Hiramekarei--Liberation!!
The outskirts Mist Village, the woodland shrouded in a hazy fog.
The aftershocks of the explosion still trembled in the air. Branches and wood chips, shredded by the Wind Release Chakra, fell from mid-air, swirling with the stirred-up soil and gravel into a gray-green dust cloud.
The mist was briefly dispersed by the Wind Release, revealing a figure lying among shards of wood and clods of earth in the cleared area in the center of the forest.
Jūzō Biwa, formerly one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, wielder of the Kubikiribōchō, is now Jonin the Mist Village's elite squad.
His name once struck fear into the hearts of countless enemies; he was one of the sharpest blades in that Village of the Bloody Mist.
However, at this moment, this elite Jonin the Mist Village was lying in the woods in a very disheveled state.
His right arm was bent backward at an unnatural angle, the shoulder joint was obviously dislocated, and a large, shocking dark red patch was spreading below his ribs.
But he gritted his teeth and used his still-intact left hand to support himself on the ground, trying to get up again.
Jūzō Biwa murmured resentfully:
"Damn it, if I hadn't lost Zabuza that brat Zabuza, and if I still Kubikiribōchō in my hand, how could I possibly..."
The thought had barely crossed his mind when he cut it off.
He barely managed to lift his head, straining to look at the terrifying phantom in front of him.
The figure, dressed in a white kimono, appeared and disappeared in the mist.
Those golden snake eyes gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the mist, like a venomous snake stalking its prey.
"No, even if we get the Kubikiribōchō back, the outcome won't change."
After all, the guy on the other side is that legendary...
"Oh my, it's still alive? That's an amazing vitality."
A hoarse and chilling voice came from the mist ahead, carrying a sincere admiration.
All that Jūzō Biwa sensed from those words was blatant contempt.
He lay prone on the ground, watching the figure slowly emerge from the mist, and gritted his teeth, saying:
"One of the Konoha Sannin... Orochimaru!!!"
Orochimaru's figure slowly emerged from the mist.
He was no longer wearing the black and red uniform of the Akatsuki, but had changed into a plain white kimono.
His pale face showed signs of exhaustion, and his sunken eyes indicated that he was not in good condition.
But when facing the Jūzō Biwa before him, his golden snake eyes remained remarkably calm.
"Hmph, I must say, he truly lives up to his reputation as a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile, and his long tongue darted out from his lips, slowly licking along his upper lip.
"I originally planned to finish you off with a single blow, but I didn't expect to cause such a commotion... What a miscalculation."
He slowly retracted his long tongue from his mouth, his voice carrying a hint of genuine regret.
But then, that regret was replaced by another, more intense emotion.
Orochimaru shifted his gaze from Jūzō Biwa to the depths of the forest behind him, which was once again shrouded in mist.
"Although making too much noise might attract the attention of the Mist Village patrol..."
He spoke calmly, but a sudden, undisguised greed surged in his golden, vertical pupils:
"But for that child, it's all worth it."
Jūzō Biwa noticed that his gaze had shifted away from him.
The suffocating feeling of being locked on by a pair of reptilian pupils had just subsided when he seized the opportunity and struggled to grip the hilt of the knife that had been knocked away along with him.
With his last bit of strength, he pulled the dagger from the mud and hurled it precisely at Orochimaru's face.
The sword drew an arc in the air, striking Orochimaru's face at incredible speed!
Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged despite the fierce attack.
He simply raised one hand, and with a gentle pinch between his index and middle fingers, the Ninja Blade that was attacking at high speed was firmly held between his fingers.
Orochimaru casually tossed his sword aside, glancing sideways at Jūzō Biwa, a clear hint of displeasure on his face.
"What a nuisance."
His voice turned colder, and a corner of his long-suppressed impatience was finally torn away.
His right sleeve was constantly churning, and several thick snake shadows shot out from it!
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands"
Jūzō Biwa did not try to dodge anymore; his body was already completely paralyzed and unable to move.
He closed his eyes, the hissing of snakes and the sound of wind rapidly approaching.
In the very end, what appeared in his mind was the figure who had found him during his time of wandering and led him back to Mist Village.
That ordinary-looking man with a gentle smile was the one who reached out a hand to him when he was at his lowest point.
"It seems I'll be unable to repay your kindness any longer... Lord Kong."
"However, the time I've gained with this worthless life should be enough for those two brats to escape, right?"
Jūzō Biwa murmured to himself with a hint of self-mockery, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his lips, tinged with blood:
"Protecting the future of Mist Village... Ha, do you think someone like me would even have such a thought?"
But... in the end, I guess I did something worthwhile.
He closed his eyes, preparing to face death.
But the expected pain did not occur.
The hissing of the snake continued, even sharper than before, but it wasn't the sound of it approaching and tearing through the air; rather, it was the struggling hiss of someone being tightly gripped.
Jūzō Biwa suddenly opened his eyes.
What came into view was a familiar back view that made him almost forget to breathe for a moment.
The boy wasn't wearing the Mist Village's standard vest, only a plain white short shirt, with several dark watermarks on his shoulder blades from being soaked in sweat.
Her white hair fluttered slightly in the wind, the ends still clinging to tiny pine needles she had brought from deep within a dense forest.
He stood between Jūzō Biwa and Orochimaru, with a cold-glowing gray-white bone spur extending from each of his hands. The tips of the spurs were wedged precisely between the open jaws of the two thick, large snakes, holding them firmly in place.
