My squad doesn't need Ninjutsu!
The Cloud Gorge leads directly to the Northeast coastline along the stream, and this route is also the main route for the Chunin Ninja Exams.
Unless a team has a thorough understanding of the Land of Land of Lightning's terrain and an excellent sense of direction, it is very easy to get lost among the towering, undulating mountains once their gaze leaves the river.
Kimimaro dared not be overconfident. Although Karin, a Sensor Ninja, was in his team, he still chose to follow the river.
Following the river downstream, Kimimaro looked up at a cliff, searching for a path below.
If he were alone, he could easily jump from that height of tens of meters, below which is a huge Pool.
Water would reduce the impact of the fall, and thanks to the powerful defense of the Shikotsumyaku), Kimimaro was able to land safely.
It not only saves time, but also eliminates unnecessary trouble.
But that won't work now; Karin and Yakumo clearly don't possess that ability.
"Wait, there are many streams of chakra ahead." Suddenly, Karin's serious voice rang out as she closed her eyes and sensed the situation ahead.
"Chakra?" Kimimaro's eyes lit up. Following the enemy's ambush route would lead down the mountain, wouldn't it?
"Yes, there are three teams in total, distributed across three areas." Karin picked up a twig and started drawing on the sand.
There is a Team B hidden in a thicket below the cliff where the three of them are standing, and another team is hidden in the river behind them.
The last team is hidden in the ground?!
"In the water, underground, in the bushes?" Kimimaro squinted as he surveyed the terrain below the cliff. It seemed there was indeed no normal way down.
The time has come to truly test a ninja's ability to adapt to changing circumstances!
Kimimaro crouched on the cliff, pressing his hands hard against the ground, his chakra surging wildly within him.
Gaa gaa gaa...
The sound of bones cracking was clearly audible.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch!"
By utilizing Kekkei Genkai, dozens of bones can grow on the body, allowing for high defense that can withstand impacts while also being able to strike opponents in close-quarters combat.
Kimimaro instantly transformed into a humanoid hedgehog, his body covered in thick bones, increasing his defensive power exponentially.
"Yakumo, set up Genjutsu barrier!" Kimimaro shouted, leaping high into the air, his body spinning gracefully like a butterfly in flight.
Whoosh!
Drawn by Gravity, Kimimaro's body plummeted straight down the cliff.
At the same time, Yakumo's expression tightened. After Kimimaro left, neither she nor Karin could defend themselves in close combat.
Chakra visibly converged.
"Genjutsu: Magic Illusion: Five Senses!"
The power to invade the mental world of another person, based on the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Even a glance, a soft sound, a fragrance, a scent, or even the slightest touch can trap one in Yakumo's Genjutsu.
A unique Kekkei Genkai belonging to the Kurama Clan!
Combined with the True Illusion and the Nightmare Genjutsu, it can prevent enemies trapped in the illusion from using Ninjutsu, and any damage they suffer will be reflected in the real world.
"Karin, I'm entrusting my senses to you!" Yakumo couldn't detect the enemy hiding in the shadows, but Karin could!
When combined, the two can annihilate an enemy from a thousand miles away!
Karin closed her eyes and opened her mind's eye. Mind's Eye of the Kagura was only initially awakened, and she had not yet mastered it.
However, Karin could not escape the senses of any chakra fluctuations within a one-kilometer radius!
Boom!
A tremendous explosion rang out, and from the bushes directly below the cliff, a white figure lunged forward, its heavy fist, encased in stark white bone, descending upon the scene.
It sent the clump of trees, along with the solid stone wall, flying away.
"What?"
"We've been discovered?!"
"There's only one person. Take him down!"
Three Cloud Ninja leaped out of the bushes in an instant, drawing their three Tachi from mid-air and Lightning Release into Tachi.
The three Tachi crackled with electricity and instantly transformed into three laser swords!
"Not an ordinary Genin, they actually carry a metal weapon that can transmit chakra?" Kimimaro stared coldly at the three people leaping down from mid-air.
He spread his arms wide, pointing his ten fingers at the three people in the air.
"Finger Bullet!"
A cold voice rang out!
Puff puff puff!!
A row of densely packed Finger Bones Bone Bullets out, accompanied by a whistling sound as they hurtled through the air.
Unable to move while suspended in mid-air, the three Cloud Ninja had no choice but to retract their attacking Tachi and parry.
Ding ding ding...
The Bone Bullets struck the Lightning Release- enhanced Tachi and was instantly deflected.
