**Exceptional Speed!**
Among his peers, Sasuke's speed was truly unmatched.
His sword strikes were precise and fluid, leaving no room for hesitation or wasted motion.
Facing such an assault, most would find it nearly impossible to react in time.
As Sasuke closed the distance, his handsome face and crimson Sharingan eyes—with their spinning three tomoe—came into sharp focus.
Kimimaro smiled.
"Still the same as ever. Gaining a sliver of power and thinking you're invincible. You're far from it."
Kimimaro's mocking words deepened the furrow in Sasuke's brow, a flicker of anger surfacing.
"I told you—don't talk to me in that tone!"
The three tomoe spun!
At such close range, with their eyes locked, it was the perfect moment to activate the Sharingan's genjutsu.
Furious, Sasuke poured his ocular power into the three tomoe, determined to teach Kimimaro a lesson.
Three years ago, Kimimaro had been strong, but that was in the past.
Sasuke believed he now had the strength to defeat him.
"In the face of these eyes, all resistance is futile! Kimimaro, resent the fact you lack such power!"
Certain of his victory, Sasuke declared his dominance. His Sharingan's power pierced into Kimimaro's green eyes, attempting to seize control of his mind.
But instead of triumph, Sasuke found himself stunned.
Kimimaro's mental defenses were impenetrable, like a steel wall with no gaps.
Such resilience was unlike anything Sasuke had ever encountered. His Sharingan's power, so often unstoppable, found nowhere to take hold.
"Had your fun? Then get out of my mind!"
With a sharp command, Kimimaro repelled Sasuke's influence entirely.
Sasuke staggered back two steps before regaining his footing. A streak of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth—rebound from the failed genjutsu.
"Incredible mental strength… I didn't think anyone could refine their mind to this level."
Sasuke wiped the blood away, his expression dark.
Though shaken by the setback, Sasuke didn't intend to concede. Mental fortitude didn't equate to overall strength; the battle wasn't decided yet.
"You won't beat him with genjutsu. Don't forget—he's always excelled at it," Neji interjected, stepping to Sasuke's side.
"Don't waste energy testing him. Both of you come at me. Show me what three years of growth has brought you," Kimimaro taunted, summoning a pale bone blade from his right hand.
The air around him shifted.
In an instant, Sasuke and Neji felt as though they were tiny boats in a vast ocean, battered by towering waves that could consume them at any moment.
Both displayed traces of shock.
"He's gotten even stronger," Neji thought, adopting his Gentle Fist stance.
Sasuke took a deep breath, gripping his Kusanagi sword tightly before launching his attack.
As before, Sasuke struck with blistering speed, his blade almost invisible in motion.
But this time, Kimimaro moved.
Just before Sasuke's blade could reach his throat, Kimimaro's bone sword struck the Kusanagi with precision, redirecting its path.
*Clang!*
A powerful force reverberated through Sasuke's blade, sending it skyward as it grazed harmlessly past Kimimaro's head.
Kimimaro's left hand clenched into a fist, launching a counterattack at point-blank range.
*Boom!*
The blow struck Sasuke's midsection, sending him hurtling back several meters.
Neji seamlessly took Sasuke's place. The green light of the Eight Trigrams surrounded Kimimaro.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Neji unleashed a powerful strike from afar. The shockwave surged toward Kimimaro, ruffling his white hair as it neared.
If it landed, it would easily fracture bones.
Kimimaro had no intention of taking the hit head-on. His bone sword spun, forming a shield of white light that effortlessly dispersed the attack.
Neji frowned but wasn't surprised. He followed up with a rapid flurry of strikes.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Air Palms!"
The barrage of strikes crisscrossed through the air, unpredictable and relentless, making them nearly impossible to evade.
Kimimaro quickly recognized the technique as a long-range adaptation of the Gentle Fist.
"Not bad," he remarked, his bone sword dancing as it neutralized the attacks with ease.
Before the last strike landed, Sasuke had already recovered. With a series of hand seals, flames burst forth.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Red-hot flames roared through the dim chamber, lighting up the darkness.
