Orochimaru leaned back in his chair, eyes gleaming with a calculating glint as he stared at Guren.
"So… you failed."
"I'm sorry, Lord Orochimaru," Guren replied, bowing her head.
"You don't need to apologize. I just want to know—what's Kimimaro's current situation?"
"He said… he died once, but came back to life."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "Impure World Reincarnation?"
Guren shook her head. "No. He's fully conscious and autonomous. I've seen Edo Tensei before—this isn't that. His chakra flow is normal, and there's no sign of being bound to summoning talismans. I think he's truly alive again. It may be some secret jutsu… his Shikotsumyaku does relate to the body at a fundamental level."
Orochimaru steepled his fingers. "Interesting. And his condition?"
"When I found him, his health seemed unstable. But later… he took some kind of medicine and suddenly recovered. His body now appears far more vital than it ever did when he was with us."
"Medicine?" Orochimaru frowned, his mind racing. "There's no known cure for the Kaguya clan's degenerative condition..."
He lapsed into silence, lost in thought. Then his voice returned, cold and curious. "And he refused to come back with you?"
"Yes," Guren replied, voice low. "He said his debt to you is repaid, and that from now on… he wants to live for himself."
A slow smile crept onto Orochimaru's face. "Is that so? And you, Guren? Do you feel the same?"
Guren immediately dropped to one knee. "No, my lord. My life belongs to you. If possible, I still wish to become your vessel."
Orochimaru's grin widened, but his eyes remained unreadable. "Good. I believe in your loyalty. I have another task for you—Kabuto will give you the details. Go oversee a certain facility. There are some… subjects that require monitoring."
Guren bowed and left quietly. But inside, she felt a pang of unease.
She knew what that assignment truly meant: exile. Orochimaru had lost interest in her.
Was this her punishment for failure?
Her thoughts drifted to Kimimaro's words:
"You don't have to live for someone else's dream. You have your own life."
She clenched her fists.
No… I'm not Kimimaro. I won't betray Lord Orochimaru.
Meanwhile, in a secluded hideout—
Karin blinked as she watched Kimimaro examine several corpses. "Kimimaro, what are you doing?"
He glanced at her, calm and focused. "Studying. I think our clan misunderstood Shikotsumyaku."
Karin frowned. "Huh?"
Kimimaro placed his hand on a body—Fujiwara Hayate's—and closed his eyes. "We've always believed Shikotsumyaku only controls our own bones. But the name—'Dead Bone Pulse'—implies something deeper. If it's truly a manipulation of bone, why not corpses' bones as well?"
With a pulse of chakra, Kimimaro forced a femur from the body, manipulating it until it elongated like one of his own bone weapons.
"It works… But it's inefficient. Corpse bones lack vitality, making them brittle. Chakra control is harder, and they can't regenerate. That's likely why our ancestors stopped using them. Still…"
He extracted more bones from the body, efficiently turning the corpse into little more than shriveled flesh. Karin grimaced.
Kimimaro continued, "Another reason might be the obvious one—using dead people's bones would be seen as desecration. The clan may have considered it taboo."
He looked at the growing pile of bones and then began an experiment: weaving them together, fusing them with chakra-infused control.
"Since these bones are weak individually, what about combining them?"
Gradually, he crafted a long bone katana and then a bone whip, both reinforced with chakra-enhanced marrow layers.
"If I can create stable bone weapons from external sources… I might not have to rely solely on my own bones anymore. That could reduce the burden on my body and avoid triggering the disease."
He stood up, lifting the katana. "This is still crude. But if I refine this technique, I could change the way our bloodline is used—preserve its power without its curse."
Karin blinked, then sighed. "Creepy… but kind of amazing."
The bone katana was formed by extracting and refining nearly every bone in Kimimaro's body—excluding his spine. Its density was far beyond that of ordinary bone, almost as hard as steel, and its design leaned more toward a broad-bladed war sword than a traditional katana. Its weight reflected its power.
In contrast, the bone whip was crafted from his vertebrae, linked together like a spine-shaped chain. Though not as hard as the katana, it was flexible and far more convenient for crowd control or mid-range combat.
"This process isn't reversible, but I can store the weapons externally and summon them later. It's better than constantly pulling out fresh bones every time," Kimimaro mused, spinning the whip once before letting it coil like a snake at his feet.
He grinned, inspecting the massive sword. "If I generate enough bones outside my body, could I build something bigger? Like a skeletal beast—or even a 'bone Susanoo'? A Shikotsumyaku-style Gundam... now that's the true potential of this bloodline."
Jugo looked on with mild awe, though he was more interested in the utility than the fantasy.
"Here, Jugo, try this greatsword," Kimimaro offered, passing the weapon to his companion.
The blade was heavy in his hands, but Jugo swung it once with ease, nodding in approval. "It suits me."
Karin tilted her head. "Hey, what about me? Make a weapon for me too."
"You're okay with using this stuff?" Kimimaro asked, raising an eyebrow.
Karin gave a toothy grin. "I'm a medical ninja, remember? I've seen worse than bones. Besides, if you made it, I like it already."
Kimimaro chuckled, and the tension eased between the trio. But suddenly, Karin's eyes narrowed. "Wait… someone's in the sky."
Kimimaro followed her gaze. A silhouette hovered in the air, slowly descending. It was dragging several unconscious figures in its grasp, then let go once low enough. The bodies fell to the ground with dull thuds.
Kimimaro and the others quickly approached. All of the fallen had red markings on their brows—a signature trait of the Taketori clan.
"They were knocked out cleanly," Jugo murmured, checking one of their pulses. "They're alive."
As the flyer landed, Kimimaro got a better look. The figure was a young girl with slightly tanned skin, greenish-blue hair, and striking orange eyes. On her back fluttered insect-like wings, now folding as she touched down. A red travel pack clung to her shoulders.
Kimimaro's eyes widened slightly. This girl… she's not in the manga proper, but I've seen her before. He searched his memories from his past life as a manga reader.
"Wings... orange eyes... ah. She's the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. Her name was... Fū."
The girl, Fū, planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks. "Hey! Those guys were sneaking around, so I caught them. Aren't you gonna thank me?"
She glanced around, noticing the corpses scattered nearby. "Huh? You killed people? Wait—are you bad guys too?"
"No," Kimimaro replied calmly. "They slaughtered civilians in the nearby village. We're just… cleaning up."
Fū tilted her head, considering. "Huh. Avenge civilians? That's weird—but I think you're telling the truth. Anyway, not my problem. I caught these guys, so I helped you. Gimme a reward."
She extended a hand expectantly. Kimimaro, amused, tossed her a pouch of coins.
Fū grinned, pocketing it instantly.
Kimimaro asked, "What's your name?"
"Me? I'm Fū! You're not bad. Weird, but not bad."