On a desolate plain near the northeast border of the Land of Fire,
Kakashi panted, facing the transformed Kimimaro. Six massive bones protruded from Kimimaro's back, and a bony tail whipped behind him, giving him a monstrous appearance.
Just as Kakashi had suspected, Kimimaro possessed the same Curse Mark power Orochimaru had given Sasuke. Judging by the monstrous transformation and power boost, Kimimaro's mastery of it far surpassed that of the Sound Four Kakashi had previously encountered.
"Hatake Kakashi... you are strong," Kimimaro stated, his voice eerily calm despite the ferocious battle.
Kakashi remained silent, conserving his breath. He's just a kid, but his power is immense, Kakashi thought grimly.
"Why?" Kakashi finally asked, his visible eye narrowed. "Why did Orochimaru give Sasuke the same Curse Mark you possess?"
"Sasuke Uchiha was chosen by Lord Orochimaru. It is his good fortune," Kimimaro replied, a disturbing reverence in his tone, like a devotee speaking of his god.
"What is your purpose? Why take Sasuke?" Kakashi pressed, hoping to glean some vital information.
"To become Lord Orochimaru's next vessel. To allow Lord Orochimaru to merge with him!"
Kimimaro declared. A flicker of bitterness crossed his face. "Unfortunately... that role should have been mine!"
"A vessel?" Kakashi's blood ran cold. Orochimaru wasn't trying to train Sasuke or enhance his power; he intended to steal the boy's body entirely. Damn it! If Sasuke isn't rescued, Orochimaru will consume him!
Urgency gripped Kakashi. He channeled a massive amount of Lightning Release chakra into his left hand, the distinctive chirping sound filling the air. He had to end this now.
"Lightning Blade!"(Chidori!)
Kakashi surged forward with blinding speed, aiming for a decisive strike.
In response, Kimimaro wrenched a bone whip from his spine while his left forearm rapidly morphed, extruding dozens of bones that fused into a thick, incredibly hard drill. He swung the whip and thrust the drill forward to meet Kakashi's charge.
Aided by his Sharingan, Kakashi perceived the whip's trajectory even amidst the high-speed clash and adjusted his angle, dodging the lashing bone. Seeing the whip miss, Kimimaro met Kakashi's ultimate jutsu head-on, thrusting his bone drill directly into the crackling lightning blade.
CRACK!
A deafening impact echoed across the plain, followed by the sickening sound of shattering bone. The drill, formed from Kimimaro's supposedly impenetrable bones, fractured under the focused power of Kakashi's signature technique.
"Ngh!" Kimimaro cried out, a mixture of pain and frustration. Instantly, the shattered bone reformed, and he violently pushed Kakashi back.
With sharp reflexes, Kakashi disengaged, leaping backward to create distance. Landing lightly, he felt the severe drain on his reserves. He could typically manage four uses of the Lightning Blade per day, but previous exertions meant he likely only had enough chakra for one more attempt. If that failed... defeating Kimimaro would become nearly impossible alone.
Across from him, Kimimaro doubled over, coughing violently and spitting mouthfuls of blood onto the wildflowers beneath him. He was clearly pushing his diseased body far past its limits, drawing on his own life force to fuel the Curse Mark.
Kakashi's eye widened slightly. This is my chance!
"Lightning Blade!"
Gathering his remaining chakra, Kakashi charged again, aiming to bypass Kimimaro's weakened state at a speed the Sound ninja couldn't possibly react to.
But as Kakashi closed the distance, through a haze of exertion, he saw Kimimaro looking up... smiling. It wasn't a sneer or a grimace, but a smile of serene release, almost peaceful.
An illusion? Kakashi wondered for a split second, but knew it wasn't.
Kimimaro placed his palms flat on the ground.
"Dance of the Seedling Fern!"
In an instant, the very earth erupted. Massive, thick spikes of bone burst upwards, creating a terrifying forest of white spires in a radius of tens of meters around Kimimaro.
Kakashi, caught mid-charge, desperately weaved between the lethal pillars, realizing the terrifying scale of this final, desperate jutsu.
There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Resigned, Kakashi was forced to expend the last of his Lightning Blade's power not on Kimimaro, but simply to carve a small, temporary clearing amidst the surging bone forest, desperately trying to survive the onslaught.
Minutes later, the eruption subsided. Kakashi found himself trapped within a dense cage of interlocking bone spikes, completely immobilized and heavily drained of chakra. He could only wait, hoping his reserves would recover before Kimimaro could act again.
But Kimimaro wasn't moving. He lay weakly on the ground, his breathing shallow, his blood pooling beside a single, blood-stained wildflower. His life force was spent.
Images began flashing through Kimimaro's fading consciousness – the revolving lantern show said to play before death. Tragic scenes from his lonely childhood as a feared member of the Kaguya clan, locked away, treated as a weapon. Then, the memory that defined him: his meeting with Orochimaru. He heard Orochimaru's words echo one last time, words that had given his empty existence meaning:
"Perhaps there is no purpose in life. But if you linger a while longer in this world, you might discover something of value in it, like how you discovered that flower. Or like how I discovered you."
Meanwhile, in Konoha Village...
Though Danzo Shimura was now detained, the shocking truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre, revealed moments earlier, still hung heavy in the air. Many villagers stared intently at the strange viewing screen that had displayed the revelation, waiting anxiously for more. They desperately wanted confirmation – was Uchiha Itachi a traitor who killed his family for power, or a martyr who did it to protect Konoha?
Someone in the crowd couldn't contain their curiosity any longer and called out to the aged Hokage.
"Lord Third! You must know the whole story! Please, tell us the truth!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly shook his head, his face etched with weariness and sorrow.
"No," he stated firmly. "I made a promise. I cannot reveal the full truth without the consent of another."
A murmur of disappointment rippled through the onlookers, but they didn't press further. They understood the gravity of shinobi secrets, especially with shinobi from other villages potentially present among them.
"I just want to know what really happened!" someone muttered.
"The screen... hopefully, it shows us more!" another added, their gaze fixed on the display that had recently shown the interactions between Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Kagami, adding more layers to the Uchiha mystery.
Just then, the image on the strange screen flickered and began to change once more.
...