After activating the first state of his Cursed Seal, Jirōbō's combat strength rose sharply.
Naruto charged forward and launched another kick, only for Jirōbō to catch his leg with one hand.
The larger shinobi's fingers tightened with terrifying force.
If Naruto hadn't immediately activated the Flying Raijin Jutsu and escaped, Jirōbō would likely have crushed his leg on the spot.
Naruto reappeared several meters away.
After steadying himself, he looked toward Jirōbō, whose body was now covered in the dark patterns of his Cursed Seal.
He understood that continuing to fight Jirōbō using taijutsu alone was no longer practical.
"Looks like my taijutsu still needs more work."
Naruto drew a deep breath.
"In that case, I'll stop wasting time and kill you."
"You brat!"
Jirōbō glared at him.
"I admit that I underestimated you earlier. But now that I'm taking this seriously, you'll never injure me again!"
"Is that so?"
Jirōbō's eyes widened.
Naruto's voice had come from directly behind him.
Before he could turn around, Naruto drove a Rasengan into the center of his back.
Boom!
The spiraling chakra erupted.
Jirōbō's eyes bulged as his enormous body was sent hurtling forward. He spun violently through the air, smashing through several trees before finally crashing to the ground.
"Damn you…"
Jirōbō struggled to raise his head.
"You're stronger than I expected."
His face twisted with rage.
"But you've made me angry now! I'm going to kill you!"
Jirōbō released the full power of his Cursed Seal.
The markings spread across his entire body as he entered the Second State.
His skin darkened to a deep reddish-gray, and his already massive body became even more imposing. An overwhelming surge of chakra erupted from him as his strength increased once again.
The injuries caused by the Rasengan rapidly began to close.
In a blur, Jirōbō vanished from the ground and appeared directly before Naruto.
His right fist struck Naruto with tremendous force.
Boom!
Naruto disappeared in a burst of white smoke.
It was only a shadow clone.
Naruto had already anticipated Jirōbō's increased speed and prepared a countermeasure the moment the transformation began.
His real body was floating high above the battlefield.
Just as Jirōbō destroyed the shadow clone, Naruto brought his hands together.
A massive hurricane descended from the sky.
The violent winds swallowed Jirōbō and dragged his body into the air. Countless compressed wind blades moved within the storm, slashing him from every direction.
Jirōbō's roars were drowned beneath the raging wind.
Boom!
His mutilated body fell from the hurricane and crashed heavily into the ground.
The reddish-gray color receded from his skin, and his body returned to its original appearance.
Jirōbō was dead.
Ding!
[Congratulations to the Host for killing one jōnin and receiving 100 System Points.]
Although Jirōbō was considered the weakest member of the Sound Four overall, his combat ability still reached the level of a jōnin after activating the Second State of his Cursed Seal.
Naruto considered the corpse for a moment before sealing it inside a storage scroll.
He stretched his arms above his head, launched himself into the air, and sped in the direction Shikamaru and the others had taken.
…
Meanwhile, Shikamaru, Neji, Rock Lee, Chōji, Kiba, and Akamaru continued pursuing the remaining three members of the Sound Four.
It wasn't long before they caught up.
Shikamaru used the Transformation Jutsu to assume Jirōbō's appearance, intending to infiltrate the remaining trio and restore their group to four without anyone noticing.
One might assume that his scent betrayed him.
That would have been the obvious explanation.
In reality, Shikamaru was exposed because he failed to imitate Jirōbō's manner of speaking.
The deception collapsed almost immediately.
Kidōmaru remained behind to stop the retrieval squad while the other two continued carrying Sasuke toward Otogakure.
Unlike Jirōbō, Kidōmaru possessed six arms.
He could produce chakra-infused spider silk directly from his body, creating threads strong enough to withstand tremendous force.
Kidōmaru immediately attacked Shikamaru and trapped him inside a web.
Rock Lee, Chōji, Kiba, and Neji rushed forward, but Kidōmaru evaded every attack.
While moving between the surrounding trees, he continued releasing more webs.
Before long, the entire retrieval squad had been restrained.
Kidōmaru turned his attention toward Rock Lee and prepared to deliver the killing blow.
At that moment, a hurricane descended from the sky.
The violent winds swept Kidōmaru away and dragged him into the center of the storm.
Countless wind blades tore through the hurricane, striking him from every direction.
However, Kidōmaru immediately wrapped his entire body in layers of chakra-infused spider silk, forming a protective cocoon.
The wind blades repeatedly struck the cocoon but failed to cut through it.
Kidōmaru's silk was exceptionally flexible, and the chakra flowing through each strand made it harder than steel.
Suddenly, a thick strand of webbing shot out from the hurricane and adhered to a nearby tree.
Kidōmaru pulled himself free from the storm and landed safely upon a branch.
His cocoon opened, revealing that he had survived without suffering any serious injuries.
Kidōmaru was clearly more dangerous than Jirōbō.
That much could be seen from Akamaru's trembling body.
Kidōmaru possessed two different materials.
His normal spider silk was infused with chakra, making it nearly impossible to tear apart using brute force.
