i am kimimaro

"Nothing much, I just wanted to teach you a little lesson in life. If you want to survive in the Sound Village, you need to understand these principles."

Kenmicchi sneered coldly, though inwardly, he was quite surprised by Kimimaro's strength.

The punch he had just thrown wasn't weak, yet the other party easily caught it and instantly countered.

Just that reaction alone was enough to make him more cautious.

"Isn't that Kenmicchi? Is he going after the newcomers?"

"Seems like it. Looks like the newbies are in trouble. Recently, Lord Otoya gave Kenmicchi the same soft-body modification as Lord Orochimaru. His strength is nothing like it used to be."

"So, this newcomer is really unlucky."

"Heh, you're saying that like any newcomer here isn't unlucky? These two won't be exceptions."

"After all, they were brought here personally by Lord Orochimaru. They must have some skill."

"We'll soon see."

The crowd buzzed with conversation as Kimimaro glanced over at Suigetsu.

"I'll hold off on beating you up. Someone just delivered themselves here for the job."

Hearing this, Suigetsu looked at Kenmicchi with gratitude—and a bit of pity.

Why'd you have to provoke him?

"Boss, be careful."

Suigetsu's sudden concern for him took Kimimaro a bit off guard.

But that didn't matter.

Kimimaro took a quick step forward, accelerating rapidly.

His right hand clenched into a fist and shot toward Kenmicchi's face.

"So fast!"

Kenmicchi was startled and quickly retreated, bringing his palms together to shield himself.

*Smack!*

Kimimaro's fist slammed into his palms.

"That's all the strength you've got? Didn't have breakfast?"

Kenmicchi barely managed to catch the punch but still forced a mocking tone, a sneer appearing on his face.

However, such taunts had no effect on Kimimaro.

His cold green eyes stared at Kenmicchi, completely unfazed.

The power of the Shikotsumyaku activated!

In an instant, a razor-sharp bone spike erupted from his fist!

*Rip!*

The bone spike shot out, instantly piercing through Kenmicchi's palms!

"Ah!"

With a cry of pain, Kenmicchi's sneer vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Blood oozed from his palms.

Kimimaro withdrew his fist, leaving the bone spike embedded in Kenmicchi's hands.

Then, with a swift turn, Kimimaro spun and delivered a powerful kick to Kenmicchi's abdomen.

Having taken two heavy blows in quick succession, Kenmicchi was sent flying!

*Thud!*

He hit the ground hard, looking utterly defeated.

The crowd was shocked.

"Wow, he's strong! He defeated someone favored by Lord Orochimaru in just one move!"

Fear crept into the crowd's eyes as they gazed at Kimimaro.

A strong person will always command attention.

"How dare you ambush me!"

Kenmicchi shouted angrily, pulling the bone spike from his palms and letting it fall to the ground.

At the same time, his heart raced in fear at Kimimaro's strange abilities.

Where had that bone spike come from?

Everything had happened so fast that he hadn't even seen what was going on before he was injured.

However, he didn't believe he was weaker than Kimimaro. He assumed that Kimimaro's strange technique had caught him off guard.

Kimimaro just stared at him coldly, saying nothing.

That gaze made it clear Kenmicchi wasn't even worth acknowledging.

"You bastard! How dare you look down on me! I'm a genius, handpicked and enhanced by Lord Orochimaru!" 

Kenmicchi roared as he launched an attack!

Wind whipped around his feet, and he clenched his right fist so tightly it seemed like he would crush it.

The pain in his hands had triggered a vicious rage, and he wasn't holding back any longer.

Injuring Kimimaro wasn't enough—he wanted him dead!

His fist came barreling forward with intense force!

Suigetsu, watching from the sidelines, mused, "This guy's got some strength, but it's too bad he's up against that monster."

The fist, as big as a sandbag, came crashing down, nearly hitting its mark.

Kimimaro tilted his body just slightly, effortlessly dodging.

Then, he reached out with both hands and grabbed Kenmicchi's arm, using the momentum to throw him!

Kenmicchi suddenly felt weightless as he lost his balance and was lifted off the ground.

In a flash, the flawless face of the boy appeared in front of him.

How had this boy mastered such control over his strength?

His taijutsu was exceptional.

"Damn it, I won't lose this easily!"

Kenmicchi immediately reached out with his left hand, grabbing Kimimaro's left arm.

His body twisted, slowing his fall just enough.

Taking advantage of the moment, he tightly gripped Kimimaro's left hand, his body softening like a snake as he dropped down.

In the blink of an eye, Kenmicchi coiled himself around Kimimaro's body.

His left hand locked onto Kimimaro's left arm while his right arm wrapped around his right.

His entire body twisted unnaturally, coiling around Kimimaro's waist.

Even his legs were wrapped around Kimimaro.

In an instant, Kenmicchi had completely immobilized him!

He clung to Kimimaro like a living octopus.

"You brat! Let's see how arrogant you are now! I'm going to crush all your bones!"

Kenmicchi's head was right next to Kimimaro's, his voice crazed, his face twisted in madness.

He had won!

No one had ever survived once he got them in this hold.

"Oh no! It's that move! A few days ago, Kenmicchi used this same technique to strangle someone to death! That poor person had all their bones crushed; they died horribly."

"What a shame, that newcomer was pretty strong. But in the end, he lost."

"Well, Kenmicchi is favored by Lord Orochimaru and was modified by Lord Otoyi. It's impressive the newcomer held his own at all. Defeating him was just too much to ask."

"The newcomer is done for. Angering Kenmicchi like that, he's probably going to be strangled to death."

The crowd looked at Kimimaro with sympathy.

But some remained indifferent, or even eager for the outcome.

In this kind of environment, it wasn't unusual for people's personalities to be twisted.

Suigetsu covered his face with one hand, muttering, "What an idiot. He really thinks he can crush the bones of the Kaguya clan? Where does he get that confidence from?"

Kimimaro's cold voice suddenly reached Kenmicchi's ear.

"Really? You're quite bold."

"You brat! Still pretending? I don't care if Lord Orochimaru punishes me—I'm going to kill you! Die!"

Kenmicchi's grip tightened as intense pressure surged around Kimimaro.

"Feel that? You can't breathe, can you? Hahaha!"

Kenmicchi laughed wildly.

"Is that it?"

Kimimaro's icy voice cut off Kenmicchi's laughter.

He suddenly realized he couldn't tighten his grip any further.

It was as if he wasn't wrapping around a person—but a stone.

"What's going on?"

"With this amount of force, you're barely scratching me. Let's finish this. Dance of the Larch!"

In the next moment, dozens of sharp white bone spikes erupted from Kimimaro's body, piercing through Kenmicchi and leaving him covered in blood!

"Ahhh!"

A blood-curdling scream echoed across the training ground. 

(End of Chapter)