Chapter 65: Fierce Battle

Chapter 65: Fierce Battle

Chapter 65: Fierce Battle

The crows cawed sharply as they once again separated from Uchiha Itachi's body.

"Bracken Dance!"

Kimimaro's eyes flickered as bone spikes extended from all over his body, and he began to spin at high speed, elegantly yet ruthlessly clearing all the surrounding crows.

But it wasn't over yet.

Kimimaro swung his spine-whip backward with force.

"I've got you!"

Uchiha Itachi's true body appeared right there.

Slash!

Blood splattered.

The bone spikes pierced through Itachi's hand.

Just as Kimimaro was about to press his advantage further, Itachi's perpetually calm voice rang out, "Are you sure what you see is real?"

Kimimaro's pupils shrank. Sensing something, he quickly looked up.

Unbeknownst to him, the previously clear sky had turned blood red, and a pair of ominous Sharingan eyes were coldly watching him from above.

"Genjutsu? When?"

Kimimaro's expression changed. He couldn't understand; he hadn't looked directly into the Sharingan.Nêww chapters will be fully updated at novelhall.com

Itachi, now hovering in the sky with his uninjured hand touching a ring on his other hand, looked down at Kimimaro and said, "Welcome to my world."

---

“Human Boulder!”

Amid the sound of collapsing trees, the expanded Akimichi Choji transformed into a large, high-speed spinning ball, rolling forward with billowing smoke, fiercely charging at the enemy ahead.

"Dodge!"

Kidomaru and Tayuya swiftly sidestepped the inevitable collision path.

A long shadow had already stretched from Nara Shikamaru’s feet to the Human Boulder.

“This quickly? It's harmful to our bodies,” Tayuya remarked, though she followed suit, activating the first level of the Curse Seal.

Dark, eerie lines spread across their bodies instantly.

Neji scanned with his Byakugan and noticed the surge in their chakra, power, and speed, as well as the sinister and cold nature of their chakra. He quickly warned, “Be careful. They’ve used some secret technique and are much stronger now.”

“Just like Sasuke back then,” Naruto recalled the strange dark lines on Sasuke.

“This is going to be troublesome.”

As the captain, Shikamaru gathered battlefield information and frowned deeply. The Sound Four's strength exceeded his expectations.

“Let’s hope the nearby Konoha reinforcements arrive soon.”

Otherwise, even if they defeated the Sound Four here, they wouldn’t have the energy to pursue Sasuke.

“Hahaha! Konoha brats, prepare to meet your end!”

Roaring arrogantly, Jirobo, seemingly influenced by the Curse Seal, bellowed.

The ground trembled as an even fiercer battle erupted once more.

Minutes later, with the Sound Four having entered the second stage of the Curse Seal, and Shikamaru’s team struggling with injured members, the reinforcements finally arrived.

Boom~~

Massive amounts of sand rose from the ground, forming an enormous shield that blocked all the Sound Four's attacks.

“Is it them?”

Surprise flickered in Shikamaru's eyes.

Soon, a familiar female voice rang out, “Responding to Konoha’s request, the Sand reinforcements have arrived.”

Shikamaru turned to see Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara appearing before their team.

“Didn’t expect it to be you guys,” he sighed in relief.

Temari smiled and explained, “With Konoha short on manpower, the Sand, as allies, had to help. Thanks to your distress signal, we got here faster.”

Thanks to Shikamaru's initial delaying tactics and signal for help, the Sand reinforcements arrived much sooner than expected.

Shikamaru glanced around at his injured but still-standing teammates, feeling some relief in his first mission as a leader.

But Sasuke...

Thinking of something, Shikamaru looked at the still energetic Naruto.