He stepped closer to the Daimyo's desk. "You will release 50 million ryo to fund the initial construction and supply lines. Secure the capital, Daimyo... or fall under my blade, and I will gladly hold the titles of both Otokage and Daimyo myself."
If it had been Orochimaru standing before him, the Daimyo would have swallowed his intentions and would have just nodded in an unconditional compliance. He wouldn't have dared to bare his fangs, nor would he have found the courage to offer even a murmur of complaint. Orochimaru's very presence commanded an instinctive paralyzing dread in him.
Against Kimimaro, however, and that bespectacled lackey following behind him, the Daimyo had felt a fleeting surge of false bravado. He had flashed his fangs, believing he still held some sliver of political leverage, clinging desperately to his power believing that would save his life.
In truth, the Daimyo still had no real choice. It wasn't born out of any grandeur vision; he simply knew that the fall of Konoha would ultimately line his own pockets and secure more strategic benefits for his fading jurisdiction and expand his influence in the centre of Ninja world that was the plan of Konoha crush.
"I will provide you with the funds you asked for," the Daimyo said with authority that Kimimaro allowed, as a bead of sweat trickled down his neck. "Consider using them sparingly, since we have yet to solve the problem of civilians fleeing to the Land of Fire."
Kimimaro had stared at him as he slowly retracted his soft bone tissue that he had discretely slipped onto the upholstery of the Daimyo's high chair... shaping it so seamlessly that it had mimicked the finest padding.
"You need to keep a better look at your surroundings, Daimyo," Kimimaro murmured. "If this continues, you will never even know how you were killed."
Kabuto had let out a soft chuckle. He alone fully understood the scope of what had just transpired. The entire suite of the Daimyo's private quarters was currently reinforced and dictated by Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku.
Through mastery and evolution of his Kekkei Genkai, Kimimaro had elevated his skeletal manipulation to next level. He could alter its texture at will... mimicking the grain of wood, the softness of velvet cushions, the strength of steel, or almost any known material.
Moments later, Kimimaro's willed his control into the underground treasury. "I have collected 50 million ryo from the treasury."
Deep beneath the floorboards, the osteoblast cells of Kimimaro's skeletal network had threaded through the Daimyo's treasury, lifting, wrapping, and redirecting the wealth away from its vaults without a single lock being forced open.
Daimyo had broken cold sweat as the question running in his mind: "How? When did he even get in?" against Orochimaru, he felt an innate visceral fear, but Kimimaro... he felt entirely different. He possessed the quiet demeanor of a reserved young man who let anyone walk over him, yet held an unknown deck of hidden cards... choosing restraint and act this way against such people you never know hit.
Kimimaro hadn't bothered answering the sputtering Daimyo. He reached out placing his hand on Kabuto's shoulder. In a blink, both of their forms rippled as they merged with the bone-woven floor beneath them, vanishing into the bone network. Just as the 50 million ryo began its silent transit through the vast multi-channeled colony toward the Otogakure.
~~
"We are here," Kimimaro said quietly as he shook Kabuto gently by the shoulder to wake him from the disorienting after effects of the almost instant travel.
Kabuto blinked hard, shaking his head to rid himself of the dizziness as he adjusted his round spectacles.
"How is the permanent cure for my illness coming along?" Kimimaro asked, pulling out a vial from his lose robes as he took a seat in the plush leather chair that Lord Orochimaru used to sit on.
His fingers trailed lightly over the armrest. "I'm building cellular resistance at a faster rate to the medicine. I used to need just one vial per day to keep the deterioration at bay... now I need at least three per day."
Kabuto sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he pulled up a medical log on his notepad. "The best I could do was replicate the original formula you provided, and even that took six months of uninterrupted trial and error. As for a permanent cure... it's a slow wall. Currently, Karin is taking a look at it. I suggested she cross-reference your pathology with Uzumaki chakra-suppression seals and cellular vitality to see if we can drastically increase the therapeutic efficacy of the medicine or create a permanent cure."
Kimimaro leaned his head back against the high chair, staring up at the ceiling. A hint of pain jolted him, which was from the prick of his internal organs, before he masked it behind his usual composure. "And what about the clans currently kept in confinement throughout the lower sectors?"
Kabuto turned his notepad, bringing up a detailed summary. "Let's see... we have quite a collection now most of them have served their purpose can be put through experimentation can used for training. There's the Fuma clan, the Iburi clan, the Shiin clan, the Kedoin clan, the Amagiri clan, the Chinoike clan, Jugo's clan, the Yota clan and a handful of others. The list just keeps growing. I suggest we dispose the useless ones that should a bit of burden on our treasury."
Hearing the names of the clans with variety os Kekkei Genkai powers Kimimaro had a spark of idea. He knew the potential locked away in those cells... and the desperate measures required to secure Otogakure's survival and bring it to greatness for when Lord Orochimaru return.
"Start injecting them with Hashirama cells harvested from Yamato," Kimimaro ordered. "Since Yamato is already a biologically stable subject with years of successful integration, the rejection risks should be significantly lower than what we faced with direct injection of Hashirama cells."
~~
A/N: Just like we humans develop antibiotic resistance after frequent use Kimimaro has developed something similar after continued use of Tsunade's medicinal vial.
All the data on Yamato was stolen by Danzo as those experiment took place when Orochimaru was still in Konoha and since he has abandoned that location they no longer have its data.
Advance chapters available @ patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0 [7-day free trial]