The person who arrived appeared to be about the same age as Kimimaro—black hair, black eyes, a delicate face. She wore a standard Iwagakure forehead protector and a shinobi flak jacket over a deep red undershirt. Most eye-catching of all were her long, fair legs, clad in black fishnet stockings.
Kimimaro blinked.
Isn't that… Leg-Kage?
In his previous life, Kimimaro had been a casual manga reader, not much for filler arcs, but he'd dabbled in fan forums and memes. In the Boruto era—an era that hadn't quite caught fire—there was a popular nickname for the Fourth Tsuchikage: Leg-Kage.
Kurotsuchi. The granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage, wielder of Lava Release. Not particularly known for legendary feats, but those long legs? Unforgettable.
The girl—still far from the Kage title—walked confidently toward the fire. Her sharp eyes focused on the roasted chicken Kimimaro held in his hand.
"Young lady," Kimimaro greeted smoothly, "to meet here must be fate. Want some chicken?"
Karin immediately puffed out her cheeks in protest. "That's our food! Why are you giving it to her?"
Kimimaro gave her a placating pat on the head. "It's fine. We can share."
"…Okay," Karin mumbled, cheeks still puffed, though a small smile snuck through.
Unbothered by the tension, the girl walked over without hesitation, plucked the roasted leg, and sat down.
"I'm Kurotsuchi from Iwagakure. And you are?"
"I'm Kimimaro. These are my companions—Jūgo and Karin. We're just passing through, resting in the mountains for a bit."
"Injured?" Kurotsuchi studied him. "You've got a weak presence. Chakra flow's a little off."
"It's nothing serious. I'll recover soon."
"Mm-hmm~" Kurotsuchi took a bite of the chicken. Her eyes widened. "Whoa. This is seriously good."
Kimimaro chuckled softly. "If we cross paths again, I'll make you more."
"You should come back with me then," Kurotsuchi said without missing a beat. "That way, I can eat your cooking every day."
Kimimaro choked on a laugh. "I don't think you could handle that."
Kurotsuchi frowned. "Tch, try me."
Then her tone turned thoughtful. "You guys are clearly shinobi. What village are you from?"
"We're not from any village anymore. We're… wanderers."
"Rogue ninja?" she asked, tilting her head, not aggressively—just curious.
"You could call us that. I died once for my village while dying of illness. No one remembered me. Jūgo was treated as a monster and an experiment. Karin…" He glanced at her briefly. "She has a unique body that heals others when bitten. People treated her like a tool. When I found her, they were trying to bite her for chakra—and worse."
Kimimaro's voice was calm, but something in the firelight flickered in his eyes. He wasn't lying—at least, not entirely. His and Jūgo's situations had nuances, but this was the truth they now chose to live by.
Kurotsuchi fell silent.
She had grown up under the protective wing of Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, and lived a relatively privileged life, but she wasn't naïve. She knew that villages, even the Five Great Nations, had their darker sides. And she also knew that people didn't always get justice.
"I see," she said quietly. "You've been through a lot."
A moment passed. Then she said, almost cheerfully, "Well, if you're strong enough to protect what matters, you can still live a good life."
"That's the plan."
They talked a while longer, light conversation over fire and meat. But Kimimaro, internally, was busy.
[System: Test tubes for bloodline analysis are generated once per month. Additional test tubes may be created manually—5000 life energy per tube. Use with caution.]
That expensive?
He remembered—activating his Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku had only cost 1200 life energy. The system must have seriously valued these test tubes.
He looked again at Kurotsuchi, casually munching on chicken.
Lava Release. A combination of Earth and Fire. A rare and powerful Kekkei Genkai. Not easily replicated, but undeniably valuable.
He couldn't collect her blood now. Not ethically. Not tactically. But the encounter reminded him:
In this world, some powers wouldn't come around twice.
And if he wanted to live—truly live—he couldn't let any opportunity slip.
However, after thinking it through carefully, Kimimaro realized the cost wasn't actually high.
Five thousand units of life energy was roughly equivalent to what a lower-level Jōnin would possess.
To cultivate a Kekkei Genkai for that price… it was practically a bargain.
He glanced at his own life energy—barely under ten thousand.
For now, generating more test tubes wasn't an option.
Besides, provoking Kurotsuchi at the moment wasn't wise, and he wasn't in a rush to obtain Jūgo's or Karin's bloodline abilities either.
Jūgo's ability, Sage Transformation, would likely just help stabilize the Cursed Seal—it wasn't something he urgently needed.
As for Karin, her Uzumaki vitality and healing powers mainly boosted chakra reserves and regeneration—useful, but not pressing right now.
Then, an idea struck him.
What if I draw my own blood to create potions for them?
[System, if I stabilize my body with the Kaguya bloodline gene potion, and then extract my own blood to make new potions… will it yield a more advanced version of the Kaguya bloodline?]
The system coldly responded with four simple words:
[No nesting dolls allowed.]
[...What does that mean?]
[For individuals who have undergone bloodline fusion, extracting their genes again will only produce the original bloodline. Host, do not attempt to exploit loopholes.]
Kimimaro chuckled awkwardly.
He had been thinking about something like that—if others could only use a gene potion once, maybe he could keep stacking it. And then create derivative potions for others from his own enhanced bloodline… Wouldn't that lead to multiple Kekkei Genkai?
Another potential cheat path—blocked.
Just then, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"What are you smiling about?"
It was Kurotsuchi.
"Ah, nothing. Just had a funny thought," Kimimaro replied casually.
"Hmph. He's probably thinking your legs look like they feel nice to touch," Karin added with a mischievous smirk.
"Wha—?!" Kurotsuchi flushed and quickly pulled the hem of her outfit down to cover her exposed thighs.
"As if! You're so annoying!"
As the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage, and current heiress of Iwagakure, no one had ever teased her like this before.
Karin, meanwhile, blinked a few times in confusion, then mentally screamed:
Wait, she's not angry? She's actually flustered? No way. Oh my god. It's gotta be because Kimimaro is ridiculously handsome. That's the only explanation!
Her face also turned red.
Kimimaro looked at both girls, puzzled. Why were they both blushing?
Suddenly—
He stiffened.
He sensed a chakra signature.
Without turning his head, he called out, "Who's there?"