Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master!

Scorpion's gaze swept over Kimimaro inch by inch.

"Not only has the density of chakra increased, but the body has also undergone this level of change."

The changes brought about by the second state of the cursed seal were not just about skin color and appearance. Kimimaro's chakra was flowing at a much faster rate than before, the gray bone spurs had become thicker, and the grayish-white bone on the surface had become increasingly dull.

Scorpion's interest grew stronger.

"Boy, I can't wait to turn you into a puppet."

"My body is only worthy of Lord Orochimaru." As Kimimaro finished speaking, his thick tail swept out and slapped the sand with a loud crack.

Large swathes of yellow sand exploded to both sides, and he used the recoil to leap into the air, like a cannonball fired straight at the Third Kazekage puppet suspended in mid-air.

"Then let me see if your bones are hard enough to withstand this black Dead Sea."

The chakra threads connecting the Third Kazekage suddenly straightened.

"Magnetic Release: Iron Sand Boundary Technique!"

The cloud of iron sand that had been gathered around the Third Kazekage suddenly exploded.

Countless dark branches extended from within the cloud, their tips sharp as spears, intersecting and forking each other, forming in the blink of an eye an iron sand barrier that was still expanding.

The black iron thorns spread out in all directions from the Third Kazekage as the center, with one part running horizontally across the sky and the other part spiking down from above.

Wherever it passed, the air was torn apart, and several sand dunes below were pierced through, causing the loose sand to collapse with a roar.

Kimimaro was in mid-air when his paths in all directions were blocked by iron spikes.

"Hey! Scorpion, are you crazy?!"

Deidara, who had been sitting and watching the show, suddenly changed his expression and quickly sculpted a large white clay bird.

He flipped and leaped onto the bird's back, maneuvering it to skim past two intersecting black iron spikes, then soared dozens of meters into the air before narrowly escaping the expanding barrier.

"So close! Just a hair's breadth away from turning me into a piece of roast meat, hmm!"

Deidara, perched on the bird's back and facing downwards in protest, had his initial excitement for the spectacle replaced by a cold sweat.

The other pocket also lost its relaxed expression.

He retreated rapidly before the first iron spike fell, crossing several low sand dunes in succession, creating a distance of several hundred meters in one breath, and could still see the black iron spikes constantly splitting and growing in front of him.

"Even the space to dodge has been sealed off..."

Looking at the black barrier that covered most of the sky, his gaze behind his glasses also darkened.

"Is this the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release?"

Faced with the iron sand and thorns pressing in from all directions, Kimimaro did not retreat.

He forcefully turned his body in mid-air, and several thick gray bones swept horizontally behind him, slightly deflecting the two sand iron branches that were the first to stab at him.

Taking advantage of this brief moment of opening, Kimimaro quickly plummeted back to the ground, and as his feet touched the ground, the surrounding sand sank downwards.

"For Lord Orochimaru..."

Kimimaro bent down and slammed both palms heavily into the dry, scorching sand.

"Corpse Bone Pulse: Dance of the Early Fern!"

A muffled rumble came from deep underground, starting as just one or two sounds, but then it became a continuous roar.

The sandy ground within a radius of several hundred meters undulated violently, as if some enormous creature was turning over underground.

The next moment, a gray-white bone spear pierced through the sand and shot straight into the air.

Then came ten, a hundred, and more and more.

Countless thick, gray bone spurs sprouted from the depths of the desert, each one several meters tall.

The sharp tip, carrying scattered yellow sand, rose against the tide, and in just a few breaths, the once empty desert was completely occupied by a gray-white bone forest that stretched as far as the eye could see.

After stabilizing his bloodline disease with the Sharingan, Kimimaro not only regained the complete shaping ability of the Shikotsumyaku, but also pushed this power to another level in Cursed Seal State 2.

The gray bone forest rose from the ground, carrying the same corrosive properties as the previous bone spikes, and faced head-on the black iron net that pressed down from the sky.

