With the three members of Hawk now assembled, Sasuke led them back toward the underground base of the Hidden Sound Village.
A day later, as they approached the entrance, Karin suddenly stiffened. "Sasuke, watch out. Someone's coming. And they're not friendly."
"I know." Sasuke gave a small nod, watching as several figures emerged from the shadows. The Sound Four.
"I genuinely don't understand why Lord Orochimaru expects us to take orders from someone like you."
Kidomaru let out a cold laugh, and the gaze he turned on Uchiha Sasuke went sharp and hostile.
"We can't defy Lord Orochimaru's commands, but that doesn't mean you've earned the right to order us around. Someone needs to teach you a lesson."
Sasuke's expression didn't change. Beside him, Suigetsu broke into a wide grin. "Looks like someone doesn't accept you, Sasuke. Let me deal with them."
"That won't be necessary." Sasuke shook his head. "I'd rather not waste time. I'll handle this."
Suigetsu could hold his own well enough, but against all four at once, he'd be outmatched. Sasuke didn't say that out loud.
"Tch."
Suigetsu looked mildly put out but stepped back without further argument.
Sasuke swept a calm look over the Sound Four and said evenly. "I thought you'd hold out a little longer. Didn't expect you to crack this quickly. Then again, early is fine too."
Guren and Kimimaro were not among them. Tayuya had lost to Guren and was throwing herself into brutal training, driven by the need to someday wipe that humiliation clean and defeat Uchiha Sasuke.
She wanted to prove her worth to Orochimaru and make him choose her over Sasuke as his vessel. She had no reason to be here.
Kimimaro had no interest in any of this. Orochimaru said something, he did it. There was no jealousy or rivalry in him whatsoever.
He also wasn't well enough to be here. His condition had deteriorated to a point beyond recovery, and he hadn't come to join what amounted to a display of wounded pride.
The four who had shown up weren't bold enough to come at Sasuke individually, given that he had already defeated Guren, but all four together was a different story.
"Come on then."
A few minutes later.
"That was incredible, Sasuke!" Karin watched with open admiration.
Sasuke stood where he had been, expression composed, appearing not to have moved at all.
Around him lay the Sound Four, all in their cursed seal second state, sprawled on the ground with expressions suggesting a profound reconsideration of their life choices.
"That's it?"
Sasuke gave a quiet shake of his head and looked down at the four of them. "I know you don't accept me. This is the first and last time. Next time, I'll kill you."
The Sound Four's expressions shifted sharply, but none of them said a word.
"By Orochimaru's orders, I have authority over all of you. Now tell me, who has an objection?"
The four of them were quiet for a moment, then muttered in low voices. "We wouldn't dare, Lord Sasuke."
"I can barely hear you. Louder." Karin stepped forward, leaning into the moment shamelessly. "Again. Say it again."
"Speaking that quietly and you want to serve under Sasuke?"
The Sound Four exchanged glances, then all raised their voices together. "We will follow your orders, Lord Sasuke!"
The familiar scene made Sasuke let out a quiet, helpless laugh. He shook his head, said nothing more, and walked into the Hidden Sound.
The moment he stepped inside the underground base, Kabuto found him and delivered a piece of news.
Kimimaro was dying.
Inside a room, Sasuke and Kabuto, still wearing Orochimaru's disguise, stood together.
Sasuke looked at Kimimaro lying unconscious in the nutrient tank, barely breathing, and said evenly. "With your medical ninjutsu and Orochimaru's resources, neither of you could find a way to treat him?"
"Nothing." Kabuto shook his head. "Not even slowing the progression. All we can do is give him medicine to keep the pain manageable. Honestly, the fact that Kimimaro has lasted this long is already something close to a miracle. What's kept him alive isn't the medicine. It's his own will."
"I see." Sasuke nodded slowly, searching through Orochimaru's memories for information on Kimimaro while asking offhandedly. "Has anyone tried transplanting First Hokage cells or Uzumaki cells into him?"
Kimimaro was the last surviving member of the Kaguya clan, with exceptional talent and an outstanding Kekkei Genkai to match.
But the Shikotsumyaku he possessed, distinct from what ordinary Kaguya clan members had, was not only stronger and harder than anything his clanmates had produced. It was also continuously consuming his vitality.
But both the First Hokage's cells and the Uzumaki cells carried powerful life force. They should theoretically be able to replenish what Kimimaro's body was losing.
And even if the First Hokage's cells were too aggressive, Karin's cells were considerably gentler in comparison. Her cells and chakra also carried a healing property unique even among the Uzumaki.
Before Sasuke could locate the relevant section of Orochimaru's memories, Kabuto spoke.
"We tried both. The First Hokage's cells actually made things worse. Kimimaro's condition deteriorated further after the attempt."
"As for Uzumaki Karin, I think you're already aware that anyone who bites her skin can have their chakra and injuries restored. But that ability had no effect on Kimimaro whatsoever. It actually triggered a clash between their bloodlines."
Even Kabuto was genuinely baffled by that. He and Orochimaru had spent years combing through rare and long-lost texts in search of a solution.
Orochimaru himself had also spent years studying the First Hokage's cells and the Sharingan.
The Senju and Uzumaki were distant relatives. The Kaguya and Hyuga were also distant relatives. Both were accepted facts in the shinobi world.
But over time, the two of them had quietly arrived at something like a conclusion. A kind of truth.
The Senju, the Uzumaki, the Uchiha, and even the Kaguya and Hyuga, all of them among the most distinguished bloodline clans in the shinobi world, seemed to trace their origins back to the same source.
Even if not exactly the same ancestor, the connections between the clans ran extraordinarily deep.
If that was the case, then by Orochimaru and Kabuto's reasoning at the time, Kimimaro should have been able to integrate the First Hokage's cells or the Uzumaki cells. Even if integration wasn't possible, such a severe rejection response shouldn't have happened.
A clash...
Sasuke finally found the relevant records about Kimimaro in Orochimaru's memories. He was quiet for a moment, then asked. "How long does Kimimaro have?"
"A month at most. Possibly far less."
"Keep him alive as long as you can." Sasuke gave a nod. "Send a sample of Kimimaro's cells to the laboratory for me later."
With that, he turned and left.
Whether Kimimaro lived or died, Sasuke didn't particularly care.
And given Kimimaro's loyalty to Orochimaru, the moment he learned Orochimaru had died at Sasuke's hands, he would come for revenge without hesitation.
Given his nature, bringing him into the fold was essentially out of the question.
But Kimimaro was currently the only living member of the Kaguya clan. His bloodline was anything but ordinary.
It was highly possible that his lineage was connected to Otsutsuki Kaguya herself, specifically to what the original story had referred to as her Shakuton, the ability to reduce things to ash through the decomposing bones known as Dust Release or the Killing Ash Bones.
Sasuke needed to extract more useful information from him before it was too late.
A living test subject was always more valuable than a dead one.
Orochimaru and Kabuto had never found the cause of Kimimaro's illness, but Sasuke, with the advantage of knowing things they couldn't, might be able to find something they had missed.
___
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