"No wonder you dared to ambush us here, you've got some skills!" Kimimaro's eyes turned cold, a serious look appearing in them.
His Shikotsumyaku - Finger Bullet, capable of piercing even a wall a palm's thickness, was actually blocked by three thin katana Tachi less than a finger's width each.
A blond-haired boy, wielding a lightning- Tachi, deflected the Bone Bullets and instead of retreating, advanced, gripping the Tachi Gravity.
Sizzle...
With a flash of electricity, Kimimaro lowered his body, gathered his strength, and leaped backward to dodge.
Boom!!
The Tachi, imbued with Lightning Release, slashed into the solid mountain rock, neatly slicing off a corner of the stone. The clean cut looked as if it had been meticulously polished by hand!
"Hmph, you're lucky you dodged fast! Remember my name— Atsui!"
The blond boy, carrying Tachi, looked down at Kimimaro with his nose in the air and shouted loudly.
With a swift movement, two dark-skinned boys, a year or two younger than him, landed with knives, standing on either side of Atsui.
"Taiyi!"
"Longyi!"
Kimimaro, keeping his distance, stared at the three expressionlessly, secretly on guard. Karin had mentioned that there were two more squads hiding in the river and in the ground.
They haven't shown up yet, which means they're not with that group.
"The ability to combine Lightning Release with Swordsmanship..." Kimimaro's eyes darkened, and his chakra surged. He had never feared anyone when it came to Taijutsu!
He is Kaguya Kimimaro Kaguya Clan!!
"There's no time to waste here, I'll take care of you all at once!" Kimimaro holding his outer robe, revealing his strong and perfect body.
Chakra circulates throughout the body!
Gaa gaa gaa...
Bones grew wildly, with long, hard Bone Spur sprouting from the palms, elbows, shoulder blades, and thighs.
Bone knives, sharp as blades, are embedded in various parts of the body!
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow!"
With a series of attacks delivered through bone manipulation using gentle, non-extraordinary Taijutsu, one can easily eliminate hundreds, or even thousands, of enemies at close range!
This is one of the ultimate techniques passed down through the Shikotsumyaku!
"Quickly..." retreat...
Atsui's words were barely out when two of his companions were instantly pierced by Bone Spur, blood spurting out and staining his eyes red.
The world was suddenly reduced to a blood-red color, and the pungent smell of blood made his nerves tense.
A somber atmosphere enveloped the mountain range.
Horror, terror!
My body trembled involuntarily. My master once said that even when facing a powerful enemy, one should fight to the death, but the instinctive fear in my body is something that cannot be controlled by human will.
If a person can't even feel fear, then he can no longer be considered a human being!
Puff!
The gentle movements, though seemingly slow, were actually extremely fast. Atsui didn't even see Kimimaro's movements clearly; he only felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Atsui mechanically looked down and saw that the other person's palm was pressed against his chest!
If I remember correctly...
This guy has a bone blade in his palm!
"Uh... um..." A sweet taste rose in Atsui's throat, and a metallic taste surged up. He couldn't hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood. He gritted his teeth and tried to swallow the blood.
A large amount of blood was in his mouth, which he could not swallow and instead overflowed from the corners of his mouth.
A look of pain crossed Atsui's face, and the katana in his hand fell to the ground with Tachi, rolling to the side.
This kid is amazing...
In the last second before losing consciousness, a thought flashed through Atsui's mind: if he had to do it again, he would never choose to ambush this guy...
After defeating three enemies, Kimimaro felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
He swayed and leaned against the mountain wall, pausing for several seconds before suppressing the dizzying sensation.
The stronger the Kaguya Clan become, the more severe their Bloodline Disease becomes. Since awakening the Shikotsumyaku), Kimimaro's Bloodline Disease has become increasingly severe.
A Pure White mark on Kimimaro's forehead flickered slightly; this was a seal set up by Tōka — the Yang Seal!
The seal was infused with Yang Release Senjutsu Chakra.
Whenever Kimimaro uses the Shikotsumyaku), the Yang Release Senjutsu within it automatically flows into Kimimaro's body, repairing the damaged cells.
However, this is only a temporary solution and not a cure.
It allows Kimimaro to use the Shikotsumyaku without any worries, but once the Yang Release Senjutsu Chakra stored in his brow is exhausted, it must be replenished as soon as possible.
Kimimaro felt dizzy because he hadn't yet adapted to Tōka's chakra.
After repeatedly using the Shikotsumyaku to activate the Yang Seal, Kimimaro's body will no longer experience dizziness once it adapts to Tōka's Yang Release Senjutsu Chakra.
