"I have no interest in dancing with you!" Kanon said coldly, launching a rapid offensive. Her hands blurred into signs.
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive orb of rolling flames roared directly toward Kimimaro!
Kimimaro remained expressionless as he banked to the side, attempting to evade the lethal attack. However, a single shuriken suddenly whistled out from the very heart of the flames.
"I see." Kimimaro moved to parry with his bone blade, but his eyes widened when he saw Kanon was already weaving a new set of signs.
So fast! Kimimaro was stunned by her hand speed.
"You haven't seen everything yet!" With Kanon's shout, the lone shuriken multiplied into dozens, raining down on Kimimaro like a sudden storm.
It was a clever combination of a clone feint and the fireball. Hidden by the flames, her final clone had flanked him and unleashed the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Kimimaro swung his bone sword frantically in mid-air, but several shuriken still managed to bite into his flesh.
Kanon leapt lightly into the air. Her kunai, trailing a sharp whistle like a falling star, streaked toward Kimimaro.
Faced with this sudden assault, Kimimaro didn't panic. His body shifted with weightless grace to dodge the strike. Simultaneously, the bones in his arm elongated, transforming into a jagged blade that whipped back toward Kanon.
Kanon performed an elegant mid-air flip, narrowly avoiding the counter. With a flick of her finger, she released a fundamental C-rank technique—Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique.
Several blades of wind shot silently toward Kimimaro. He merely sneered. The bones across his body writhed like living organisms, rapidly hardening into a series of overlapping shields that easily deflected the wind.
"As I thought... this guy is trouble..." Kanon landed, gripping her kunai as she stared down Kimimaro.
"You truly are a prodigy of the Uchiha. Your ninjutsu and shurikenjutsu are eye-opening," Kimimaro remarked. "But for the sake of Orochimaru-sama's dream, I must keep you here."
"Kanon Uchiha, for this second movement, I ask you to dance with me once more."
…
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura faced Orochimaru, both locked in a combat stance.
Orochimaru slowly pulled an Earth Scroll from his pocket.
Though currently inhabiting a female body, he let out a strange, androgynous cackle. "You want our Earth Scroll, don't you?"
"After all, you're the ones carrying the Heaven Scroll."
Before their eyes, Orochimaru swallowed the scroll whole.
As the scroll vanished down his throat, a flash of pure malice crossed his eyes. A paralyzing aura of death filled the air. Sakura and Sasuke were suddenly assaulted by a vision of their own gruesome deaths.
In that single instant, Sasuke's will to fight shattered. He turned his head stiffly toward Sakura.
"Sakura... are you okay?"
Sakura was beyond terrified. She sat paralyzed on the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. She was completely catatonic.
It's a genjutsu! Why can't I move?! Sasuke grit his teeth, his heart filled with self-loathing. With such a cowardly side to me, how can I ever get revenge? How can I protect my sister so she doesn't have to worry?!
No, this isn't genjutsu... it's pure bloodlust! Who is this person?! Sasuke's legs gave out. I have to get us out of here!
Sensing Orochimaru was about to strike, Sasuke, in a fit of desperation, drove his kunai deep into his own thigh.
The searing pain snapped his mind back to reality. He grabbed Sakura and lunged to the side, flickering away from the immediate area.
Hiding behind a tree, both were panting heavily. It had been far too close. One wrong move and their lives would have been over.
Sakura watched Sasuke pull the kunai from his leg, finally regaining her senses. "Sasuke, are you...?"
But Sasuke was losing his composure. He clamped his hand over Sakura's mouth to keep her quiet. He grit his teeth, trying to formulate a strategy, but his usual calm was so frayed he didn't even notice the giant snake looming behind them.
"Sasuke! A snake!"
The massive serpent opened its maw to swallow them whole. Sasuke and Sakura barely managed to leap out of its reach.
For the first time, Sasuke felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat. Terror had completely seized his body.
"Stay back! Don't come near me!" He hurled several shuriken, piercing the giant snake's head.
As the snake slumped to the ground, Sasuke fell to his knees on a tree branch, gasping for air. But it wasn't over. His two-tomoe Sharingan spun frantically as Orochimaru's body emerged from within the dead snake's skin.
"You cannot let your guard down for even a second. A true prey must stay alert and keep running..."
"Especially in the presence of a predator!"
Orochimaru's body wound around the branches like a true serpent as he lunged toward Sasuke.
Sasuke was paralyzed with fear; he had even forgotten how to run. Just as Orochimaru was about to reach him, a kunai and three shuriken slammed into the predator's path, forcing him to halt.
"Sorry, Sasuke."
Sakura and Sasuke looked up toward the voice.
It was Naruto. He stood atop a branch, arms crossed, calmly observing the scene below.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried out, her face lighting up with joy.
"The password? I totally forgot it!"
…
Clang!
The moment Kimimaro's bone sword collided with Kanon's kunai, she drove a heavy punch into his face, forcing him back.
"Move!" Kanon shouted urgently. She had heard her brother's scream from the distance, and her heart was burning with anxiety.
"The dance is not over. I cannot let you pass."
"Dammit!" Kanon roared, her teeth bared. Kimimaro was not someone she could push past easily.
She began to weave signs rapidly. She knew this jutsu was dangerous, but she had no choice.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
BOOM!
With a thunderous roar, a literal sea of flames erupted from her mouth.
Faced with such a colossal blast, even the ever-calm Kimimaro's pupils contracted. The wall of fire was unstoppable. Escape seemed impossible.
However, he realized that if he moved laterally at maximum speed, he might clear the radius. Kimimaro retracted his bone sword and funneled chakra into his legs. He moved with the speed of a flicker, kicking up a storm of dust as he tried to outrun the inferno.
Just a bit further... the range of this jutsu!
Just as Kimimaro thought he was clear, a figure lunged out from the very heart of the sea of fire.
"Impossible!"
Kanon's jacket was scorched and smoldering, but she ignored the searing pain. Her three-tomoe Sharingan was spinning at a dizzying speed.
"I told you to..."
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"
With a furious roar, a brilliant blue Rasengan formed in her left hand, shining through the embers. She slammed it directly into Kimimaro's chest.
I can't dodge! Kimimaro's momentum was too great to change direction. As Kanon's Sharingan locked onto him, a subtle genjutsu disrupted his consciousness for a split second.
CRASH!
The Rasengan exploded against Kimimaro's chest. The shockwave sent him spiraling through the air, snapping several massive trees before he finally slumped into unconsciousness.
Kanon immediately wove a set of signs as a curtain of water appeared behind her.
"Water Release: Water Wall..."
The surging water extinguished the flames on her back. She frowned, deactivating her Sharingan. The back of her jacket was charred, revealing the black mesh armor beneath. She looked troubled; she knew that desperate charge wasn't her best tactical choice.
But there was no time to waste. Kanon immediately dashed toward the direction where she had heard Sasuke's scream.