The synergy between Sasuke and Neji was evident; years of training had forged a deep bond between them.
As the flames surged toward Kimimaro, he extended a finger.
"Binding Spell No. 39: Round Shield Fan."
A golden barrier spun into existence, deflecting the flames.
When the smoke cleared, Sasuke and Neji were nowhere to be seen.
But Kimimaro wasn't fooled. His sensory abilities had locked onto them from the start.
"Changing the battlefield?" he mused, following their trail.
The narrow corridor gave way to a lush forest—the Hidden Sound Village's training grounds.
The moment Kimimaro stepped outside, he heard it.
The sharp chirping of a thousand birds.
Sasuke stood in the distance, cloaked in blue lightning, his crimson eyes glowing with intensity.
"Chidori!"
Sasuke charged forward, dragging the crackling lightning along the ground and carving a deep trench in his path.
The sheer speed and power of the attack were overwhelming, yet Kimimaro remained composed.
Such a direct assault left numerous openings, and he had countless opportunities to disrupt it.
Still, he didn't believe this was the extent of Sasuke's strategy.
As Sasuke closed in, Kimimaro activated his heightened senses.
Where was Neji?
In the shadows.
Kimimaro turned abruptly, slashing with his bone sword.
Behind him, Neji had appeared, his chakra-laden fist poised to strike.
"Mountain Breaker!"
The clash of bone and chakra created a shockwave, sending cracks spreading through the ground.
Kimimaro's sword pressed against Neji's fist, both refusing to yield.
"Break!" Neji roared, pouring more chakra into his strike as the earth beneath them shattered.
*Boom!*
**Reinforcements Strike Again!**
Kimimaro, caught off guard, felt an overwhelming pressure as he hastily raised his blade to defend.
*Boom!*
Kimimaro was forced backward by the sheer force.
Behind him, a piercing **Chidori** surged forward, closing the hundred-meter gap in an instant.
A pincer attack.
From the moment Kimimaro appeared, he was already ensnared in the encirclement formed by Sasuke and Neji.
Strangely, rather than frustration, Kimimaro found the situation... intriguing.
"Just how well can these two coordinate?"
Fighting either one alone would be a dull chore for Kimimaro.
But together, they might just provide an entertaining challenge.
The crackling hum of **Chidori** resounded like thunder in his ears.
Even without looking, Kimimaro could sense the razor-sharp aura of lightning surging toward him.
After all, this was said to be a blade capable of cutting through lightning itself.
Without hesitation, Kimimaro turned, his left hand morphing into a deadly weapon.
A jet-black claw, glowing ominously, emerged from his hand.
**Soul-Rending Iron Claw!**
**Sword of the Clow Card!**
Five black streaks of light lashed out, as though tearing through the fabric of space itself.
*Boom!*
The **Chidori** collided with the **Soul-Rending Iron Claw**, resulting in a stalemate.
Both fighters retreated a step, disengaging momentarily.
Sasuke's expression darkened.
Despite the power he'd built up over such a long charge, his **Chidori** could only match a hurried counter from Kimimaro.
"Is the gap really this wide?"
The clash did not dampen the intensity of the fight. If anything, it pushed it to the next level.
Neji and Sasuke opted for close-quarters combat.
With Sasuke's **Kusanagi Blade** and Neji's gentle but lethal **Gentle Fist**, their synchronized attacks showcased their growing rapport.
Kimimaro, wielding his **Bone Blade**, deftly evaded and parried, playing along for now.
Sasuke's sword style had grown distinct, bearing a personal flair.
Neji, on the other hand, had evolved his **Gentle Fist**, developing new, potent techniques.
Though they managed to pose a threat under joint assault, Kimimaro remained unfazed.
In terms of taijutsu, Neji outclassed Sasuke.
The **Byakugan**, a dojutsu specialized for taijutsu, enabled Neji to focus all his training on perfecting the **Gentle Fist**, leading to rapid improvement.
