Everything around Kimimaro turned gray and dim.
The only thing he could see was Logan—approaching fast.
Unstoppable.
Inescapable.
There wasn't even time to consider resistance.
The moment their eyes met, Kimimaro understood what kind of monster he was facing. His entire body felt like it had turned to lead, weighed down by the vengeful souls of the dead. He couldn't lift a finger.
The air shimmered with faint golden ripples, like ocean currents bathed in light—then it shattered beneath the swing of a blade.
"It's over," Kimimaro whispered, closing his eyes.
But then—pain bloomed in his chest like fire.
Dark, vein-like markings crawled across his skin from the center of his chest.
The Curse Mark of the Earth?!
Orochimaru's newest experiment—created using Jūgo's cellular structure as a base—was supposed to still be in testing.
Yet it activated on its own.
Power surged through Kimimaro's veins, roaring like a tidal wave. His limbs responded again. He could move.
With a sharp motion, he tore open his own left wrist, yanked free a forearm bone, and wielded it like a short sword to block Logan's strike.
Kimimaro's bloodline limit, the Dead Bone Pulse, allowed him to manipulate his skeletal structure. The bones he produced were harder than steel—hard enough to withstand even the swords of the Iron Country's elite warriors.
He raised the bone blade to defend against Logan's swing.
Simultaneously, sharp bones erupted from his ribs, spine, arms—anywhere Logan might try to strike. A deadly countermeasure. Anyone getting close would be pierced like a pincushion.
Clang!
His confidence lasted less than a second.
The bone blade shattered on impact.
Stronger than steel?
Didn't matter.
Logan had already destroyed two legendary swords—the Thunder Blade Fang and the Executioner's Blade—with a single strike. What chance did bone have?
Just as Logan's blade was about to finish Kimimaro—
Boom!
A gray-black arm shoved Kimimaro out of the way.
The sword flashed again—and the arm flew into the air, severed cleanly at the elbow.
"AAAAARGH!" Shigeo screamed, his face twisting with agony. Then, madness took over.
His pupils dilated. Rage and bloodlust clouded his eyes.
His already massive frame expanded—muscles bulging grotesquely. His skin turned completely gray-black. Blue flames jetted out from shoulder-mounted vents, like exhaust pipes on a demon.
He looked like something dragged straight out of hell.
The severed limb stopped bleeding almost instantly. Granulation tissue began forming, squirming as if a new arm was growing in real-time.
"DIE!"
"DIE!!!"
Jūgo roared and threw a punch straight at Logan's head as he landed, back turned.
"Explosive Strike!"
Logan, calm and unshaken, glanced over his shoulder.
"Star Platinum."
"ORA!"
The Stand emerged in a flash and met Jūgo's blow with one of its own.
Their fists collided mid-air.
BOOM.
The shockwave made the air tremble.
Time seemed to freeze.
Then—
CRACK!
Jūgo's arm split open with a sickening noise. Blood burst from the wound. The cracks ran deep, exposing bone. Muscle tissue turned black with necrosis.
Kimimaro, mid-air from being shoved aside, stared in disbelief.
"What…?!"
He had never seen anyone match Jūgo's berserker strength before. Not even Orochimaru.
In this state, Jūgo was a force of nature—a wild, uncontainable beast. The only known ways to stop him were illusions, joint techniques, or large-scale ninjutsu.
But Logan? He just punched him.
Logan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Jūgo's body began to regenerate rapidly as natural energy flooded into him. The cracks on his arm sealed up. Dozens of thick gun-barrel-like appendages grew from his back and shoulders, aiming directly at Logan and Star Platinum from point-blank range.
The barrels glowed with blue-green light, gathering chakra.
Kimimaro clenched his fists.
This was Jūgo's strongest technique: Doren's Self-Fire Cannon.
A devastating barrage of chakra shells compressed with natural energy. Enough to annihilate a building in seconds.