He could also secrete Spider Sticky Gold, which hardened upon contact with the air and could be shaped into armor or weapons as strong as metal.
However, ordinary chakra-infused spider silk possessed a weakness.
The Gentle Fist could sever the chakra flowing through the threads, causing the webs to lose their strength.
Naruto landed before the trapped retrieval squad.
"If the Gentle Fist can cut through these webs by disrupting their chakra, then the Chakra Scalpel should work as well."
Blue chakra extended from both of Naruto's hands, forming two sharp blades.
With several swift movements, he sliced the webbing restraining everyone into thin strips.
The Chakra Scalpel was capable of severing muscles, nerves, and internal tissue without leaving a visible external wound.
During the battle between the Sannin, Kabuto had used the same technique to damage Naruto's internal muscles—including those surrounding his heart—without cutting open his skin.
"Shikamaru, take everyone and continue the pursuit."
Naruto stared at Kidōmaru with burning interest.
He didn't even turn around as he spoke.
"Just like before, I'm faster than all of you. I'll catch up soon."
"I'll stay instead," Neji suddenly offered. "My Gentle Fist can also sever his spider silk."
"No."
Naruto waved him away impatiently.
"Stop wasting time and go."
In Naruto's eyes, Kidōmaru was no longer merely an enemy.
He was another hundred System Points.
"You think I'm going to stand here and let you leave?"
Kidōmaru sneered.
"None of you are going anywhere!"
He released several clusters of webbing toward the retrieval squad.
Sharp projectiles formed from Spider Sticky Gold were embedded at the front of each web, giving them the power to pierce directly through flesh.
Swish!
Naruto swung the Chakra Scalpels covering both hands.
The incoming webs were sliced into pieces before they could reach anyone.
In the next instant, Naruto disappeared.
He reappeared behind Kidōmaru and thrust a Chakra Scalpel directly toward his heart.
Clang!
The attack failed to penetrate.
Confusion flashed across Naruto's face.
He remembered the general details of Kidōmaru's abilities, but not every technique the Sound shinobi possessed.
Taking advantage of Naruto's momentary hesitation, Kidōmaru turned around with a vicious grin.
He opened his mouth and spat out a kunai formed from hardened Spider Sticky Gold.
"Try my Spider Sticky Gold!"
Whoosh!
Naruto's body blurred like a passing gust of wind, allowing the golden projectile to fly past him.
He landed a short distance away and focused on Kidōmaru's back.
A layer of golden armor had been exposed beneath Kidōmaru's damaged clothing.
Kidōmaru had secreted Spider Sticky Gold from his pores and hardened it over his body, forming the Armor of Sticky Gold.
That was what had stopped Naruto's Chakra Scalpel from reaching his heart.
The armor was exceptionally resistant to chakra-based attacks.
In the original course of events, the same defense had allowed Kidōmaru to withstand Neji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
Realizing that Naruto was a far more dangerous opponent than expected, Kidōmaru bit his finger and slammed his hand against the branch beneath him.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive female spider appeared above the battlefield.
Its swollen body released countless smaller spiders, which descended toward Naruto in a dense swarm.
"Rain of Spiders!"
Naruto rose into the air and brought his hands together.
Another hurricane formed beneath him.
The storm swallowed the countless spiders and their webbing, crushing them within its violent winds.
Kidōmaru's summoning had been completely neutralized.
Now that Naruto understood Kidōmaru's defensive ability, he had no reason to continue testing him.
He vanished once again and appeared behind Kidōmaru.
Naruto's blond hair lengthened rapidly, surging forward like living ropes and wrapping tightly around Kidōmaru's arms, legs, and torso.
"Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu!"
The hair pulled taut, completely restraining Kidōmaru.
Moments earlier, Kidōmaru had attempted to bind Naruto and the others with spider silk.
Now, he had been captured by Naruto's hair.
The irony was difficult to miss.
"What?!"
Kidōmaru struggled furiously.
Realizing that he couldn't break free in his current state, he attempted to release the Second State of his Cursed Seal.
He was too late.
"Rasengan!"
Four shadow clones appeared around him.
Each clone held a Rasengan.
They attacked simultaneously, aiming at Kidōmaru's head, neck, heart, and abdomen.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The four spheres of highly compressed chakra struck at once.
The Armor of Sticky Gold shattered beneath the combined force.
The Rasengan tore through Kidōmaru's defenses and destroyed every vital area they struck.
His body went limp.
Ding!
[Congratulations to the Host for killing one jōnin and receiving 100 System Points.]
Naruto exhaled and looked down at Kidōmaru's corpse.
He sealed the body inside another storage scroll before speaking to the system.
"Exchange for one [Bloodline Upgrade Scroll] and use it immediately."
Ding!
[Congratulations to the Host. The [Sage Body of the Senju Clan] has advanced to Level 4: [God Bloodline].]
Naruto waited for the changes within his body to settle before asking another question.
"Now that the [Uzumaki Clan Sage Body] and the [Sage Body of the Senju Clan] have both reached [God Bloodline], what can they be combined into?"