Kimimaro 21: Chapter 21: Aoba vs.
Kimimaro The fact that guards had been specifically stationed there meant it was clearly an important location.
Aoba suspected there was a very high chance Orochimaru’s laboratory was inside.
When all was said and done, Orochimaru hadn’t founded Otogakure because he genuinely wanted to help the Land of Rice Fields.
His real purpose had probably been nothing more than finding somewhere he could conduct his experiments in peace.
After all, ever since defecting from the Akatsuki, he had constantly been hunted by its members.
Having his laboratories destroyed over and over was something even Orochimaru couldn’t endure forever.
Especially since the Akatsuki had Sasori of the Red Sand, someone who absolutely could not stand him.
Even Kabuto had originally been a spy Sasori planted at Orochimaru’s side.
Of course, Orochimaru was an exceptionally persuasive man, and his ability to manipulate people was frighteningly effective.
Kabuto had switched sides long ago.
In the original story, Sasori never realized that even up to the moment of his death, still hoping to use Kabuto to get Orochimaru killed.
The guards at the entrance were troublesome, but Aoba had plenty of patience.
At last, when the guards changed shifts, he used the Body Flicker Technique to slip inside.
After finding a concealed spot and placing another Flying Thunder God marking there, he began searching the entire room.
He had expected to find a laboratory.
Instead, it turned out to be nothing more than an ordinary room.
No matter how Aoba thought about it, something didn’t add up.
Would an ordinary room really need dedicated guards?
So he began carefully inspecting every corner of the room, along with every object inside it.
After searching for a while, his gaze settled on a scroll.
It was enormous.
Whatever was sealed inside had to be something good.
Without hesitation, Aoba opened it.
In an instant, white smoke flooded the entire room.
As the smoke dispersed, countless enormous pythons burst from the scroll, their jaws yawning wide as they lunged toward Aoba!
I fell for it!
Without the slightest hesitation, Aoba activated the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and returned to the location where he had previously placed his marking.
He hadn’t expected Orochimaru to have set a trap in that room.
A completely plain, unremarkable room with only a single conspicuous scroll.
Anyone who saw it would naturally assume that the scroll was important.
But the moment someone couldn’t resist opening it, they would fall straight into Orochimaru’s trap and be devoured by countless giant snakes.
Fortunately, Aoba had the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
Otherwise, that really might have been the end of him.
But the more elaborate the trap was, the more convinced he became that there was something unusual about that room.
He was eighty percent certain that it was probably the entrance to Orochimaru’s laboratory.
He had already exposed himself today, though, so he decided to retreat for now.
Now that he had found his target, there was no reason to remain in Otogakure any longer.
Just as he was about to leave with the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, however, a boy’s voice rang out behind him.
“Intruder!
Who are you?” The newcomer was none other than Otogakure’s number-two powerhouse, Kaguya Kimimaro.
Aoba stopped activating the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and silently looked at him.
Seeing his silence, Kimimaro’s expression turned cold.
“Are you a spy from another hidden village, or an enemy of Orochimaru-sama?” Aoba remained silent.
Kimimaro’s anger flared.
“I suggest you surrender immediately.
Otherwise…
you die!” “You can’t stop me.” Aoba shook his head.
Kimimaro immediately took that as an insult.
He was one of Orochimaru’s most capable subordinates.
How could he tolerate being looked down upon?
And when the person belittling him was an enemy who had infiltrated Otogakure, there was even less chance he would let the matter go.
“Very well.
Then you’re staying here today, whether as a living man or a corpse!” The moment the words left his mouth, Kimimaro immediately entered the first state of his cursed seal and pulled a long bone from his shoulder.
His appearance changed dramatically.
Black markings resembling veins spread across his entire body, while two additional mouths appeared on the left side of his face, giving him an extremely bizarre appearance.
“Dance of the Willow!” Kimimaro shot toward Aoba.
Dance of the Willow, a taijutsu technique unique to the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai, was far more powerful than ordinary taijutsu.
Aoba didn’t dare underestimate it.
He immediately drew Samehada and raised the massive sword to defend himself.
As the two exchanged blows, Samehada quietly began absorbing Kimimaro’s chakra.
On the surface, Aoba seemed to be at a disadvantage.
In reality, not only was he suffering almost no expenditure, his condition remained remarkably good.
Even when Kimimaro followed up with the Dance of the Camellia, he still failed to defeat him.
The reason Aoba could handle the exchange so comfortably wasn’t because his taijutsu was especially powerful.
Kimimaro was simply being too careless.
He knew nothing about Samehada’s abilities and had released far too much chakra, allowing Aoba’s weapon to counter him perfectly.
Of course, absorbing Kimimaro’s chakra wasn’t easy for Samehada either.
It could only drain him at the moments when his chakra surged outward.
Kimimaro just happened to have activated his cursed seal, causing large amounts of chakra to leak from the surface of his body and giving Aoba an opening to exploit.
However, chakra combined with natural energy apparently wasn’t very easy to digest.
Little by little, Samehada was starting to suffer from indigestion.
After the two had fought for several minutes, Kimimaro finally noticed something was wrong.
He exclaimed in surprise, “There’s something strange about that ninja sword of yours.
It can absorb my chakra!” Aoba proudly introduced it.
“This is Samehada, one of Kirigakure’s Seven Ninja Swords.
Ever heard of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?
This is one of their blades.” “So you’re a Kirigakure spy?” Kimimaro asked.
Aoba had accidentally dumped the blame on Kirigakure, and naturally had no intention of correcting him.
“If that’s what you want to believe.” He was planning to return to Otogakure tomorrow, and Kimimaro would probably still be here.
Since avoiding him was unlikely either way, Aoba decided to use tonight to probe him first and see just how strong he was.
“Dance of the Larch!” Now that he understood Samehada’s ability, Kimimaro decisively activated his kekkei genkai.
In mere moments, countless bone spikes erupted from his body, covering him like the quills of a hedgehog.
“Your weapon shouldn’t be able to absorb my chakra anymore.
These bones are physical matter.
They aren’t formed from chakra.” Kimimaro confidently charged toward him.
Aoba quickly discovered that Samehada really couldn’t absorb any more chakra.
With the bones keeping the blade from getting close enough, Aoba’s own chakra reserves began rapidly falling.
After all, he had to use the Body Flicker Technique every so often just to avoid Kimimaro’s attacks.
Even though it was only a D-rank ninjutsu, repeatedly using it still consumed a substantial amount of chakra.
Unable to find a way through Kimimaro’s defense, Aoba temporarily used Body Flicker to widen the distance between them.
Their speeds weren’t far apart, and Aoba was focusing entirely on defense without trying to attack.
For the moment, Kimimaro couldn’t do anything to him.
“Damn you.
Is scurrying around like a rat all you know how to do?” Kimimaro taunted coldly.
The instant Kimimaro’s attention slipped, Aoba immediately spent 10 Skill Points, raising his Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu to Proficient.
Then, after finding the perfect position, he unleashed the only Fire Style ninjutsu he currently knew.
“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!” Scorching flames erupted from Aoba’s mouth and surged directly toward the charging Kimimaro.
In an instant, they swallowed him completely!
Firelight flickered across Aoba’s face as he murmured, “Did that get him?” Then he lightly shook his head.
“Couldn’t have been that easy.
Kimimaro isn’t some random small-fry shinobi.
I was being too optimistic.” Sure enough, when the flames finally dispersed, Kimimaro was still standing exactly where he had been.
Completely unharmed.