Chapter 24: The Cross-Cutting Blade - Flash
Orochimaru finding Sasuke ahead of schedule also meant Mitarashi Anko detected his presence earlier. As they weren't far from the entrance, she located him quickly.
"Oh, it's you..." Orochimaru's voice was a hoarse rasp. He looked at Anko and gave a sinister smile. "Long time no see. No need to look so murderous."
"Orochimaru, what is your purpose for coming to Konoha?!" Anko demanded, her brow furrowed.
"Hehehe... I'm here to find a... suitable vessel," Orochimaru said, his eyes flicking to Anko's subtly moving hand. He smirked. "Planning to make a move? Let's see how much you've improved..."
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!" The moment Orochimaru finished speaking, Anko's right hand shot toward him, transforming into four snakes that lunged for his throat.
Bang!
The snake heads struck Orochimaru's upper body, swallowing it instantly, and then slammed into the large tree behind him, punching a massive hole through the trunk!
"Is he... dead?" Anko murmured.
"Truly... no improvement at all." Orochimaru's voice whispered from directly behind her. A cold hand landed on her shoulder. "You hate me, yet you still use the jutsu I taught you."
Anko's entire body went rigid. Though the sky was clear, the world around her seemed to plunge into darkness. The cawing of crows filled the air, black feathers drifting down as they scattered into the sky.
"Take good care of my vessel for me." Orochimaru's tongue, cold and reptilian, slid across Anko's cheek. His voice was a chilling whisper that made her blood run cold.
Ryouma didn't know how long he had slept. He stretched and peered outside the hollow. It was as dark inside the tree as it had been when he'd dozed off, but outside, night had fallen.
"Kiba, why didn't you wake me for my watch?" Ryouma rubbed his eyes and clenched his fists, feeling his physical strength had mostly returned. The injuries on his hands seemed to have been healed by his circulating Divine Power.
"Ryouma-nii, you're awake." Hinata's weary voice came from the darkness of the hollow.
"Huh? Hinata?" Hearing her voice, Ryouma realized she must have taken the entire watch by herself until now!
"You... you've been on duty all this time? Aren't you exhausted?!" Ryouma felt a surge of anger, but it was mixed with deep concern for her.
"During the battle... I couldn't be of much help. Let me do this much for you now."
"Hinata..." Ryouma knew this was just her nature. He sighed. "Has anyone passed by here?"
"Yes. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji's team passed by once, but they avoided the traps. Some ninja from Otogakure also came near, but they didn't notice us."
Ryouma nodded. "Hinata, get some sleep now. I'll take over."
"Okay... Ryouma-nii." Hinata agreed, leaning back against the tree wall. She was asleep almost instantly.
Once he was sure Hinata was asleep, Ryouma began seriously searching his mind for what to exchange with the 10 Almighty Points he had allotted for use, leaving the other 20 in reserve.
In the skill category, 10 points could only buy techniques roughly equivalent to C-Rank ninjutsu. For someone who possessed the Great Ball Rasengan, such skills were practically useless.
After some thought, the only thing that could directly boost his offensive power right now was a weapon.
"Weapon exchange."
The sphere of light in his mind hummed and vibrated, projecting a list.
[Weapons - Primary Exchange List]
Juggernaut's Blade: 5 Almighty Points
Hundred Birds Phoenix Spear (Replica): 10 Almighty Points
Green Dragon Crescent Blade (Replica): 10 Almighty Points
Black Blade - Night: 20 Almighty Points
Moonbeam: 20 Almighty Points
Earth Spirit Soul-Severing Sword: 50 Almighty Points
Meteorite Blade: 200 Almighty Points
Scythe of Withered Wood: 10 Almighty Points
Cross-Cutting Blade - Flash: 10 Almighty Points
...
The primary list contained tens of thousands of items, all seemingly named weapons, none of them ordinary. There was even a replica of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade!
He skimmed the top entries, checking their descriptions, and finally settled on a long sword called the Cross-Cutting Blade - Flash.
Cross-Cutting Blade - Flash: The name was simple, but the addition of "Flash" made it intriguing.
The blade was 130 cm long and 8 cm wide. It was a pure, silver-white, perfectly straight sword. The edge looked lethally sharp, gleaming like flowing light. Its unique characteristic was a flash of light upon being swung.
Furthermore, adhering to the system's principle of "quality guaranteed," this blade was exceptionally sharp. Ryouma was confident it could slice through standard weaponry with ease.
"Exchange. Weapon Type: Cross-Cutting Blade - Flash."
"Exchange successful. Almighty Points consumed: 10."
As the system's voice faded, Ryouma's hand felt a sudden weight. The Cross-Cutting Blade - Flash was now firmly in his grasp.
"Ryouma?" Kiba's voice came from behind him.
"Yeah, it's me," Ryouma replied, then a thought struck him. The Oto-nin should be attacking Naruto's group right about now...
"Sorry, man, just woke up," Kiba said. Though his words were apologetic, his tone was as carefree as ever, devoid of any real embarrassment.
"I just woke up too. Keep your voice down, Hinata just fell asleep," Ryouma said with a soft smile. "But, I need you to take over watch."
"Why? What's up?"
"Naruto's team is being attacked by Oto-nin. Both Naruto and Sasuke are still unconscious from Orochimaru's attack. They have no fighting strength. I have to go help them."
"Oh? Is that what happened? Ah, that explains why Orochimaru didn't bother with us anymore. Naruto's team stopped him." Kiba's expression cleared in understanding. "I'll come with you!"
"No. You need to stay here and protect Hinata. I can handle this alone." Before Kiba could protest, a silvery light flickered in Ryouma's eyes. He activated the Instant Eye and vanished, reappearing moments later perched in a tree not far from where Naruto and Sasuke lay. His first glance confirmed the situation: the three Oto-nin were facing off against Shikamaru's team and the incapacitated Team 7.
Has the plot changed? I remember in the original, Rock Lee showed up first...
Ryouma observed from his high vantage point. While a stalemate seemed to be holding, he knew the combined strength of Shikamaru's team and the exhausted Sakura wasn't enough to defeat the Oto-nin trio.
"Brat... you're starting to piss me off." Sakon, the leader of the Oto-nin, glared venomously at Shikamaru, who had him trapped in a Shadow Imitation Technique. "How long can you keep this up? One minute? Two?"
"Hmph!" Shikamaru snorted, ignoring the taunt. His eyes darted to the side, where Choji was locked in a desperate struggle with another Oto-nin, Jirobo.
Jirobo's Earth Style techniques were powerful, and he wielded a strange weapon that looked like an eye, which seemed to counter Choji's Human Bullet Tank. But Choji was no pushover, fighting Jirobo with everything he had.
Sakura's chakra was completely depleted; she had collapsed to the ground, utterly spent. Ino had used her Mind Body Switch Technique to possess the third Oto-nin, Kidomaru, but was locked in a mental stalemate with him within his own consciousness.
"Right now, they're just waiting for Sasuke to wake up," Ryouma mused, a faint smile touching his lips. He looked down at the long sword in his hand. "But this time... I'll be stealing the spotlight."