Fudō slowly explained, "A nation is like a game of shogi—there can only be one king. The Daimyō is the rightful ruler, and the Hokage is redundant! If the shinobi of the Land of Fire served only the Daimyō, internal conflicts would vanish. The military could consolidate under a single command, allowing us to unify the world. What do you say, young man? Join us, and we can make peace."
Kimimaro glanced at Fudō, then at Fūka and Fūen. "By that logic, if the Land of Fire did conquer the world, wouldn't your original villages vanish from the map?"
All three of them merely shrugged. Fūka smirked. "I never cared much for my old Kage. As for our Daimyō… I couldn't even tell you his name. We were raised to protect leaders—but not to worship them."
They were already considered rogue ninja—traitors in the eyes of their homelands.
"To be honest, your words do strike a chord," Kimimaro admitted, locking eyes with Fudō. "But if only one king is needed, why must it be the Daimyō? If he's so useless, why not kill him and take the throne yourself? If it were me, I wouldn't hesitate. I'd crown myself."
Fudō scowled. "That's treasonous! Strength isn't what qualifies a man to rule. Without royal blood, you're unfit to sit on the throne. I was born to protect the Daimyō—to serve him loyally until his dream is realized."
Kimimaro chuckled, then laughed outright. "That's where we differ. I have strength. I don't need to serve anyone—especially not some sheltered figurehead. Hashirama Senju unified the clans through strength and ideals. He didn't need a Daimyō to validate his rule."
"A ninja without noble lineage could never win the people's trust! You're just chasing delusions."
"Then I'll make them submit—just like I'm about to do with you." Kimimaro cracked his knuckles. "If you can still talk after the beating, and you're willing to follow me, I might give you another chance. After all, there aren't many shinobi with ambition to match their strength."
Fudō's chakra flared. "Then we settle this now!"
Kimimaro raised an eyebrow. "One more question. What's your connection to the Twelve Guardian Ninja?"
Fudō narrowed his eyes. "You know about them?"
"In this life, yes. The Twelve were elite shinobi meant to protect the Land of Fire's Daimyō—but they fractured over ideological disputes. Now only a few remain. One of them, Asuma Sarutobi, returned to serve Konoha."
"You... Who are you?"
Kimimaro smirked. "Unlike you, I don't spend my life guarding a throne. I act. If you want to know who I am, survive this fight."
"Then I'll crush you first! Wind Release: Beast Wave Palm!"
Fudō's iron claws spun violently with compressed wind chakra as he unleashed cutting shockwaves.
Kimimaro responded calmly, forming a wall with Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall to absorb the blow.
"In the Land of Earth, it's only fitting to showcase Earth Release. Your jutsu's decent—likely A-rank. Wind-nature transformation has strong offensive power, but it lacks versatility. Unlike the Rasengan, which excels in shape manipulation, yours relies on the claws as a medium. That's a flaw."
Kimimaro made a single hand motion and replicated the technique. "Wind Release: Beast Wave Palm."
He mimicked it flawlessly, his Sharingan having already deconstructed the chakra flow and nature transformation.
Fudō's eyes widened. "Impossible! That technique doesn't require hand seals—how did you copy it!?"
He didn't know that Kimimaro's strength, bolstered by Sage Mode and Shikotsumyaku, had already surpassed most elite jonin. For someone who had mastered multiple chakra natures and bloodline limits, mimicking a pure elemental jutsu was trivial.
"Wind Release: Violent Beast Wave Palm!" Fudō lunged, enlarging the wind chakra into the shape of a beast's claw.
Kimimaro didn't flinch. He raised an Earth Release: Rotating Mud Wall to block the strike, then followed up with Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade to encase Fudō's claws in crystal—and shattered them with a snap of his wrist.
"Pathetic," Kimimaro said coldly.
Grabbing Fudō by the throat, he slammed him into the ground with a bone-shattering Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch. His arm glowed faintly as bone spikes emerged, ready for further punishment.
"I expected more. With your claws broken, you've lost your only trick."
Fudō coughed blood, powerless to resist.
Kimimaro stood over him, victorious. "If you truly want to unify the world, it starts with this: strength. Not words, not bloodlines. Strength."
He snatched the metal staff from Fudō's hands and flung it aside. "You rely too much on weapons. Your taijutsu's barely at jōnin level."
"No wonder you believe only those with noble bloodlines should rule. Let me tell you—it's because you're not strong enough!"
Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku erupted as bone spikes burst from his arms, piercing through Fudō's shoulders. He lifted the man effortlessly and launched him with a brutal kick, sending Fudō crashing into a massive boulder.
Without pause, Kimimaro followed up, landing a blow on Fudō's body embedded in the rock—but it disintegrated into chunks of earth.
"A Doton clone?" Kimimaro muttered, turning sharply.
"You act superior—can you even defend against a counterattack?" Fudō's voice came from behind as he lunged.
Kimimaro spun around, catching the real Fudō mid-strike. A gust of compressed air exploded from his palm—Wind Release: Gale Palm—and the sheer pressure sent Fudō hurtling through the air before crashing hard into the ground.
Landing calmly, Kimimaro placed a foot on Fudō's chest. "Understand now how absurd your ideology sounds?"
Still defiant, Fudō growled, "No matter how strong a single person is, there's always a limit! I command forbidden jutsu capable of annihilating entire shinobi villages. Strength alone can't win against an entire army!"
"You're right…" Kimimaro paused, watching Fudō's face light up with smugness. Then he added coldly, "But as I am now, if a village lacks a Kage-level shinobi, I can destroy it. Give me a year—and even Kage-level enemies won't matter."
"Lies! You're delusional!"
Kimimaro shook his head. "The world is wide, and you—just a frog at the bottom of a well. I'm honestly losing interest in this conversation."
Fūka, Fūen, and Fūdō's allies stared, stunned. They had expected a fierce, drawn-out clash—but instead, they witnessed Fudō being effortlessly outclassed.
All three knew Fudō had suffered severe injuries years ago. His strength had declined. Compared to them, he was still stronger, but perhaps not by much. They had followed him for his forbidden techniques and ideology—not for overwhelming power.
But now, faced with Kimimaro's dominance, they were shaken.
Kimimaro's expression relaxed into a faint smirk. In truth, he had used more than just brute force—his battle seamlessly blended Sharingan genjutsu, Sage Mode, Earth Release, Crystal Release, and of course, Shikotsumyaku. Unless one was a seasoned master, they would never even notice the fusion of bloodline abilities behind his overwhelming performance.
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