Sasuke, however, spread his attention between swordsmanship and ninjutsu, making his taijutsu slightly less refined.
Still, his versatile combat style allowed him to adapt against a variety of foes without becoming easily countered.
"Impressive teamwork," Kimimaro remarked coldly, "but this is where it ends. My body's fully warmed up now."
Kimimaro extended his left hand, producing a second **Bone Blade**.
**Dual-Wielding Style.**
With the second blade, Kimimaro's demeanor shifted.
His attack speed doubled.
Spinning both blades like a whirlwind, he filled the battlefield with streaking shadows of swords, leaving Sasuke and Neji unable to close the gap.
Instead, the pair found themselves under constant threat, Kimimaro's strikes narrowly missing their vital points.
"**Chidori Sharp Spear!**"
Forced back several meters, Sasuke refused to relent.
The **Chidori** transformed into a blue lightning spear in his hand, thrusting toward Kimimaro.
Yet before the spear could connect, Kimimaro's **Bone Blades** intercepted it mid-air.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
In mere moments, the lightning spear—crafted purely from chakra—was shattered into dozens of fragments under Kimimaro's relentless strikes.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Sasuke's pupils contracted as Kimimaro suddenly appeared inches away.
Startled, Sasuke unleashed a burst of electrical energy from his body.
"**Chidori Current!**"
An all-encompassing defensive technique, the **Chidori Current** shocked anything within range.
Electric arcs surged onto Kimimaro's body, but he remained unaffected.
"No way… It didn't work?"
Sasuke was stunned.
The lightning from **Chidori Current** was akin to a Pikachu's **Thunderbolt**, far from lethal to someone like Kimimaro, who had grown accustomed to such shocks.
Kimimaro twisted his right blade, striking the hilt against Sasuke's shoulder with pinpoint accuracy.
The precise force numbed Sasuke's arm, causing him to drop the **Kusanagi Blade**.
"Damn it!" Sasuke cursed internally.
Meanwhile, Kimimaro turned his attention to Neji.
As though possessing eyes in the back of his head, Kimimaro swung his sword behind him, aiming for the incoming Hyuga.
Neji narrowly avoided the slash with a backflip, pivoting mid-air to lunge forward, spinning into a devastating attack.
**Rotational Strike!**
He had modified the defensive **Rotation** technique into an offensive maneuver, balancing offense and defense while enhancing his mobility.
Kimimaro retreated momentarily, creating distance.
However, Neji closed in quickly.
Kimimaro muttered an incantation:
"**Binding Art 81: Splitting Void!**"
An invisible barrier materialized, absorbing the full force of Neji's spinning assault.
The attack stopped abruptly, leaving Neji disoriented.
Kimimaro calmly observed their battered forms.
"Enough," he declared. "I've seen what you're capable of."
Sasuke, clutching his shoulder, glared defiantly.
"This isn't over," he spat, determination burning in his gaze.
"My power is just getting started!"
A dark mark spread across Sasuke's body, engulfing him.
A cross-shaped sigil appeared between his eyes, and his form transformed into something monstrous.
From his back sprouted grotesque, hand-like wings, exuding a menacing chakra that burst forth, forcibly breaking the blockage in his shoulder.
"The **Curse Mark**… I'd nearly forgotten about that."
Kimimaro's interest piqued as Sasuke's aura surged exponentially.
This was the full power of Sasuke after three years of training.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, Sasuke closed the gap, driving a powerful punch into Kimimaro's crossed arms.
The force sent Kimimaro skidding several meters.
"Impressive," Kimimaro mused, shaking his hands. "That hit had weight."
Sasuke's fingers formed a seal.
"**Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!**"
Three fiery dragon heads burst forth, each radiating intense heat that seemed to warp the surrounding air.
Leaping into the air, Sasuke unleashed them in rapid succession, encircling Kimimaro.
"**Azure Dragon Rend!**"
Kimimaro responded, slashing with his **Bone Blade**, summoning an azure dragon-shaped energy that shielded him.
The azure dragon roared as it clashed with the flames, creating a storm of power between the two.