Kaguya Clan

On the border of the Land of Water, aboard a small boat.

The entire Yuki Clan had only three survivors who managed to escape from Kirigakure.

Aside from a few clansmen who were away on missions, all other members had perished in the purge led by the Mizukage.

Yuki Yuki's face was deathly pale, and she sat limply at the bow of the boat.

Behind her, two companions were rowing with all their might; they had just departed from the docks.

This small boat was one that Yuki Kyō had seized from the pier.

Along the way, they had not delayed for a moment, choosing to set out from a town furthest from the mainland. They would need to travel by sea for at least three days to successfully reach the Land of Whirlpools.

From there, they would transfer to the border of the Land of Fire.

Once they reached that side, the pursuit from Kirigakure would be significantly reduced.

"Yuki, do you really not know that person? Then why would he risk his life to save you? Could it be that he didn't leave behind any contingency plans?"

Another clansman named Yuki Yuichi asked, his face filled with exhaustion.

"I really don't know him."

Yuki Yuki shook her head.

She glanced at Yuki Kyō beside her and, seeing that he didn't expose her, felt slightly more at ease.

That elder must have been a friend of her father's.

Yuki Yuichi was a Chunin, and his strength was greater than the two of them combined.

They didn't dare to show any resistance.

"Where should we go now?"

Yuki Yuichi asked again. He currently had no clue and had been following the two of them around, assuming that the mysterious clansman had made some special arrangements.

He hadn't expected that after running for so many days, they would basically be drifting at sea, only able to go ashore at night to scavenge for food.

Yuki Kyō recalled the instructions given by that mysterious clansman before he passed away.

"Find Orochimaru."

Yuki Kyō proposed the suggestion, and Yuki Yuichi frowned.

"Orochimaru? That Sannin from Konoha... hasn't he already defected?"

"Can you even find where he is!?"

Yuki Yuki's gaze firmed as she touched a mark on her wrist and said, "I know where he is."

It was something that mysterious clansman had left for her before the clan was wiped out.

It faintly pointed toward a certain direction.

On the outskirts of Kirigakure.

Inside a hidden cave.

Uchiha Ao's eyes snapped open, and he saw Yinqian nearby, greedily devouring a few mice.

Noticing the movement, it raised its head, chewing on a mouse as it mumbled, "Ah, Boss, you're back! Want a bite? There are so many field mice here! I can't even finish them all."

"You eat them."

Ao glanced at it, stood up, and stretched vigorously, his joints popping with a series of cracks.

He habitually activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to assess his physical condition.

Compared to before he left, his muscle and fat mass had decreased slightly.

However, with the presence of Hashirama Cells, the impact was not significant.

The duration of his soul projection would not exceed three days; during this period, the toll on his body would be kept to a minimum.

This was an experience he had gained after a long period of trial and error.

If the time exceeded three days, he would need to prepare a sufficient amount of nutrient solution for his body to ensure that the Hashirama Cells could continuously replenish nutrients and energy.

This would allow him to maintain the normal cellular activity of his body.

"Orochimaru asked me to come here, aside from the Ice Release of the Yuki Clan, it must also be for the Shikotsumyaku."

"I'll have to find time to visit the Kaguya Clan as well."

"It is rumored that their Kekkei Genkai also originates from the Sage of Six Paths or Otsutsuki Kaguya. I wonder if that claim is true."

Ao muttered to himself.

He took an apple from his pocket, wiped it briefly with his sleeve, and then bit into it.

Living out in the wild so often, he finally understood why Orochimaru liked eating apples.

Because they were easy to carry, nutritious, could replenish hydration, and had a relatively long shelf life under the same conditions.

It won't spoil for at least three to five days.

"Yinqian, you go back. I'm going to the Kaguya Clan."

"Then return to Ryūchi Cave."

"Ask the Sage where that child he mentioned is. Go help me look after him for a while; once I return, I'll come to collect him personally."

He instructed Yinqian.

He already had three children by his side, and if he added a child with the bloodline of the Kaguya Clan...

He suddenly felt like the director of an orphanage.

Had he become a nanny for Orochimaru's subordinates!?

"Ah... alright, Boss!"

Yinqian froze upon hearing this. He had finally managed to get out, and he hadn't expected to be sent back so soon.

There were so many delicious things to eat out here.

"Boss, remember to bring me along next time you come out..."

Yinqian swallowed the field mouse in his mouth, coiled his body, and spoke.

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a puff of white mist and vanished.

Ao tidied up the surrounding area, clearing away any traces of human presence, and then silently headed toward the Kaguya Clan.

The Kaguya Clan was originally located in the central district of Kirigakure.

However, because the clan was overly bellicose and frequently caused violent incidents within the village, they faced widespread rejection from the villagers.

During the era of the Second Mizukage, they were forcibly relocated to an open area not far from the village.

This formed an independent settlement.

Without any interference from the village, this place had become an independent kingdom for the Kaguya Clan.

During his time in Kirigakure, Ao had long since thoroughly mapped out the environment here.

This time, he did not intend to hide and use his Sage Soul to perform possession.

Instead, he entered the Kaguya Clan by means of infiltration.

Because this ninja clan, whose members had nothing but combat on their minds, had an even worse reputation in the Ninja World than the Uchiha.

They were pure, mindless brutes.

Their resistance to genjutsu was basically zero.

The only reason their clan had survived until now was because of their superior choice of birthplace.

They had no natural enemies.

If they were on the mainland, any ninja clan skilled in genjutsu could have swallowed them whole.

Powerful users of the Shikotsumyaku didn't even have the chance to react when faced with a genjutsu master.

Ao's attainments in genjutsu were average, but as his soul grew stronger, his training in this area began to reveal the talent of the Uchiha.

He had already mastered the few genjutsu techniques Orochimaru had provided to the point of perfection.

He infiltrated the Kaguya Clan with ease.

He did not encounter any obstacles.

Every Kaguya clansman who spotted him fell to the ground silently.

He did not linger on the outskirts of the Kaguya Clan, but headed straight for their dungeon.

An extremely special character was imprisoned here.

Kimimaro.

A Kaguya clansman who had awakened the Shikotsumyaku the moment he was born, hailed as the strongest Shikotsumyaku user in history.

When he was born, he had unconsciously triggered his Shikotsumyaku, killing his own mother. Out of jealousy and hatred, his father had thrown him into the family dungeon.

They had originally intended to treat him as an omen of bad luck and execute him immediately.

But the Kaguya Clan Head had intervened, and he had been imprisoned in the dungeon since he was two months old, relying solely on rice porridge fed to him by clansmen to fill his stomach.

The Kaguya Clan Head had once boasted to the higher-ups of Kirigakure that this boy was the most brilliant genius the Kaguya Clan would ever have.

Many people in Kirigakure knew of this.

Ao had happened to hear this news as well.

His purpose in coming here was this Kaguya genius.

"Are you Kimimaro?"

Ao scrutinized the figure inside a dog cage; the thin, small child looked to be just over two years old.

There wasn't a shred of flesh to be seen on his body; he was nothing but a skeleton.

He wore no clothes and was completely bare.

His eyes were vacant, and he showed no reaction to the name "Kimimaro."

Before Orochimaru had arrived, this boy had never even had a name.