Kimimaro chuckled. "With her little leg—heh—it'll be easier to get through tight spots. Don't worry, we've got a lot on our plate now. I won't go out of my way to look for her. But before anything else, I want to head to the Land of Rice Fields."
"The Land of Rice Fields? That's where Orochimaru is based, isn't it?" Karin asked warily.
"Exactly. I'm going to the Hidden Sound Village."
Jugo frowned. "Isn't that dangerous? What if it's a trap?"
"I might've worried about that in the past," Kimimaro replied calmly. "But now, with the Senju bloodline and my Wood Release—even if it's only a rudimentary version—I have enough strength to face him. Besides, Orochimaru's not in peak condition right now, not after the Third Hokage sealed his arms with the Reaper Death Seal. He's weakened."
Karin narrowed her eyes. "Wait... don't tell me you're going to get Guren? For Jugo?"
Jugo flailed, face red. "Hey! Don't say weird stuff! I just said she was pretty the other day, that's all!"
"Haha, it's fine," Kimimaro said with a light laugh. "It's not a crime to think someone's pretty. If there's a chance, we can bring Guren along. But I'm heading there for another reason—someone else I'm interested in. More importantly, I need to meet Orochimaru."
The others—Karin, Jugo, and Hanabi—exchanged puzzled glances.
This decision had been brewing in Kimimaro's mind for several days. His ultimate goal was to reconstruct the perfect Senju bloodline, and to do that, he needed to complete the genetic puzzle.
The Uzumaki part was covered—Karin was a goldmine in that regard. But the Uchiha?
There were only a few viable Uchiha alive: Sasuke, Itachi, and possibly Obito. But going after Itachi or Obito was a death sentence. Trying to obtain genetic material from them was sheer madness. As for Obito—he might have the cells of both Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, but access to that was beyond impossible right now.
That left Sasuke. And to reach Sasuke, he had to go through Orochimaru.
Kimimaro believed that with his current abilities, he could negotiate with Orochimaru as an equal, or at least as a curiosity. His resurrection and fusion of Senju blood alone would be something Orochimaru couldn't ignore. But if he tried to trade something like a test tube of his own bloodline serum for Sasuke's blood, Orochimaru would certainly grow suspicious—and probably attempt to steal it.
So Kimimaro prepared a different approach.
Blood wasn't the only usable genetic material. Other tissues would do just fine, since the system only needed genetic data to synthesize the serum. During the Uchiha Massacre, Danzo had collected numerous Sharingan, many of which were transplanted into his right arm by Orochimaru himself. Kimimaro found it impossible to believe that Orochimaru hadn't kept a few extras for his own research.
Even if he hadn't, Orochimaru likely had a method to obtain more from Danzo's Root.
In the end, everything pointed back to Orochimaru.
Having set their course, the group of four headed east, leaving the Land of Waterfalls and passing through the Land of Iron, en route to the Land of Rice Fields.
"So many waterfalls!" Hanabi cheered as she jumped along the path. The mountainous terrain and ever-present cascades of the Land of Waterfalls had become their training grounds over the past few days.
The environment was perfect for taijutsu, and both Water and Earth Release training. The group wasn't traveling in haste, so before they knew it, nearly a week had passed, and they were approaching the border.
"At this pace, we'll probably reach the Land of Rice Fields in another week."
"It's fine, no rush," Kimimaro replied, checking the system interface. Ten days remained until the next automatic generation of a test tube—there was no need to rush.
As they traveled, Kimimaro continued refining his use of Wood Release, along with his Water and Earth Release techniques.
Suddenly, Karin held up a hand, eyes narrowing. "Wait. Someone's nearby."
"An ambush?" Kimimaro asked, instantly alert.
An explosion rang out before anyone could respond.
"Explosive tags!" Karin shouted.
Reacting in a flash, Kimimaro pulled Karin and Hanabi into his arms, raising a dense bone shield from his Shikotsumyaku to block the blast.
"Tch tch tch… that reaction speed explains how you killed Sanetsu."
Kimimaro's eyes narrowed. That name—Sanetsu. He remembered it from the Taketori ninja Fū had captured. Sanetsu was the jonin Kimimaro had killed in the Land of Grass.
So these were Taketori clan ninjas.
Over a dozen enemies emerged from the forest, flanking them from multiple directions. Two jonin led the group—one bore the signature armor and bone-pattern forehead protector of the Taketori clan. That must be Taketori Takeken, the one listed in their intel. The other, likely a mercenary from the Hidden Grass Village, was Matsuda Goro.
"Kaguya brat," Takeken growled. "Come back with us quietly, and maybe the clan head will let you live."
Taketori Takeken knew very well that although the clan head was furious over his son's death, Kimimaro remained the last surviving member of the Kaguya clan. The clan head would prefer to imprison him and study his bloodline rather than kill him outright—after all, the Kaguya's Shikotsumyaku could greatly enhance the Taketori clan's genetic experimentation and modified techniques.
"If you think you're capable, then try and catch me," Kimimaro said coldly, his expression unreadable.
"Big words," Takeken sneered. "Do you think the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki will come running to save you? We're already at the outskirts of the Land of Waterfalls—far from Takigakure."
"Oh?" Kimimaro raised an eyebrow. "You've done your homework. I guess that explains why you didn't dare make a move when Fū was still with me."
"Hmph!" Takeken grunted but didn't deny it. Even among shinobi, choosing not to engage a Jinchūriki head-on wasn't considered cowardice—it was smart.
"Jūgo, protect these two," Kimimaro ordered. "It's time I put my training to the test."
"Understood." Jūgo unsheathed the massive white bone greatsword Kimimaro had given him, positioning himself in front of Karin and Hanabi without hesitation.
"Takeken, no need to hold back. Capture him, and let's head home. We've already been away from the village too long," said Matsuda Goro, quickly forming hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball surged forward toward Kimimaro.
Calmly, Kimimaro unfurled a whip made of sharpened bone segments. With a single crack, the air split with a sharp whoosh, and the fireball scattered under the force—but not completely. Several smaller fireballs broke off from the main blast, continuing toward him.
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"
Raising his left hand, Kimimaro fired a high-pressure stream of water, dousing the residual flames in an instant.
"He knows Water Release?" Matsuda Goro muttered, his face darkening. "That wasn't in the intel..."
"No matter. I'll handle this." Takeken leaped forward and roared, "Taketori shinobi—capture him!"
At his command, the surrounding Taketori ninja activated their clan's modified kekkei genkai. Their skin began to harden, growing into jagged, armor-like bone plating that resembled an external carapace—an evolved form of the Shikotsumyaku they had forcibly engineered.
Back when Taketori Sanetsu faced Kimimaro, he had underestimated the original Dance of the Clematis. He never expected Kimimaro to use it with such precision, and it had cost him his life.
Had Sanetsu utilized the Taketori clan's altered Shikotsumyaku variant at full power, he might have lasted longer—or even survived.