Chapter 388: Battle Against Kimimaro – The Strength of the Tailless Beast!

"Hey, Mr. Kimimaro, can I eat those two?"

The sweet-looking girl spoke such shocking words that Sasuke and Karin, watching the battle from a distance, shuddered uncontrollably. The intense hunger in her eyes was impossible to miss—it was too obvious. Even Hatake Kakashi instinctively shifted his stance, positioning himself in front of Sasuke and Karin protectively.

"We have a special mission this time, so don't stir up unnecessary trouble."

"It's not the right time to provoke Konoha's ninjas."

The boy addressed by the girl cast a fleeting glance at Sasuke Uchiha and Karin, who were hiding behind Kakashi, then shook his head slightly. Kimimaro and his group had been ordered to capture a certain Bloodline Limit wielder. From his perspective, getting into a conflict with Konoha's forces was unnecessary.

"Take him, let's go."

Kimimaro pointed at Haku, who lay unconscious on the ground, then turned to leave, completely ignoring Konoha's presence.

His dismissive attitude enraged Kisame Hoshigaki. The other party had appeared out of nowhere and snatched Haku away without a word. Kisame, who had been holding back, now felt an uncontrollable surge of frustration.

"Hey! You two brats over there!"

"Did I say you could leave?!"

Kisame hoisted Samehada high as chakra surged into it. The bandaged blade began to change dramatically—the 30-centimeter-wide weapon expanded rapidly, dark blue spikes piercing through the wrapping, revealing its monstrous form.

Samehada had entered its second form. As the blade transformed, Kisame's presence grew increasingly menacing, his chakra surging violently.

"What's going on?!" Kimimaro, now halted, turned slightly and glanced sideways at Kisame, his tone indifferent. His arrogant posture made it clear that he didn't take Kisame seriously.

"Hey! Brat, go to hell and repent!"

Kisame let out a sinister laugh, his mouth splitting into a wide grin filled with razor-sharp teeth. Naruto and the others watching shivered at the sight.

"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"

Without wasting another word, Kisame raised Samehada high. Without even forming hand seals, he shouted as five enormous, shark-shaped water projectiles materialized. As they emerged, the mist in the air momentarily thinned.

"Hmph!" Kimimaro remained unfazed. As the water sharks rushed toward him and the girl with colorful hair, he swiftly reacted.

"Dance of the Clematis: Vine!"

White bones erupted from his left arm. With a swift motion, Kimimaro pulled out a sharpened bone blade.

Holding the weapon firmly, he struck at the incoming water projectiles. As soon as the sharks reached him, they were slashed apart, bursting into harmless puddles.

Kimimaro, having deflected the attack, turned his gaze toward Kisame. However, by the time he looked up, the battlefield had changed drastically. The mist, which had initially thinned due to Kisame's jutsu, had now thickened even further. Even with his exceptional vision, Kimimaro could barely see one or two meters ahead.

"This is… the Hidden Mist Technique?" Kimimaro recognized it immediately. He was no stranger to the tactics of the Mist Village.

Clang!

A faint sound reached Kimimaro's ears, and his expression stiffened. Instinctively, he raised his bone blade just in time to block a heavy strike.

In the next instant, an enormous sword with an unusual shape slammed against his weapon, forcing Kimimaro back several meters. The attacker retreated immediately, vanishing into the mist before Kimimaro could even catch a proper glimpse.

"This guy's attack…?" Kimimaro remained on high alert. Although he had successfully defended himself, he suddenly noticed something odd. His chakra… had diminished.

He hadn't used any jutsu, yet his chakra reserves were lower than before. The change was small, but it was enough to put him on edge.

"Silent Killing Technique…"

From a distance, Kakashi had been observing the battle. Seeing the figures of Kisame and Kimimaro vanish into the mist, he immediately recognized the technique.

"We should keep our distance."

Leading his team away from the battlefield, Kakashi carried Tazuna onto a tree branch where they could observe from afar.

"Mr. Kakashi, who are those people?"

"Kisame is a Konoha ninja—shouldn't we help him?"

