"Is this the vessel Orochimaru-sama wants?" A slightly cold, unfamiliar voice rang out within the barrier.
"That's right." Another voice replied, but it carried a hint of familiarity.
Mamoru was certain he had heard it somewhere before.
He looked toward the sound and saw two figures dressed in black trench coats and hooded masks standing at the other end of the barrier's interior.
"Long time no see, Mamoru."
As the words were spoken, one of them reached out and removed his mask, revealing Kabuto's face with its hypocritical smile. He leisurely took off his trench coat with composed movements.
The other person also shed their disguise—white shoulder-length hair, a cold face, and two striking cinnabar red dots between the eyebrows.
His identity was obvious—Kimimaro!
Mamoru's pupils shrank slightly, and he was secretly alarmed. This setup was clearly aimed at him. He just hadn't expected that to capture him, Orochimaru would go so far as to use the Four Violet Flames Formation originally intended for Hiruzen, and even send these two capable subordinates.
"Kabuto?" Mamoru snorted, his lips curling into a disdainful arc. "Don't act like we're close."
"Mamoru!"
Neji's anxious shout sounded from outside the barrier.
Mamoru turned his head and saw Neji and Genma standing outside. Neji looked frantic and made a move to rush forward, but was firmly held back by Genma.
"Don't get close, Neji!" Genma's tone was grave as he stared at the barrier wall. "This isn't an ordinary barrier, touching it is too dangerous."
Just then, a violent explosion roared from the direction of the main viewing stand above.
Everyone looked up to see the area where Hiruzen was located completely enveloped in thick black smoke. Several blurred dark figures were moving and clashing at high speed within, clearly in the midst of a fierce battle.
At the same time, the clanging of weapons and the whistling of Ninjutsu explosions broke out in various parts of the spectator stands—the Konoha ninjas were already in full combat with the infiltrators, and chaos was spreading rapidly.
"It seems the plan has been fully initiated." Kabuto pushed up his glasses and looked up at the chaotic stands, his tone as calm as if he were stating a minor matter that had nothing to do with him.
"Don't worry about me!" Mamoru shouted to the two outside the barrier. "Go help others who need support! I can handle things here myself!"
"Understood." Genma made a quick decision and pulled back the still-unwilling Neji. "Let's go, support our other comrades! Leave this to him!"
Neji finally understood why Mamoru had suddenly kicked him away without warning. If not for that kick, he would likely be trapped inside this lethal barrier as well.
Before leaving, his steps halted abruptly, and he turned back to give Mamoru a deep look. "Mamoru... don't die!"
"Hmph, who do you think I am?" Mamoru chuckled and waved him off, signaling him to leave quickly.
Only after the two figures had left did Mamoru slowly turn his gaze back to the two enemies in front of him.
The corner of his lips hooked into a playful yet dangerous arc. "So, next... how do you two plan to... wait..."
He paused, his gaze lingering on Kimimaro for a moment, his tone teasing. "It's truly incredible. You're clearly almost dead, aren't you? You're only standing here because you're hanging on by a thread."
"...I didn't expect you to be able to see that."
There was no change in expression on Kimimaro's pale face, and his voice was extremely flat. "My current movements no longer rely on this broken body, but on my spirit. All of this is to realize Orochimaru-sama's great dream."
"Orochimaru is already perverted enough." Mamoru shook his head, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I didn't expect his subordinates to be just as bad, each one more abnormal than the last."
"Do not insult Orochimaru-sama!"
For the first time, visible anger appeared on Kimimaro's face, and his eyes suddenly became ice-cold. He abruptly raised both hands, his ten fingers aimed at Mamoru like sharp swords.
Puff... Puff...
In the next instant, countless sharp white bone bullets shot out from Kimimaro's fingertips like a gale-force storm. With the whistle of tearing air, they aimed straight for Mamoru's vital points.
However, all the attacks stopped dead about a foot away from Mamoru's body, as if they had hit an invisible yet absolutely solid wall, suspended densely in the air, unable to advance another inch.
Mamoru squinted his eyes and clearly saw those floating white objects, they were the phalanges of human fingers. He couldn't help but feel a surge of physiological disgust.
"What a disgusting ability."
"Is this that invisible defense Orochimaru-sama mentioned?"
Seeing this, Kimimaro's tone returned to calm, but the firing of bone bullets from his fingertips did not stop, continuously battering that invisible barrier.
"Indeed... difficult to understand."
"If we don't find a way to break through that troublesome defense of his, we won't be able to complete the capture mission." Kabuto analyzed calmly from the side, pushing up his glasses.
"So, I'll leave the initial Chakra consumption to you, Kimimaro."
"Understood." Kimimaro replied expressionlessly.
The flow of Chakra within his body suddenly accelerated. The frequency and density of bone generation and firing instantly doubled, and the number of bone bullets suspended in the air surged, nearly forming a solid white barrage.
Mamoru looked at the scalp-numbing rain of bones before him and furrowed his brows in distaste. "I thought you guys would have some grand plan, but it's just a primitive war of attrition."
"But on second thought, it makes sense. With your capabilities, you probably couldn't think of a more clever way."
Kabuto's tone remained calm. "Although the method is direct, direct methods are often the most effective."
"No matter how strange or solid your defensive ability is, as long as it's Ninjutsu, it will consume Chakra. Furthermore, a defense like yours must require a massive amount of Chakra to maintain."
"Your analysis is quite logical and sounds very reasonable, but unfortunately..."
A mocking smile appeared on Mamoru's face. "You miscalculated from the very beginning. The Chakra consumption required to maintain this ability doesn't even keep up with the rate of my natural Chakra recovery."
The ultimate insight and control over Chakra provided by the Six Eyes allowed him to achieve near-perfect efficiency when using his abilities, reducing consumption to the absolute minimum.
Of course, this implied a massive load on his brain and required precise operation—a fact he naturally wouldn't reveal in the slightest.
Hearing this, Kimimaro, who had remained expressionless, furrowed his brows almost imperceptibly.
"Do you think we'll believe such blustering words?" A hint of imperceptible hesitation entered Kabuto's tone.
He stared intently at Mamoru's face, trying to find any trace of wavering or a flaw in his expression. But to his alarm, Mamoru's expression was utterly composed from beginning to end, without any sign of strain or panic.
"Believe it or not, it's up to you." Mamoru shrugged. "But why did you get the illusion that I would just stand here and take a beating?"
Before his voice even faded, Mamoru's figure suddenly vanished from the spot, leaving only the dense cluster of bone bullets still suspended in mid-air.
(End of Chapter)
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