Boneline Suppression

The laboratory's ventilation ducts were filled with the pungent stench of blood mixed with disinfectant.

Hyuga Xiao braced himself against the wall with one hand, the other pressed to Kimimaro's neck. The boy trembled all over, blue-black Curse Mark patterns writhing beneath his skin like living creatures. Every rise and fall came with the crackling grind of bone against bone—that was the precursor to Shikotsumyaku going out of control.

"System, analyze the state of the Curse Mark inside Kimimaro."

[Scanning... Target: Kaguya Kimimaro. Status: late-stage Bloodline Disease. Orochimaru's Cursed Seal erosion: 72%. Vital signs continuously declining. The Active Curse Mark Seed can release a specific Chakra frequency to temporarily suppress the target's Curse Mark. Duration: 1–3 hours. Warning: this operation will consume 15% of the Seed's activity and cannot cure the Bloodline Disease.]

Xiao's fingertips touched the Curse Mark Seed in his robes.

The black crystal he had brought back from Root was slightly hot now, as if it had sensed the agitation of a similar power. He closed his eyes, and a faint stab of pain came from the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead—the instinctive rejection of Curse Mark-type power by Branch House blood.

But rejection also meant resonance.

"If even the Caged Bird Seal can become my power..." Xiao murmured, gathering Gentle Fist Chakra in his palm.

This was not an attack, but a simulation.

He sank his consciousness into the Curse Mark Seed and felt the distorted, violent Chakra flow that nonetheless followed a particular frequency. It was like cracking a combination lock; he needed to find the right rhythm of vibration. In his Byakugan vision, the Curse Mark structure inside Kimimaro resembled countless tangled black snakes, each one madly devouring its host's life force.

Xiao adjusted his breathing.

In the first second, he released Chakra perfectly synchronized with Kimimaro's Curse Mark—this was the "control frequency" Orochimaru had left behind. Kimimaro's body suddenly went rigid, a beastlike ferocity flashing through his eyes as though he were about to pounce.

But control was not what Xiao wanted.

In the second second, he abruptly changed the frequency.

The nature of Gentle Fist Chakra showed itself at that moment—control precise down to the cellular level. Xiao adjusted the Chakra frequency to the Curse Mark structure's "resonance breaking point," like shattering glass with a particular note. This was not brute suppression, but precise interference.

"Urgh—"

A muffled cry of pain escaped Kimimaro's throat.

The black patterns under his skin began to twist into disorder, spreading in irregular ripples like water disturbed by a thrown stone. The wildly proliferating bone growth halted, and the Curse Mark's erosion visibly slowed. But cold sweat beaded Xiao's forehead—this operation demanded an absurd level of Chakra control. One mistake could trigger a Curse Mark backlash and blow both of them to pieces.

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

After ten seconds, the crimson faded from Kimimaro's eyes.

The boy collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, sweat soaking through his tattered clothes. He looked up at Xiao, the violence in his eyes turning to confusion before settling into an almost devout focus.

"You... suppressed the Curse Mark?" Kimimaro's voice was hoarse. "Lord Orochimaru said no one but him could do that."

Xiao withdrew his hand, feeling that the Curse Mark Seed's activity had dropped by roughly a fifth. His face remained calm, but his mind calculated rapidly—he could use the Seed about five more times. He had to find a way to replenish its activity.

"What Orochimaru can't do doesn't mean no one else can." Xiao crouched down until they were eye to eye. "You have two choices now. First, stay here and wait to die, or get taken back by Leaf Village's ANBU to be dissected for research. Second, come with me."

Kimimaro fell silent.

His fingers unconsciously rubbed the ground, traces of not-yet-faded bone spikes visible around his knuckles. This boy had been used his entire life—used as a weapon of war by the Kaguya Clan, as an experimental subject by Orochimaru, and now by this unfamiliar ninja before him as...

"Can you cure my Bloodline Disease?" Kimimaro asked.

"No." Xiao answered bluntly. "But I can let you live longer. And I don't need you to be a tool."

"Then what do you need me to be?"

Xiao stood and brushed the dust from his clothes. A muffled explosion echoed from deep within the ventilation ducts. The laboratory's self-destruct sequence had entered its final stage.

