Driven by the wind and lightning chakra, the metal projectile shot out at terrifying speed, firing straight toward Kimimaro, who was slowly walking toward Sasuke step by step.
Kimimaro also sensed the danger coming from behind and quickly raised his arms to defend himself.
With a bang, the projectile slammed into Kimimaro's arm, leaving behind a blood hole several centimeters deep, almost piercing straight through it.
A trace of fear appeared on Kimimaro's face. He quickly looked around for the enemy's location and soon spotted Karin, Haku, and the others rushing over while already in their Curse Mark forms.
With the amplification of the Earth Curse Mark, Kimimaro's speed and strength increased once again.
Pitch-black markings spread across his body while a layer of bone armor covered his skin. Bone blades condensed from his body and shot toward Karin and Haku in the distance.
The two exchanged a glance before immediately pulling out their chakra guns and pouring chakra into them to activate the weapons.
This time, Kimimaro finally saw the trajectory of the projectiles and instantly accelerated toward Haku and Karin. Only by eliminating these two obstacles could he continue Orochimaru-sama's mission.
After losing Kimimaro's pressure, Sasuke finally breathed a sigh of relief, though his expression became even uglier.
The ninjas supporting him were actually Karin and Haku from Uzushio Village. In terms of raw strength, they might not necessarily surpass him, but the weapons in their hands made even him feel uneasy.
If those weapons could pierce Kimimaro's bone blades, piercing his flesh wouldn't be difficult either.
At most, he could deal with three of those projectiles at the same time, and even then, getting injured would be highly likely. Uzushio Village was obviously just a small ninja village, so why the hell were monster ninjas appearing there one after another?
Dragging his arm, which had been scratched by a bone blade, Sasuke looked toward Kiba and Shino approaching nearby and gritted his teeth.
"Shino, the enemy isn't a Chunin Exam candidate. We need to find a way to get rid of him."
Shino and Kiba exchanged glances before looking toward Naruto and Hinata's location.
An enemy that even Sasuke couldn't defeat was beyond the two of them. If they wanted to deal with this powerful ninja, they would probably need Menma and Hinata to step in.
What Sasuke and the others failed to notice was that more and more venomous snakes had begun gathering in the nearby grass.
On a tree trunk not far away, Naruto blew lightly on the smoking barrel before stuffing it into Hinata's arms.
"The power of chakra guns isn't bad. Combined with the Byakugan, you'd even have a chance to hunt down Jonin-level ninjas. Keep it for self-defense."
I'm actually really strong too...
Hinata desperately wanted to say that, but she still obediently accepted the gift.
However, after receiving it, she immediately started wondering what she should give Naruto in return. Gifts between ninjas were usually ninjutsu scrolls or weapons, but Naruto-kun clearly didn't need either of those, leaving her completely conflicted.
Maybe gloves and scarves like before?
But those were gifts usually exchanged between lovers...
Back then, she had been too young to understand that...
Naruto noticed Hinata's conflicted expression and gently patted her shoulder.
"Hinata, let's deal with Kimimaro first. If we only rely on Haku and Karin, it'll become a tough fight."
"Is Naruto-kun also wary of Kimimaro?"
Naruto lightly shook his head.
"Ninjas at his level aren't my responsibility to handle. Go help deal with Kimimaro first. I just spotted an old friend of mine. Maybe he's hiding somewhere in the dark, spying on us."
As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, leaving behind only a faint breeze.
After Naruto left, Hinata picked up the chakra gun that was nearly taller than she was and jumped down toward Kimimaro's position.
She might not be Kimimaro's opponent, but she had recently defeated a Jonin-level clansman and also possessed the same bloodline abilities as Kimimaro.
Very soon, Hinata joined the battle surrounding Kimimaro.
Kimimaro didn't take Hinata seriously at all. How much combat power could a female ninja who looked gentle and delicate possibly have?
However, with her Byakugan, she could clearly see the flow of chakra inside a ninja's body, which was still troublesome.
Using an inch punch, he forced back Karin and Haku before instantly appearing in front of Hinata, raising the bone spur in his hand.
Hinata, who had already activated the Eight Trigrams field, calmly responded to Kimimaro's attacks, blocking every physical strike while intentionally exposing a flaw.
Hinata didn't miss the opportunity. She stepped forward and rapidly unleashed a flurry of palms.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"
Busy dealing with attacks from multiple directions, Kimimaro was accidentally struck by Gentle Fist, but his expression remained unchanged.
Although Gentle Fist looked soft and graceful, it was actually a technique designed to attack chakra points. It could seal chakra flow while bypassing external defense and directly damaging the enemy's internal organs.
That was why most enemies defeated by Hyuga clan ninjas looked perfectly fine on the outside while their insides were practically turned into swiss cheese.
However, with the enhancement of the Bone Release bloodline and the Earth Curse Mark, Kimimaro's internal organs had long been tempered to abnormal levels. Even the Fourth Kazekage, who mastered Magnet Release, wouldn't be able to easily damage his body.
The only thing he truly had to worry about was his bloodline disease.
According to Orochimaru-sama, the stronger his Bone Release became, the closer he moved toward death. This was the fate of the Kaguya Clan—to spend their lives dying amid endless war.
At that moment, Kimimaro suddenly felt a sharp pain.
A massive hole had been pierced through his abdomen.
Kimimaro frowned and looked toward the bone spikes extending from Hinata's arms.
These were clearly Bone Release spikes condensed from the Dead Bone Pulse. Why did a Hyuga female ninja possess the Kaguya Clan's Bloodline Limit?
Not only Kimimaro, but even Haku, Karin, and Sasuke in the distance all frowned at the sight.
Why did Hinata possess the same bloodline ability as Kimimaro?
Still, for the current battle, this was undoubtedly a good thing. Finally, someone could match Kimimaro head-on in taijutsu.
...
At that moment, a female ninja wearing a hat suddenly appeared behind Sasuke and bit down on his neck like lightning.
Before Sasuke could react, dozens of venomous snakes burst from the bushes and lunged at Kiba and Shino, forcing the two, who had been about to rescue Sasuke, backward.
Sasuke clutched his neck and stared warily at the mysterious ninja in front of him.
He recognized this person. She was one of the Chunin Exam candidates.
But why had she attacked him?
Could she be allied with the Bone Release ninja in the distance?
The female ninja looked at Sasuke as though admiring a beautiful work of art and said lightly:
"You're truly young and full of vitality. If you want to know Uchiha Itachi's whereabouts, come with me."
He knows where Itachi is?!
Sasuke's emotions instantly exploded, and just as he was about to question her further, the female ninja had already disappeared into the dense forest.
After hesitating for only a moment, Sasuke glanced toward Kiba and Shino nearby. After confirming they could hold off the enemy for now, he immediately chased after her without hesitation.
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