The shriek of bone blades tearing through the air echoed through the narrow passageway.
Hyuga Xiao twisted aside, and the white bone thrust from Kimimaro's palm grazed his cheek, carving a crack three inches deep into the stone wall. Gravel scattered as a bloody gash opened on Xiao's left cheek, warm liquid dripping down his jawline.
"Just as I thought... he's completely lost consciousness."
Through Xiao's Byakugan, Kimimaro's chakra flow had become an eerie dark-purple vortex. It was a sign that Curse Mark energy had fully invaded his nervous system. The Curse Mark core at his spine pulsed like a heart, each contraction sending violent power through every limb and bone.
Kimimaro's movements held no technique whatsoever, only pure killing instinct. His eyes were vacant, yet his lips stretched into a twisted grin, saliva mixed with blood trailing from the corners of his mouth.
The second attack followed immediately.
This time, three bone spikes shot from his shoulder blades, arranged in a triangular formation to seal off Xiao's retreat. Xiao drew a deep breath and formed hand seals before his chest—not the opening stance of the Gentle Fist, but Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven: Space Shrinkage, a technique he had secretly learned from a forbidden scroll of the Hyuga Clan.
Chakra erupted from beneath his feet, and his body slid backward three meters at almost teleportation-like speed. The bone spikes buried themselves in the ground with dull thuds.
Thirty percent faster than expected. Xiao calculated rapidly. He has this much explosive power without even activating Curse Mark of Earth: State Two. What exactly did Orochimaru do to Kimimaro's body?
He could not afford a prolonged fight.
The Caged Bird Seal on his forehead burned hot. Every use of chakra accelerated the Curse Mark energy's invasion. The countdown to death ticked