It was great that Kimimaro could hold the enemy off for now. They needed to use this chance to get away.
This guy's strength was terrifying. Sasuke was already worn out to this point, and they hadn't even managed to break the guy's mask.
No matter who he was, fighting him was a losing battle.
The people from Kirigakure might be stronger overall, and the last time they won against Haku was mostly because Naruto had the power of the Nine-Tails on his side.
But at least with Haku, they could study his patterns and come up with ways to fight him. He wouldn't just scare them into freezing up with his killing intent alone.
"Hah? Don't lump us in with you weak Genin who've never even killed anyone."
"We'll be fine. At the very least, we're not gonna get crushed like you guys did."
Suigetsu grinned, showing off a row of sharp white shark teeth.
In a flash of soft light, Haku appeared right beside Sasuke.
Sasuke was just about to speak, but stopped, quickly turning to the side with his kunai ready.
"Relax, it's me."
Haku put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and spoke in a calm voice.
"You're right. That guy's not someone you can handle alone, so Suigetsu and I are going to help too."
"That girl clearly isn't strong enough. Can you still keep going?"
Haku looked up slightly. Orochimaru and Kimimaro were still trading blows above them.
Since they got here, they hadn't seen anyone who could actually keep up with Kimimaro like this.
Most people either got taken out instantly or were completely within Kimimaro's expectations.
Sasuke wasn't trying to scare Suigetsu—this guy really was something else.
"No problem. But you guys should leave while you still can."
"With your abilities, passing this exam shouldn't be hard."
There was no need to throw their lives away here.
Sasuke didn't say that last part out loud. After all, these three had come to help him.
Haku probably already understood how serious things were. Sasuke didn't need to say anything depressing.
"Yeah."
Haku gave a small nod, then grabbed Suigetsu by the collar and disappeared in a flash.
"Kirigakure, your sword's pretty interesting."
Orochimaru stood still on a branch, looking Kimimaro up and down with curious eyes.
Kirigakure was known for producing lots of Kekkei Genkai users, but not exactly known for good people.
Rogue ninjas, the Bloody Mist—it had all been a mess for years.
They'd only started settling down after switching to other industries, which slowly cut down the number of rogue ninjas.
Still, they were good at assassinations, and their ninja were often stronger than those from Konohagakure.
The village might be far, but since Kimimaro was here, Orochimaru wasn't going to miss the chance to grab someone useful.
His snake-like eyes narrowed, staring at Kimimaro like he was a fun new toy.
"..."
Kimimaro had no interest in chatting. Holding his bone blade, he kicked off and charged straight at Orochimaru.
"So impatient. Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."
As Kimimaro rushed forward, Orochimaru raised a hand, and a swarm of snakes shot out from his sleeve.
They were so many and so fast it was dizzying. They rushed toward Kimimaro to wrap around him.
Cold snake bodies coiled tightly around him in an instant, climbing up his body with open jaws, ready to bite down.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow."
Even though Kimimaro was pinned down and couldn't move, he showed no panic at all. He looked down at Orochimaru with a cold, blank stare.
Orochimaru's face twitched slightly with a hint of disgust. That look in Kimimaro's eyes—he had seen it before, from Uchiha Itachi.
What is this kid from Kirigakure up to?
Suddenly, a few long, thin bone spikes shot out of Kimimaro's body, piercing several snakes just as they were about to bite him. Bright red snake blood dripped down along the bones.
Then Kimimaro twisted his body in an incredibly flexible way, moving in sync with the bones sticking out of him, in a way that almost looked unnatural.
He spun around Orochimaru like a dancing, spinning porcupine, fast and sharp.
With a few slicing sounds, Kimimaro spun through the air, using the bones growing from his body to slice apart the snakes that popped up around him.
Without any pause, he raised his hand and pointed it right at Orochimaru.
"Ten-Finger Bullets!"
Orochimaru pulled out a kunai and stepped back several times, quickly knocking the white bone bullets to the ground.
*Crack* — a sharp sound rang out. A small crack had actually appeared on Orochimaru's kunai.
How is that even possible!?
The strength and hardness of the attack were honestly hard to believe.
As Orochimaru kept moving back, he casually glanced at the white bullets on the ground.
He was someone with deep knowledge of secret techniques, and he'd done more human experiments than he could count.
Those white bullets—no doubt about it—were finger bones from a human body.
Even if they were oddly hard, they were still just bones in the end.
"Shikotsumyaku… You're from the legendary Kaguya clan."
Orochimaru thought about it for a second, then his eyes lit up with excitement.
The Kaguya clan—born for war, living to fight!
The way Kimimaro pushed his bones outside his body, and the fact that his bones didn't seem to run out even when he used them in battle—there was no doubt. He was part of the Kaguya clan from Kirigakure, the ones with the rare Kekkei Genkai called Shikotsumyaku.
He never expected to run into someone so rare and gifted here.
As Kimimaro kept pressing forward, he didn't notice what was happening under his feet.
All of a sudden, a huge brown snake shot up from below and slammed into him, launching him backward.
"I always thought the Kaguya clan were just brainless killing machines. But you… you're different."
Kimimaro's control over the hardness and movement of his bones, along with his ability to grow them without limit—this was the most skilled user of Shikotsumyaku Orochimaru had ever seen.
Someone like this was totally wasted in the Chunin Exams. If Kirigakure was willing to let a guy like this out in the open, it was basically giving Orochimaru a perfect chance to recruit him.
Just as Kimimaro was caught off guard and sent flying, Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched out to a creepy length, darting toward Kimimaro's blind spot.
Even though losing Sasuke was a bit of a setback, if he could get this kid instead, the trip would still be worth it.
"You'll come looking for me again! As long as you want more power, you'll come to me!"
Orochimaru quickly moved behind Kimimaro and lunged at the gap between the bones on his arm.
If he could just bite him, he could leave a curse mark on him. That way, no matter where Kimimaro went, Orochimaru would be able to find him.
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