The Sand Iron Realm Law, which descended from the sky and split continuously, collided head-on in mid-air with the Early Fern Dance, which grew against the odds from the ground.

The sounds of intense collisions blended together, iron spikes snapped, bone spears shattered, and black sand and grayish-white bone fragments flew in all directions.

The corrosive nature of the ash bones caused white smoke to rise from the surface of many branches of iron sand, while the magnetic escape continuously pulled the scattered iron sand to fill the gaps. The two forces squeezed and pierced each other, and neither could completely overwhelm the other in a short period of time.

The center of the battle quickly transformed into a true death zone.

The fine sand whipped up by the wind was crushed into pieces by the crisscrossing iron spikes and bone spears as soon as it got close, leaving no place to even step.

"That's... amazing."

Dou stood at a safe distance, his fingers trembling slightly as he held onto his glasses.

After witnessing the experimental results far exceed expectations, it was hard for Dou, with his scientific spirit, not to be excited.

He knew Kimimaro had become stronger, but he hadn't expected that after the cursed seal was fully released, Kimimaro would be able to perform the Dance of the Early Ferns to this extent.

……

At the same time, several miles away.

Orochimaru was speeding along the continuous sand dunes, carrying an unconscious red-haired boy on his shoulder. It was none other than Gaara, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast.

Kabuto was tasked with luring Sasori and Deidara out of Sunagakure, while Kimimaro intercepted the two outside the village to buy him time.

With everyone's attention firmly focused on the battle, Orochimaru was able to take advantage of the vulnerability within Sunagakure and quietly abduct Gaara.

The plan was originally going smoothly.

However, when Orochimaru stepped onto a higher sand dune, he suddenly stopped.

Not far ahead, atop another sand dune, a man wearing an orange swirling mask stood quietly.

The black robe with red clouds fluttered in the hot wind, while the single eye behind the mask's hole stared intently at Gaara on Orochimaru's shoulder.

"I never expected that you would be the one to stop me in the end."

Orochimaru sized up Obito, his face still showing his usual playful expression.

"I knew it. You had Kabuto make such a big commotion not just to settle old scores with Sasori." Obito no longer used Tobi's comical tone and said in a deep voice, "The real target was indeed the One-Tailed Jinchuriki, after all, by luring Sasori and Deidara out of Sunagakure."

When they chased Kabuto out of the village earlier, Obito deliberately broke away from him, realizing that Kabuto's escape route was too deliberate and that he was clearly trying to lead them away from Sunagakure.

When Sasori saw Kabuto, all he could think about was Orochimaru, and Deidara just wanted to find an opportunity to show off his artistic talent.

Obito, however, always remembered their true purpose in coming to Sunagakure. After realizing something was wrong, he deliberately lagged behind and went back alone to investigate, which is how he intercepted Orochimaru halfway.

"Hehehe..."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Don't be so serious. Your recent search for Jinchuriki has really piqued my curiosity. What secrets are hidden within the bodies of the Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki? I just want to borrow him for a few days to study him. Why are you so tense?"

"Put the person down."

Obito's tone left no room for negotiation: "You can't take the One-Tailed Jinchuriki with you."

The ownership of the Jinchūriki will still determine all the arrangements to come.

Although Obito is no longer as obsessed with the Eye of the Moon Plan as he used to be, he is even less likely to stand by and watch the Tailed Beasts fall into the hands of people like Madara Uchiha or Orochimaru.

As for Orochimaru's claim of borrowing it for research, that's just to fool others.

Orochimaru's smile gradually faded.

Their relationship was originally based on mutual exploitation.

So-called cooperation is nothing more than each party needing what the other has; neither party has ever truly trusted the other.

"We have indeed made some deals," Orochimaru said coldly, "but that's none of your business. I never need anyone's approval to do what I want to research."

Before he finished speaking, his left hand, which was hanging by his side, suddenly reached out.

Several thick pythons shot out from his sleeve, their mouths wide open, biting at Obito's vital points from different directions.

