CHAPTER 95

Might Guy, who initially underestimated the strangeness of Kimimaro's kekkei genkai, suffered a minor setback. The recoil from their brief clash sent Guy skidding backward, but he landed safely with practiced agility. His eyes narrowed as he watched Kimimaro, knocked into the air, crash through a house. A plume of smoke rose from the rubble.

Without hesitation, Guy quickly unwrapped a roll of bandages and dressed his wound, never taking his eyes off the ruined building. He eyed Kimimaro warily, standing amid the dust.

"Using all the bones in his body as weapons... what an incredible kekkei genkai," Guy muttered, flexing his numbed right hand and rotating his sore fingers. "And to think he can wrap himself in hardened bone armor for defense... There's barely an opening to exploit."

Kimimaro's mastery of the Shikotsumyaku—the Kaguya clan's bone-manipulating kekkei genkai—was terrifying, even to his own clan. His talent had frightened his kin so much that, since childhood, he had been locked away to prevent him from becoming too dangerous. Only when needed was he unleashed—as both shield and sword.

Sure enough, Kimimaro emerged from the debris unharmed.

"I underestimated you," he said quietly, watching the last of the Leaf ninja use the opportunity to pursue Orochimaru. "It seems my mission is a failure… but I've stalled you long enough. Lord Orochimaru should be far from here by now. Keeping someone like you occupied is more than enough."

Without an elite jōnin like Might Guy pursuing him, Orochimaru's escape was virtually guaranteed. Even if it came down to the Sound Four activating the second stage of their cursed seals, they were fanatically loyal and desperate. Konoha wouldn't catch up in time.

"I apologize for underestimating you earlier."

Despite possessing the Cursed Seal of Earth, Kimimaro hadn't initially used it. But the pressure of battle forced him to activate its first stage to recover lost stamina and chakra. Still, even in that form, he couldn't match Guy. Without hesitation, he advanced into the second stage. His appearance twisted—gone was his striking, almost ethereal beauty. In its place: a grotesque transformation. A long tail dragged behind him, and his back, arms, and shoulders bristled with sharp, inverted bone spikes—not mere decoration, but lethal weapons.

"If I look like this... then perhaps I can match your power. Let's begin."

With a surge of speed beyond visual tracking, Kimimaro dashed toward Guy. Only a flurry of afterimages marked his trajectory.

A fierce close-quarters battle ensued between the two taijutsu masters. The sheer speed and power were far beyond what normal shinobi could perceive or withstand.

The momentum tilted slightly in Kimimaro's favor—not because Guy lacked strength, but because bone manipulation presented a natural counter to straightforward taijutsu. Konoha-ryū kenpō relied heavily on direct strikes—power and speed overwhelming the foe. Against someone like Kimimaro, who could defend from any angle and attack with his own body, Guy's style was partially suppressed.

"It seems the Front Lotus isn't enough…"

Guy realized that if the battle continued like this, neither would prevail quickly. It would devolve into a drawn-out war of attrition. Though Guy was in his prime, Kimimaro's body—despite being sustained by the Cursed Seal—was already showing signs of strain.

Resolute, Guy forced Kimimaro back temporarily and focused his chakra.

"The Gate of Life... open!"

He activated the third of the Eight Inner Gates. Veins bulged along his face as his skin flushed red. Power surged through him.

Then came the fourth gate.

"The Gate of Pain... open!"

Now faster and stronger, Guy began to overwhelm Kimimaro. Alarmed, Kimimaro retaliated.

"Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"

With a flick, Kimimaro launched hardened bone bullets—his own phalanges—toward Guy. But the whirlwind of chakra erupting around Guy deflected them with ease.

"The Gate of Limit... open!"

With the fifth gate released, Guy's entire body radiated red-hot energy. The very ground beneath him cracked as his chakra whipped the debris into the air. Then, with explosive force, he unleashed a Leaf Great Whirlwind, launching Kimimaro through the air like a ragdoll. The shockwave from his movement alone shattered nearby terrain.

But Kimimaro wasn't passive. While airborne, he activated the Dance of the Camellia, erecting a protective forest of bone spikes from his body. Though Guy's attacks shattered many of them, they blunted the worst of the impact.

Still, Guy saw an opening.

With no bone spikes in his way and Kimimaro off balance, he executed the Leaf Shadow Dance. The two of them flipped midair and plummeted toward the earth, smashing into the ground with a deafening boom. A crater formed instantly.

Before the dust could settle, a whip of bone—Kimimaro's Dance of the Clematis: Vine—shot up from the pit. The whip, formed from his own spine, ensnared Guy midair.

From the depths of the crater, Kimimaro reappeared—kneeling, blood trickling from his mouth. Though his bones had absorbed most of the impact, his internal organs had taken severe damage. He was on the verge of collapse.

The Dance of the Clematis: Vine was meant to restrain and finish off a foe. But now, it was merely a stalling tactic.

"I guess... this is the end. I wasn't strong enough... Maybe that's why Lord Orochimaru gave up on me. But... at least I got to die fighting for him, not wasting away in a hospital bed. I just hope... his new vessel is worthy..."

But Guy wasn't done.

"The Gate of View... open!"

Releasing the sixth gate, Guy became a demon of raw power. Vibrant green chakra exploded from him, shredding the bone whip like paper. Then, wreathed in flames of sheer speed and friction, he descended.

"Morning Peacock!"

An overwhelming barrage of punches followed, each so fast and hot they ignited the air itself. The strikes rained down like a blossoming peacock's tail of fire. The final blow sent Kimimaro crashing into the earth, half-buried in the wreckage.

Breathing hard, Guy stood over the defeated warrior, looking solemnly at the broken figure.

"You were a rare and worthy opponent. But someone with a will that strong... why give your life for someone like Orochimaru?"

Kimimaro, barely clinging to life, managed to whisper:

"Good… evil… I wouldn't know. I've only ever known fighting. No one else was there for me. Only… Lord Orochimaru..."

His voice trailed into silence. Guy stood still, eyes heavy.

"Maybe… in the next life, you'll find your way to Konoha."

He turned without looking back. After a brief rest, Guy took off again, determined to catch up to the others.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Mizuki—unaware of the epic clash—was facing his own crisis.

"They turned here? Accelerating? Why… it shouldn't be—"

Among the fleeing Sound Ninja, Orochimaru, in pain and coughing blood, ordered coldly, "We're almost there. Just get me to the site… and prepare the reincarnation..."

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