Kimimaro and Orochimaru—either one alone wouldn't necessarily frighten Sasori. But if they joined forces, he couldn't guarantee he'd survive the encounter. Orochimaru knew him too well—and more importantly, might not even fear his poison.
Sasori had to retreat now.
"Kimimaro, I'll preserve your body for another day. Next time, it will be mine," Sasori said coldly, his crimson eyes narrowing as he turned to flee.
Watching Sasori disappear into the forest, Kimimaro finally let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"Lord Orochimaru… what should I do next?"
Orochimaru gave a soft chuckle. "Kimimaro, what are you talking about? I came here to rescue you."
Kimimaro's eyes were calm. "Let's not pretend, Lord Orochimaru. You're not the type to cross half the continent just to save someone. Sasori might not know, but I do: if your main body had descended here, your original vessel would be discarded. You wouldn't pay that price lightly. And even if you did come in person, in your current condition, you'd barely buy time unless you used that technique."
Kimimaro was referring to Orochimaru's S-rank forbidden jutsu—Yamata no Jutsu, the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique. A trump card Orochimaru could use even when weakened, one that allowed him to shed his body and escape death, albeit at a heavy cost.
"Haha… Kimimaro, you've grown quite bold," Orochimaru replied, amused. "Still, I did help you just now. That much you must admit."
"Yes, and I owe you a favor," Kimimaro said, lowering his eyes. If Sasori had insisted on continuing the fight, even a few moments of support from Orochimaru's clone might have bought him enough time to activate another trump card.
Orochimaru's expression turned serious. "Let's speak plainly. From the blood sample you gave me—and the bone growth that merged Shikotsumyaku with Wood Release—I've made some fascinating discoveries. It may lead to a way for my soul and vessel to achieve greater compatibility."
Kimimaro narrowed his eyes. "You used the Cursed Seal as a signal to track me. You figured I'd be in trouble and decided it was the right moment to show up—and earn a favor in the process."
"You're even more perceptive than before," Orochimaru said, his voice laced with admiration.
"And how do you want to cash in that favor? More of my blood?"
"No, no, no. That would be a waste of your debt," Orochimaru said with a smirk. He then produced a sealing scroll, and—without hesitation—severed one of his clone's arms, sealing it inside the parchment before it vanished with a flicker.
"This clone has already obtained some of your cells. That's enough for now. As for the favor… I'll save that for later."
With that, Orochimaru's clone shimmered and dissolved into smoke.
Kimimaro stood in silence, thoughtful.
'He truly lives up to his reputation as the greatest scientist in the shinobi world. He's trying to refine the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique using my genetic structure.'
Kimimaro knew the jutsu well—Fushi Tensei—a technique that allowed Orochimaru to transfer his soul into a new host body. But it came with two critical flaws: first, it had a cooldown period of three years; second, if the new vessel lacked sufficient compatibility, the soul-body connection would destabilize, resulting in rejection and physical decline.
Many misunderstood the jutsu, thinking Orochimaru had to switch bodies every three years. In truth, his decline after taking over Gen'yumaru's body was because it wasn't a good match—forced by circumstance. The Third Hokage had sealed Orochimaru's arms with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and with no access to Sasuke, a dying Kimimaro, or the yet-to-appear Guren, Orochimaru used a poor substitute.
Because he had just performed Fushi Tensei, he couldn't attempt another transfer until the cooldown ended. And Gen'yumaru's body, unable to sustain Orochimaru's powerful chakra and soul, broke down quickly—hence the weakness people mistook as a natural limitation of the technique.
But now… Orochimaru seemed to have found a workaround, thanks to Kimimaro's unique fusion of Kaguya and Senju bloodlines.
Kimimaro reviewed the battle in his mind. This had been his first time going head-to-head against a true Kage-level opponent.
Victory hadn't been impossible—even if Sasori had deployed his Performance of a Hundred Puppets (Hyakki no Sōen), Kimimaro might still have had a chance. But it would have come at a heavy price.
One misstep, though, stood out clearly.
'I shouldn't have waited for the Byakugan bloodline potion to finish brewing. I still had over 570,000 units of life energy in reserve—I could have accelerated the production time.'
He had held back because he wanted to first master the bloodline abilities he already possessed—Wood Release, Shikotsumyaku, and more. But in hindsight, delaying access to the Byakugan was a tactical mistake.
On the other hand, Kimimaro felt that his current strength was temporarily sufficient. However, accelerating time using life energy came at a steep cost. Don't underestimate the hundreds of thousands of units—some high-grade genetic enhancement potions demanded enormous amounts of energy. The complete Senju + Wood Release combination, factoring both activation and time compression, had required over 200,000 life energy.
Even so, in hindsight, Kimimaro believed he should have prioritized developing the Byakugan enhancement earlier. It would have resolved the lingering health risks of his Shikotsumyaku and bolstered his battlefield awareness—especially after sensing Sasori's hostile intent during their encounter.
He hadn't used the potion mid-battle because applying a genetic enhancement required a brief adaptation phase—something he couldn't afford while fighting. When Orochimaru arrived, Kimimaro had actually intended for his master to distract Sasori long enough for him to activate the Byakugan potion. That chance never came.
Wasting no time, he rushed back to the capital of the Land of Vegetables at top speed, summoned Karin, and entered the underground lab's secure chamber. This time, he didn't hesitate.
The Byakugan bloodline potion required 20 days to synthesize. With each 200 units of life energy shaving off a day, Kimimaro immediately spent 4,000 units to complete it instantly.
Once integrated, the Byakugan brought him stable, high-tier Kage-level combat capability. Meanwhile, the Sharingan and Jūgo bloodline potions still needed over four months of development. To accelerate both would cost over 50,000 units each—so he chose to wait.
In this era—prior to the Fourth Great Ninja War—Kage-level strength was enough to stand at the top of the food chain.
After hours inside the chamber, Kimimaro and Karin finally emerged. Karin was drenched in sweat from the chakra support and monitoring process, while Kimimaro looked noticeably healthier.
Name: Kimimaro
Confirmed Bloodline Abilities:
Kekkei Genkai – Shikotsumyaku (Bone Pulse)
Senju Bloodline (enhanced vitality and chakra reserves)
Wood Release (Incomplete) (currently unstable; requires Senju DNA and full mastery)
Secret Technique – Hydrification Technique (via Hozuki gene integration)
Uzumaki Bloodline (stamina, longevity, sealing compatibility)
Kekkei Genkai – Ice Release (via Hyoton integration; unstable without full genetic compatibility)
Kekkei Genkai – Crystal Release (rare, synthetic; chakra-intensive)
Kekkei Genkai – Byakugan (granted 360° vision, chakra network perception, telescopic sight)
With the Byakugan successfully integrated, the chronic degeneration caused by the overuse of Shikotsumyaku was neutralized. Originally, mastering Shikotsumyaku had extended his life expectancy by only 20 years due to its cellular overgrowth side effects—each use pushing him closer to collapse. Now, those countdown markers had vanished.
Standing in the courtyard, Kimimaro activated the Byakugan.
In an instant, the entire landscape unfolded before his vision—through walls, underground, across distant hills. Earlier, when scanning his own body in the chamber, he hadn't truly grasped it. But now, he realized: the sensory overload was immense.
There was a name for this disorientation—visual vertigo, or what the system classified as 3D sensory fatigue.
Adapting would take time—but he was ready.
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