"Are you two secretly complimenting me~?"
Hatake Satoru suddenly popped up behind the two of them, holding food in both hands like he just came back from a festival.
"Nope. You heard wrong."
Kakashi lazily stared at the stuff in Satoru's hands. He had assumed the guy had just gone out to grab a quick snack.
But the match was almost over, and he came back with a pile of food like this—what was he thinking?
And at a time like this... where did he even find that much food?
"We were complimenting you, Sensei."
"But you know how it is. Little brothers never like to admit their older brothers are awesome. I get it," Hozuki Mangetsu said knowingly as he grabbed some food from Satoru.
…What do you even "get," seriously?
Kakashi shot Hozuki Mangetsu a blank stare. Did he think Kakashi was still a teenager or something?
If Hozuki Mangetsu weren't the Mizukage, Kakashi would've called him out right then and there.
And honestly, Mangetsu even looked younger than him. Being judged like this by someone who looked like a kid just felt weird.
Suddenly, fine sand began rising from the battlefield and swept quickly to both sides.
"Huh? It's him," Hatake Satoru said as soon as he saw the sand, already guessing who was now standing on the field.
"This isn't the time to be focused on that. Your food's about to get sand all over it."
Kakashi stepped back a little and looked at Satoru with a strange expression.
He had to admit, the timing was terrible for bringing food. Ever since Gaara stepped into the ring, the air had been full of fine sand.
With the environment like this, it was nearly impossible to keep Satoru's food clean until he finished eating.
"It's fine, don't worry~"
Satoru raised what he was holding, and the sand that was just about to land on it was completely blocked out.
There was a clear invisible field keeping the sand at a distance.
The blocked sand clumped together around Satoru and fell softly to the ground with a faint rustle.
"Not just dirt like this—whether I'm eating chocolate or chips, I never have to worry about my fingers getting dirty~"
My Limitless Technique is really well practiced.
Especially around my hands.
It wasn't quite at the level of an automatic reflex, but Satoru could already use the Limitless Technique smoothly and precisely.
He could even control how big the area of effect was—just enough to block things without using too much cursed energy.
In fact, the Limitless Technique on his fingers was the part he had mastered best and used most skillfully.
And the reason for that?
Because getting chip grease on his fingers was annoying—so he trained that part the hardest.
"…"
"That sounds like a really powerful technique... but how are you using it for something so ridiculous?"
Kakashi couldn't help but comment.
It felt like someone from the Uchiha clan awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan just to fry an egg.
That's not really how it's supposed to be used, right?
"You've gotta start by improving daily life first. That makes it easier to stay motivated."
Abilities that don't come in handy day-to-day are also a pain to practice.
Hatake Satoru shrugged helplessly.
But since Kimimaro had already jumped in, there wasn't much he could do. He actually brought something for him, but now he'd have to wait until the fight was over.
Hatake Satoru leaned on the railing and glanced down. The area below was full of swirling dust—it definitely wasn't good for the air.
Gaara was probably the perfect example of a fighter who could just stand still and attack. His sand could block everything and also attack from a distance.
He had both offense and defense—he seemed unbeatable.
The fine sand moved like a snake, chasing Kimimaro at high speed. When it dropped, it did so with full force, clearly aiming to completely bind him.
Kimimaro knew he couldn't let that sand touch him.
Just like Suigetsu's water, that sand would grab any chance to cling to him.
He planted one hand on the ground and leapt up, then pointed both hands straight at Gaara, whose brows were slightly furrowed.
While Gaara was busy using his sand to chase after Kimimaro, there wasn't much left around him for defense.
How much sand did he actually have? Was it just the sand from his gourd, or could he use the environment too?
Kimimaro's mind raced as he pointed his hands at Gaara.
"Ten-Finger Bone Bullets."
The skin at his fingertips quickly bulged, and pale-white finger bones shot out at high speed. The wounds on his fingertips healed almost instantly right after.
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The finger bones flew toward Gaara like bullets, fast and sharp.
The little sand Gaara had in front of him moved quickly and blocked the bones, shielding him completely.
The deflected bones rolled off the sand one by one and clattered to the ground.
"What the heck... is he fighting with bones!?"
Temari frowned. She already thought Gaara using sand was strange, but now there was someone fighting with his bones?
Kirigakure sure kept its secrets well.
Of the three new enemies who had shown up, only the one using senbon needles didn't seem that strange. The other two were clearly different from normal fighters.
"But even if they're bones, his hands still look fine?"
...
"Wait… can he grow his bones back as much as he wants?"
Naruto squinted and stared at his own fingers for a moment, trying to figure it out.
Then he lowered his head again, closely watching Kimimaro move skillfully across the battlefield.
"That's the Shikotsumyaku, the Kekkei Genkai of the Kaguya clan from Kirigakure."
"The whole clan was known for being super aggressive and strong in battle. Their power is basically made for fighting."
"A few years ago, when the Fourth Mizukage had his incident, they tried to start a rebellion. It caused massive casualties, and there haven't been any records of them since. No one knows what happened to the rest of the clan."
Sasuke stared down at Kimimaro in thought.
He remembered Kimimaro using this ability back when they fought that strange enemy in the Forest of Death.
After that fight, he'd taken some time to look up information about the Kaguya clan.
They were kind of similar to the Uchiha clan, but also quite different.
"His Taijutsu is really fast."
Lee was also fully focused on Kimimaro below.
Even in a fight where one wrong move could get him caught in the sand, Kimimaro didn't seem nervous at all. Every dodge and every strike was precise—nothing wasted.
Lee had always wanted to challenge opponents who looked like prodigies in Ninjutsu or had rare Kekkei Genkai.
But now, it looked like Kimimaro wasn't just good at using his Kekkei Genkai—he was also highly skilled in Taijutsu.
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This guy really is built like a natural-born genius.
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