T/N:Thank you, Ryan Bagan , for joining my Patreon and supporting the journey!
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"Furen!" Upon seeing Furen, Sakura cried out in surprise, then buried her face in his chest.
Sakura's eyes then shifted toward Sasuke, who was standing behind the spot she had been moments ago. Sasuke's body was covered in curse marks, and his Sharingan spun with two tomoe in each eye. However, he looked as though he had lost his mind.
"His mental state has been affected by the curse mark..." Furen muttered to himself.
"Sasuke... your body..." Sakura, still in Furen's arms, voiced her concern.
But Sasuke, having clearly lost his rationality, glared at Furen and screamed, "Itachi! Die!"
The curse mark had dredged up Sasuke's deepest trauma, causing him to mistake Furen for Uchiha Itachi.
With his Sharingan spinning, Sasuke rapidly formed hand seals. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Dozens of fireballs spewed from Sasuke's mouth, raising the temperature around them. The fireballs rushed toward Furen.
Furen frowned but didn't counterattack. Instead, he chose to dodge the attack while holding Sakura.
"Furen... what's wrong with Sasuke?" Sakura was shocked by the transformation. She could sense that Sasuke had become far stronger than before.
Indeed, Sasuke's power had increased significantly under the influence of the curse mark. While he had previously been at the level of an average chunin, the curse mark allowed him to approach the strength of a jounin.
However, even if Sasuke had unlocked the three-tomoe Sharingan, he still wouldn't be able to defeat Furen.
"I can't go too hard on him just yet..." Furen thought to himself as he set Sakura down in a safe location. He then turned to face Sasuke, who still believed Furen to be Itachi.
"Ice Style: Ice Prison Jutsu!"
Furen swiftly formed hand seals. In an instant, large chunks of ice formed at Sasuke's feet, spreading up to encase him.
Despite being in Cursed Seal Level One, Sasuke was no match for Furen's jutsu. Even though he struggled with all his might, he was soon engulfed by layers of ice.
"AAAAHHHH!!"
Feeling helpless, Sasuke screamed in rage. His mind flashed back to that night—the night he had been powerless, watching as his parents, his clan, and his people were all slaughtered one by one.
"Itachi!" Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan spun wildly, and, faintly, a third tomoe began to appear!
As Sasuke's eyes transformed, the curse marks on his body spread further. The black patterns crawled across his skin, covering his entire body.
Sasuke's hair began to grow longer, his skin changed color, and the ice prison holding his back suddenly shattered. From his back sprouted two wing-like appendages resembling hands.
In his blind rage, Sasuke had prematurely activated Cursed Seal Stage Two!
"Oh?" Furen observed with curiosity. Now, Sasuke stood before him in the second stage of the curse seal, complete with three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Itachi! Die!"
Having broken free from the ice, Sasuke—now equipped with wings—flew toward Furen.
"At this level, Sasuke's strength should be around jounin level," Furen speculated. "Let's see just how strong he really is."
Furen leaped into the air, heading straight for Sasuke. Raising his left hand, he muttered, "Sakura Punch."
With a single, powerful strike, Furen's fist connected squarely with Sasuke's head.
Then...
Sasuke flew through the air like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the ground and burying himself in the earth. The Cursed Seal Stage Two form vanished on impact.
Furen stood there, speechless. "...That's it?"
He quickly jumped down from the tree to check on Sasuke, making sure he hadn't accidentally killed him with the punch.
...
After confirming that Sasuke was fine, Furen waited for Naruto to wake up as well. Once they were all awake, Furen laid down the Heaven and Earth Scrolls he had in hand.
Sakura pulled out a Heaven Scroll from her own pocket.
"We still need one more Earth Scroll," Furen said as he picked up the Heaven and Earth Scrolls. "We should head in the direction where we might run into other ninjas."
Sakura nodded in agreement, while Sasuke, who was still nursing a headache from whatever had happened earlier, also nodded.
Just as Furen and his team determined their next move, three ninjas emerged from the surrounding forest.
The three ninjas eyed Furen's group—two of whom were clearly injured—and immediately entertained the idea of stealing their scrolls. Slowly, they formed a circle, preparing to surround them.
Sakura tugged on Furen's clothes to warn him, signaling that others were approaching. However, Furen only glanced at the newcomers indifferently, showing no sign of concern.
"Taki ninjas, huh? Which scroll do you have?" Furen asked.
The three Taki ninjas exchanged glances, amused by Furen's audacity.
The lead Taki ninja pulled out their Earth Scroll, waving it in front of Furen's face. "See this? It's an Earth Scroll."
A smile spread across Furen's face. "How lucky. Drop the Earth Scroll, and I'll spare your lives."
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T/N:
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