During a battle, Hinata clearly doesn't have time to think too much.
Kimimaro is a close-combat ninja. In his Curse Mark Stage 1 state, his entire body is covered with Cursed Seal patterns, making him extremely fast, and his flexibility and attack power are also extremely strong.
Even its defenses seem flawless.
Kimimaro's entire body was covered in bone spurs, making it impossible for Kiba and Rock Lee to attack him; they could only keep Kimimaro.
Choji was covered in wounds, clearly from protecting Shikamaru.
Shikamaru's Shadow Jutsu has been ineffective.
The power of the Cursed Seal is actually Natural Energy. When Kimimaro is under the Cursed Seal, even his perception is extremely strong.
However, Shikamaru's Shadow Jutsu did have some disruptive effect, preventing Kimimaro from focusing on Kiba and Rock Lee; otherwise, Kiba and Rock Lee would probably have been defeated by now.
How are things on your end?
Hinata stood beside Shikamaru, not in a hurry to make a move.
Shikamaru glanced at the battlefield between Nine-Tails and Orochimaru and couldn't help but remark, "I'm so glad I survived twelve years ago, it's truly a blessing from heaven!"
"My opponents are also extremely difficult to deal with..."
At this point, Shikamaru's eyes dimmed. "If it weren't for Nine-Tails's help this time, we might all be dead here."
Hinata shrugged, smiling casually, "That doesn't include me!"
To be honest, Shikamaru was already starting to regret his impulsiveness.
If it weren't for Nine-Tails's help this time, with the strength of the six of them alone, I'm afraid that apart from Hinata and Naruto, none of them would have been able to return to Konoha alive.
It's fine for young people to be hot-blooded, as long as they can learn from their mistakes, that's growth.
Hinata patted Shikamaru on the shoulder and comforted him, "If you regret it, treat me to a big meal when we get back!"
"I'm going!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Hinata suddenly accelerated, aimed at an opening, and delivered a powerful Air Palm strike to Kimimaro from mid-air.
'Boom--'
Hinata, empowered by both the Nine-Tails and Senjutsu Mode, possesses an incredibly powerful attack.
Kimimaro was blasted away almost instantly, dragging himself more than fifty meters across the ground before finally coming to a stop.
"Cough cough!"
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Kimimaro slowly turned around and looked at Hinata expressionlessly.
"Hinata Hyuga?"
Hinata was taken aback. "Eh? It's me!"
"Has my Daimyo already reached the Otogakure?"
In fact, Hinata was already quite well-known throughout the Shinobi World at this point.
Putting everything else aside, his status as the heir to the Hyuga Main Family alone is enough to attract the attention of major Shinobi Village.
Moreover, after Hinata graduated, she first killed Demon Zabuza missing-nin Kirigakure, and then captured the One-Tail Jinchuriki from Sunagakure, which is quite a fierce record.
On the desks of the Kage of major Shinobi Village, there was already a file on Hinata.
However, the battle in Tanzaku City where Hinata teamed up Jiraiya to fight Orochimaru did not become widely known in the Shinobi World.
If this battle were to be revealed, Hinata would be rising to power by stepping over Orochimaru, the Third Hokage, and the Fourth Kazekage.
He instantly became one of the strongest Shinobi World.
However, Kimimaro got to know Hinata not through Hinata's battle achievements.
Hinata has thwarted Orochimaru's plans multiple times, and Orochimaru often thinks about Hinata.
As a fanatical admirer of Orochimaru, Kimimaro felt it was his duty to eliminate all of Lord Orochimaru's enemies.
The Cursed Seal surged throughout his body.
In an instant, Kimimaro's entire body turned dark brown, and his silver-white hair also became dull.
Curse Mark Stage 2!
Ya curled his lip, saying incredulously, "This guy didn't even use his full strength when he fought us before?"
Hinata waved her hand and said calmly, "Leave this to me!"
No one understands Kimimaro's current state better than Hinata, who possesses the Byakugan.
If he doesn't fight, Kimimaro's body should be able to be maintained for several more months with the help of medication.
But once he enters the Curse Mark Stage 2 state, he can only fight for a few minutes.
