Chapter 64: Itachi, Kimimaro
Chapter 64: Itachi, Kimimaro
Shikamaru Nara remained calm and devised a well-planned strategy. However, he overlooked one crucial aspect: his team members, despite their immense potential, lacked experience and patience due to their young age.
This shortcoming didn't pose a significant issue in the short term, but as time stretched on, problems began to surface.
The Sound Four, seasoned and experienced shinobi, seized the opportunity and cast their net wide. Shikamaru sensed their move, but by the time he tried to alert the others, it was already too late.
Swish!
Huge, sticky spider webs descended from above, ensnaring their prey.
"I've caught you!" exclaimed Kidomaru, his eyes filled with cruelty as he gazed upon his captured prey.
The slaughter feast had officially begun.
Ding~ Ding~ Ding~
The crisp sound of wind chimes reverberated through the forest.
Two black lines sped through the forest at incredible speed.
Kisame, turning his head, looked at Itachi Uchiha's unperturbed face, a face that seemed as if even the collapse of the heavens would leave him unfazed. With a smile, Kisame said, "Itachi, don't you want to pay your brother another visit? He's now a missing-nin of Konoha, just like you. I can handle these underlings of Orochimaru on my own."
Itachi replied indifferently, "I've already seen him once. There's no need to be disappointed again."
"How ruthless," Kisame shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of bewilderment.
At first, when teamed up with Itachi, he felt somewhat discontent.
But after spending some time with him, although he didn't express it verbally, he came to respect Itachi's abilities and character.
Itachi wasn't as cold-blooded and cruel as the rumors portrayed him to be.
There was something else beneath the surface, a thick veil of mist that even Kisame couldn't penetrate.
However, there was one thing Kisame was certain of after their long partnership.
Itachi's indifference towards Sasuke was merely an act.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have used his Mangekyo Sharingan on his brother during their reunion, a move as overkill as using a cannon to swat a mosquito.
To others, it seemed like an unprecedented torture.
But Kisame knew that his partner was extremely cautious when it came to using his Mangekyo Sharingan.
He could tell that the "love" between these brothers was unusual and profound.
"Uchiha, what a cursed yet enviable clan."
As Kisame's gaze swept over Itachi's Sharingan, he sighed inwardly. Just as he was about to say something more, his footsteps suddenly halted.
At the same time, Itachi also came to a stop, his Sharingan fixed on the left side.
Cough! Cough!
Despite their attempts to suppress it, a faint coughing sound escaped.
Knowing that their presence had been exposed, the owner of the cough had no choice but to step out of the shadows, revealing their true form.
White hair, green eyes, red eye shadow on the eyelids, and two red dots on the forehead.
"Such an appearance," Kisame narrowed his eyes, immediately thinking of the battle-crazed members of the Kaguya clan, who had met their demise long ago.
"An orphan of the Kaguya clan? Interesting," he mused.
Beside him, Itachi Uchiha's eyes scanned the stranger's unique style of dress, and his mind raced with thoughts.
The stranger was none other than Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan.
Plagued by a severe illness that caused uncontrollable coughing, Kimimaro had no choice but to leave his hiding place. His eyes fell upon the black and red cloud emblem on Itachi and Kisame's uniforms, and he calmly proposed, "How about we go our separate ways?"
As one of Orochimaru's confidants, Kimimaro was well aware of what the black and red cloud emblem represented.
Had it been any other time, he would have willingly risked his life, which was already nearing its end, to eliminate one or two members of the Akatsuki who held deep grudges against Orochimaru.
However, fully understanding Sasuke's importance to Orochimaru, Kimimaro was reluctant to stir up further trouble.
"Actually, I was quite looking forward to crossing blades with this guy. But since you spoke up first, Itachi, I'll leave him to you."
Without further ado, Kisame departed, leaving only Itachi Uchiha and Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan in the area.
Knowing that any movement would be futile against those Sharingan eyes, Kimimaro didn't bother with futile struggles.
"My apologies, Lord Orochimaru..."
Unfortunate as he was, Kimimaro took out a pill bottle from his clothes and, without hesitation, swallowed all the pills that suppressed his blood illness.
Itachi Uchiha watched without interfering, his expressionless face asking, "Where is Orochimaru?"
Kimimaro remained silent.
As an odd crimson hue appeared on his cheeks, he deliberately lowered his gaze, focusing on the center of Itachi's chest, wasting no time as his ten fingers shot out with lightning speed.
Corpse Bone Pulse: Ten Finger Piercing Bullets.
In an instant, ten finger bones shot out like bullets toward Itachi Uchiha.
"Looks like I'll have to force it out of you."
With an indifferent remark, Itachi Uchiha's figure flashed, and in the next moment, he reappeared behind Kimimaro as if he had teleported.
Shriiiek!
Several sharp bones suddenly protruded from Kimimaro's spine, piercing the person behind him.
There was no gory spectacle of flesh and blood.
Instead, a chorus of caws filled the air.
As Kimimaro turned his head, he saw Itachi Uchiha's body transform into a flock of cawing crows.
Then—
BOOM!
The crows instantly detonated.
A powerful shockwave kicked up thick clouds of dust.
Kimimaro's figure was flung backward and, by the time he regained his footing, he looked rather disheveled.
Although his bones were harder than steel, his actual injuries were not severe.
However, as he saw the crows reappear one after another, filling his entire field of vision, and it seemed that each crow's eye held the image of Itachi Uchiha, Kimimaro, recognizing that his opponent this time was vastly different from those he had faced before, decisively activated the second state of the Earth Curse Seal.
"Cough! Cough!! Cough!!!"
As Kimimaro coughed violently, his skin visibly transformed before their eyes, turning a brownish-black color, and black stripes appeared on his face, while his back bulged even more, sprouting a thick, powerful bone-like tail.
At that moment, an aura far more potent than before erupted from Kimimaro.
"Orochimaru's curse seal?"
The crows gathered together, coalescing into the humanoid form of Itachi Uchiha, who calmly observed the transformation.
As he spoke, Kimimaro had already pulled out his own spinal cord, holding it like a whip in his hand, his entire body transforming into a monster covered in bone spurs. With a powerful leap, he pounced like a cheetah.
Corpse Bone Pulse: Iron Wire Flower Dance!
Itachi Uchiha drew out a dozen shuriken.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!"
Empowered by fire-style chakra, the shuriken carried the fiery claws of the phoenix flower from all directions toward Kimimaro.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The exceptionally skilled Kimimaro dodged, blocked, and even directly parried the attacks with his flesh, protected by a layer of bone membrane. Without wasting any time, he closed the distance and appeared before Itachi Uchiha, his spinal cord whip transforming into an incredibly sharp spear, leaving his opponent no opportunity to evade as he thrust it forward.
Shriiiek!
In the next moment—
The bone spear pierced straight through Itachi Uchiha's heart.
(End of Chapter)
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