Naruto met his gaze and smiled as he spoke, "Since you all intend to deal with me, shouldn't you show me a bit of respect?"
"Don't ask such foolish questions each time. It doesn't make you look smart."
Kimimaro leaned against the tree trunk, his expression cold. "Sorry, I underestimated your perceptive abilities."
"However, I'm different from the people you've encountered before."
"I'm here for Lord Orochimaru."
Naruto asked, "To avenge him?"
"Lord Orochimaru isn't dead," Kimimaro shook his head, his tone equally cold. "He simply needs you."
"If you're willing to come back with me and serve him, that would be best."
"If not,"
"Then I'll have to force you."
Naruto shook his head. There was no way he would agree.
Kimimaro fell silent, took out a pill and swallowed it. Then he leapt down from the tree, swinging his palm in a chopping motion.
The forceful wind howled!
Though he hadn't drawn a blade, it was as if a sharp knife cut down through the air from his palm.
Naruto raised his sword to counter.
With a clash, sparks flew from where the weapons met.
In his field of vision, his movements froze for a moment, allowing him to clearly see what had emerged from Kimimaro's palm.
It was a "bone blade."
Bone that pierced through from his palm.
A Kekkei Genkai?
Kimimaro continued his assault, not just with his palms—bones could suddenly protrude from anywhere on his body.
Slashes, thrusts, ambushes!
Every tiny move could become an effective attack.
This ability to manipulate "bone" at will made him a killing machine.
But despite several exchanges, Naruto reached out, grabbing the bone in Kimimaro's palm.
Chakra surged forth, golden ropes spread from the bone, climbing up his arm, and binding his entire body.
A binding spell without incantation.
"Bakudō Number Four, This Rope."
Kimimaro struggled, bones piercing through, but the golden ropes only tightened further.
"If this were a performance, I'd applaud your dance," Naruto said, tugging on the ropes and raising his blade. "But this is a fight."
"This particular Kekkei Genkai is truly an eye-opener."
"Yet your display doesn't bring me any joy."
Kimimaro was strong, but not strong enough.
He was about on par with "Zabuza Momochi."
That guy was once a formidable opponent, but to the current Naruto, such strength barely qualified to stand before him.
"My strength... does not match yours." Even at this moment, Kimimaro's face showed little panic. He spoke gently, "But the gift Lord Orochimaru left on me."
"Let me show you my true form."
Naruto paused in his sword swing.
He looked at Kimimaro, eyes filled with surprise.
What was happening?
From behind Kimimaro's neck, where the triple Tomoe "curse mark" resided, a powerful surge of chakra erupted.
But this was not his own chakra.
Or rather, its essence was completely different from the "chakra" Naruto knew.
It absorbed the free energy around, refining through the curse mark, finally returning to Kimimaro.
Making his chakra presence much stronger.
And causing some changes in his appearance.
Black streaks and patterns spread densely across his body, like veins.
But then, in a blink, the black lines blended and washed over his pale skin, turning it darker, with massive bone spikes emerging from his back, even sprouting a thick black tail.
The entire person became "anomalous."
His appearance turned "malevolent and hideous."
Yet the nature of this power didn't make Naruto feel it was as evil as it seemed.
It was simply a pure form of energy.
"What kind of technique is this?" Naruto asked.
Kimimaro clenched his fist, "This is the power granted to me by Lord Orochimaru."
"Let my final dance make a last contribution for Lord Orochimaru."
He didn't roar in anger but calmly stated this.
The power amplification from the "curse mark" allowed him to break free from the golden rope's binding.
But he didn't launch an immediate attack.
Standing his ground, his hands formed seals.
"Dance of the Seedling Fern!"
A bone spike suddenly jutted out from the ground like the sharp tip of a spear.
Like bamboo shoots sprouting after an early spring rain, more spikes followed; the second and third emerged swiftly.
They grew thicker and taller, expanding over a larger area.
Naruto lightly leaped into the air, standing above as the forest of bones emerged beneath him.
In the direction from the village towards Konoha, Aburame Shino suddenly halted in his tracks, stretched out his hand to catch a bug, and spoke, "The insects tell me that Naruto seems to have encountered an enemy."
The others took a few steps before stopping as well.
"Which direction?" Hinata queried.
Shino didn't respond verbally, instead pointing towards a direction.
Hinata activated her Byakugan and gazed into the distance.
"What kind of enemy has Naruto encountered?" Kiba Inuzuka asked urgently.
Hinata's body shivered, and she shook her head, "I...I don't know. I can't see who Naruto is fighting, but that forest has been completely destroyed and is now filled with bones, large and numerous."
Bones?
Destroying a forest?