The Shadow Serpent Hands were launched without warning, and the pythons sealed off each other's gaps, blocking all conventional evasive maneuvers.

When facing the Sharingan, direct eye contact is undoubtedly the most foolish choice.

Orochimaru never intended to slowly test Obito from the beginning; he wanted to force out Obito's weaknesses as quickly as possible and then leave with Gaara immediately.

Obito stood still, neither forming hand seals nor dodging.

Orochimaru's wariness only intensified.

This man had already shown him his kaleidoscope of talents; he was definitely not here to die.

The fact that they don't dodge only means that the other party has something else to rely on.

Sure enough, the next moment, the python at the front pierced through Obito's chest.

There was no blood, nor the resistance one would expect when colliding with a solid object.

The snake's body seemed to pierce through a non-existent image, and finally, unable to stop its momentum, it fell into the sand behind it.

Obito remained standing in the same spot.

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes suddenly contracted.

Did they pass through?

He had roamed the ninja world for many years and had seen countless strange ninjutsu, but he had never seen such an ability to suddenly vanish into nothingness.

"Foolish." A calm voice came from behind Obito's mask. "My body is not something you can touch."

The three jet-black magatama spun rapidly, unleashing the accumulated power of their eyes.

The surprise he felt just now ultimately caused a gap to appear in his mental defenses.

Orochimaru felt as if a nail had pierced the depths of his mind, and the surrounding yellow sand instantly turned blood red.

The distorted vortex surged in from all directions, tearing the sand dunes, the sky, and even Obito's figure before him into countless fragments, dragging his consciousness deeper and deeper into the vortex.

Obito's genjutsu was among the best of all the Uchiha geniuses throughout history.

Back then, he was able to control the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, who was a Jinchūriki, with just one Sharingan, and even suppress the Three-Tails within Yagura's body.

In terms of genjutsu alone, the only one he could truly fear in the ninja world was Uchiha Itachi.

Obito didn't intend to control Orochimaru for long; he only needed a moment of stiffness.

Taking advantage of Orochimaru's consciousness being held back by the genjutsu, Obito ended his intangibility and silently appeared beside him, placing one hand on Gaara's shoulder.

Space twisted into a vortex centered on the palm of his hand, and the unconscious red-haired boy, along with a small patch of air around him, was sucked into the Kamui Space and disappeared in an instant.

The next moment, Obito retreated several meters away, his arms crossed over his chest, as if he hadn't moved at all.

"Damn it..."

Orochimaru is indeed one of the Legendary Sannin.

After a brief moment of distraction, he quickly mobilized his chakra to disrupt the abnormal flow in his brain, forcibly severing the genjutsu cast by Obito.

The blood-red light before my eyes shattered, and the howling wind and scorching heat returned to my senses.

Orochimaru stumbled, but after regaining his balance, he suddenly looked up.

Obito remained standing a few meters away, with his arms crossed over his chest.

Gaara, who was originally carried on Orochimaru's right shoulder, was nowhere to be seen.

"you……"

Orochimaru's face was grim, his golden snake eyes filled with apprehension.

This kind of illusion technique is completely different from Itachi's style.

Itachi is better at silently dragging people into an abyss where truth and falsehood are indistinguishable, and by the time the target realizes something is wrong, they are often already deeply trapped.

Obito's method was much more brutal, like swinging a heavy hammer to smash through mental defenses head-on, and then using the most direct impact to bring consciousness to a standstill.

Orochimaru broke the illusion in a much shorter time than when he faced Itachi, partly because Obito had no intention of continuing to control him.

But the mental impact of that moment was even more direct; even now, his temples still feel like they are being pierced by fine needles.

At this moment, Orochimaru had a clearer understanding of the masked man.

Based solely on the intangibility ability and Sharingan genjutsu he just displayed, Obito's level of danger is definitely no less than Itachi Uchiha's.

Just then, a whooshing sound came from behind Orochimaru.

The pursuers from Sunagakure have arrived, and Gaara's disappearance has been exposed.