"A blade," Xiao said. "But the hand holding it will be your own."

Kimimaro stared at him for a long time.

Then the boy struggled to his feet and dropped to one knee—not in submission, but in a gesture between warriors.

"My name is Kaguya Kimimaro," he said. "From today onward, my life is yours. But if one day you become like Orochimaru..."

"You can kill me," Xiao finished for him. "Provided you can do it."

The two met each other's gaze, an unspoken understanding forming in the silence.

Xiao turned toward the depths of the duct. "Follow me. The laboratory is about to collapse."

Five minutes later, the two crawled out through a concealed drainage outlet on the outskirts of Hidden Sound Village.

The night sky was dyed dark red by fire.

The entire Hidden Sound Village had fallen into a sea of flames. Leaf Village's ANBU raid had clearly not targeted only the laboratory—they meant to uproot Orochimaru's entire base. Explosions rang out one after another, the flare of ninjutsu leaping between buildings while screams were swallowed by the thunder of collapsing structures.

Xiao activated his Byakugan, his vision piercing through the smoke.

Three hundred meters away, the ANBU squad led by Kakashi was withdrawing in orderly fashion. They had clearly completed their primary mission—destroying the laboratory's data and eliminating the test subjects. But Xiao's pupils narrowed slightly.

Kakashi held a specially made sealing scroll in his hand.

Complex sealing formulas flowed across the scroll's surface, but through the Byakugan, Xiao could clearly see what was sealed inside—it was a pair of eyeballs soaked in nutrient fluid, tomoe patterns unique to the Uchiha Clan still lingering in their pupils.

Shisui's Sharingan.

"So that's how it is..." Xiao murmured.

Leaf Village's higher-ups had never intended to let Shisui live. All they wanted was that pair of eyes containing the power of Kotoamatsukami. As for their owner, he was merely disposable experimental waste. Kakashi's orders were likely to "recover the Sharingan and destroy all traces," which was why he had been so decisive about killing Shisui in the cultivation tank.

"Master?" Kimimaro noticed the change in his aura.

"It's nothing." Xiao deactivated his Byakugan and withdrew his gaze. "We should go."

He gave Kakashi's departing direction one final look.

Those Sharingan would return to the person who should possess them sooner or later. But not now—right now, Xiao had more important bargaining chips: the living Shisui Uchiha and the core data from Orochimaru's Laboratory.

Using the cover of night and chaos, the two slipped toward the forest beyond Hidden Sound Village.

Although Kimimaro's Curse Mark had been temporarily suppressed, the weakness from his Bloodline Disease remained. He had to stop every few steps to catch his breath, his skin so pale it was nearly translucent. Xiao slowed down and kept watch on their surroundings with his Byakugan.

"How much longer can your body hold out?" Xiao asked.

"I don't know." Kimimaro shook his head. "Lord Orochimaru said three months at most."

"Three months is enough."

Xiao took a small scroll from his ninja tool pouch. When he opened it, it revealed a simple map of the Shinobi World. His finger tapped the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Paddies.

"We're going here," Xiao said. "There's a safehouse with medical equipment and medicine. Once we get there, I'll try to treat your Bloodline Disease."

"You said you couldn't cure it."

"I couldn't then. That doesn't mean I never will." Xiao put away the map. "I have all of Orochimaru's experimental data on Kekkei Genkai, including his research records on Shikotsumyaku. Combined with my own methods... I'm seventy percent confident."

Kimimaro did not ask what would happen if that remaining thirty percent failed.

Both of them knew. Failure meant death. But in the Shinobi World, seventy percent certainty was already absurdly high.

As they crossed the last burning district, Xiao suddenly stopped.

At the edge of his Byakugan vision, three Sound Ninja were surrounding a Leaf Village ANBU. The ANBU was already severely wounded, his forehead protector fallen to the ground and exposing a familiar head of silver hair—not Kakashi, but a senior Xiao had once seen during ANBU training.

"Detour." Xiao turned around without hesitation.

"We're not saving him?" Kimimaro asked.

"If we save him, we'll be exposed." Xiao's voice did not waver. "Leaf Village ANBU rules say that if a mission fails or someone is captured, they either kill themselves or get silenced by their comrades. Saving him would be the same as harming him."

