Kaguya Kimimaro, Shikotsumyaku vs. Ice Comprehension
Kimimaro listened to Haku's words, glancing slightly at his own hands. Friends, comrades—Jugo should be considered my comrade, Jūgo? Even if I die, I'll still hold an important place in his heart. As for Lord Orochimaru, perhaps once a new vessel arrives, I'll no longer have a place in his heart. I've failed his expectations. Even if what Yuki said is true, without Lord Orochimaru, I wouldn't even feel like a vessel. Now, let me do my last bit of strength for him.
Issui shook his head as he looked at Kimimaro. This guy has been brainwashed. Judging from this, he's preparing for a final battle with me.
"Come on, fight me." A sharp bone extended from Kimimaro's palm.
"Stubborn to the end, then I'll have a Kekkei Genkai duel with you! Eye of Heaven - Frost, Ice Creation - Twin Swords of Ice Crystal!" Two longswords made of ice crystals appeared in Issui Shui's hands, their glassy blades shimmering in the sunlight.
Kimimaro attacked without a word, the sharp bone in his hand piercing Issui Kimimaro's vital points. His body was incredibly flexible, and his attacks were swift and decisive, using the simplest and most direct methods to achieve a Taijutsu that didn't waste a single ounce of energy.
"Clang..."
Issui easily blocked the two sharp bones with his sword; neither of them broke during the collision between the ice crystals and the bones.
"What?" Kimimaro looked at the Issui swords. How could something as fragile as ice possibly stop my bones? Those are bones with increased bone cell density!
Issui Kimimaro's surprise, Yishui knew he was wondering how his ice sword could block the attack from his bones. "Then I'll tell you," he said, Issui pressing Kimimaro's bones back down. "You're wondering about my ice sword, aren't you? A sword made of ice crystals. Generally speaking, ice crystals are quite fragile. However, as I said before, I wanted to have a bloodline duel with you. Why am I so confident in dealing with the Shikotsumyaku Kirigakure the Kaguya Clan? Your bones can freely change their number by controlling the number of osteoblasts and the composition of the bone." Or form, thereby for defense or attack. My ice, however, is used to freely change things by increasing the density and coldness of ice, for attack or defense. As we all know, the colder the ice, the harder it is; the denser the ice, the harder it is. All things are made up of molecules or atoms, but there are gaps between molecules and atoms. When these gaps become smaller, the distance between each molecule and atom becomes closer, and thus the density is greater and the hardness becomes greater. However, changing the gaps between molecules and atoms is very difficult. Most people with this ability have Kekkei Genkai, such as your Shikotsumyaku, my Ice Creation."
Kimimaro withdrew his attack and said in surprise, "Oh, our Kekkei Genkai very similar. This is the first time I've encountered an ability comparable to the Kaguya Clan. I'm a little excited."
"Ice-Sealed Armor!" Four ice shields appeared around Issui's body.
"Huh?" Kimimaro looked at the four ice shields slowly rotating around him, slightly surprised. Were they defending against my attack?
"See the four ice shields around my body? As long as there's Chakra support, they automatically block attacks from all directions. It's completely proactive, requiring no manual control. This is the second time I've used this defense; it's an acknowledgment of your abilities. Your Taijutsu is stronger than mine, so I need to defend against your attacks. And sometimes, the eyes can be deceiving. My armor automatically defends against attacks, so I don't need to pay attention to attacks from all directions. But for you, it's different. With your attacks blocked by the ice shields and failing, you have to constantly watch out for my attacks. So, this situation is very disadvantageous for you right now," Issui said calmly.
"Hmm, interesting. Let me try out your ice shield, Shikotsumyaku - Dance of the Willow!"
Kimimaro used a series of attacks with his bones, employing gentle, non-overlying Taijutsu, and his target was Issui, who stood motionless in front of him.
"Clang... clang... clang..."
As Kimimaro attacked rapidly, four ice shields danced up and down. The slower Kimimaro's attacks, the slower the ice shields spun; the faster Kimimaro's attacks, the faster the ice shields spun. The continuous blows of the bones produced a series of crisp, light sounds on the ice shields. Although Kimimaro's attacks were swift and decisive, the ice shields spun with a graceful, almost ethereal quality. The collisions between the bones and the ice shields were like music playing, as if they were perfectly in sync. Every single one of Kimimaro's attacks struck the ice shields without missing its mark.
"It's useless, such an attack is useless. Alright, my counterattack begins..." Issui raised the ice sword in his hand and quickly struck Kimimaro.
Kimimaro immediately parried the onslaught of Issui swords. He was fast enough to react quickly enough, and the sharp bones extending from his joints blocked the attacks.
