From ancient times, a saying has circulated in the ninja world: "Danzo piercing Susano'o with a kunai."
This saying fully demonstrates the respect and boundless admiration that the strong in the ninja world have for Danzo. After all, in this world, those daring enough to use a kunai to stab Susano'o aren't nonexistent—they're just limited to one person.
And because of this, Danzo's name is eternally nailed to the ninja world's pillar of shame. No matter how absurd battles become, people can accept them because, frankly, nothing could be more absurd than stabbing Susano'o with a kunai.
But that's not the main point. The focus is, compared to stabbing Susano'o, slashing a Tailed Beast Bomb with a bone sword doesn't seem all that unimaginable.
Right, Kimimaro?
To be honest, when Kimimaro first saw the Tailed Beast Bomb in Naruto's hands, he hesitated. You can't just say,
"Slash it,"
and expect him to do it. He wanted to test it first. Otherwise, when people talk about it later, they'd claim it was done with special effects. That "duang," the world went dark, then flashed bright, and afterward, readers would ridicule him, saying,
"Wow, Kimimaro must be so amazing, he can even slash through a Tailed Beast Bomb! That Shikotsumyaku is ridiculously overpowered!"
Later, he learned that the Shikotsumyaku originated from the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths' descendants. After one slash, he felt pretty good about it... He even recommended it to his clan, saying, "Slashing Tailed Beast Bombs is quite thrilling."
Before writing this, he told the author,
"Just write it normally, and I'll slash it normally. No special effects are needed. Slashing a Tailed Beast Bomb is just slashing a Tailed Beast Bomb. I want the readers to see that the way I slash Tailed Beast Bombs is the same as how they would slash Tailed Beast Bombs."
Of course, the above is just a joke.
However, it does highlight that Kimimaro's mind isn't exactly normal.
It's widely known that bloodlines passed down from the Sage of Six Paths tend to make people a bit unhinged. The most notable examples are the Uchiha clan and the Kaguya clan.
The Uchiha need no explanation—after all, awakening the Sharingan requires brain stimulation.
As for the Kaguya clan, they are simply a tribe of maniacs.
From the Warring States period, the Kaguya clan has been a well-known battle-obsessed clan. Whether they could win or not didn't matter. What mattered was fighting. If they won, the opponent died; if they lost, they died. It was as simple as that.
During the Warring States period, the Kaguya clan earned their reputation as lunatics. It didn't matter which clan you belonged to; they'd fight you first and ask questions later.
As the saying goes: *"When a friend visits from afar, first exhaust their muscles, starve their body, whip them dozens of times, and then banish them to a separate courtyard."*
That was how the Kaguya clan greeted people.
After awakening the Shikotsumyaku, this battle-crazed mindset grew even worse, making it even harder for the Shikotsumyaku to manifest. They were either fighting or on their way to a fight. As a result, Kaguya clan members who awakened the Shikotsumyaku quickly died from a combination of their bloodline sickness and reckless battles. By this generation, Kimimaro was the last surviving Shikotsumyaku user of the Kaguya clan.
Eventually, the Kaguya clan was annihilated.
Compared to the Kaguya clan's fighting style, Kimimaro is considered relatively normal. But, to be honest, that's only in comparison to the rest of the Kaguya clan. In reality, Kimimaro still has some of that battle-crazed DNA in him. He's not exactly a battle maniac, but more of a pure and simple brawler.
At the very least, a normal person's first reaction to a Tailed Beast Bomb wouldn't be to slash it.
The Shikotsumyaku is indeed powerful. Other than being vulnerable to Genjutsu, it's practically invincible. Bones stronger than steel, offensive techniques using Taijutsu, defensive armor made of bones, long-range Ninjutsu, close-range combat—fully unleashed, it even enables faster instantaneous movement.
It's practically the perfect Kekkei Genkai.
The only downside was that it didn't look flashy. Compared to techniques like Wood Release, Sharingan, or Byakugan, it wasn't showy at all. But it did fit the image of the battle-crazed Kaguya Clan.
Getting back to the point—when Kimimaro slashed at the Tailed Beast Bomb, everything went dark. Then came a blinding light and a massive shockwave. The powerful force struck Kimimaro directly.
At such close range, Kimimaro couldn't even react defensively. His whole body was blasted away, flying over a hundred meters.
Naruto used the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak to block the blast at close range. As the dust settled, he stood in a massive crater, looking into the distance. Due to the poor visibility, he couldn't see Kimimaro's current condition.
But he was probably dead, right?
No one could take a Tailed Beast Bomb at that range and walk away unharmed. No one!
Confidently clenching his fist, Naruto climbed out of the crater and looked toward the direction Jirobo had fled.
"Better catch up before Sasuke wakes up and gets annoyed at me for not being around."
Don't get the wrong idea—they had just agreed to fight earlier. There was absolutely nothing else to it.
"Huh?"
Just as Naruto was about to leave, a faint sound came from the distance.
Turning his head in disbelief, he saw a figure a hundred meters away—a shadow that looked like a demon slowly standing up.
Kimimaro had already activated his first Curse Mark state. The black markings on his body looked dim, and the bone spikes meant for defense were almost completely shattered. His arms were misshapen and broken.
His clothes were torn, his skin was cracked, and exposed fractured bones jutted out, dripping with blood.
Naruto gasped, shocked to see Kimimaro standing in such a terrible condition.
"You're still able to stand after taking that kind of damage?"
Naruto's reaction was understandable. Kimimaro's legs were broken, with bone fragments piercing through his skin, leaving blood everywhere.
Kimimaro looked at Naruto with his usual calm expression.
"Is that so? You think my injuries are serious?"
As he spoke, the bones protruding from Kimimaro's body began to shift. Along with the glowing black markings, the broken bones were slowly pushed out of his body. His previously shattered arms began to heal, and even his broken legs started to return to normal.
Naruto's jaw dropped at the sight. Within seconds, the broken bones were replaced by new ones. In less than five seconds, Kimimaro's earlier gruesome injuries had nearly vanished. Aside from a few bloodstains and cracks in his skin, it was hard to tell he had been hurt at all.
Kimimaro flexed his hand, shaking out the last fragment of a broken bone from his arm. Then, looking at Naruto with composure, he said,
"Your attack caught me off guard. My Shikotsumyaku couldn't completely handle it. But at the last moment, I reinforced all my bones to protect my internal organs. Although I did take some internal damage, it's not enough to take me out of the fight."
The defensive power of Shikotsumyaku was truly absurd. Kimimaro had started reinforcing his bones the moment he saw the Tailed Beast Bomb. Beneath his skin, he had formed an armor-like layer of bones to shield himself.
The Tailed Beast Bomb had shattered most of his external bones and caused significant damage, but it was still within a tolerable range. While he looked battered, the actual injuries were far less severe than they appeared.
"Whoa..." Naruto couldn't help but gasp again. He hadn't expected someone to take a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on and survive. Even though it was a smaller one, its power wasn't something to scoff at. Without the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak, Naruto himself wouldn't have been able to withstand it.
No wonder he worked under Orochimaru. His defensive and escape skills were maxed out.
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