Kimimaro silently followed.

The two bypassed the battlefield and entered the forest. Behind them, Hidden Sound Village gradually shrank amid the flames, like a tombstone sinking into hell.

After entering the depths of the forest, Xiao found a concealed cave.

He told Kimimaro to rest while he set warning traps at the entrance. His movements were far too practiced for a sixteen-year-old Branch House boy—this was the result of countless nights of secret practice. To survive, he had to be more cautious than everyone else.

After setting the traps, Xiao returned to the cave.

Kimimaro had already fallen asleep against the rock wall, his breathing faint but steady. Xiao sat opposite him and took out the Active Curse Mark Seed.

The crystal gave off a ghostly glow in the darkness.

"System, analyze the resonance data between the Seed and Kimimaro's Curse Mark."

[Analyzing... Resonance frequency recorded. The Chakra pattern required to suppress the Curse Mark has been modeled. Notice: reverse analysis can be used to develop the "Cursed Seal Simulation Technique"—temporarily generate a Curse Mark-like structure within the user's body to amplify combat power, but this will accelerate Divine Erosion.]

Xiao's gaze sharpened.

Simulating a Curse Mark? That was an unexpected gain. Orochimaru's Curse Mark was essentially a degraded version of natural energy and Sage Chakra. If he could analyze its structure, perhaps he could bypass the inheritance of Ryūchi Cave and directly grasp the rudiments of Sage Art.

But the price was accelerated Divine Erosion.

Xiao recalled the system's initial warning: the higher the purity of his Otsutsuki Bloodline, the faster his humanity would fade. He needed emotional bonds as anchors, while something like a Curse Mark—twisted natural energy—would clearly worsen the process.

"A difficult choice..." Xiao murmured.

He put away the Seed and looked toward the gradually brightening sky outside the cave.

Dawn was approaching. A new day had begun. And another task had been added to his plan: cure Kimimaro's Bloodline Disease, analyze the Curse Mark's structure, trace Shisui's Sharingan, and—

"I should return to Leaf Village," Xiao muttered.

He had to go back. Because Hinata was still there, because those old bastards of the Hyuga Main House were still enjoying the support of the Branch House, because the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead still throbbed with faint pain.

More importantly, he needed Leaf Village's resources.

Orochimaru's data required professional equipment to analyze, Kimimaro's treatment required vast quantities of rare medicinal herbs, and Shisui's revival required a safe environment—only by returning to Leaf Village and using the Hyuga Clan's influence could he accomplish these things without attracting attention.

"Master." Kimimaro had woken at some point. "Where are we going next?"

Xiao stood and brushed the dirt off himself.

"Home," he said. "Back to the place that wishes I were dead, yet has no choice but to support me."

He walked out of the cave as morning light pierced the clouds and fell across his profile.

The Caged Bird Seal on his forehead was clearly visible in the sunlight, like a mark of shame that could never be erased. Yet the corner of Xiao's mouth lifted in the faintest curve.

Soon.

The next time he returned to Leaf Village, he would make every member of the Main House understand—

A cage could not hold a beast destined to tear it apart.

At the same time, at the border of the Land of Fire.

Kakashi stood atop a tree, looking at the scroll containing the Sharingan in his hand. Beside him, an ANBU ninja reported in a low voice, "Captain, the laboratory has been confirmed completely destroyed, and all test subjects have been dealt with. But..."

"But what?"

"Cultivation Tank Number Three was empty. Someone took the test subject inside before we arrived and cut the data chip's connection line. The method was highly professional, like an insider's work."

Kakashi narrowed his one eye.

He remembered the blurry figure in the ventilation duct, and those pure white pupils that had flashed through the darkness.

Someone from the Hyuga Clan?

No, the Hyuga Main House had no reason to sneak around, and the Branch House did not have the nerve. Unless...

"Captain, should we investigate?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment, then tucked the scroll into his vest.

"No need," he said. "The mission is complete. As for the rest... leave it for Lord Hokage to decide."

He turned and leaped toward the next tree, silver hair lifting in the morning wind.

But a rare sharpness flickered in those perpetually lazy, dead-fish eyes.

Someone had stolen one of Leaf Village's most important spoils right under his nose.

This would not end so easily.