"Your attack seems to have missed as well, blocked by my bones. Although it was my initiative to defend, your speed is still not enough to escape my eyes," Kimimaro said calmly.
"Is that so? Extend, Ice Sword!!"
Issui ice sword that Kimimaro had blocked suddenly extended, gently slicing a bloody mark across Kimimaro's face.
"What?"
Kimimaro stared at the suddenly extended sword. Luckily, his face was covered by bone; otherwise, it wouldn't have been just a shallow bloodstain. This ice sword didn't appear to have extended; rather, it seemed to have condensed moisture from the air under the influence of Chakra.
Issui at Kimimaro's expression, Ichisui praised, "As expected, you're calm. To analyze the principle behind the ice sword's extension even while injured is truly remarkable. Since it can extend, then..."
Kimimaro was startled. "Oh no! Retreat quickly..."
"Too late, Ice Sword, bend!"
Suddenly, a crescent-shaped scimitar appeared at the end of the ice sword, blocking Kimimaro's retreat.
"Smack..."
"Shikotsumyaku - Dance of the Larch!" Kimimaro's back appeared, several bones blocking the attack of the ice scimitar. "Shikotsumyaku - Dance of the Camellia!" After defending against Issui attack, Kimimaro advanced instead of retreating, drawing a bone sword from his left arm as a weapon, and launching a series of continuous attacks with precise and flexible Taijutsu.
The ice shield blocked the bone blade's attacks one by one. Issui snorted coldly, removed the curved blade from the ice sword, sheathed the ice sword, and then retaliated against Kimimaro's counterattack. It would be impolite not to retaliate.
"Clang..."
Kimimaro deflected the Issui of attacks and retreated swiftly. What happened? The ice shield was spinning so fast, how could he still launch an attack? Impossible! That speed was visible to the naked eye. My Dance of the Camellia is incredibly fast. After the ice shield blocked my attack, he had to see clearly my bone sword attack and the ice shield's defense, then find an opening to launch an attack. It's impossible! What happened?
"What's wrong? Scared? Attack again, let me get excited a little more, Kaguya Kimimaro." Issui watched intently into his eyes. He was pondering the flaws in my bloodline. He was truly extraordinary. No wonder Orochimaru valued him so much. If it weren't for his illness, he would have long ago become Orochimaru's vessel. A selfless person, a calm person, a persistent person—that was Kaguya Kimimaro.
Kimimaro listened to the Issui of angry words. Sure enough, his bloodline had a flaw. He would launch another attack to find out the flaw.
"Shikotsumyaku - Dance of the Staff!"
The bone sword's continuous attacks struck Issui's ice shield once more. Kimimaro carefully observed Issui's ice sword movements, and then he discovered the secret of how the ice sword attacked while defending against the ice shield!
If we slow down the speed of Issui's ice sword attack, when Ice Release blocked Kimimaro's attack, Issui sword did not pass through the gaps in the ice shield, but rather emerged from within the ice shield. In the area where the ice sword passed through the ice shield, the ice crystals turned into water. However, this subtle movement disappeared completely after the ice sword finished, and the water instantly froze back into ice. Indeed, Issui could not see all the movements with the naked eye and then launch an attack within a fraction of a second, so he could only melt the ice on the ice shield into water to allow the ice sword to pass through and attack.
After a series of attacks, Kimimaro retreated from Issui's attack range, gradually discerning the flaws in Issui's ice shield. Indeed, if Issui stood still, his ice shield was perfectly defensive. However, if it was only for defense, he couldn't attack me. If I used an attack exceeding the shield's strength, he would be caught off guard and forced to defend. If he wanted to attack, he had two options: either slip through the gaps in the ice shield or attack through it. Seeing the gaps in the ice shield was beyond the capabilities of an ordinary person; reacting in a fraction of a second, or even less, was virtually impossible. Even with my training, my reaction time was at most a hundredth of a second. So, how could he overcome the ice's obstruction after passing through it? Only by turning the area he passed through into water, attacking, and then turning it back into ice could he withstand my attack.
An ordinary person might be astonished by Issui's bizarre abilities, struggling to cope with his attacks and unable to retaliate. However, it's different when encountering someone calm and capable, like Kimimaro, who can continuously analyze the pros and cons amidst relentless attacks.
However, even knowing the weakness of the Issui shield, finding the watery area on the ice shield and attacking it is not an easy task. But this is different for Kimimaro, who has honed his Taijutsu to the extreme. It is very easy for him. As long as the Issui dares to attack him, he can counterattack the Issui shield!
"I can see that now. If you continue to grow like this, you'll be no worse than anyone else. I truly admire you. But I'd like to see your Taijutsu. Come on, let me witness your strength." Issui raised his ice sword before his eyes, obscuring Kimimaro's figure...
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