Several people joined forces against one opponent, yet they couldn't gain any advantage.
This Kimimaro was just too strong!
In truth, Kimimaro's power really was formidable. If not for his severe illness, he wouldn't have died so quickly in the original story. Lee and Gaara would've been in deep trouble.
It felt like a scripted death.
Fortunately, everyone was still probing and hadn't gone all out yet.
"Guy, are you alright?" Kakashi asked with concern.
"I'm fine. Good thing I pulled my kick back in time, or my leg would've been ruined!" Guy replied with lingering fear.
The two elite jōnin now stared at Kimimaro with grave expressions.
Clearly, if they didn't show their true skills, defeating him would be difficult.
Kakashi silently activated the switch on his chakra battery.
His chakra reserves were still somewhat insufficient—he had no choice but to rely on the battery now.
Guy began releasing "6-1-3," his body erupting with a powerful chakra stream.
"Hachimon Tonkō! Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit—Open!"
Boom!
Guy vanished from his spot. In the next instant, he appeared behind Kimimaro and launched a powerful kick, attempting to knock him into the air and follow up with Ura Renge (Reverse Lotus).
However, a burst of bone spikes erupted from Kimimaro's back to block the move.
But he didn't expect Guy to not even pause—his kick landed hard.
Crack crack crack!
The bone spikes shattered, and Kimimaro was launched skyward.
Guy chased him into the air and attempted another kick, but Kimimaro blocked it with a massive bone blossom grown from his back.
Then, he swung his spine-whip toward Guy.
Zzt!
The whip was suddenly severed.
Kakashi had appeared at Guy's side at some point, Chidori in hand—a technique sharp enough to cut lightning itself. Severing the spine-whip was nothing.
Guy took the opening and struck again, breaking through the bone armor on Kimimaro's chest and kicking him squarely in the torso.
Kimimaro coughed up blood but gritted his teeth and grabbed onto Guy's leg.
It was an all-out suicidal tactic!
Seeing this, Kakashi immediately used Geppō (Moonwalk) to dash forward, aiming to drive his Chidori into Kimimaro's head.
But bone spikes erupted wildly from Kimimaro's forehead, stopping the attack.
Kakashi wasn't surprised—he hadn't truly aimed to kill. Instead, he kicked Kimimaro's arm away and pulled Guy back, retreating mid-air while watching Kimimaro plummet.
With Geppō, aerial maneuvering really was more agile.
But that bit of height wasn't lethal. Kimimaro landed safely.
Still, he looked impatient. Ignoring the airborne Guy and Kakashi, he charged straight toward Sasuke.
Shino and Neji immediately braced themselves.
But then Tenten suddenly stepped forward.
"Leave this to me!"
The others looked confused as Tenten pulled out a kunai marked with a Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) seal and threw it toward Kimimaro.
Then, she took out a scroll and summoned a thick stack of explosive tags.
More explosive tags!?
Was she addicted to using them!?
"Everyone back up! The blast's gonna be big!"
Tenten warned. The moment the kunai neared Kimimaro, she used Hiraishin no Jutsu to teleport the explosive tags to its location and triggered them immediately.
"Kinton Ōgi—Gojū-man Kibaku Fuda no Jutsu!"
(Money Release Secret Art—500,000 Explosive Tags Technique!)
Everyone: "NANI?!"
Kimimaro: "Na—NANI?!"
BOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion engulfed the entire area.
Thankfully, with Tenten's warning, Neji and Shino quickly carried Sasuke to safety.
Tenten also teleported away in time.
Kakashi, still in the air, hauled Guy using Geppō, trying to sprint miles away from the blast radius.
"Hahaha! Tenten is seriously loaded! Five hundred thousand explosive tags!" Guy laughed in awe at the overwhelming explosion.
"She's got the cash alright, but this is insane! She almost blew up her own team!"
Kakashi couldn't help but complain. His impression of Tenten had completely changed.
He used to think she was just a support kunoichi good with ninja tools and spatial jutsu.
He didn't expect her to be such a mad bomber.
Was this something that brat Natsuki taught her!?
Still, against someone like Kimimaro, maybe this method really worked.
Their usual attacks kept getting blocked by his bones—they hadn't been able to land a decisive hit.
Now they'd just bombed the whole field.
Even if Kimimaro used his bones to defend, that was five hundred thousand tags. The sheer heat alone could cook a person alive!
The explosion's smoke cloud lingered for a long while before slowly clearing.
Everyone regrouped, first exchanging strange looks with Tenten, then cautiously approached the blast zone…
They had to admit—five hundred thousand tags had left a truly massive crater.
Everything within the area had been obliterated. It was horrifying.
Everyone glanced at Tenten again and swallowed hard.
Note to self: never piss off the rich girl.
Regular shinobi used tags by the sheet—she used them by the book.
"He's not here… Don't tell me he was reduced to ash?" Tenten looked around.
The others also looked but saw nothing.
Then—
A hand suddenly shot up from the crater.
A moment later, a blood-soaked Kimimaro clawed his way out of the dirt.
He looked like a wreck, clearly having used bone armor to protect himself—yet he hadn't been able to withstand all of it.
But the fact that he was still alive at all…
That was already a miracle!
"He survived that?! Should I go for a million this time?"
Tenten's comment made everyone's scalp tingle.
This girl was crazy!
Then Kimimaro spoke:
"I will bring Sasuke back… it is my mission. For Orochimaru-sama… even if it costs my life!"
His words stunned the group.
They simply couldn't understand why he would throw away everything for that snake.
Kimimaro gave no explanation.
He slammed his hands into the ground, and his chakra erupted wildly.
"Shikotsumyaku: Sawarabi no Mai!"
(Dance of the Fern)
In the next instant, massive bone spikes burst from the earth like freshly sprouting bamboo, rapidly forming a towering bone forest that kept growing in the direction of the group.
Their expressions shifted in alarm.
"This is bad! RUN!"
Everyone turned and sprinted, but the forest was growing far too fast—they couldn't outrun it.
Shino and Tenten exchanged glances.
One grabbed Sasuke, the other picked up Neji, and they shot into the air using Geppō.
Kakashi did the same, hoisting Guy and leaping skyward.
Fortunately, Kimimaro didn't seem to notice them.
The bone forest expanded rapidly but didn't adjust course.
In a short time, the entire forest was swallowed and transformed into a vast land of bone.
It looked like an ancient battlefield, terrifying to behold.
"What kind of…"
No one could finish the sentence.
Words failed them in the face of such overwhelming spectacle.
They could only stand there in stunned silence.
(End of Chapter)
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