i am kimimaro

**Dance of the Willows!** 

The third dance of Kaguya's Fluid Art Five Dances. 

Chakra stimulates the strength of the Shikotsumyaku, causing dozens of bone spikes, wrapped in chakra, to burst out from all over the body. These spikes can be used for both attack and defense, with terrifying power.

Kimimaro spun his body, launching into a 360-degree whirlwind. Dozens of bone spikes, tinged with bloody arcs, relentlessly slashed through Kenmicchi's body. 

One bloody mark after another appeared on his body! 

Blood soaked through his clothes, and his screams didn't cease. 

The chilling sound of his screams sent shivers through everyone present. 

Originally, they held a slight fear of Kimimaro's strength. Now, their gazes toward him were as if they were looking at a demon. 

A cold, ruthless demon! 

Kimimaro halted his attack and landed steadily on the ground. 

Kenmicchi, however, fell to the ground like a rag doll. 

At this moment, his breath was gone, his eyes wide open, as if he couldn't believe he had just died. 

For a moment, everything was so silent that the sound of insects chirping could be heard.

Everyone exchanged looks, not even daring to breathe loudly, let alone speak.

They were all terrified of offending Kimimaro and meeting the same fate as Kenmicchi.

Kimimaro glanced indifferently at Kenmicchi, retracting the bone spikes, which had not been tainted with any blood thanks to the chakra covering them, and turned to leave.

"We're leaving, Suigetsu."

Upon hearing this, Suigetsu quickly followed.

It wasn't until several minutes after Kimimaro left that the crowd returned to their senses.

"God, is that newcomer a monster? He killed Kenmicchi in an instant, even when Ken had him tied up!"

"As expected from someone brought back by Lord Orochimaru, he's just too powerful. If he becomes my boss, I won't have to worry about being bullied anymore."

"Don't be silly. With that cold demeanor, I bet if you annoyed him, your life would be over. It's best to stay far away from someone like that."

"Yeah, his presence is too chilling. I've only felt something like that from Lord Orochimaru."

"I wonder who's stronger—him or the Sound Four?"

At the mention of the Sound Four, the group fell silent.

"The Sound Four were taken away for special training by Lord Orochimaru, and they haven't been seen for a long time. Who knows if they're still alive?"

"Who knows. Too many people have died here."

"Whatever, let's stop talking and get back to training."

"What about Kenmicchi's body?"

"This isn't your first day here. Leave the body; Lady Oto inevitably will send someone to deal with it. Nothing that happens here escapes her eyes."

"True."

The bloody spectacle ended. The spectators left, and the performers were gone. 

All that remained was the solitary corpse on the ground, a silent testament to the violence that had just occurred.

Not far away, Oto withdrew her gaze.

"Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan… what an interesting boy. The Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku is truly powerful. No wonder Lord Orochimaru values him so much. But why is he interested in learning medical ninjutsu?"

Oto's tone revealed a hint of confusion.

Someone with such immense combat talent wanting to learn medical ninjutsu was quite odd.

From Kimimaro's expression, it didn't seem like he had any grand wish to save lives.

For a moment, Oto's curiosity about this white-haired boy deepened.

**On the road.**

Suigetsu followed behind Kimimaro, not as fearful of his methods as the others.

Growing up in the Bloody Mist Village, Suigetsu had developed a much higher tolerance for such brutality.

Since the other party intended to kill him, Suigetsu believed that any means of defeating them was acceptable.

After all, he had survived his own escape by using any method necessary to kill his enemies.

Otherwise, he would have been dead long ago.

Kimimaro's decisive and ruthless nature only made Suigetsu feel more at ease.

He even vaguely saw a shadow of his older brother, Mangetsu Hozuki, in Kimimaro.

Mangetsu was similarly decisive and ruthless. 

In fact, he was even more brutal than Kimimaro.

"This guy… he's already fully adapted to the ways of the shinobi world."

Suigetsu thought to himself as he watched Kimimaro walk ahead.

Suddenly, Kimimaro stopped and looked back at Suigetsu.

Suigetsu was taken aback.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me you didn't get enough and still want to beat me up?"

Suigetsu immediately took a defensive stance.

"Relax, I'm not going to hit you. I just have something to say."

"What is it?"

Suigetsu asked, puzzled.

"I know you haven't given up on the idea of escaping, but I advise you to let it go for now. Even if you leave here, where would you go? It's better to use the resources here to get stronger quickly. Once you're powerful enough, the shinobi world will be yours to explore.

"On the other hand, with your current weakness, even if you manage to escape, you won't be able to accomplish anything. You're from the Hozuki clan—you should understand how important strength is. That's all I have to say. What you do next is up to you."

After finishing, Kimimaro turned to leave.

Over the past three days, although he had spent most of his time reading in his room, he had noticed during meals that Suigetsu was always sneaking around.

It wasn't hard for him to guess what Suigetsu was thinking.

This was the last time he would speak on the matter.

If Suigetsu still wanted to run, Kimimaro wouldn't remind him again.

He was helping Suigetsu because he thought he was a good person, not because he wanted to babysit him.

Suigetsu was somewhat surprised that the usually cold Kimimaro would say such things to him.

Before he could respond, Kimimaro had already walked away.

"I already figured that out a long time ago. Did I really need you to tell me? But… was this guy just giving me advice? Is he starting to see me as a subordinate?"

Suigetsu muttered to himself, but he found that the idea of being Kimimaro's subordinate wasn't as distasteful as before.

He could feel that Kimimaro cared about him.

Coming from the Bloody Mist Village, Suigetsu hadn't experienced much care, so he couldn't help but feel a bit warm inside.

Unlike Kimimaro, who was a reincarnator, Suigetsu was just a kid under ten years old and was naturally easier to move emotionally.

"Fine, I'll stick to my previous plan and train properly."

Suigetsu mumbled, heading off to ask Oto for more training resources.

**Elsewhere,** Kimimaro didn't return to his room right away. Instead, he went to a secluded place and opened his status panel.

During his fight with Kenmicchi, he had heard a familiar voice in his ear.

"Congratulations, tourist! You have successfully taken a photo with Kenmicchi and earned a reward: Way of Destruction No. 4, White Lightning."

The character in the photo was none other than Kenmicchi.

During their brief exchange, Ken had grabbed Kimimaro's left hand, and at that moment, the photo was completed.

Kenmicchi was the Sound Village spy killed by Kankuro during the Chunin Exams, as well as Kabuto's teammate.

"Who would've thought that even minor characters could trigger a photo. Looks like any named character in Naruto has a photo reward."

Kimimaro thought to himself, then extended his right index finger and softly said, "Way of Destruction No. 4, White Lightning!"

A white bolt of lightning formed at his fingertip and instantly shot out! 

It struck a tree several meters away, leaving a charred mark.

"A lightning-based attack. This will be quite useful against Suigetsu's water transformation jutsu."

If Suigetsu knew Kimimaro was thinking this, that newly found warmth might have been smothered immediately.

This guy really knows how to bully others!

(End of chapter)