Kimimaro's Tragedy (Part One)

Kimimaro slowly pulled his arms out of his shirt, removing it to reveal the Cursed Seal of Earth on his chest. The Cursed Seal spread out, covering his entire body. (Is this the Cursed Seal Stage One?)

"Oh, getting serious now, huh? You're even using your Cursed Seal. Come on, let me see your true strength. That was just a test, wasn't it? Maybe you can hit me when you go all out." Issui said, looking at Kimimaro.

"Although your abilities are unpredictable, I have seen through your movements, and I have a reason to defeat you. I have not been deceived by Orochimaru; he is the one who truly understands me. This Cursed Seal on my body proves that Lord Orochimaru is one with me; he is watching me fight. Therefore, I cannot let him down, even if it costs me my life. Lord Orochimaru will remember me forever." Kimimaro Lord Orochimaru, just you wait and see. I will definitely help you realize your ambitions. I will destroy any enemy who stands in your way."

"Alright, fine, I'm serious now. Although I think you've been brainwashed by Orochimaru, you are a true ninja. You fought with your life for the one you love, and I deeply admire your spirit. But that doesn't mean I can spare your life, understand? Regardless of the outcome of this battle, you are now a true ninja in my eyes. Although you are Orochimaru's subordinate, it doesn't stop me from praising you. If I were Orochimaru, I would be proud of you, Kimimaro of Kaguya- kun." Issui knew that Orochimaru's years of brainwashing could no longer change his will.

Like Kimimaro, who was also born in Kirigakure, Kimimaro faced a tragic fate from birth: one killed his entire family, the other had his entire clan wiped out. But even more tragic than Haku's fate was that, as the last surviving member of his clan, even Kabuto couldn't access their medical records or treatment data. Had he, Kimimaro's condition might have been very different. Unlike Haku, who could always serve the person most important to him, Kimimaro lost the ability to serve Orochimaru since falling ill. For him, existence seemed meaningless; he wanted to help but was powerless, making him refuse to rest even while bedridden. He ultimately decided to use his remaining time to "compensate" Orochimaru. Compared to Kimimaro, Haku was fortunate, because when he Zabuza while saving Zabuza, Zabuza, who had always used her as a weapon, Zabuza for her. Yet, no one shed a single tear for Kimimaro's death.

Kimimaro, a flower that bloomed in the wrong place, a flower that withered after a brief period of brilliance.

Kimimaro looked into Issui's sorrowful eyes and felt a pang of pain in his heart. Was he pitying him? No, I don't need pity, and I'm not pitying anyone. I'm fighting for the most important person in my life, and I'm making one last effort for him.

Issui the resolute look in Kimimaro's eyes, Ichisui knew he was determined to die. Without waiting for Kimimaro to attack, Issui quickly rushed forward.

Kimimaro stared intently at the ice sword in Issui, determined to see it clearly, to see its trajectory, and then deliver a fatal blow.

Two Issui pierced through the spinning ice shield, their target— Kimimaro's throat and heart.

"Look closely, now! Shikotsumyaku - Dance of the Camellia!" Kimimaro's bone sword gently deflected Issui sword, then attacked from where the Issui sword had pierced the ice shield. It's going to hit! Is it about to hit?

"Ice Creation - Heart-Protecting Glazed Armor!"

"Smack..."

Just as the bone knife was about to pierce Issui's chest, a piece of ice armor appeared on Issui's chest, blocking the bone knife's attack.

"Your reaction speed and observation skills are quite impressive. You analyzed the flaws in my ice shield and then launched a swift attack. But ninjas are all about deception and illusion, and cannot be judged by common sense. While you are scheming against others, they are also scheming against you. Ice Shuriken, attack!" Issui said calmly.

Several ice blocks that had fallen to the ground condensed into several Ice Shuriken, which attacked Kimimaro from behind.

"Impeach!"

Kimimaro's back produced several bones that blocked the Ice Shuriken.

"When?"

Kimimaro looked at the several Shuriken stuck in his bones and pondered.

"Surprised? Why did the attack come from behind? Remember the curved ice blade I created? After I dispelled it, the fragments fell to the ground, and they still had my Chakra attached to them. So, with a slight pull, they naturally attacked you when you attacked me. But your bones are really tough; you blocked my attack. It's a headache. I can't hit you like this; it's a complete defense, I guess."

Issui Kimimaro cleared up his doubts.

"I admit, I underestimated you. You're much stronger than I imagined. You've been testing me, haven't you? This is just the tip of the iceberg of your strength. Now, show me your true power and fight me."

Kimimaro began to take this guy seriously. The more he fought him, the more secrets he discovered. He thought he could outsmart him, but he ended up being outmaneuvered by him. What a terrifying guy.

