"Leaf Whirlwind"

Naruto's powerful counter-kick missed, and he was then slashed in the back by Kimimaro's bone spikes, causing blood to gush out. He could only retreat a few steps to dodge the attack and was completely at a disadvantage.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Just as Kimimaro was about to continue his attack, a volley of shuriken shot out from the nearby woods. These projectiles were all aimed at his vulnerable areas, such as his eyes and ears. Several were even aimed directly at Kimimaro's genitals.

Kimimaro was forced to stop his pursuit and dodge the lewd attacks.

"Dirty tactics! You have insulted the honor of battle!"

Kimimaro's state of mind was unusually disturbed by something other than Orochimaru, and he stared at the forest with a cold glint in his eyes.

"Come out, your attacks have no effect on me."

After catching his breath and suppressing the intense pain amplified by the series of battles, Kimimaro maintained a calm demeanor. His body, life, and soul existed for Lord Orochimaru. Since this ailing body was unsuitable for Lord Orochimaru, he would use his remaining life to help Lord Orochimaru obtain a suitable body!

The thought that Orochimaru-sama could obtain Sasuke Uchiha's young body made Kimimaro feel as if all the excruciating pain in his body had disappeared.

"Naruto, you continue the pursuit, we'll handle things here!"

After observing for a while, Shikamaru realized that Naruto's attacks were basically ineffective against Kimimaro, so he took over the battle and let Naruto continue chasing Sasuke.

"I will not let you hinder Lord Orochimaru's plan! Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Camellia"

Kimimaro's bone spikes had already wiped out Naruto's shadow clones. Hearing Shikamaru's words, he worried that he couldn't organize the ten Konoha ninjas on his own. He drew a bone sword that gleamed with a sharp, cold light from his left arm and charged towards Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others.

Kimimaro was agile and had a tenacious defense. The bone sword in his hand and the bone spikes on his body were unpredictable, making Shikamaru and the others feel like they were the ones being surrounded.

"Water Release: Water Bullet"

"Escape from Earth. Earth Marsh"

Ito and his friends, who had graduated a few years prior, had also learned some C-rank ninjutsu. They were currently using water bullets to attack Kimimaro's eyes and earth shovels to immobilize him. Unfortunately, all these methods were ineffective against Kimimaro's simple yet elegant taijutsu.

Kimimaro simply swung his arm to block the water bullet, while Tsuchinuma was scooped up by the bone shovel that grew from the sole of his foot.

Jingle bells!

As Kimimaro blocked the water bullet attack, a string of fine shuriken was also deflected by his body. Only his upper body clothes were slightly torn, revealing his fair and thin skin.

"Shino, Kiba, you two go after him with Naruto. Keep an eye out along the way. We'll catch up after we take care of him."

Nara Shikamaru discovered that the Parasite Bug and the Fang's secret technique were ineffective against the enemy, and with a quick thought, he called them to join Naruto in chasing after Sasuke.

"Alright, I'll leave this place to you!"

Kiba was feeling helpless against the enemy covered in bone spikes, but upon hearing Shikamaru's words, he immediately responded with renewed energy, ready to join Naruto in bypassing the enemy and continuing the chase.

How could you do that!

How could we allow you to ruin Lord Orochimaru's perfect plan!

Kimimaro was blocked by a series of shuriken flying towards his eyes, ears, and back door. Seeing that Naruto and the others were about to get past him, he suddenly became furious.

"Aaaaaah, die!"

Kimimaro stood frozen and roared. His whole body hesitated violently, and dense black lines suddenly spread across his skin, as if the blood vessels in his body had stiffened and surfaced.

Immediately, Kimimaro launched himself forward, completely ignoring the attacks from various ninjutsu and ninja tools. His speed and strength were greatly enhanced, and the attacks from Itō Tomo and Sawagoe Makoto all missed their mark.

"die!"

Kimimaro charged towards Naruto and Kiba, his face contorted in a terrifying grimace. But halfway through his charge, Kimimaro suddenly felt his body tighten, as if his legs were bound by something, preventing him from moving forward any further.

"The shadow imitation technique was a success."

Nara Shikamaru's figure suddenly appeared to the side of Kimimaro's charge route, and a black shadow snaked out from under his feet, intertwining with Kimimaro's shadow.

Taking this opportunity, Naruto and his friends exchanged glances with Shikamaru before continuing their pursuit of Sasuke.

"when?"

Kimimaro's gaze also fell on the shadow at his feet, but he didn't understand how he had been tricked. There was clearly no one in this direction just now.

"Hey, what a tough enemy," Shikamaru couldn't help but remark. "From the very beginning, it was my shadow clone that appeared. I transformed into a shuriken and was thrown to this spot by Choji just to wait for you to come over."

Shikamaru spoke eloquently while desperately controlling his shadow. Suddenly, he shouted, "Now! Make your move!"

"Yoshi!"

Akimichi's Secret Technique: Human Bomber Tank.

Choji let out an excited shout, and his originally plump body suddenly swelled up, then his head and limbs shrank in, turning him into a ball. Then, like a chariot, he rolled and crashed into Kimimaro.

Kimimaro was very puzzled by this attack. He was covered in more than a dozen sharp bone spurs. Was the other party trying to kill himself by charging at him like this?

Unexpectedly, Choji's chariot rolled at an increasingly skewed angle, eventually passing by Kimimaro just three meters away. As Kimimaro was puzzled, a clear female voice suddenly rang out in the arena.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!