Lee, all five gates blazing, barreled toward Kimimaro at full speed.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"
Shikamaru's shadow lashed out, trying once more to lock down Kimimaro's movements. But Cursed Seal Stage Two Kimimaro was on an entirely different level now—bone spikes shredded the shadow's grip with ease.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch!" Kimimaro barked. Bone spikes erupted around him like a violent tempest, hurtling toward Lee.
But Lee with five gates open was a different beast too.
Sage Mode or not—you're eating taijutsu. Even an Ōtsutsuki would get punched in the face!
WHAM!
The Dance of the Larch that had stopped Lee cold before? Against Lee with the Fifth Gate open, Cursed Seal Stage Two Kimimaro's bone spikes were kicked clean apart. Kimimaro was sent flying into the air.
"This time, it's the real Reverse Lotus!"
Lee's figure materialized behind Kimimaro in an instant, moving so fast the air itself trembled. His movement alone set off a chain of sonic booms.
Lee struck again and again in midair, his fists raining down with staggering force.
"And this—is the final blow!"
BOOM—!
Under Lee's assault, Kimimaro was driven into the ground.
The Reverse Lotus was devastating. Absolutely earth-shaking.
But neither Sasuke, Neji, nor Shikamaru believed this would be enough to take down Kimimaro.
"Neji!" Shikamaru called out.
"Understood! Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Neji struck out with both hands. Chakra condensed into an invisible shockwave—and the instant Lee bounced off Kimimaro's body, it slammed into Kimimaro's chest.
The timing was exquisite. A fraction earlier and it would've hit Lee; a fraction later and Kimimaro would've blocked it.
Kimimaro's bone armor trembled under the impact, but he merely let out a cold laugh, utterly unfazed.
Meanwhile, Lee had landed off to the side, gasping for air—hands and feet battered and bleeding, as though he'd been striking solid rock rather than a human body.
The Vacuum Palm was even less effective.
If it had been Hanabi's Divine Vacuum Attack, it might have made a difference. But this Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was bargain-bin level at best—passable, nothing more.
Yet both attacks had bought Sasuke the time he needed.
"Chidori!" Sasuke had already finished his hand signs and surged in right behind Neji.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Clematis!"
Kimimaro's spine suddenly extended, morphing into a massive bone whip that swept across the field. Sasuke's Chidori collided with the bone whip in a blinding explosion—and the Chidori was shattered outright by the Cursed Seal Stage Two Shikotsumyaku.
But Sasuke's other hand shot out, seizing the whip.
"Fire Style: Enten!"
Flames raced along the bone whip and engulfed Kimimaro's body, erupting with a detonation.
Sasuke released the whip and completed his next hand signs.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!" A torrent of searing flame erupted from Sasuke's mouth, the fire coalescing into a dragon that barreled straight at Kimimaro.
Not quite point-blank, but a face-to-face Fire Style finisher like this still demanded respect.
Kimimaro's bone whip snapped back to defend, colliding with the flame dragon in a colossal shockwave. Trees toppled in every direction. Smoke and dust filled the air.
"Understood! I won't let you escape this time! Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji's form appeared behind Kimimaro like a phantom, his palm strikes fierce and precise, each one targeting Kimimaro's chakra nodes.
Kimimaro's body finally began to tremble. The Cursed Seal's power seemed to falter for just an instant.
"Your strength truly brings me joy. But—I cannot afford to fail here!"
His body erupted with an even more powerful surge of Chakra. Bone armor sprouted once more, this time covering every inch of his frame. His speed climbed again. The bone whip lashed at all four like a venomous serpent.
"Sasuke, watch out!" Shikamaru yelled.
He'd spotted it—Kimimaro was only truly serious when facing Sasuke. This sweeping AOE attack was a feint. The real target was one person: Sasuke!
Sasuke's Sharingan spun at top speed, barely dodging the bone whip's strike—but a bloody gash was carved across his shoulder.
"Trying to grab me, are you?!"
Sasuke's guess was that this man was trying to seize him and haul him away.
Just like Orochimaru had wanted.
"But it's not over yet!"
Sasuke smiled coldly.
His attack wasn't finished!
A Hanabi doll sailed from Sasuke's hand.
Even Kimimaro could sense the terrifying power contained within it.
Layers of bone armor encased him.
"—BOOM!"
What followed was an earth-shattering explosion.
Even Kimimaro couldn't eat two point-blank finishers in a row. His bone armor cracked apart.
But halfway through being blasted backward, Kimimaro's momentum abruptly stopped.
"Hmph—this is the last Shadow Bind!" Shikamaru's final gambit locked Kimimaro in place.
"Chidori!"
Sasuke charged in. He drew a backup short blade and channeled Chidori through the steel.
"This is my last Chidori too!"
"Watch out!"
Neji pulled Sasuke aside—but took a hit from the tail that whipped out of nowhere. Kimimaro's tail wasn't just for show; it was functional.
The tail smashed Neji into the ground, but he clung to it, pinning Kimimaro in place.
"Neji—damn it!"
Sasuke pivoted, and using the opening Neji had bought him, finally drove the short blade into Kimimaro's body.
In that instant, everything seemed to freeze.
"Is it over?"
Lee struggled to push himself up.
"Did we win?"
[It's over. They were about to win, and then THIS flag goes up]
[They were just about to finish it, and Lee's line—I can't even hold it together]
[Please don't let it be a flag]
[No way, right? This guy can't be that hard to kill?]
[Three bosses, and Kimimaro feels like the weakest, but somehow he's the most oppressive]
[Look at what the other two fights have going on, though. Only our Pillar Bro here is a regular human, and he fought this well—give him some credit]
[The only member of Team 7 who doesn't have cheat codes]
[That's the hard-power champion right there]
[Enough with the stale memes—but yeah, it really is hard power, 233]
"You truly are exceptional, Uchiha Sasuke," Kimimaro murmured. "But I will not fall here."
Kimimaro was already a dead man walking—someone in his final days, sustained by drugs and sheer willpower.
But until Orochimaru's wish was fulfilled, he could not go down!
"Let everything end here! Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern!"
Countless bone spikes erupted from the earth.
"Huh?!"
Shikamaru instantly recognized that the spikes were radiating outward from Kimimaro, expanding in every direction, faster and faster.
"This is bad… we can't escape!"
Shikamaru cried out. He released his Shadow Bind immediately.
But in that very moment, a thunderous, heroic voice rang out: "Summoning Technique!"
The viewers' blood was boiling!
And so… this episode ends here…!
[Gaia!!]
[Jugglus Juggler!]
[Godzilla!]
[King Ghidorah!]
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon—for the sake of Digimon, use Fire Punch on the production team!]