Although Sasuke's plan was brilliant,
even Orochimaru found himself impressed by it. However, the cold smile on Orochimaru's face never faded; instead, it grew even more sinister.
As Sasuke, with lightning speed, carried Tazuna and swiftly darted into the distance,
a flicker of doubt appeared in Sasuke's eyes.
The system hadn't notified him of the mission's completion.
This meant Orochimaru was still capable of pursuing them, but Sasuke found it highly unlikely.
Despite his limited chakra reserves, Orochimaru shouldn't have been able to keep up with the lightning-fast speed Sasuke was employing.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Even though Sasuke could only sustain this lightning-quick state for a few minutes at a time,
those few minutes were more than enough to put a significant distance between him and Orochimaru.
A brief rest to recover some chakra, and Sasuke could activate the lightning speed again.
Only now did Sasuke truly begin to appreciate the changes brought about by his exceptional physique.
While it hadn't suddenly caused a massive spike in his chakra reserves,
the incredible stamina it provided left Sasuke astonished.
The speed at which he recovered chakra was extraordinarily fast though not instantaneous.
Still, he could recover roughly a third of his total reserves.
Afterward, the recovery speed would slow considerably.
But even recovering a third was quite significant for Sasuke.
With his current chakra capacity, restoring a third allowed him to fight for a few more minutes.
But what about in the future?
As his chakra reserves grew larger, recovering a third would become a game changer.
One-third of 100 and one-third of 10 are entirely different concepts!
Realizing this, Sasuke felt a surge of confidence. Even facing one of the Three Legendary Sannin no longer seemed terrifying.
While defeating Orochimaru might still be out of reach,
escaping from his grasp was far from impossible.
If Sasuke didn't want to stay, not even the Sannin could hold him back.
This was the power of Lightning Release: Godspeed.
As this thought crossed his mind, a faint smile appeared on Sasuke's face.
However, Sasuke failed to notice that the unconscious Tazuna slung over his shoulder had suddenly opened his eyes.
A cold, sinister gleam flashed within them
a look that didn't resemble Tazuna's usual expression.
In the next moment, Tazuna slowly raised his head,
his gaze locking onto Sasuke's neck.
Then, as Sasuke remained fully focused on his high-speed escape,
Tazuna's neck suddenly stretched unnaturally,
and he lunged forward, sinking his teeth directly into Sasuke's left shoulder.
The sharp pain shooting through his shoulder instantly broke Sasuke out of his lightning-speed state.
Due to inertia, he crashed headlong into a tree.
Bang!
After coming to a stop, Sasuke steadied himself and looked down at his left shoulder.
Two bloody puncture wounds marred his skin.
Disbelief filled his eyes as he raised his head to look forward.
"Tazuna..."
Lying on the ground, Tazuna, who should have been fatally injured from the fall, had his body twisted like a pretzel.
Yet, his limbs slowly began to recover,
gradually straightening out as his body seemed to spring back to life.
His neck began to elongate unnaturally.
Standing upright, Tazuna's face appeared to shed a layer of skin,
revealing the ghastly pale flesh underneath.
Sasuke's pupils contracted repeatedly.
The figure before him 'Tazuna' wasn't Tazuna at all!
It was Orochimaru!
"This guy used a transformation technique to disguise himself as Tazuna!"
"Damn it… I was fooled!"
Sasuke had underestimated Orochimaru. He had deliberately set up an obvious trap one so blatant it was hard to believe but in reality, the Tazuna Sasuke had 'rescued' was merely Orochimaru in disguise.
A shallow, easily detectable trap had concealed a far more insidious one beneath it.
Under such circumstances, even Sasuke couldn't avoid being caught.
"Uchiha Sasuke-kun! You've truly surprised me. I didn't expect you to actually snatch that old man from my hands!"
"But unfortunately, the person you're looking for isn't here at all!"
Sasuke tried to stand up,
but suddenly his vision began to blur.
"Damn it!"
He glanced down at his left shoulder, where a sinister three-tomoe pattern had formed.
Sasuke recognized it immediately.
The Cursed Seal of Heaven.
"So, it's true... Orochimaru is after my body."
But why had Orochimaru marked him with the cursed seal now? Sasuke couldn't understand.
Wasn't it supposed to happen during the Chūnin Exams?
How could this... be happening now?!
The moment the Cursed Seal of Heaven was applied, it began to alter Sasuke's body.
Sasuke felt his consciousness grow increasingly heavy.
Thud!
He collapsed unconscious.
Orochimaru smirked.
"To think you could hold on for this long after receiving the cursed seal!"
"It seems your uniqueness extends beyond your talent."
"Even your physique is extraordinary!"
Orochimaru's gaze fell on the location of the cursed seal on Sasuke's shoulder.
This time, it was Orochimaru's turn to be surprised.
Sasuke's cursed seal had fused perfectly with his body.
Such a flawless integration had never happened before.
Everyone's compatibility with the Cursed Seal varies. Most people can barely achieve a 5% fusion rate.
For shinobi with slightly better physiques, the compatibility might reach around 20%.
Only a very select few with exceptional qualities can achieve a fusion rate exceeding 60%.
And only those with over 60% compatibility can barely meet Orochimaru's requirements for reincarnation.
An ideal state would be a fusion rate close to 80%, which is already considered perfect.
So far, the highest compatibility with the Cursed Seal has been Kaguya Kimimaro, who reached 86%!
However, even Kimimaro paled in comparison to Sasuke.
Sasuke had perfectly fused with the Cursed Seal.
In Orochimaru's words, his compatibility was infinitely close to 99%!
"This is... a flawless body!"
Orochimaru laughed.
It was a wild, maniacal laugh.
His eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
A member of the Uchiha clan, so perfectly compatible with his Cursed Seal
Could this be fate, delivering to Orochimaru the Sharingan's bloodline limit?
And not just any Uchiha, but Uchiha Itachi's younger brother!
"Fate truly works in mysterious ways!"
Orochimaru chuckled softly.
However, the transformation of Sasuke's body through the Cursed Seal would still take time, and Orochimaru couldn't perform his reincarnation yet.
Glancing at the unconscious Sasuke lying on the ground,
a large snake slithered out from the nearby bushes. It opened its mouth wide and spat out a person
the real Tazuna!
Orochimaru gently patted the snake's head.
"Goodbye for now, Sasuke-kun. I hope that by our next meeting, you will have reached my ideal state of perfection..."
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