Naruto looked toward Kakashi, uncertain about the identities of the newcomers. He could sense their strength, and their hostility toward Team 7 was unmistakable.

"I don't know," Kakashi admitted. "But their objective seems to be the same as Kisame's—they both want to capture that Mist ninja."

"As for helping… forget it. You interfering would be more of a hindrance. My techniques aren't suited to working alongside Kisame."

"If we help, it has to be at the right moment."

"Our priority is protecting Mr. Tazuna. This battle has nothing to do with us."

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Amid their conversation, the sounds of clashing weapons echoed from within the mist, signaling an intense battle.

However, the reality was different from what Kakashi had assumed. After activating his Hidden Mist Technique, Kisame held the upper hand. Concealed within the fog, he chipped away at Kimimaro's strength with each attack. Every time Kisame landed a strike, he absorbed a portion of Kimimaro's chakra.

Despite the worsening situation, Kimimaro had no immediate counter.

As a user of the Shikotsumyaku Bloodline Limit, he specialized in close combat. However, he lacked techniques to dispel the mist, leaving him at a disadvantage.

Clang!

After enduring another strike from Kisame, Kimimaro still failed to pinpoint his opponent's location. His frustration deepened.

The battle hadn't lasted long, and he had barely used any taxing jutsu, yet his chakra reserves had already dropped significantly. Roughly estimating, he had lost nearly a third of his chakra within minutes.

This was alarming. If he didn't find a way to counter Kisame's tactics soon, he would be left defenseless due to chakra depletion.

"Mariko, can you locate the enemy for me?"

Holding his bone blade ready, Kimimaro addressed the girl beside him.

"Find the enemy?"

"Emmm… sure!"

Just as Mariko responded, the air shifted again. Through the dense fog, Samehada suddenly lunged—not at Kimimaro, but at Mariko.

"Mariko!"

Seeing this sudden change, Kimimaro couldn't help but cry out, but it was already too late to stop it. The massive blade slashed down, and the barbed edge pierced through the girl's body. In an instant, blood splattered, filling the air with the thick scent of iron.

As Samehada withdrew, the girl collapsed into a pool of blood, her body riddled with holes. Blood oozed from her wounds, staining the ground beneath her.

"One down."

Kisame, still hidden in the mist, swung his sword, flinging the blood from the blade onto the ground. He smirked as he sensed his opponent's presence.

"Mariko, get up and help me locate the enemy," Kimimaro said, his voice calm despite the shock he had shown a moment ago. He didn't even spare a glance at the fallen girl.

"Oh? Did you figure it out?"

The girl, who had moments ago appeared lifeless, suddenly opened her eyes and smiled eerily at Kimimaro. At the same time, her wounds began to heal at an astonishing speed. Within seconds, her body was completely restored, with no trace of injury left.

The only evidence of the attack was the blood that had stained her red robe, but her skin—visible through the torn fabric—remained pristine.

Mariko leaped to her feet and directed her gaze into the dense fog. Her eyes seemed to pierce through the thick layers of mist, locking onto Kisame's exact location.

The moment Kisame sensed her gaze, a chill ran down his spine. His instincts screamed at him to move, and he immediately dodged to the side.

Just as he shifted, several bone bullets shot through the air, striking the ground where he had stood moments before, leaving deep craters in their wake.

"He avoided it?"

Kimimaro lowered his left hand, having just fired his Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets at the location Mariko had pinpointed. Judging from the impact, it seemed he had missed.

"It looks like if we want to take him, we'll have to kill him first."

Kimimaro glanced at Haku and spoke in a low voice. Then, gripping his bone blade, he loosened the collar of his shirt and pulled it down, exposing his solidly built torso.

On his chest, a black Cursed Seal in the shape of an inverted three-tomoe pattern pulsed with a sinister red light.

"Aaaahhhh!"

Activating the seal placed a tremendous strain on his body. As the markings rapidly spread across his skin, Kimimaro let out a low growl.