"It must be a very powerful enemy," Kiba's tone was urgent. "Kurenai-sensei, we must go and support Naruto!"
Kurenai Yuhi hesitated, "An enemy that can contend with Naruto..."
"Without him, Konoha would have been destroyed by Orochimaru during the Chuunin Exams!"
"Kurenai-sensei!"
Kurenai looked towards the other two, "What do you both think?"
"I..." Hinata clenched her fists, "I want to save Naruto-kun."
The words Naruto had spoken when he stood in the sky pierced deeper than the hearts of Jiraiya and Kakashi.
They pierced Hinata's heart too.
She had liked Naruto for a long time, yet she never dared to express it as openly as "Yamanaka Ino" or "Haruno Sakura".
To put it nicely, she was "shy".
But to put it bluntly, she was silently observing Naruto's "misfortunes".
When he was sad, she didn't dare offer comfort.
When he was bullied, she didn't dare offer her help.
She couldn't even compare to Jiraiya and Kakashi—in the end, they came, though "late"; but she hadn't even taken the "first step."
Aburame Shino nodded slightly.
Kurenai took a deep breath, her voice resolute, "Team Eight, temporary mission!"
"Support Naruto Uzumaki."
"Mission Difficulty: A-Rank."
"Let's go!"
The four of them moved in a flash, heading towards the forest of bones.
They hadn't gotten far from the village, and the distance wasn't too great, so when Team 8 arrived, bones were still growing densely, rumbling incessantly.
Their target was clear: to pursue Naruto in the sky.
"What kind of technique is this?" Kiba Inuzuka was amazed.
From Hinata's description, it was hard to visualize what a "bone forest" really looked like.
Destroying a forest wasn't particularly difficult.
Kiba himself knew a couple of ninjutsu capable of such a feat.
He was confident his teammates could do it too.
But...
What stood before them was nothing like the "forest destruction" he had envisioned.
It covered an entire forest.
The bones rose magnificently and tragically, like a "funeral" in progress.
"Hinata, Shino," Kurenai Yuhi was momentarily stunned but quickly regained her composure as a seasoned ninja, "Find the enemy."
"Kiba, be ready to support me."
Her command was suddenly interrupted by a voice from behind: "No need. Naruto can handle enemies of this level with ease."
Kurenai's heart skipped a beat, grasping her kunai as she turned around.
Her view was dominated by red hair.
It was that member of the Uzumaki clan who followed Naruto.
She took a deep breath, calming herself down.
When had she arrived? How had Kurenai not sensed her presence?
Hadn't this person failed in the second round of the Chūnin Exams, withdrawing as a genin? Yet now she seemed to have grown significantly.
Team 8 specialized in sensory abilities.
Shino's bugs, Kiba's dog, Hinata's eyes
None of them detected her approach.
"What do you mean by that?" Kurenai Yuhi asked.
Karin shook her head and smiled, "In front of Naruto, without the strength to face him head-on or the ability to hide one's presence, there isn't even the qualification to fight him."
Team 8 fell silent.
They watched the bone forest grow taller, gleaming with a cold and sharp edge.
Was this not considered a power strong enough to confront Naruto directly?
Standing high above, Naruto declared, "I was hoping you could show me something more."
"But is this all there is?"
"Your cursed seal, is it just for show, a mere bluff?"
"How dull."
With that, he formed a seal with his hands, and golden chains began to surge.
One chain whipped out, piercing through the nearest bone.
With a thunderous crash—
The bone fell, shattering into bone fragments.
Yet, it did not harm Kimimaro.
His aura swiftly moved through the bone forest, able to merge into any piece of bone.
The golden chains interwove in pursuit, piercing through bone after bone, gradually shrinking Kimimaro's range of movement until only the last massive, towering bone spike remained, resembling a small mountain peak.
Naruto dashed forward in a flash.
Lifting his "Nine-Tails" blade, he pierced through it.
With a slight twist of his wrist, the bone mountain split into two and crumbled apart.
Revealing Kimimaro dangling on the blade.
Sunlight broke through.
To others, they became silhouettes dyed by the light.
One stood firm in the sky, raising a blade that held aloft an enemy larger than himself.
Team 8 remained speechless.
Kimimaro, with the last of his strength, managed to hold onto life with a pill from Kabuto Yakushi. He raised his hand, gripping the "Nine-Tails" blade, and with a weak smile said softly, "Naruto Uzumaki, did I manage to entertain you in any way?"
Naruto remained silent, looking at the back of Kimimaro's neck.
The "cursed seal" was his most interesting feature.
Kimimaro's head drooped.
He still wished to say goodbye to Lord Orochimaru.
But it was already too late.
(End of Chapter)