But…
Charging in front of Star Platinum?
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
The Stand exploded into motion. In a blink, every gun barrel was shattered.
Logan turned away from Jūgo without a second glance, redirecting his focus back to Kimimaro.
Behind him, Jūgo's body suddenly pulsed—and then detonated from the inside.
BOOOOM.
Flames erupted behind Logan, lighting up the battlefield.
Kimimaro finally landed, his feet touching the ground.
The heat of the flames licked his skin.
But his heart had turned to ice.
Logan started walking toward him.
And then stopped.
He frowned slightly.
No system notification.
That meant Jūgo wasn't dead.
Logan walked back toward the smoldering heap, sword in hand.
"You can't kill him!" Kimimaro shouted.
Logan turned. "Why not?"
"He's not in control! Logan—he's a lunatic, but this isn't his fault!"
Kimimaro stepped forward, slamming a hand against his chest.
"I made him do it. I used him to kill. He didn't want any of this!"
His voice cracked.
"Kill me and let him go!"
Kimimaro had seen enough.
Logan was a monster. There was no way they could win this fight.
And Kimimaro himself didn't have long to live. Even with Orochimaru's treatments, he had four, maybe five years at best.
But Jūgo—he could still be useful to Orochimaru.
From what little he'd heard, Kimimaro knew that Logan was no heartless killer.
"Logan!" he shouted. "You're a good person! Don't kill innocent people!"
His voice echoed across the village.
Then—
Five figures emerged.
Logan turned.
White masks.
Black uniforms.
No forehead protectors.
Root.
Of course.
When the battle began, the five Root operatives had hidden, hoping to catch Logan off guard once he was weakened.
But now that Logan had ended the fight so quickly… they hesitated.
After a moment's calculation, they decided: Kimimaro and Jūgo were Orochimaru's allies. And Orochimaru was still in contact with Danzo. For now, protecting these two served Root's interests best.
The lead ninja—wearing a fox mask—stepped forward.
"It's good you recognize us, Logan. This is the Land of Fire. These two criminals fall under Konoha's jurisdiction. We've been tracking them for weeks. Please stand down."
Logan raised an eyebrow. "The Land of Fire is Konoha's jurisdiction, true."
He nodded, as if agreeing.
Kimimaro exhaled, relieved.
Then Logan added:
"What if I say no?"
The fox-masked ninja's tone sharpened.
"Konoha has already shown you mercy by ignoring your defection. Don't force our hand."
Swords were drawn.
Two of them began weaving hand seals.
Logan looked around—corpses everywhere.
He chuckled coldly.
He nodded toward Kimimaro. "Didn't you hear him? I'm a good person. And they're the evil ones."
He stepped forward, tone dark.
"Yet here you are, pointing your knives at me… and not them."
He raised his voice.
"Why is it that good people are always the ones with swords at their throats?"
Then—
He stabbed Jūgo in the gut.
SHUNK.
Kimimaro and the Root operatives stared in shock.
"What the hell are you—?!"
Logan narrowed his eyes.
"How long are you going to hide in there?"
The others blinked.
What?
There was no one hiding.
But suddenly—
Jūgo's belly swelled grotesquely, as if he were pregnant. Skin stretched. Then tore open with a wet, sickening sound.
Something dark and slimy crawled out.
A pitch-black lion-shaped creature, reeking of death.
Logan didn't flinch.
If he didn't know he was in the Naruto world, he'd think aliens had landed.
The lion opened its mouth, and a sticky man emerged slowly—head first, eyes gleaming.
He stared at Logan like a man seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time.
From a distance, a familiar voice screamed:
"OROCHIMARU!"
Jiraiya.
The man's eyes shifted. He looked at Jiraiya with mockery and disdain.
Then he turned back to Logan, his voice hoarse, sultry, and magnetic.
"At last…"
He smiled.
"We finally meet, Mr. Logan."
pàtreøn (Gk31)