Obito glanced in the direction of the voice and said gloatingly, "Orochimaru, I won't stay and disturb you entertaining your guests, Kano."

The space before him rippled in a spiral pattern.

Obito's body quickly contracted along the twisting vortex and vanished into thin air atop the sand dune in the blink of an eye.

Orochimaru stared at the air that had returned to normal, gritted his teeth, and couldn't suppress the sinister look on his face.

Those Uchiha clan guys are really annoying one after another.

Whether it was Itachi or Obito, the more they coveted this eye technique, the clearer they became of their own helplessness.

"There it is!"

"Target spotted!"

"Don't let him get away!"

The shouts of the Sand Ninja behind them grew closer and closer, and several figures appeared on the distant sand dunes, rapidly closing in.

Orochimaru gave a wicked smile, his expression regaining its composure.

Kidnapping Gaara was just one part of the whole plan.

It would be best to bring the One-Tailed Jinchuriki back, but if we can't, it won't mean that this plan will completely fail.

Orochimaru turned and sped off in the direction where Kimimaro was.

He made no attempt to conceal his presence, leaving an excessively clear trail of footprints in the sand, as if afraid the Sand Ninja behind him would lose track of him.

Before long, the enormous battlefield ahead came into view.

On the boundless sea of ​​sand, dark iron spikes obscured a large portion of the sky.

Countless iron sand branches pierced the ground like inverted lightning bolts, intersecting to form a metal cage that was still expanding.

On the ground, a forest of gray-white bones bursts forth from the depths of the sand.

The bone spears, several meters high, were densely packed together, piercing and crushing each other against the sand and iron barrier.

Black iron and gray bones are locked in a fierce struggle in this sea of ​​sand.

Even with Orochimaru's extensive knowledge, he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the entire battlefield.

"The scene has become such a big one... Kimimaro, this kid, really surprises us time and time again."

He increased his speed again, leaping over the outer bone forest in a few bounds, and finally landing on a bone surface not far behind Kimimaro.

At this moment, Kimimaro and Sasori are still locked in a stalemate.

Maintaining such a large-scale dance of early ferns, even in Cursed Seal State 2, would be an extremely heavy burden for Kimimaro.

His breathing had become rapid, and the growth rate of the bone forest had slowed down considerably compared to the beginning.

On the other side, the Sand Iron Boundary Technique manipulated by Scorpion also developed multiple gaps.

The surface of the large iron sand is covered with corrosion marks, which can only be filled and rebuilt continuously.

Both of them were stubbornly holding on, neither willing to give up first.

As Orochimaru watched Kimimaro confront Sasori and the Third Kazekage's puppet head-on, Orochimaru's admiration grew even stronger.

"Kimimaro, this is the end of it. It's time to go."

Kimimaro did not ask for the reason, nor did he hesitate in the slightest.

The moment he heard Orochimaru's voice, he immediately cut off the chakra that was maintaining the Early Fern Dance.

He forcefully deflected several iron spikes that tried to pierce through him with the gray bone on his back. One of them grazed his shoulder, leaving a shallow bloodstain on his dark gray skin.

Kimimaro didn't even glance at him.

He turned and leaped out of the bone forest. When he passed the sand dune where Dou was, he didn't forget to reach out and pick up the person, throwing him on his shoulder like a sandbag. The whole set of movements was clean and neat, without any hesitation.

"Wait, Kimimaro!"

Caught off guard, Dou quickly raised his hand to steady his glasses, nearly slipping off his shoulder from the jostling: "Slow down, my glasses are going to fall off!"

Kimimaro did not slow down; carrying his helmet, he leaped out of the battlefield in a few bounds and quickly disappeared into the depths of the bone forest.

"Long time no see, Scorpion."

Orochimaru stood amidst layers of bone forest, looking at the red-haired puppeteer opposite him through the crisscrossing gray-white bone spikes, and said mockingly, "Don't be so angry. You chased me all the way from Amegakure to the Land of Rice Fields, and then from the Land of Rice Fields to the Land of Grass. Your enthusiasm has almost overwhelmed me. I should at least return the favor with a generous gift, or at least repay you in some way. Otherwise, wouldn't that be too impolite?"