Call out!!
A giant white bird flew overhead, creating a whirlwind that made Kimimaro's robes flutter wildly.
"That guy from Iwagakure!" Kimimaro's eyes narrowed, and his expression changed drastically!
He noticed countless tiny snowflake-like spheres falling from the sky, gradually enlarging in his field of vision to reveal the Lushan!
C1· Clay Spider!
"Karin, Yakumo, hide quickly!" Kimimaro wasn't worried about himself, because these little spiders couldn't break through his defenses.
However, the two people on the cliff top were no match for this type of powerful bomb!
Rumble!!
Strangely, the Clay Spider did not explode on the cliff face, but rather twenty meters above the cliff.
On the cliff, Yakumo took out his easel, on which a giant white bird soared under the blue sky.
Immediately afterwards, Yakumo flicked his paintbrush, and a dark cloud gathered in the sky above the canvas.
Rumble!!
The sky suddenly darkened, and thunder rumbled, as if a torrential downpour was imminent!
"What's going on? Is it going to rain heavily soon?... Hmm!" Deidara looked at the sky in confusion, which had just been clear and sunny.
The weather in the Land of Lightning is so strange!
Just then, a cold yet very pleasant female voice rang out.
"True Illusion!"
Rumble!
A bolt of lightning struck from a clear sky, hitting the giant white bird beneath Deidara. Startled, Kurotsuchi Akatsuchi, who were sitting behind the bird, jumped to their feet.
"Deidara, think of something quick!" Kurotsuchi shouted in a panic.
Deidara was trying to control the unruly Explosive Clay bird, but another bolt of lightning struck, piercing straight through the bird's wing.
The giant bird instantly lost its balance, and even with Deidara's desperate efforts to control it, he couldn't stop it from plummeting headfirst.
"I'll have to make another one... Hmm!" Deidara reached into his bag with his right hand and bit off a piece of clay, about to gather chakra to create a giant bird...
How could Yakumo, perched atop the cliff, possibly give Deidara a chance!
Her eyes narrowed, locking onto Deidara and his group as their plane crashed in the sky.
The Kekkei Genkai been activated once again!
"Nightmare Genjutsu!"
This directly transports people into Genjutsu World, where Ninjutsu cannot be used. At this moment, Deidara and his group are in Yakumo's canvas illusion.
Want to use Ninjutsu? You need Yakumo's permission first!
Upon seeing this, Kimimaro immediately realized that it was Yakumo on the cliff who had made the move.
Bang!
He suddenly lowered himself, gathering chakra in his legs, and pressed his body down with all his might, bursting out with a burst of elasticity when he reached his limit.
Call out!
Kimimaro's body sprang into the air like a spring, his precise chakra gathering in the soles of his feet. After the spring was exhausted, he stepped onto the cliff face, relying on precise chakra control to stick his foot to the mountain wall.
With a few leaps, Kimimaro soared directly from the cliff into the air, landing in front of Yakumo and Karin.
"Are you alright?" Kimimaro's tone was cold, but a hint of concern could be seen in his serious eyes.
"Hmm." Yakumo nodded slightly, and put away the tools in his hand.
"Those guys?" Kimimaro glanced down the mountain, where a thick cloud of smoke rose from the Forest beside the river.
It seems the Iwagakure team has fallen directly into the mountains.
"The three of them have stable chakra levels, so they should only have suffered minor injuries." Karin opened her eyes, and the Jutsu Formula was dispelled.
"Is that so..." Kimimaro pondered for a moment, then immediately made a decision.
"Let's install the remaining two Lightning Rod first. We'll deal with the Chunin Ninja Exams later."
Kimimaro's words were agreed upon by Yakumo and Karin. Chunin was just a title, and they hadn't come here for that Chunin.
The task assigned by Tōka was even more important; it was still a day's journey to the middle section of Cloud Gorge.
This was all without anyone interfering.
We can't delay any longer...
"How do we get down?" Karin was more concerned about this question.
She and Yakumo didn't possess Kimimaro's exaggerated Taijutsu and defensive abilities, so they could jump off from here unharmed.
Kimimaro couldn't think of any other way, so he could only use the most basic ninja tools.
"Use ropes, I'll take you down."
"A rope?" The two girls looked at each other with disbelief...
Meanwhile, the other two B teams, hidden near the cliff, easily "annihilated" the Iwagakure team after witnessing Kimimaro's arrival, along with Yakumo and Karin.
Very wisely, the two B teams chose to lie in wait in the shadows, waiting for their next prey.