In the Land of Water, outside the Kaguya clan's territory, within the forest.
A white-haired boy leaned against a tree, his green eyes calm and lifeless, eyelids tinged with red.
"Once again… only I remain."
From birth, he had been caged in solitude, allowed outside only for the sake of battle.
After each fight, Kimimaro felt nothing but emptiness. He could not understand what the meaning of his existence was.
He wandered aimlessly along a lakeside, searching for the reason he was alive.
There, Kimimaro suddenly realized—he had been here once before.
That time, he had discovered a flower blooming amidst a swamp overgrown with weeds.
Taking a few steps toward that direction, he saw it again.
Sure enough, the flower was still blooming in this lonely, desolate place.
Pure white, delicate, with dew clinging to its petals. A gentle breeze blew, and the flower swayed softly.
Kimimaro gazed at it for a long time. "Why bloom here?"
Suddenly, anger welled up. "Why won't you answer me? You're ignoring me too, aren't you? In a place like this, where no one will ever see you!"
He raised the bone blade in his hand, ready to destroy the flower—as if destroying himself.
"Don't do that."
A voice came from behind.
Startled, Kimimaro turned around and saw a man standing there without him noticing.
"Living doesn't necessarily have meaning. But by continuing to live, you may find something meaningful. Just like how you found this flower… and how I found you."
Uchiha Natsuki slowly approached and placed a hand on Kimimaro's cheek.
Kimimaro's face flushed red almost instantly.
(So Orochimaru wasn't wrong—he really is a master of touching hearts. Copying his words works far better than thinking of my own.)
"Come with me."
Shadows flickered in the trees as Kurita Kyoko landed, carrying Haku, with Kisame following behind.
Natsuki gestured to reassure Kimimaro. "They're comrades."
"I'm Uchiha Natsuki. This is Kurita Kyoko. That's Hoshigaki Kisame. And this is Haku."
Natsuki made introductions, then asked, "What's your name?"
"…Kimimaro."
Natsuki smiled. "From now on, we're companions."
Kimimaro nodded, though his gaze shifted to Haku.
Even though Haku had changed clothes and been washed clean, Kimimaro could still see his frailty—and more importantly, the light in his eyes.
Behind them, Kisame's shark-like eyes glared as if ready to devour anyone.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for greatly altering Kimimaro's life trajectory.]
Reward: Dance of the Seedling Fern x1
[Ding! Successfully recruited Kimimaro.]
Reward: Battle Instinct
Natsuki inhaled sharply. This was a talent every taijutsu user dreamed of!
For a taijutsu ninja, every second of close combat was fraught with deadly risk. Some secret techniques were so fast that failing to react meant instant death.
That was why pure taijutsu specialists were rare—Might Guy was an extraordinary exception. After all, unlike Kimimaro, Guy didn't have a bone armor to protect him. One mistake in close combat and you were finished.
But with Battle Instinct…
Natsuki's eyes narrowed slightly. Perhaps that idea of his really could succeed.
He hadn't expected Kimimaro to bond so quickly with Haku. Probably because both had lived in the same kind of loneliness.
Kimimaro had been caged underground for as long as he could remember; he didn't even know his own age.
From his bones alone, it was hard to tell—but given that in his previous life Kimimaro died at fifteen, the same age as Haku, Natsuki guessed the two were about the same.
Still, Kimimaro stood half a head taller than Haku and was noticeably healthier.
Prison had at least provided him meals, while Haku had survived through hunger on the streets.
Testing him, Natsuki confirmed that the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai was simply born for combat.
Though Kimimaro lacked formal training and his attacks had no set pattern—this unpredictability made him even more dangerous. After all, he could draw bones from anywhere in his body.
As for the clan's "dances," Kimimaro had never been taught, yet the techniques were already etched into his mind.
This shocked Natsuki. Who had taught him? The Kaguya clan fought with bones, yes, but only Kimimaro had the true Shikotsumyaku. There was no way they could have taught him secret dances like the Dance of the Seedling Fern at such a young age.
Kimimaro explained that the dances simply appeared in his mind. Nobody had taught him.
Natsuki was stunned, but this also confirmed his suspicion: the Kaguya were indeed descended from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Kimimaro was a child who had experienced an atavistic reversion.
Surely this wasn't the first time—it explained why the clan's power was called "Shikotsumyaku" to begin with.
Kimimaro's traits, from his kekkei genkai to his pale skin and refined appearance, all echoed Kaguya herself.
The modern Kaguya clan was full of brutish, distorted faces. Kimimaro's cold, aloof elegance made him a true outlier.
After consuming the Chakra Fruit, Kaguya's personality had already begun shifting toward divinity. A god viewed people as humans viewed animals—hence the impression of icy arrogance.
Kimimaro, upon maturity, had fully inherited this ancestral aura.
If the Sharingan and Byakugan represented the Sage of Six Paths' eyes, and the Uzumaki clan's chakra his body—then Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku was the embodiment of the Sage's bones.
But no descendant could fully withstand such a lineage. Anyone who manifested it was doomed to suffer genetic collapse.
The Sharingan and Byakugan, by contrast, were unusually stable inheritances. Yet this stability was also a shackle—the Uchiha had to constantly break through their bloodline limits to evolve further. By the time they reached the Mangekyō, even they could not endure its cost, giving rise to terrible side effects.
Every bloodline came with risk. The stronger the power, the higher the price.
The Byakugan had no risk… because it never evolved. Should there ever be a way to awaken the Tenseigan, it too would surely carry its own risks.
Even Hashirama, with his immense regenerative ability, had died mysteriously. Natsuki speculated it was due to his cells dividing too rapidly and exhausting his body's life force.
Kimimaro's condition was similar. Natsuki decided to send him to Orochimaru as soon as possible.
Orochimaru had been researching for two years already and had made progress—perhaps he could devise a way for Kimimaro to endure the mutation of the "Sage's bones."
If Kimimaro could truly master it, then the final technique of Kaguya—All-Killing Ash Bones—would mark the pinnacle of Shikotsumyaku.
In his past life, Orochimaru's study of senjutsu was limited to the Curse Marks on Jūgo, a corrupted imitation that ravaged the body.
But this time, Natsuki intended to ensure that anyone capable of senjutsu would learn it. When the Ōtsutsuki arrived, they would unleash the power of sage arts first—then talk about everything else later.
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