"Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Shuriken! Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Labyrinth Technique!"
Guren unleashed her Kekkei Genkai with practiced ease. While she wasn't yet at the height of her abilities seen during the Three-Tails sealing mission years later, her mastery of the Crystal Release was already formidable.
Dozens of crystalline shuriken flew at Kimimaro with deadly precision, while jagged spikes erupted from the crystallized terrain beneath Jūgo's feet, aiming to impale him.
Even against two opponents, Guren remained confident. She had sparred with Kimimaro before and understood his style. Without activating his Cursed Seal of Earth, his combat ability was likely at best Chūnin-level. With the Cursed Seal activated, he could perhaps match a high-ranking Jōnin in bursts—but that form was unsustainable and dangerous.
As for Jūgo? Guren scoffed inwardly. Brute strength, no finesse. He lacked real battlefield experience, at least compared to her.
"Kimimaro," she sneered, stepping into range, a Crystal Sword forming in her hand, "do you really think you can defy Lord Orochimaru in that broken body of yours? You don't even dare to use your bones anymore, do you?"
Kimimaro's response was a small, knowing smile. "If you're waiting for me to hesitate, you'll be disappointed."
"Hmph, then let's test that!" Guren rapidly formed seals. "Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Prison Technique!"
A pink crystalline structure enveloped Kimimaro almost instantly. She had used this move on him before and knew full well how it could provoke his counterattack. Shikotsumyaku manipulated the body's own bones through chakra—bones that could be hardened to absurd levels. Once chakra circulated in his skeletal structure, the crystals would struggle to restrain him.
But Guren wasn't worried. She wanted him to fight back.
And he did.
The dark spread of the Cursed Seal ran across Kimimaro's body, transforming his skin to an ink-black hue as power surged through his limbs.
"Dance of the Larch!"
With an explosive crack, bone spikes tore through the crystalline prison. Shards rained around him as he stepped forward, calm and deadly.
"You really used the Cursed Seal and your bones?" Guren's voice wavered. "Don't you care about your life?"
"I do. That's why I'm choosing to fight—for the chance to live freely."
"You think using that temporary power can defeat me? You're dreaming!"
"I'm here too!" Jūgo's shout echoed through the clearing as he charged in, the markings of his own Cursed Transformation crawling across his face.
"Tch. Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade Dance!" A sweeping arc of jagged crystal knocked Jūgo aside. He skidded across the ground but remained conscious—barely.
Inside the cave, Karin bit her lip. Her sensory perception told her exactly how much strain Kimimaro's body was under.
"He's forcing himself… His body isn't built to handle both the Shikotsumyaku and the Cursed Seal anymore. If this keeps up…"
"What? He's dying?!" Kurotsuchi, crouched beside her, looked alarmed.
"He said he has a solution, but I don't think it's ready yet..."
"I'm calling for backup." Kurotsuchi performed hand seals, attempting to sink into the ground with Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique—only to find the soil beneath them crystallized and impenetrable.
"What is this?!"
"A trap," Karin growled. "It's her Crystal Release—she's sealed off the entire area!"
Outside, Guren grinned coldly. "You can't run. I've turned the terrain within 200 meters into crystal. Try moving underground again. I dare you."
"You're so confident, Guren," Kimimaro's voice cut in. He wasn't panting, but even she could see his movements slowing.
"And yet you smile?" she said, eyes narrowing. "You used to be like a corpse on the battlefield. Now you act like a fool."
Kimimaro's lips curved. "A wise man once said that real warriors smile during a duel. I believe him."
The bone whip in his hand snapped forward, followed by a spiral bone spear he hurled with deadly precision. Guren dodged narrowly, her crystal sword intercepting the next blow—but she staggered slightly.
He wasn't holding back anymore.
Unbeknownst to Guren, Kimimaro's gamble wasn't just recklessness.
Inside his mind, he saw the system window flash:
[Bloodline Restoration Formula: 98% Complete]
He had timed this. That's why he dared to unleash both the Shikotsumyaku and the Cursed Seal.
"Kimimaro," Guren muttered, deflecting another strike, "you're insane. You'd burn out your life just to win?"
His eyes shone bright. "I'm not fighting to die. I'm fighting to live—on my own terms."
Guren leaped high into the air, her voice sharp as crystal:
"Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Hexagonal Shuriken Wild Dance!"
A flurry of radiant, hexagon-shaped shuriken exploded from her body, glittering as they rained down toward Kimimaro.
Kimimaro didn't flinch.
"Dance of the Clematis: Vine."
From his back, his spine extended and curved into a whip-like weapon. The Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku wasn't just about brute force—it was finesse, control, and brutal elegance. He spun, lashing the bone whip with precision, each strike intercepting Guren's incoming shuriken and smashing them midair with sharp cracks.
"Hmph. Your body's failing, isn't it?" Guren narrowed her eyes. "Even your strikes feel... slower."
Kimimaro remained expressionless, but his ragged breath betrayed the truth.
"...Yes. It's becoming difficult to maintain control."
Still, his voice held resolve. "But I have one last card to play."
He glanced toward Jūgo.
"Stall her. Just for a moment."
Jūgo nodded, stepping forward as Kimimaro retreated.
Guren scoffed. "Sending that berserker at me? Kimimaro, you know he barely has any real combat experience outside his rampages."
Even as she spoke, she fired off sharp crystal projectiles—
"Crystal Release: Crystal Needles!"
—a barrage aimed to pierce Jūgo from multiple angles.
But the large teen snarled, activating his Cursed Seal. His body twisted, muscles swelling and armor-like skin forming along his arms.
"I won't let you near Kimimaro!" he roared, deflecting the projectiles with raw force.
Meanwhile, Kimimaro knelt behind him, pulling out a small test tube. A strange glow shimmered inside the container.
"It's complete," he murmured. "The synthesized Kaguya bloodline enhancement…"
He removed the cap. A needle extended from the base, and he stabbed it into his own arm.
As the serum flowed into him, Kimimaro's body trembled. His Shikotsumyaku reacted violently, bones momentarily protruding from his limbs as chakra surged through his tenketsu.
Guren's eyes narrowed. "What's he doing…? That's not ordinary chakra. Is he trying to evolve his Kekkei Genkai?"
She dashed forward, but Jūgo intercepted her once more, his form now monstrous.
"Move, or die!"
But Jūgo held fast. "You'll have to kill me first!"
Snarling, Guren slammed her palms onto the ground.
"Crystal Release: Crystal Prison Barrier!"
Massive crystal structures rose, sealing the space around Jūgo, trying to trap or crush him.
"I hate the Cursed Seal… but the strength it gives is real," Guren muttered. "Those Orochimaru experiments… always getting the best tools."
She raised her hand again, crystals ready to impale the restrained Jūgo—until a calm, chilling voice cut through the air.
"Sorry… I won't let you kill him."
Guren froze.
Kimimaro stepped forward. His eyes gleamed with unnatural vitality, and white bone blades spiraled like drills from both arms.
"Now, witness the perfected Shikotsumyaku."