"Alright, since you insist, then I have no reason to hold back. I initially thought you were very similar to Haku and wanted to spare your life, but you're fighting for someone you cherish, even though he's a villain. You've sworn to fight for others and give your life for them; you've learned true strength. Undeniably, you're a true fighting ninja. Although I don't like dark people like Orochimaru, he's fortunate to have someone like you." Issui assumed a fighting stance.

"Come on, this is my mission. Although you understand the meaning of my existence, we must still fight, a battle to the death. You fight for the people you cherish, and I fight for the people I cherish, risking my life." Kimimaro trembled all over, not from fear, but from excitement.

"Your Taijutsu is excellent, but how do you defend against Ninjutsu? Tiger, Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Issui used Chakra to refine high-temperature flames and condense them into the form of a giant dragon to charge at Kimimaro. There wasn't just one; there were three fire dragons in total, completely blocking Kimimaro's left, right, and front directions. If he tried to escape backward, it would depend on whether he could keep up with the speed of the fire dragons. Originally, this technique had four hand seals, but if you were proficient in this Fire Style, you only needed to form the last one, the Tiger Seal.

The fire dragon instantly engulfed Kimimaro's figure, burning for a long time before finally stopping, but Kimimaro would not be harmed by such a simple attack.

Kimimaro activated his Curse Mark Stage Two state just as the fire dragon was about to advance, a state in which his speed was sufficient to dodge Issui -Fire Style attacks.

"Sieve..."

Kimimaro descended from the sky and attacked Issui. Issui's ice shield quickly blocked the attack, but the powerful impact almost shattered the ice shield. If Issui hadn't continuously poured Chakra into it, the ice shield would have been destroyed long ago.

Wow, that's incredibly fast! The naked eye can't keep up at all; you could easily get attacked.

Kimimaro missed his attack and quickly dodged. The Cursed Seal of Earth went berserk in its second state, causing Kimimaro to transform into a monster resembling a sword dragon. This perfectly matched his Kekkei Genkai — Shikotsumyaku). The tail that grew out was also the Cursed Seal of Earth "Earth." Sasuke's Heaven Cursed Seal State Two had wings that were "Heaven." This is the difference between the Heaven and Earth Cursed Seal.

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"

Gradually, the area where Ichiro and Kimimaro fought was shrouded in thick fog. The fog grew denser and denser until no one could be seen anymore, and even a meter away was not clearly visible.

Kimimaro looked at the thick fog in front of him and knew that Issui had rendered his eyes ineffective. In this situation, he was at a disadvantage. Since he was going to use this Ninjutsu, he must know it very well, while I was not so lucky. My speed was also ineffective. At most, I could defend against attacks from behind, but this would make me busy dealing with his attacks, thus consuming a lot of mental and physical energy.

"Ice Creation, Ice Multiple Snakes."

A faint voice came from behind him. "Where? Is it behind me? "Kimimaro wondered. Just as he turned around, numerous snakes made of ice rushed towards him.

Shikotsumyaku - Dance of the Willow!

Although there were many ice snakes, Kimimaro used his gentle, non-overly-conventional Taijutsu in conjunction with a series of attacks from his bones to shatter them all into ice shards.

"Ice Multiple Arrows!!"

Ice arrows came from all directions, swiftly attacking Kimimaro's body.

"Slap, slap, slap..."

Kimimaro used the bones extending from his entire body to defend against the ice arrows. Could Kimimaro have blocked this Issui onslaught as well?

"Whoosh... Pfft..."

Suddenly, an ice arrow that had fallen to the ground flew up rapidly and pierced Kimimaro's buttocks, but it didn't penetrate deeply, as it was blocked by Kimimaro's bones. Even so, a trickle of blood flowed down the ice arrow.

It was his scheme again, causing one of the many ice arrows to fall to the ground on its own. Just as I was deflecting the other ice arrows, my attack was at its weakest. The ice arrow that fell to the ground pierced my body with lightning speed. Fortunately, my body was covered with a lot of bone tissue, otherwise this arrow might have seriously injured me. What a clever plan.

"Oh, a minor injury, huh? How long can you withstand my attacks, Kimimaro?"

Issui chorus of laughter erupted from all around.

Calm down, I must calm down. What if my eyes don't work? Should I just stop trying to see? That's it, close your eyes and fight, follow your body's instincts. The Kaguya Clan's Taijutsu doesn't rely on sight, but on the body's senses. Close your eyes, sense his position, I can definitely hit him, Kimimaro thought.

"Water Release: Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave, Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"

A large amount of water rushed towards Kimimaro. Just as he was about to dodge, he suddenly felt a numbness in his body, and it hurt terribly!

P. S.: Please give me flowers, add this to your favorites, and recommend it!