"Kimimaro?! You're back?!"
Jūzō Biwa practically roared out the name, his voice hoarse and urgent, filled with barely concealed anger.
"Please don't speak now, Teacher Jūzō Biwa."
Kimimaro's voice was very calm, and the bone spikes on his hands were still wrestling with the two giant snakes.
His shoulders trembled slightly from the immense force in front of him, and beads of sweat trickled down his brow, but his tone remained steady:
"Your physical condition is not good right now. Judging from the posture you were in when you were swept down by the Wind Release, you may have suffered an incomplete fracture at the lower end of your spine."
Forcing yourself to speak can move the diaphragm, which in turn compresses a wound in the abdominal cavity that may be bleeding continuously.
For your own safety, please refrain from speaking now.
His voice was so calm that it made Jūzō Biwa want to curse.
Orochimaru stared at the white-haired boy who had suddenly appeared before him, his golden snake eyes filled with the excitement of seeing his prey.
That gaze was like a scalpel, peeling away Kimimaro's layers from the outside in, examining every inch of his muscle, bone, and blood...
Jūzō Biwa noticed Orochimaru's greedy gaze. Suppressing the excruciating pain in his chest, his blood-stained face contorted into an expression of rage.
"Kimimaro! You idiot!! Don't you know that coming here now is just suicide?!"
"... The commotion just now has attracted the patrol team from Mist Village."
Kimimaro did not turn around to look at Jūzō Biwa behind him.
With a slight exertion of his arm, he pushed away the surging swarm of snakes once again.
Two bone spikes shot out from his hand and pierced the heads of the two snakes.
"Suigetsu and I encountered them on the road. Part of the patrol team had already taken a shortcut to Mist Village with an urgent message."
The other group of support comrades are currently less than 800 meters behind me and will arrive soon.
He paused for a moment, then calmly added:
"I rushed here, and support will arrive soon, so there won't be any problems."
"You..."
Upon hearing Kimimaro's words, the Jūzō Biwa out of Biwa Juzo's mouth instantly stopped.
"Prioritize protecting yourself, and then do your utmost to protect your trusted comrades... That's what the Air Force taught me."
Kimimaro spoke, he simultaneously jerked both arms outwards.
The bone spurs tore precisely along the jaws of the snakes, and the two large snakes were neatly separated at the soft tissue where the jawbones connected.
Kimimaro flicked away the remaining snake blood from the bone spurs and stared coldly at Orochimaru ahead.
He stared straight at Orochimaru, his red eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Clap clap clap!!"
Orochimaru clapped his hands, as if applauding a wonderful performance.
He gazed at Kimimaro's robust physique, at the gleaming bone spurs extending from his palms, and his golden snake eyes were filled with sincere, heartfelt admiration.
"What a perfect body..."
"His bone density far exceeds that of ordinary Shikotsumyaku possessors, and the balance between his physical body and Kekkei Genkai is almost perfect..."
Of all the members of the Kaguya Clan I've met, you are the most outstanding.
Orochimaru looked at Kimimaro with astonishment and exclaimed from the bottom of his heart:
"It seems you have an exceptionally talented mentor."
He paused, his expression shifting from admiration to regret:
"It's just a pity that there seems to be a slight problem with your ideological education..."
Orochimaru coldly glanced at Jūzō Biwa behind Kimimaro and said with utter disdain:
"Protecting comrades? Mist Village has actually fallen for such a ridiculous idea now? They've really degenerated..."
He spread his arms, his expression shifting from regret to excitement, as if declaring an undeniable truth:
"But it's okay--"
Orochimaru's gaze fell on Kimimaro's face, and the light in his golden snake eyes became even deeper and more determined.
"I will correct your flawed thinking little by little, and nurture you into a truly perfect person..."
"Hiramekarei - Liberation!!"
Before Orochimaru could finish speaking, Chakra shockwave that traveled from afar through the mist expanded into a fan-shaped light curtain covering the entire open space in the next instant!
Boom--!!!
Where the light curtain passed, trees collapsed, dirt flew, and dust filled the air.
Its speed was astonishing. Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply in that instant, and before he could react, the shockwave slammed into his entire body in a flash.
Orochimaru's figure was swept away by the shockwave and flew hundreds of meters before crashing heavily into a pile of rubble.
As the shockwave dissipated, the air was filled with lingering dust and smoke, and a long ravine appeared in the center of the woodland, stretching deep into the forest.
Jūzō Biwa lay on the ground, staring at the trail of light that had carved a scorched path several meters in front of him. His parched lips twitched slightly.
"That's... Hiramekarei?"
He looked at the figure emerging from the mist, a sense of relief flashing in his eyes.
The appearance of the Hiramekarei here means...
As he gazed at her, a tall figure strode out from the dissipating mist.
He looked to be around twenty years old, with short hair and wearing a dark combat uniform.
The young man had an ordinary face, but his eyes were very bright.
His right hand gripped the twin swords, Hiramekarei, the massive blades gleaming coldly in the sunlight, still bearing the aftershocks of their release and emitting a faint blue glow.
Former head of the Mist Anbu, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen Hiramekarei, current Mizukage Aide, and leader of the Reformist Faction — Shiina Sora!!
"Sora-sama!!"
Kimimaro looked at the figure emerging from the mist, and for the first time, his usually steady voice showed a noticeable fluctuation.
Hearing Kimimaro's shouts, Kōji instinctively looked in their direction, and a signature gentle smile appeared on that ordinary face...