After being revived, Kimimaro chose to leave Orochimaru. However, he never considered exposing Orochimaru's secrets. Even earlier, when standing before Jiraiya—who was clearly trying to track Orochimaru down—Kimimaro remained silent.
This restraint stemmed from his deeply ingrained loyalty and ideals, remnants of his original spiritual will.
"We're just breaking in, right?" Jūgo asked as he unsheathed a massive bone-forged blade from his back. "Kimimaro, you just fought. Leave this one to me."
"I want to go too!" Hanabi Hyūga raised her hand excitedly.
Kimimaro gently picked her up, rubbing her head with a small smile. "Hanabi, behave. You're still young. Even if you're a prodigy, your current strength is only around genin level. Leave this one to Big Brother Jūgo."
In recent days, under Kimimaro's guidance, Hanabi had made visible progress.
Not that Kimimaro was especially gifted in instruction—it was more that the rigid, conservative training methods of the Hyūga clan had limited Hanabi's early growth. Once those were broken, her innate talent quickly surfaced.
"No! I can handle the small fry for Jūgo-nii," Hanabi protested with determination.
Her strength had indeed advanced to the upper limit of a genin, approaching early chunin level. While she hadn't yet mastered techniques like the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, her Byakugan and Gentle Fist combo already made her dangerous to ordinary genin, and even capable of stalling a chunin.
After all, years ago, Hanabi had defeated Hinata during the Hyūga clan's heir evaluations. While that result was partly due to Hinata's gentler nature, it still reflected Hanabi's potential—and she was much stronger now.
"Alright then, let's see what your training has achieved," Kimimaro said softly.
"Hmph, I'm not a kid anymore!" Hanabi huffed, then eagerly charged forward beside Jūgo.
Kimimaro took Karin's hand and followed behind them.
"Hanabi's Gentle Fist is really impressive," Karin said, watching the girl drop multiple enemy genin with precision strikes.
"The Hyūga are formidable at close quarters," Kimimaro replied. "But if Hanabi chooses, she could develop ranged capabilities too—something most Hyūga never pursue."
"You're spoiling her."
"And I don't spoil you?" Kimimaro teased, gently playing with Karin's hair.
Karin shot him a look. "Spoil me, then. You always talk the talk but never act."
"Is that a challenge?" he said, stepping closer.
"Hmph!" Karin lifted her chin defiantly, puffing her chest out.
Kimimaro cupped her face, his eyes warm. "You're beautiful."
Karin blushed, her gaze softening. She didn't move away, her eyes slowly fluttering shut.
Kimimaro kissed her gently on the forehead—then vanished, appearing beside Hanabi just in time to knock out a shinobi that had gotten too close.
"Huh? Just a kiss on the forehead?" Karin mumbled, touching the spot. Her cheeks were burning. If he did anything more in this atmosphere, I'd probably faint...
"Big Brother! I saw you!" Hanabi cried out with a pout. "You kissed Sister Karin!"
"Maybe you should focus on the battle instead of spying with your Byakugan," Kimimaro replied coolly. "You almost got tagged just now."
"But my Byakugan was active! I saw exactly what you two were doing!"
"Still talking back?" Kimimaro hoisted Hanabi briefly and gave her a light swat. "Kids don't need to worry about that. And it wasn't a secret kiss. I did it in the open."
Hanabi clutched her backside with both hands. "When I grow up, I'm going to kiss too!"
"Haha, you can kiss me now, silly." Karin scooped Hanabi up playfully and rubbed their cheeks together.
But just as quickly, Hanabi's chakra flared subtly from her tenketsu. She slipped free from Karin's grasp with graceful precision and landed on her feet.
"Hehe! Sister Karin, if you don't keep training, you won't be able to catch me soon!"
"You cheeky brat!" Karin bared her teeth in mock anger.
Kimimaro chuckled. Karin was never meant for front-line battle… but if she awakens a bloodline or special ability, her potential might truly bloom.
Soon after, Jūgo finished clearing out the laboratory's outer defenses—without killing a single enemy shinobi or researcher.
Kimimaro had made sure to instruct him beforehand: no fatalities.
This was still Orochimaru's domain in the Land of Rice Fields, and Kimimaro had no intention of burning bridges. Even if Orochimaru didn't care for the lives of his subordinates, Kimimaro believed in showing restraint as a sign of good faith.
No killing—but life energy absorption was a different matter.
Last time, the vitality he took from living humans had already been converted efficiently. With so many new subjects around, he could afford to be a little bolder.
He began extracting 20% from each of them—just enough to weaken, but not kill—gradually filling his current life force limit.
85,000… If I can push past 100,000, I might be able to afford another test tube soon.
The guards stationed here were no stronger than average chunin, but absorbing 20,000 units of chakra wasn't easy. A few of them had more drained by Kimimaro than others, yet he ensured the total absorption from any individual remained below 50%—a calculated restraint to avoid causing irreversible harm or drawing Orochimaru's attention.
Once inside the base, Kimimaro stopped before a large glass container filled with a clear liquid.
"Kimimaro? Is that really you?" A muffled voice echoed from within. "I heard rumors you were still alive. Hah... so you've come to stir up trouble for Orochimaru? And behind you... is that Jugo?"
"Big brother, who's talking?" Hanabi asked, perplexed. From her Byakugan's perspective, there was clearly no one physically present.
Kimimaro pointed toward the container. "It's him."
"Huh? But I don't see anyone."
"Hehe, Kimimaro, where did you pick up a little girl? Wait—is that the Byakugan? And no Caged Bird Seal? She's from the Hyuga Main Branch, isn't she?" Suigetsu's voice took on a mocking tone. "Don't tell me you've gone back to serving Orochimaru. Is she some kind of new vessel candidate you've brought him? A Hyuga heiress? That's ambitious. I thought Orochimaru had his sights set on that Uchiha kid lately. Are you trying to compete for attention by bringing him a Byakugan?"
Karin, relying on her Kagura Shingan (Mind's Eye of the Kagura), narrowed her eyes. "The voice... it's coming from the liquid. So that's how it works. He's dissolved himself into water—what a strange ability."
Kimimaro had mentioned that a member of the Hozuki clan was imprisoned here, but neither Karin nor Hanabi had known the specifics of the clan's unique Hydrification Technique.
"Another woman? Kimimaro, you've really changed. Hanging around with girls now?" Suigetsu teased, his tone light and irritating.
"Why is he such a damn chatterbox?" Karin muttered, already irritated. She had no patience for people who talked in circles.
"Oh? You, redhead. Seems like you've got a thing for Kimimaro. Hey, Kimimaro, want me to help you 'sever' that emotional attachment? I can be useful, you know."
"Try it and I'll vaporize you where you float!" Karin snapped, her chakra flaring in anger. "Touch my feelings for Kimimaro and you're dead!"
"Enough. Both of you." Kimimaro rubbed his temple, frowning. The clash was giving him a headache. It wasn't a love triangle—just a pure personality collision. It reminded him of watching Naruto and Sasuke's antics in his past life.
Turning back to the container, he addressed Suigetsu directly. "Suigetsu, are you interested in coming with me?"
"Huh? Follow you?" Suigetsu replied lazily. "What's in it for me? I'm not some grunt who'll tag along just because you freed me."
"I can help you track down the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's blades," Kimimaro offered plainly. "Whenever the opportunity arises, I'll support you in collecting them."
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