i am kimimaro

Orochimaru's eyes flashed with a cold glint, clearly displeased with Suigetsu's attitude.

Kimimaro now understood why Suigetsu was so afraid of Orochimaru later on.

It was probably because his rude attitude early on led Orochimaru to give him a harsh lesson, leaving a lasting fear.

Who knows, Suigetsu might continue defying Orochimaru, which could eventually lead to him being locked up as a test subject.

Orochimaru had spoken, and Kimimaro wanted to test just how strong this genius from the Hozuki clan was.

Kimimaro stepped forward and drew his bone sword from his waist.

"Damn it, what a hassle."

Suigetsu grumbled, but he had no intention of confronting Kimimaro directly. At the moment, he didn't care about the corpse of the Mist Anbu he had killed and immediately turned to run.

"I'm not playing with you guys!"

Even while fleeing, Suigetsu couldn't resist throwing out a taunt.

Kimimaro raised an eyebrow—Suigetsu was indeed interesting.

With a light tap of his foot, Kimimaro chased after him immediately.

Orochimaru remained still, seemingly not intending to follow. His gaze fell on the Mist Anbu corpse.

Suigetsu sprinted away at full speed, with Kimimaro close behind.

Soon, they left the small town.

"Damn, why won't this guy give up?"

Suigetsu cursed internally, surprised at Kimimaro's persistence.

"But that snake-like guy didn't follow. If it's just one person, I should be able to handle it."

Just as Suigetsu was thinking this, Kimimaro had already caught up and slashed at him!

A diagonal slash!

The bone sword cut through Suigetsu's body from the upper left to the lower right.

But no blood splattered—only water.

The sensation from the sword intrigued Kimimaro.

Cutting water?

What a fascinating feeling.

This hydration technique was indeed impressive, a very troublesome ability.

The Hozuki clan's hydration technique could be considered an ultimate soft art, while the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku was an embodiment of ultimate hardness.

Clearly, the two techniques didn't complement each other well.

However, the Hozuki clan also had hard techniques, like the Water Gun technique.

And the Kaguya clan had soft taijutsu techniques, such as the Dance of the Willow and Dance of the Camellia.

It was obvious that the ancestors of both clans understood the balance of hardness and softness.

Kimimaro was looking forward to this fight with Suigetsu.

Although Suigetsu had used his hydration technique to neutralize the damage, he was still shaken internally.

"This guy is so fast? Damn it, if this turns into a real fight, it's going to be trouble."

Suigetsu quickly reformed his body and sped up again.

Not far ahead, a small creek lay in their path.

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes, realizing Suigetsu's plan.

As a member of the Hozuki clan, Suigetsu's strength would increase significantly if he could enter the water.

Suigetsu had been running in this direction clearly to take advantage of the water to fight back.

If Suigetsu entered the creek, it would be difficult to catch him.

Kimimaro leapt onto a nearby tree, using his legs to push off and accelerate!

Whoosh!

He flew over Suigetsu and landed directly in his path.

Swinging his bone sword, Kimimaro said quietly, "Sorry, you can't pass."

"Damn it, just a little further."

Suigetsu cursed, wasting no time. He drew the long sword from his waist.

Besides the hydration technique, the Hozuki clan was also highly skilled in swordsmanship.

Suigetsu's brother, Mangetsu Hozuki, was one of the best, being the only person to master all seven swords of the Hidden Mist.

Unfortunately, Mangetsu died young.

If he were still alive, the Fourth Mizukage might not have acted against the Hozuki clan.

Though Suigetsu's talent was slightly inferior to Mangetsu's, he was still remarkable, earning the title "Demon Reborn" in the Mist Village.

The "demon" referred to Zabuza.

This showed that Suigetsu's talent was at least on par with Zabuza's.

"Kid, don't think I'm running because I'm afraid of you. If we fight for real, you might not stand a chance against me!"

Suigetsu's face twisted into a fierce expression, but it did nothing to intimidate Kimimaro.

After all, Kimimaro had just crawled out of a sea of blood and hell.

"Then try me."

"You little punk! Stop pretending!"

Seeing Kimimaro's calm and indifferent demeanor, Suigetsu felt a surge of rage.

He gripped his long sword tightly and attacked Kimimaro.

The long sword came slashing down, but Kimimaro held his bone sword horizontally to block it.

Clang!

The iron long sword struck the bone sword, creating a spark.

Kimimaro redirected Suigetsu's sword, sending it off course. At the same time, he kicked out, aiming for Suigetsu's abdomen.

However, the forceful kick felt as though it had hit water, with no real impact.

The hydration technique!

Kimimaro's attack was instantly neutralized.

Suigetsu grinned, revealing his shark-like teeth.

"Heh heh, you're dead!"

At point-blank range, Suigetsu used his left hand, forming a gun shape, gathering chakra.

"Water Style! Water Gun Technique!"

A water bullet shot out from Suigetsu's left index finger!

The Water Gun technique was a rare jutsu that didn't require hand signs.

But just as Suigetsu unleashed it, he noticed that Kimimaro had adopted a similar pose.

Kimimaro's left hand formed the same gun gesture, and he shouted, "Finger Bullet Drill!"

A white bone bullet shot from his fingertip, almost in sync with Suigetsu's Water Gun.

Bone bullet vs. water bullet!

The two projectiles flew through the air, compressing the air and making a piercing sound.

In less than a meter's distance, everything happened in a flash!

Bang!

The collision!

Water splattered!

The bone shattered!

But while the water dispersed into droplets, half of the bone bullet remained, piercing Suigetsu's chest!

Splash!

Water splashed again!

The bone bullet hit the ground, sinking into the soil.

This attack hadn't hurt Suigetsu, but he was deeply shocked.

Before Suigetsu could recover, Kimimaro's bone sword was already swinging again.

"Horizontal Four Slashes!"

Kimimaro slashed four times in quick succession!

At this distance, Suigetsu had no chance to dodge.

In an instant, all four of Suigetsu's limbs were cut, but the result was still the same—water splashed everywhere.

Suigetsu retreated several meters, half-kneeling on the ground, panting heavily, clearly exhausted.

Repeated use of the hydration technique in such a short time was pushing him to his limits.

"You… you're from the Kaguya clan!"

Suigetsu had found the bone sword strange at first but hadn't thought much of it.

Now, after seeing the Finger Bullet Drill, he was certain—Kimimaro was from the Kaguya clan.

Only the Kaguya clan could use such a technique.

Just as no one but the Hozuki clan could use the hydration technique.

"Kaguya... Kimimaro."

Kimimaro said slowly, raising his bone sword and pointing it at Suigetsu.

"Damn it! The Kaguya clan still has survivors?"

Suigetsu was shocked.

Hadn't the Kaguya clan been wiped out last night?

This guy must be one of the few who escaped!

(End of chapter)