"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Alone in the forest, Kimimaro gripped a bone blade and raced toward Kirigakure.
I'll kill every ninja in Kirigakure! Only then will my clansmen acknowledge me! They'll acknowledge my existence and see me as a comrade!
Just as he silently resolved this, two figures, one large and one small, faintly emerged in the distance, walking toward him.
Kimimaro narrowed his eyes and swiftly appeared before them.
"Who are you? Are you Kirigakure ninja?"
One of the two figures was tall, carrying a large sword on his back, with bandages covering the lower half of his face.
The other was small and, judging by his face, no more than a few years apart from Kimimaro in age. However, Kimimaro had trouble telling whether this person was a boy or a girl.
They were none other than Zabuza and Haku.
Kimimaro's sudden appearance surprised Zabuza somewhat. Sensing the powerful killing intent erupting from Kimimaro's frail body, Zabuza instinctively reached for the Kubikiribōchō on his back. After a few seconds of silence, he shook his head and replied:
"We aren't Kirigakure ninja..."
Hearing Zabuza's answer, Kimimaro hastily reined in his killing intent and apologized with a hint of remorse:
"Is that so? I'm very sorry for bothering you..."
With that, Kimimaro paid them no further attention and raced off into the distance without looking back.
Watching Kimimaro leave, Zabuza withdrew the hand reaching for the Kubikiribōchō and could not help remarking, "That kid is strong..."
Haku turned his head and watched Kimimaro's retreating figure gradually disappear. For some reason, the look in Kimimaro's eyes felt very familiar to him.
That lonely, lost look, with no sense of direction...
It was exactly the same look he himself had possessed before meeting Mr. Zabuza.
"He's a pitiful fellow too..."
After this brief