my head being severed, my limbs torn apart.
Karin fainted instantly. Sakura collapsed. Sasuke froze, his eyes wide with terror.
Even I fell to one knee.
[System Alert: Mental Attack Detected.] [Gamer's Mind: Resisting... 40%... 60%...]
"Damn it," I gritted my teeth. "Move... body..."
I forced my head up.
Orochimaru walked past me. He didn't even look at me. His obsession was singular.
He walked up to the suspended Sasuke.
"You have potential, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru whispered, caressing Sasuke's cheek with a pale hand. "But you are weak. You lack hatred. You lack... power."
"G-Get... away..." Sasuke choked out, unable to move.
"Don't worry," Orochimaru's neck elongated. It stretched like wet dough. "I will give you a gift. A mark of my favor."
I broke through the paralysis.
[System: Resistance Successful.]
"NO!" I shouted.
I lunged. I didn't have time for jutsu. I tackled Orochimaru's elongated neck mid-air.
I wrapped my arms around the slippery, snake-like flesh.
"Let him go, you freak!" I roared, biting down on Orochimaru's neck (fighting fire with fire).
"Insolent brat!" Orochimaru hissed.
His head whipped around 180 degrees. He looked at me, dangling from his neck.
A snake emerged from his mouth.
STRIKE.
The snake slammed into my chest, knocking the wind out of me and sending me flying into the far wall.
CRASH.
"Ugh..." I slid down, coughing blood. [HP: 60%].
"Kenji!" Sasuke screamed.
Orochimaru turned back to Sasuke.
"Now... where were we?"
He opened his mouth wide. His fangs glistened with purple chakra venom.
"Accept me, Sasuke-kun!"
CHOMP.
He bit down hard on the junction between Sasuke's neck and shoulder.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Sasuke's scream was bloodcurdling. It echoed through the forest, scaring the birds miles away.
He thrashed against the snake tail holding him.
Black markings—three tomoe—burned into his skin. They glowed orange like molten lava.
"Yes..." Orochimaru released the bite, retracting his neck. "The Heaven Seal. Let it fester. Let it grow."
Sasuke went limp. The snake dropped him. He hit the ground with a thud, twitching, clutching his neck.
"It hurts... it burns..." Sasuke whimpered, his eyes rolling back.
Orochimaru turned to me. I was struggling to stand up, wiping blood from my lip.
"You..." I glared. "You actually did it."
"He needed it," Orochimaru smiled, his tongue flicking out. "And as for you, Kenji... you are an anomaly. You resist my paralysis. You possess strange weapons."
He began to sink into the ground, fading into the shadows.
"If he survives... he will seek me out. And you..." Orochimaru's eyes bored into mine. "I will be watching you closely. You smell delicious."
He vanished.
The pressure lifted instantly.
Silence returned to the hollow tree.
I stood there, panting.
[System Notification] [Event Complete: The Cursed Seal.] [Sasuke Status: Infected (Heaven Seal).] [Plot Deviation: Failed (Canon Event Enforced).] [Reward: None (You got beat up).]
"Well," I spat a glob of blood onto the floor. "That went poorly."
I walked over to Sasuke. He was burning up. His skin was hot to the touch.
"Sasuke?"
"Hot... fire..." Sasuke moaned, delirious.
Sakura was waking up in the corner, rubbing her head. "W-What happened? Where is the snake guy?"
"He came, he saw, he conquered," I said grimly. "He gave Sasuke a parting gift."
I looked at the black mark on Sasuke's neck.
The plot armor has been installed, I thought cynically. Now he's edgy AND powerful.
"Sakura," I ordered. "Get the wet towels. Karin, wake up! I need a sensor!"
Karin groaned, sitting up. "W-What? Kenji-kun?"
"We're moving," I picked Sasuke up, slinging his arm over my shoulder. "This tree is compromised. And Sasuke is going to be high as a kite on dark chakra for the next two days."
I looked at the hole in the tree where Orochimaru had entered.
"Next time, Snake-man," I whispered. "I'm buying the Mongoose summon."
[The Underground Burrow - Night]
We found a secluded area under the roots of a giant tree. I used [Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu] to hollow out a space and camouflage the entrance.
Sasuke was laid out on a bed of leaves, sweating profusely. Sakura was changing the wet rag on his forehead every ten minutes.
Karin sat in the corner, hugging her knees, staring at Sasuke with a mix of fear and curiosity.
"His chakra is... evil now," Karin whispered.
"It's just puberty," I said, sitting by the fire (smokeless, System item). "He'll grow out of it. Or he'll try to kill his brother. Fifty-fifty."
I opened my inventory.
[System Item: Fever Reducer (Modern Medicine).] [Effect: Lowers temperature. Does not cure Curse Marks.]
"Here," I handed a pill to Sakura. "Crush this and put it in his water. It'll help him sleep."
Sakura looked at me with teary eyes. "Kenji... is he going to die?"
"No," I said confidently. "He's an Uchiha. Cockroaches don't die easily. Well unless you are against Itachi."
I stood up and stretched.
"I'm going to set traps. Bungee Gum tripwires. If a squirrel so much as farts near this burrow, I want to know about it."
I walked to the entrance.
I looked back at Karin.
"Karin. You're on radar duty. If you sense anyone—Sound, Sand, or Leaf—you tell me. Don't engage. Just poke me."
"O-Okay, Kenji-kun!" she nodded eagerly.
I stepped out into the night air.
The forest was screaming. Somewhere in the distance, Gaara was probably crushing someone into a sand paste.
I leaned against a tree.
"Orochimaru..." I muttered, touching my chest where the snake had hit me. It was already bruising.
"I need to get stronger. S-Rank is a whole different league."
I checked my Shameless Points.
[Current SP: 30,700 (Achievement Bonus included).]
"I need a defensive skill. Something absolute."
I opened the shop.
"Search: Barrier Ninjutsu. Or... maybe something from One Piece?"
[Skill: Tekkai (Iron Body - Rokushiki)] [Cost: 5,000 SP.]
[Skill: Haki - Armament (Basic)] [Cost: 10,000 SP.]
I grinned.
"Armament Haki. Sold."
[Transaction Complete.] [Skill Acquired: Busoshoku Haki (Level 1).]
I coated my hand in chakra. It turned a dull, metallic black.
I punched the tree.
CRUNCH.
My fist sank into the iron-hard wood like it was butter.
"Better," I whispered. "Next time you bite me, Orochimaru... you're going to break your teeth."
Author's Note:
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