The Sharingan Gamer

A forest of bone spikes erupted from his body, successfully sending the unfortunate snake back to Ryuchi Cave.

Ignoring the shadow clones lunging at him from behind, Kimimaro looked at Kyosuke in the distance with a calm expression. As for Choji, who was anxiously pacing nearby, he didn't even bother to glance at him. It was no wonder. No matter how much Choji's chakra surged, his attacks were primarily close-quarters combat. Kimimaro, with his "Shikotsumyaku," was a perfect counter to this type of ninja.

"Cough, cough..." Suddenly, Kimimaro lowered his head and began to cough violently.

Seeing this, Kyosuke's eyes lit up.

Swish! In an instant, Kyosuke used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind him and, raising his Kusanagi sword, swung it down.

The sharp whistle of the blade clearly reached Kimimaro's ears. In his haste, he could only force a bone spike to extend from his back, hoping to block Kyosuke's strike.

Clang! A crisp sound, like metal clashing, came from the point of impact between the blade and the bone spike.

It was clear that even with a surprise attack using the Body Flicker Technique, with his current strength, Kyosuke was no match for the powerful Kimimaro.

However... from the looks of it, he probably can't last much longer, Kyosuke thought.

After all, no matter how weak Naruto's many shadow clones were, they still contained the Nine-Tails' chakra. Even if Kimimaro could kill them without being injured, it must have taken a great deal of his strength. As for Naruto's own consumption, he, with the Nine-Tails' chakra, had no problem creating a few thousand more.

And so, Kyosuke pulled Choji aside and quietly watched Kimimaro's taijutsu performance against Naruto's clones.

The battle, which should have been decided by the blade, had now turned into a boring war of attrition.

After a while, before the situation could change, Shikamaru and Neji Hyuga arrived.

After a brief explanation of the enemy's abilities, a thought suddenly occurred to Kyosuke.

Logically speaking, after Kimimaro had appeared, Shikamaru had not used any ninjutsu. This meant that Kimimaro would not be specifically on guard against his Shadow Possession Jutsu. In that case, there was a lot of room for tactical maneuvering.

Thinking of this, Kyosuke turned and began to whisper to Shikamaru.

Soon, the two of them reached an agreement.

Turning to avoid a surprise attack from a Naruto clone, Kimimaro looked at him with a detached expression. He then swung his bone blade, and the clone vanished.

"...Endless," even with Kimimaro's temperament, he was now feeling a bit annoyed.

However, along with the annoyance, he also felt a sense of exhilaration. He knew his own body. He couldn't last through the day, let alone this battle. So, to be able to have such an exhilarating fight before he died, he was quite happy.

No... Kimimaro suddenly rejected his earlier thought. No matter what, I have to hold on until Sasuke reaches Lord Orochimaru.

Thinking of this, he turned to look at the wooden box he was protecting, his eyes softening for a moment.

Just then, the fast little brat suddenly charged at him again.

To be honest, Kimimaro had a certain appreciation for this person. Standard taijutsu, agile speed, and sharp swordsmanship—in his eyes, these were all qualities a strong person must possess.

If Sasuke isn't suitable, it would be a good thing for him to become Lord Orochimaru's vessel.

With this thought in mind, Kimimaro once again clashed his bone blade with Kyosuke's Kusanagi sword.

But this time, Kimimaro felt that the enemy's attack was not as fierce.

While parrying Kyosuke's sharp sword and casually killing a few clones, Kimimaro could only attribute it to the fact that the other was still too young and his stamina was not keeping up.

Suddenly, Kyosuke let go of his Kusanagi sword, reached out with his right hand, and grabbed Kimimaro's arm.

Just as Kimimaro was wondering about his actions, he was surprised to find that he couldn't move.

It turned out that Kyosuke's attack just now had not been initiated by him, but by Shikamaru, who was hiding behind Naruto's clones. The purpose was to allow him and Kimimaro to make physical contact, so that his Shadow Possession Jutsu could successfully control the enemy.

Fortunately, their plan had succeeded.

Seeing Kimimaro slowly trying to break free from the shadow's bind, Kyosuke's left hand twitched, and a kunai appeared in his hand. He then thrust it at Kimimaro's throat.

"Let's see if your throat is as hard as a bone blade."

At the same time, Neji and Choji also arrived beside Kimimaro.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."

"Secret Technique: Partial Multi-Size Technique."

The attacks of the three of them thus descended upon the seemingly defenseless Kimimaro.

In this moment of crisis, the cursed seal on Kimimaro's chest suddenly spread rapidly.

With his surging chakra, he was finally able to use his ability.

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch."

The dense bone spikes that suddenly erupted from his body successfully deflected the combined attack of the three of them.

However, since this was a long-planned attack by Kyosuke, how could he let him escape so easily?

Just as Kyosuke and the others leaped away, a figure suddenly appeared behind Kimimaro.

This figure was a shadow clone of Kyosuke.

It turned out that the moment Kyosuke had pulled out his kunai, he had created a shadow clone. Its purpose was simple: to carry out a long-range ninjutsu strike.

Just as the three of them had left the enemy's side, the shadow clone's long-planned ninjutsu was unleashed.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique."

A ferocious dragon of fire descended upon Kimimaro.

At the same time, Kyosuke, who was flying backward, also used his now Level 7 hand seal speed to successfully release a ninjutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

The Great Fireball, with a slightly smaller hand seal than the Great Dragon Fire, thus slammed into Kimimaro at almost the same time.

Boom!

A massive explosion suddenly erupted on the vast plain, not only startling countless birds in the forest but also successfully attracting a rapidly advancing figure.

"What an exaggerated ninjutsu attack," Shikamaru said with admiration. At the same time, he couldn't help but ask, "This time, no matter how strong he is, he probably can't take it, right?"

Kyosuke, using his Sharingan, stared at the deep crater formed by the explosion and sighed. "Not necessarily..."

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