The erosion of his body by Natural Energy rendered the medicine prepared by Kabuto Yakushi unable to suppress his Kekkei Genkai Disease any longer.
He was about to give up.
Rock Lee looked at Kimimaro with a serious expression and said to Hinata, "That guy attacks his opponents with bones. He can pull out bones from any part of his body, and he can also make bones grow out of his body."
"In short, he can manipulate bones at will!"
Although this was all information that was already known, Hinata still thanked her.
Kimimaro had no time to waste.
His eyes were fixed on Hinata, bone spurs sprouted from his body, and his body instantly turned into a blur as he rushed towards Hinata at an extremely fast speed.
Hinata also charged forward, wielding her Senjutsu Chakra fist. In just a few moments, Hinata and Kimimaro exchanged more than a dozen blows.
With her fists protected by Senjutsu Chakra, Hinata wasn't as wary of Kimimaro's bone spikes as Kiba and Rock Lee were.
Under normal circumstances, Hinata and Kimimaro should be roughly equal in strength.
If expressed using ninja data, both of them have a total of over 60 points in all eight attributes, and their Taijutsu is at the maximum value of 10 points.
Kimimaro has Curse Mark Stage 2, and Hinata also has two types of Chakra: Nine-Tails and Senjutsu.
However, if judged by energy level, Hinata is actually a step above Kimimaro.
Kimimaro's combat experience far Hinata's, and he was now fighting Hinata with a death wish, making his attacks extremely fierce.
After just a dozen or so moves, Hinata was forced into a disadvantageous position by Kimimaro.
The Gentle Fist of the Naruto world is not like Tai Chi, which uses softness to overcome hardness. Instead, it is more like internal energy in martial arts novels, which can directly cause internal injuries to the enemy.
Hinata's fighting style is actually somewhat different from Hyuga Hiashi's.
Hyuga Hiashi didn't have a move like the Forty Gods Vacuum Attack.
Hinata wielded her Senjutsu Chakra fist, which was actually a combination of Gentle Fist and Steel Fist.
With a single punch, the enemy will suffer severe internal injuries in addition to broken bones and torn tendons.
When Taijutsu reach a certain level, there is almost no difference between so-called "Steel Fist" and "Gentle Fist".
Tsunade's Monster Strength Fist can also cause internal injuries.
Techniques like Evening Elephant, Night Guy, and Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack are simply attacks on the opponent with powerful energy, not a matter of Steel Fist or Gentle Fist.
Hinata then thought of Nine-Tails's previous moves.
Both involve compressing and unleashing Chakra, but the power of the latter is far greater than that of the former.
Hinata seemed to have realized something.
Hinata was also somewhat excited, as she unusually refrained from using her Royal Flush to directly crush her opponent.
Just as Jiraiya said, Hinata lacks most right now is combat experience.
A Taijutsu master of equal strength is exactly the kind of opponent Hinata craves most.
After all, even a salted fish can turn its fortunes around.
Hinata would occasionally try a little harder.
'Bang bang bang—'
Kimimaro's Taijutsu skills are actually quite similar to Hinata's.
They are extremely agile and their moves are unpredictable.
Kimimaro's attacks were swifter and more ferocious than Hinata's, each strike aimed directly at Hinata's vital points.
Hinata, protected by Senjutsu Chakra, clashed head-on with Kimimaro, attack after attack.
"Shikotsumyaku - Ten Finger Nukes!"
Kimimaro quickly jumped back, creating distance between himself and Hinata, and pointed all ten of his fingers in Hinata's direction.
"Heavenly Spin!"
Hinata withdrew her Senjutsu Chakra into her body, and then rapidly unleashed it from all the acupoints in her body.
The spinning Chakra ball instantly deflected the finger bone that Kimimaro had shot out.
Kimimaro, his body covered in bone spikes, spun around and charged at Hinata once more.
"Shikotsumyaku - Dance of the Larch!"
"Heavenly Spin!"
Hinata started spinning again.
Even without Natural Energy, the Nine-Tails 'Chakra alone is enough to stop Kimimaro.
'Sizzle sizzle sizzle—'
Hinata and Kimimaro spun and collided like two spinning tops, their ear-piercing friction sounds echoing continuously.