Who was I? My name was Kimimaro! I was a survivor of the Kaguya clan!
It was Lord Orochimaru who had saved me from the brink of death! My life belonged to Lord Orochimaru!
Ever since childhood, Kaguya Kimimaro had fanatically worshipped Orochimaru as his sole conviction! To Kimimaro, Orochimaru was the meaning of his existence. For Orochimaru, no matter what it was, Kimimaro would do it without hesitation!
And this time, Lord Orochimaru's order was to bring back the purple-haired youth before him. Though they bore each other no grudge, Lord Orochimaru's orders were absolute!
A flash of fervor passed through the cold man's eyes—or rather, Kaguya Kimimaro's eyes.
Then they returned to calm.
"Cough, cough." Ueno Kei coughed the dust he had inhaled out of his lungs, his gaze fixed gravely on Kaguya Kimimaro in the distance. Though he had expected the injury Jugo inflicted earlier to somewhat reduce his reaction speed and agility—
He had not expected that a single moment of carelessness would be enough for him to lose sight of Kimimaro.
Still, this kid was pretty fast. Even if he had taken advantage of a sneak attack, the fact that he had caught Ueno Kei off guard was worthy of praise. And he had approached without making the slightest sound. Ueno Kei's expression darkened somewhat.
Even so, it was still within manageable limits.
But then something unexpected happened again. Just as Ueno Kei readied himself and spread his stance to fight Kimimaro, Kimimaro looked up at the sky.
After sweeping Ueno Kei with a cold glance—
He actually retreated, withdrawing in a different direction. After several leaps, Kimimaro vanished from Ueno Kei's sight.
Ueno Kei stared blankly at Kimimaro's abrupt retreat. Huh? Huh huh huh huh?!
He just ran away? Ueno Kei was utterly baffled.