"How unexpected, it seems my Wind Release isn't quite there yet."
Rasa knelt on one knee, gasping in pain, his eyes locked firmly ahead.
The Third Kazekage was repairing its severed body, but the red-haired girl further ahead made Rasa's gaze even more terrified and solemn.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Slash? You've got to be kidding me!]
Sunagakure had always been known for its Wind Release, but the power of the Vacuum Slash Amane just released far exceeded Rasa's understanding!
As a Kage-level expert, and since Amane hadn't deliberately hidden her movements, Rasa had naturally been on guard the entire time.
Under such a premise...
Amane's strike first rendered the Third Kazekage combat-ineffective. This allowed Rasa's suppressed Gold Dust to be fully utilized in an instant.
Immediately after, that vacuum wind blade actually tore straight through his Gold Dust defense and slashed him ruthlessly!
[It felt like the wind seeped through the gaps in the Gold Dust?! How is that possible! Could there really be a Ninja in this world with that level of control?!]
Rasa felt horrified!
If the perception transmitted through the Gold Dust was correct, the Chakra control and manipulation of the red-haired girl before him had already entered a non-human realm!
But Rasa did not despair; he knew he had only suffered a loss in the initial exchange. Next time, as long as he made the Gold Dust into a dense, solid mass, this kind of vacuum blade would find it difficult to threaten him again.
One had to admit that Rasa was worthy of the title of Kazekage; in just one battle, he had gained insight into the mystery of Amane's move and the most terrifying aspect of her Sage Mode.
Even the most ordinary vacuum blade, when bolstered by that freakish perception and control, possessed a nimble quality that was almost "alive."
Even so, Rasa wasn't cut in half by the single strike, showing that the Gold Dust defense had indeed played a key role in weakening it.
Next time, Amane's results would definitely not be as good.
Of course, that was assuming there was a next time.
"You're paying too much attention to what's in front of you."
A cold voice rang out from behind.
Puchi!
The kusanagi sword in Orochimaru's hand pierced through Rasa's heart.
"Damn it... Sunagakure will, sooner or later..."
Rasa stammered out his last words, but when the kusanagi sword was abruptly pulled out by Orochimaru, his last spark of life was completely severed.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, perished then and there.
Orochimaru leaned over to straighten Rasa's corpse, his gaze falling on the wound heavily inflicted by Amane, his lips curling up in pleasure.
[The lungs were slashed, and the stomach was punctured. Even without Lord Orochimaru's strike, he likely wouldn't have survived, unless... Amane or Karin and Jugo teamed up to treat him.]
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses, making a silent judgment in his heart.
As a top-tier Medical Ninja, Kabuto's judgment was undoubtedly authoritative.
Thinking of this, Kabuto suddenly felt that the medical configuration of their Otogakure seemed ridiculously high.
At the same time, he looked at the purple eyeshadow fading from around Amane's eyes, showing an inscrutable expression.
"Good work, Amane," Orochimaru said, looking up after handling the matter at hand. "You can return to Otogakure now. Karin will arrange teammates for you. Next, we'll meet again at the Chunin Exams."
Afterward, Orochimaru began to disassemble Rasa's corpse, while Yakushi Kabuto carefully peeled off the Kazekage's facial tissue to use as material for the Vanishing Facial Copy Technique.
Watching this scene, Amane couldn't help but shake her head. Even a Ninja's corpse possessed immense intelligence and value; having followed Orochimaru for these years, she had truly gained a lot of insight into this fact.
"Then, goodbye. Thank you for the gift."
Although Amane's own strength accounted for the majority of it, and there was the advantage of a first-time encounter, Rasa would have only suffered minor injuries without the amplification from the kusanagi sword.
After all, Amane had chosen a frontal assault.
"As long as you're satisfied. Amane, don't forget what I told you two years ago."
Orochimaru reminded her with a smile before continuing to bury himself in the work at hand.
With Rasa dead, Orochimaru was about to become busier than ever before.
He had to impersonate the Kazekage, coordinate swaps with Yakushi Kabuto, and then personally go to the Chunin Exams to test Sasuke.
This very occasion might be the last day Amane and Orochimaru stood in the same camp.
Using the Reverse Summoning Technique, Amane returned to the Otogakure base.
[I'm not much different. Returning from the Land of Waves to get the kusanagi sword, then immediately rushing to the Land of Wind for a mission, and now instantly reverse-summoning back, only to set off for Konoha immediately...]
Sensing Karin's location in the underground training ground, Amane couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Orochimaru's plight.
Things have certainly gotten busy.
But for their respective goals, it was all worth it!
Amane opened the door to the underground training ground. According to her perception, Karin was inside, but it seemed Kimimaro was there as well.
Wasn't he sent away by Orochimaru for a mission?
Click.
The door opened, and she immediately saw a familiar white figure, face full of fury, looking at the Amane who opened the door with eyes full of hatred.
Bang!
Amane slammed the door shut, her heart skipping a beat.
It was easy to deduce why Kimimaro would show such an expression the moment he saw her.
It seems the secret is out.
Click! Click! Click!
Amane pressed down firmly on the door handle, acting as if she couldn't hear the unsettling sounds, while her mind raced to find a countermeasure.
In the blink of an eye, a sharp light flashed through her azure pupils.
Bang!
"Uzumaki Amane! You actually—!"
"This is Lord Orochimaru's expectation."
"Ugh...!"
The moment he heard that lord's name, Kimimaro reflexively swallowed the words he wanted to explode with.
"But even so, you shouldn't..."
"You repeatedly say you'd give everything for Lord Orochimaru, yet you disregard his true intentions?"
Kimimaro's face turned deathly pale, as if struck by a heavy hammer, and he staggered back a step. Amane's words had accurately pierced his deepest inner contradiction!
If he were truly devoted to Orochimaru, then shouldn't Orochimaru's choice to take Amane instead of him be something he accepted?
If he were wholeheartedly for Orochimaru, then wasn't the other party's choice to take Amane over him exactly what he should accept calmly? Conversely, wouldn't that expose that his inner obsession was merely to satisfy his own desire for sacrifice, running completely contrary to the path he believed in?
Seeing Kimimaro fall into self-doubt, the corners of Amane's mouth curled into a "plan successful" smirk.
Fight me? Struggle while sinking into the whirlpool of your own self-contradiction!
Ultimately, it was mainly because in the world of Naruto, the growth environment for the vast majority of Ninjas was too "deformed." Whether it was Kimimaro, or Haku and Zabuza in the original work, or even Sasori in the Akatsuki, they essentially all had this problem.
They only dared to face their true hearts when they were finally about to die. Only then would they understand or remember what they truly wanted.
"You, think about it carefully," Amane's tone softened. "Also, Snake Aunt wanted me to tell you that while there is currently no cure for your illness, the future is not without hope."
Under Karin's reverent gaze, Amane walked into the training ground with confident and composed steps, leaving the despondent Kimimaro, lost in endless thought, behind... The Chunin Exams arc begins tomorrow.
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