"A big gift?"

Before Sasori could understand what Orochimaru meant, a bad feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.

He subconsciously reactivated the iron sand defense, and the iron sand spun rapidly around the Third Kazekage, forming an impenetrable protective layer.

Orochimaru, however, showed no intention of attacking.

He simply stood there, giving Scorpion a meaningful, sinister smile.

Immediately afterwards, the body began to disintegrate from the feet, transforming into dozens of tiny white snakes that swam in all directions along the sand between the bone spurs.

The snakes darted into the sand through the gaps in the bone forest and quickly disappeared without a trace.

The scorpion was both surprised and furious, and suddenly swung its sword downwards.

The iron sand in mid-air immediately poured down, riddling the nearby bone forest and sand dunes with holes, but in the end it only managed to pin down a few pieces of snake skin that hadn't had time to burrow into the ground.

It's that same trick again.

Seeing his most vengeful enemy slip away right under his nose, Sasori's chakra within his regeneration core suddenly became restless.

His fingers were clenched, and he was about to manipulate the iron sand to completely tear up the surrounding ground and dig Orochimaru out from under the desert.

After the Sand Iron Realm was activated, the three bird puppets that were previously responsible for tracking Kabuto were forced to higher places, and their vision was fragmented by the sand and dust and bone forest.

Scorpions must actively divert their attention in order to use their eyes to see their surroundings.

He was focused on dealing with Kimimaro and Orochimaru, so he had no energy left to switch the bird puppet's field of vision and naturally didn't notice that Chiyo had caught up to him.

Just then...

"Scorpion... what's that?"

Chiyo's trembling voice brought Sasori to a complete halt.

Gaara's disappearance was exposed faster than Orochimaru had anticipated.

The instigator seems to have no intention of hiding it from the beginning.

From the old town to the outskirts of the village, and then to the vast desert, the traces he left along the way were so clear they were almost deliberate.

The Sand Village patrol team discovered the anomaly within minutes, and the message was immediately sent to the Kazekage Building.

Upon receiving the report, Chiyo immediately assembled two secret service teams and pursued the trail of undisguised footprints in the desert at full speed.

Halfway there, they spotted a suspicious figure carrying Gaara in the distance.

The man had obviously spotted the pursuers as well. With a few quick movements, he flipped over the sand dunes and disappeared into the undulating sea of ​​sand.

Chiyo was worried that the target would escape, so she had Maki lead the team to follow behind while she sped up to catch up.

Unexpectedly, when she crossed the last towering sand dune blocking her way and arrived at the edge of this devastated battlefield, the first thing she saw was not the murderer who had kidnapped Gaara, but a human puppet floating next to Sasori.

He wore a dark blue robe, had short brown hair, and a cold and dignified face.

Not to mention the pitch-black iron sand that covered the battlefield, exuding a heavy and oppressive aura.

That face, that figure, and the unique Magnet Release: Iron Sand Technique—Chiyo could never mistake it.

That was the Third Kazekage, the most powerful Kazekage in the history of Sunagakure.

Many years ago, he mysteriously disappeared without any warning, neither alive nor dead. The entire Sunagakure investigated for many years, but never found a trace of him.

Now, he hangs beside Scorpion.

But his eyes were empty and lifeless, and his exposed skin had a dull luster typical of puppets.

Chakra threads extended from Sasori's fingers, clearly connecting his limbs and torso.

This is a human puppet used as a combat tool.

Chiyo felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, and after a few stammers, she managed to say, "Scorpion... what did you do?"

Scorpion's gaze froze.

The Third Kazekage was still hovering beside him, the still-open mouth mechanism retrieving large amounts of iron sand along the chakra threads.

The devastation left by the Iron Sands Law covered the entire battlefield, leaving no room for concealment.

Scorpion slowly turned around, meeting Chiyo's eyes, which were filled with shock and pain.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say.