Since this was only a training match to test abilities, Ye Zi looked at the wings behind Kimimaro and asked, "Can those wings make you fly?"
Kimimaro flapped his wings a few times and smiled. "Yes, they can."
"Very impressive," Ye Zi said with a nod upon hearing Kimimaro's answer. He hadn't expected the second state of the curse mark to grant Kimimaro the ability to fly. Flight was an exceptionally useful capability.
The children around the training ground looked at Kimimaro's wings with envy. Wings that could fly, how wonderful it would be if they had wings too.
Surprisingly, none of them found Kimimaro's monstrous appearance repulsive. Instead, they felt admiration and even longing.
Hearing Ye Zi's praise, Kimimaro's face lit up with excitement. "Ye Zi-sama, my next move is my strongest attack!"
"Let's see it," Ye Zi said, his gaze sharpening with anticipation for Kimimaro's ultimate attack.
"Alright, here I come!"
Kimimaro's expression turned serious. This technique was a large-scale attack that reached its full potential only in the second state of the curse mark. Against any enemy unfamiliar with it, he was confident it could take their life, even Ye Zi's wood clone.
Suddenly, Kimimaro pressed his normal-looking hands to the ground, and a powerful wave of chakra radiated from his body.
"What incredible chakra!" The spectators couldn't hide their astonishment. Kimimaro had already overwhelmed them with surprises today.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern.
Chakra surged through Kimimaro's hands into the ground. Without warning, countless sharp and massive bone spikes, thicker than arms, erupted from the earth across the training field.
"What is this…!"
Ye Zi's eyes widened in shock. He leapt into the air just in time, narrowly avoiding the bone spikes that suddenly burst upward.
In the next moment, his pupils constricted as he saw the spikes growing uncontrollably, like frenzied plants, rapidly covering most of the training ground.
Before he could fully process his amazement, the bone spikes continued their relentless advance, even reaching for him in midair.
Despite the danger, Ye Zi smiled. At this moment, he realized he had significantly underestimated Kimimaro's strength.
Wood Release: Circular Seal!
Wooden pillars erupted from Ye Zi's hands, forming a protective sphere around him.
The bone spikes pierced the wooden sphere but only managed to penetrate a finger's width before stopping. Around twelve spikes lodged into the sphere, locking it in midair in a crisscrossed pattern.
The pale forest of bone spikes blanketing the training field left the spectators stunned. Almost everyone stood frozen in shock.
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with interest. The power of this technique was practically on a tactical level. Used correctly in war, it could easily kill hundreds of enemies in an instant. And Kimimaro, not even ten years old, could already perform such a powerful jutsu. What kind of strength would he display in a few more years?
"So terrifying…"
"Is this the true power of Kimimaro's kekkei genkai?"
"How could anyone defeat someone as strong as Kimimaro?"
Inside the wooden sphere, Ye Zi frowned as he examined the bone spikes piercing through. He had many ways to escape the predicament but decided to endure Kimimaro's final attack.
Kimimaro flapped his wings and flew toward the wooden sphere, keeping a safe distance. He pressed his hands onto a nearby bone spike, channeling chakra to control it.
In the second state of the curse mark, Kimimaro could merge his body into the bones and move freely within them, similar to the Earth Release technique, Hiding in Surface Technique. The terrain created by Dance of the Seedling Fern gave him an omnipresent advantage.
However, he chose not to use this ability, as it was typically meant for closing in on targets for melee attacks. In this situation, it wasn't necessary.
He had just enough chakra left for an even stronger attack.
"This will finish it!"
Kimimaro's expression turned serious. After injecting chakra, the bone spikes around the wooden sphere trembled violently and surged inward, instantly crushing the wooden sphere into splinters and destroying the wood clone within.
The sharp bone spikes intertwined, forming what looked like a blooming flower of bones.
With the wood clone destroyed, its memories transferred back to Ye Zi's main body.
Ye Zi's face twitched slightly, a normal reaction to receiving the memories of death, but he quickly regained his composure. He looked at the bone forest covering the training ground and smiled faintly.
This technique was akin to a weaker version of Deep Forest Emergence, but while its range and mobility were inferior, its destructive power was far greater. When his wood clone leapt into the air to avoid the initial bone spikes, it hadn't anticipated their sheer number and range, leading to its defeat midair.
Although Ye Zi had held back significantly, Kimimaro's strength was fully demonstrated. He had succeeded in proving himself a qualified combat asset.
Having exhausted nearly all his chakra, Kimimaro barely managed to fly over to Ye Zi. As soon as he released the second state of the curse mark, his legs gave out, and he collapsed from sheer fatigue.
Ye Zi stepped forward and caught him.
"What's the name of that move?" Ye Zi asked, looking at the exhausted and powerless Kimimaro.
Kimimaro forced a weak smile and replied, "Dance of the Seedling Fern."
"Very impressive," Ye Zi said sincerely. Kimimaro had given him many surprises during this fight. With this level of combat ability, Kimimaro was already beyond the threshold of being a competent warrior.
Kimimaro didn't have the strength to respond. He simply maintained a happy smile.
"Jūgo, take Kimimaro to rest," Ye Zi said, glancing at Jūgo nearby. Upon hearing this, Jūgo quickly ran over and supported the exhausted Kimimaro.
"Kimimaro, I'll take you back to your room," Jūgo said softly. Kimimaro's performance had left a deep impression on him. It made him realize that if he could control his own power, there was no need to fear or resist it.
Kimimaro nodded faintly at Jūgo. He was too tired to speak or move, only wanting to rest.
With Jūgo's help, Kimimaro left the training ground amidst the astonished gazes of everyone present, heading back to his room.
Ye Zi watched as Jūgo and Kimimaro left. Kimimaro's utterly exhausted state didn't surprise him. After all, Kimimaro was not yet ten years old. To achieve such feats at his age was extraordinarily rare.
"It's time to clean up the aftermath," Ye Zi said, turning to face the bone forest that covered the training ground. Activating Sage Mode, he prepared to handle the scene.
Kimimaro's Dance of the Seedling Fern was indeed terrifying, capable of altering the terrain entirely. However, with Sage Mode activated, Ye Zi could use the Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation technique to manipulate the bone spikes.
The relationship between their techniques could be seen as either opposing or complementary.
If working together against a common enemy, Ye Zi and Kimimaro's coordination could create devastatingly effective attacks.
Under the watchful eyes of the children, Ye Zi effortlessly cleared the bone forest that had overtaken most of the training ground, restoring it to its original state.
Afterward, Orochimaru and Nanako returned to their research on Hashirama cells, while Kotoe and Shin, suppressing their astonishment, resumed training the children.
The battle that unfolded today left a profound impression on the spectators. Kimimaro's displayed strength far exceeded their understanding.
Back in his room, Ye Zi reflected on the day. Allowing the others to witness Kimimaro's abilities had its benefits. It would likely make them more accepting of future procedures, such as Hashirama cell implantation, Sharingan transplantation, and the curse mark.
Lying on his bed, Ye Zi stared at the ceiling in silence. Less than six months remained of the one-year deadline. In a few months, it would be time to perform the Hashirama cell implantations on the others, giving them a month or two to adjust afterward.
By then, the time to execute the mission to capture the tailed beasts would arrive.
The key lay with Nagato and Kushina...
Would Nagato fail, or would Kushina be captured? The outcomes differed greatly. The former would disrupt Ye Zi's plans, while the latter would make achieving them significantly easier.
"It's close…"
Ye Zi murmured to himself. Once that moment arrived, he wouldn't have to carry such a heavy burden anymore.
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Currently on Chapter 527 - The Calm Before the Storm