The Sharingan Gamer

"How come that fatso hasn't caught up yet? He's always so slow," Tayuya complained, frequently glancing behind her.

The other two were already used to this and paid her no mind. Tayuya pouted and continued to mutter to herself.

Suddenly, Kidomaru's expression changed, and he instinctively looked back. Although there was nothing but trees, his face grew darker and darker.

Sakon and Tayuya, as if sensing something, also grew grim.

"Is it those brats from before?" Tayuya asked, her face expressionless.

Kidomaru glanced at her and silently nodded.

"Useless," Tayuya said, taking a deep breath and then cursing loudly.

It was clear that if the Konoha brats had caught up, Jirobo's fate was sealed. Although Tayuya often mocked him, upon learning of his death, she felt an indescribable feeling. A little sad, a little... mournful. For him, and for herself.

"...Since the enemy has caught up, someone has to stay behind and cover our retreat," Sakon said flatly.

The other two silently nodded in agreement. They knew in their hearts that if the enemy could defeat Jirobo, they could defeat them as well. But... Sasuke was of utmost importance to Orochimaru. So, even though they knew they might die, they had no other choice.

"I'll stay. My abilities are more suited for holding off the enemy," Kidomaru said after a long silence.

Sakon turned and gave him a deep look, then said nothing, simply picking up the pace and speeding off with Tayuya.

"...Don't you die, you damn spider."

Only Tayuya's not-so-pleasant blessing lingered in the air.

"" Kidomaru stared at their retreating backs for a moment. Then, a black pattern spread wildly across his body.

Not far behind Kidomaru, Kyosuke and the others were advancing at high speed.

"Watch out, there's an enemy ahead," Neji Hyuga was the first to spot the enemy.

"How many?" Shikamaru asked.

"...One."

"A delaying tactic..." Shikamaru thought for a moment, then shouted, "Scatter!"

Instantly, the team's formation broke, to avoid being caught in a net again.

Just then, Kyosuke suddenly spoke. "We can't fall for the enemy's trap. Leave this one to me. You guys go on ahead."

Naruto turned and looked at him, hesitating. "But you..."

"Alright, we'll leave it to you," Shikamaru suddenly interrupted Naruto, then gave Kyosuke a solemn nod.

"This is too dangerous!" Naruto clenched his fists, finally unable to hold back his protest.

Just as Shikamaru was about to persuade him, Kyosuke spoke. "Naruto, don't forget what our mission is."

"...I know," Naruto said. He then crossed his fingers in front of him.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Poof!

To everyone's astonishment, Naruto used the Transformation Jutsu again, transforming the clones into the appearances of the others.

Seeing this, everyone, including Kyosuke, finally understood his plan.

"Well done, Naruto," Shikamaru said with a smile.

Swish, swish, swish.

As Kyosuke and the others were speeding forward, a strangely shaped "person" was watching them with a cold gaze.

This person had dark skin, three strange arms on each side of his body, and a single vertical eye on his forehead that was constantly turning. It was Kidomaru, who had activated his State Two curse mark.

Seeing his prey walk into his pre-laid trap, Kidomaru smiled coldly and then formed a hand seal.

"Secret Technique: Spider Web Bind."

Above "Kyosuke" and the others, a giant spider web suddenly descended. At the same time, a massive spider was watching them with bloodthirsty eyes, as if looking at prey that had already fallen into its trap. It was clear that its long-planned surprise attack was unavoidable.

"What is this stuff? I can't break free," the web-covered "Kyosuke" said in a panic.

Before Kidomaru could celebrate, he was surprised to see several more figures appear from nowhere.

These figures turned and gave him a mocking smile, then leaped past him and chased after Sasuke.

"...Damn you, brats. How dare you fool me," Kidomaru cursed, looking at the disappearing clones in the web.

Just as he was preparing to stop them again, a fatal sense of threat suddenly came from behind.

Startled, Kidomaru leaped to the side without looking back, trying to dodge the enemy's attack.

At the same time, he felt a flash of fire behind him, followed by a sharp pain. He knew that he hadn't been able to completely dodge the enemy's attack. If it hadn't been for the sudden warning from his summoned beast, and the layer of "Spider Sticky Gold" he had applied to his body as a precaution, he would have likely died.

After landing, Kidomaru did not immediately turn back. He leaped forward a bit more, then slowly turned to face the insidious enemy.

"Very perceptive," the boy opposite him said with a faint compliment.

"...Arrogant brat," Kidomaru retorted, his gaze grim. At the same time, a long spear suddenly appeared in the two arms hidden behind him.

He then took advantage of the enemy's blind spot and threw the spear.

Thump. The spear pierced the enemy's body.

But what happened next made his eyes widen in disbelief.

The boy opposite him suddenly seemed to soften and collapse, and then a pile of small snakes slowly slithered out of his body.

Even if Kidomaru was slow, he knew that he had been caught in some kind of genjutsu.

Of course, for him, with the curse mark, genjutsu was not very effective.

What truly surprised him was that the small snakes gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

It was as if... it was the same feeling as Lord Orochimaru.

"Impossible..." Kidomaru shook his head, using the power of the curse mark to successfully break free from the genjutsu.

Just as he was preparing to attack with his summoned beast, he was surprised to find that, at some point, a giant green snake had already engaged his spider in a fierce battle.

"This..." The scene before him finally shattered his last shred of hope.

The power the enemy was using was indeed from Lord Orochimaru, and it was a power that he and the other three had repeatedly sought but never obtained.

"How could this be..." The unexpected discovery completely disrupted Kidomaru's mind, causing his attention to wander for a moment.

The powerful perception of the three-tomoe Sharingan allowed Kyosuke to successfully seize the enemy's opening.

With a flash, Kyosuke vanished from the tree.

"Shisui Style: Body Flicker Technique."

"Blazing Sword Leap!"

The familiar flash of fire appeared again. With his now even more powerful Body Flicker and swordsmanship, Kyosuke killed this originally very difficult opponent in a single blow.

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