His complexion darkened as his body underwent a transformation. His once snow-white skin turned gray-black, and two small horns protruded from his head.

At that moment, he bore a striking resemblance to the Otsutsuki Clan that had once invaded Konoha.

The overwhelming chakra buried within the Cursed Seal fused completely with Kimimaro's own power. A violent windstorm erupted from his body, temporarily thinning the fog around him.

However, the mist quickly thickened again.

Kimimaro didn't care. With the power of the Cursed Seal, he could now vaguely track Kisame's movements, even within the dense fog. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough—especially with Mariko's assistance.

"Mariko, where is he?"

Bending his knees slightly, Kimimaro prepared to launch himself forward the moment she gave him a direction.

"There!"

The instant Mariko pointed, Kimimaro shot forward like a bullet.

In the blink of an eye, he covered over ten meters.

Kisame, still concealed in the mist, suddenly sensed a drastic change in the air currents.

A split second later, a bone blade sliced through the fog, heading straight for his face.

Kisame had already suspected that his opponent had found a way to track him within the mist. Reacting instantly, he twisted his head just in time to avoid a fatal strike.

Still, the wind pressure from the blade left a shallow cut on his cheek.

Not wasting a moment, Kisame swung Samehada in a wide horizontal arc, aiming to force Kimimaro back.

To his surprise, Kimimaro didn't dodge. Instead, he continued his assault, pressing forward with his bone blade.

Realizing that retreat was no longer an option, Kisame made a split-second decision.

He braced himself and swung Samehada directly at Kimimaro's body.

However, instead of the expected bloody impact, Kisame felt his blade meet an unyielding resistance—like striking tempered steel.

Boom!

Kimimaro was sent flying from the sheer force of the blow. He tumbled several times before skidding to a stop.

Yet, despite the impact, his body showed no signs of damage. He simply rose to his feet, his grip on the bone blade tightening as he charged at Kisame once more.

"This guy… has a skeletal armor protecting his body?"

Kisame's sharp eyes caught the faint retraction of white bones along Kimimaro's waist.

"A Bloodline Limit user?"

"The Shikotsumyaku… from the Kaguya Clan of the Mist? But I heard that clan was completely wiped out!"

Now that he understood his opponent's ability, Kisame decided to change tactics.

With a sudden clap of his hands, he began expelling a massive amount of water from his mouth.

The chakra-infused liquid gushed forth, halting Kimimaro's advance.

At the same time, Kisame vanished from his field of vision.

The dense fog began to dissipate, but the water vapor in the air was being absorbed by Kisame's jutsu.

Kimimaro wasn't sure what had happened, but as he landed on the rising water's surface—his chakra keeping him afloat—he noticed the water level climbing rapidly.

"Pfft!"

Without warning, a hand shot up from beneath the surface, grabbing hold of Kimimaro's ankle and yanking him downward.

Caught off guard, Kimimaro barely had time to react. His Shikotsumyaku activated reflexively, and bone spikes erupted from his ankle, stabbing into the submerged hand.

Kisame grunted in pain but didn't let go immediately. Within seconds, Kimimaro was dragged into the depths of the water.

It wasn't until this moment that he realized his predicament.

The water Kisame had spewed had formed an enormous Water Prison—a massive spherical body of water hundreds of meters in diameter.

And he was trapped inside.

From outside the sphere, Haku had already been ejected from the technique's range. Inside, only Kimimaro, Mariko, and Kisame remained.

But Kisame himself had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Now, he truly resembled a shark-man hybrid. Though he retained his humanoid shape, gills had sprouted along his cheeks, allowing him to breathe underwater.

His dead-fish eyes locked onto Kimimaro with an eerie intensity, as though analyzing his next move.

"Unexpected…"

Kimimaro assessed the situation calmly despite the overwhelming odds.

"I thought this would be a simple mission, but I didn't expect to encounter such a powerful enemy."

Glancing at the swirling water around him, he let out a slow breath. The Cursed Seal markings on his body darkened even further, spreading rapidly.

A second later, his entire body was encased in hardened white bone.

(End of Chapter)