Seeing Rorin appear, Kakashi Hatake's tense expression finally relaxed. He scratched the back of his head and narrowed his eyes as he explained,
"The situation was urgent just now, so I had no choice."
"Rorin!" Sakura Haruno showed a look of joy—whether it was because Rorin successfully saved Naruto Uzumaki or for some other reason, it wasn't clear.
"Rorin, what was that explosion earlier? Are you guys okay?"
Having narrowly escaped death, Naruto raised his head slightly and asked in a low voice.
"Something unexpected happened. Someone sacrificed themselves," Rorin said solemnly, shaking his head.
Naruto froze, his expression turning blank. "Who? Who was it?"
"Baki and Chiyo… probably," Rorin replied, lowering his head. In his heart, he believed Chiyo had also perished, even though her body hadn't been found at the scene.
Hearing this, Naruto seemed to feel a weight lift from his chest. He let out a long breath and lowered his head as well.
On the other side, Sakura and Kakashi also looked a bit regretful.
Tap, tap, tap!
"…Who are you?" Sasuke Uchiha walked over slowly, tilting his head slightly upward as he stared at Rorin.
Only then did Rorin snap back to the present. He raised his head and met Sasuke's extremely cold gaze.
"I almost forgot you were still here," Rorin said with a faint smile.
Kakashi and the others also came back to their senses from their brief mourning and focused on Sasuke.
"Kaguya Rorin—that's my name. If I'm not mistaken, you must be the Sasuke Naruto keeps talking about," Rorin introduced himself calmly.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who immediately turned his head away, avoiding his gaze.
"So what? Are you planning to get in my way too?" Sasuke raised the Kusanagi Sword again, his voice cold.
Rorin spread his hands helplessly. When did I ever say I'd stop you?
After being knocked back earlier and now being treated with such disregard, Sasuke felt extremely irritated. He stared coldly at Rorin, intent on completely crushing him.
Seeing the sharpness in Sasuke's eyes, Kakashi immediately stood up despite his injuries and moved to Rorin's side.
"Rorin, let's attack together next," Kakashi said seriously, gripping a kunai once more.
Rorin patted Kakashi on the shoulder and said calmly,
"Kakashi-sensei, leave this to me. You're still injured—don't push yourself."
Kakashi paused slightly. Looking into Rorin's confident eyes, he could tell Rorin was very certain. His clenched hand loosened, and after putting away the kunai, he stepped back.
Seeing Kakashi return, Naruto asked in confusion,
"Kakashi-sensei, why are you coming back? Sasuke isn't someone Rorin can handle alone!"
Sakura said nothing. She quickly moved to Kakashi's side and began healing him with the Mystical Palm Technique.
"Trust him," Kakashi said quietly, glancing at Rorin.
Naruto then turned his gaze back to the battlefield between Rorin and Sasuke, gritting his teeth. Damn it… I've trained with that pervy sage for so long—why am I still this weak?
On the battlefield, Rorin and Sasuke took their positions, their eyes locking onto each other.
"Looks like you're very confident in your strength," Sasuke said coldly. "But do you even understand mine?"
Rorin didn't bother replying. He drew a bone blade from his body and pointed it at Sasuke.
Sasuke gripped the Kusanagi Sword as lightning gathered along its blade, then charged forward.
"Soon, you won't be this calm!"
Rorin didn't dodge. He charged straight at him.
Just as the Kusanagi Sword was about to clash with the bone blade, Kakashi's expression suddenly changed.
"This is bad! I forgot to warn Rorin about that sword's special properties!" he said anxiously.
On the battlefield, seeing Rorin use his bone blade to block, Sasuke's expression remained indifferent.
"Your way of defending… is a complete failure."
But just as the bone blade began to press into the Kusanagi Sword, spikes suddenly burst out from Rorin's body, growing wildly!
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch!
The sudden bone spikes shot toward Sasuke. Alert, he immediately tried to retreat, but Rorin's side kick struck him squarely. The impact felt like being hit by a massive boulder, sending him flying ten meters before crashing to the ground as dust billowed up.
Standing firm, Rorin looked calmly at Sasuke within the dust and said slowly,
"Has anyone ever told you… you talk too much?"
"Cough… cough…" Sasuke coughed as he slowly got back up. His expression finally changed—no longer indifferent, but tinged with shock.
What… was that power just now?
Watching this, Naruto's eyes gradually became vacant. Just earlier, when he had thrown a punch at Sasuke, it had been effortlessly blocked—yet now Sasuke couldn't even withstand a single kick from Rorin.
"Heh… so you do have something backing you up," Sasuke said, staring at Rorin again. "But do you really think I'll let you hit me again?"
As long as he kept his distance, he could remain undefeated—or so he believed.
With his Sharingan, that strategy seemed entirely feasible. As long as he didn't approach Rorin, the other party wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
Having decided, Sasuke quickly formed hand seals.
Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!
Several massive dragon-shaped flames roared toward Rorin, while Sasuke retreated further, widening the distance.
"His hand seals… they're getting faster," Kakashi observed intently. Sasuke was no longer the naive boy from three years ago.
Kakashi then looked at Rorin again. What will you do next?
Naruto and Sakura also watched silently, their hands unconsciously clenching.
At the center of the battlefield, Rorin watched the incoming flames. A faint smile appeared on his lips. His figure suddenly vanished—
—and in an instant, he appeared right beside Sasuke, smiling calmly as he looked at him.
Sasuke froze. "So fast!"
Rorin's voice came softly, "You just said… challenge you?"
"Huh?" Sasuke was stunned.
Rorin's fist slammed hard into Sasuke's abdomen, sending him flying backward. In the next moment, Rorin appeared beside him again and delivered another kick, smashing Sasuke straight into a wall. The entire structure collapsed, the ceiling crumbling as debris rained down.
Orochimaru's base was fully exposed to the sunlight.
The first ray of sunlight fell across Rorin's face.
Rorin spoke calmly—
"You… are weak."