Naruto tilted his head slightly and looked at Kimimaro. "So, what exactly is your kekkei genkai ability?"
Kimimaro straightened, his pale eyes calm but alert. "It's bones," he replied. "I can control my osteoblasts and osteoclasts, even manipulate calcium concentration to create new bone structures at will."
As he spoke, the faint glow that had restrained him moments ago faded away. He could move and speak freely again.
Naruto studied him thoughtfully. "When you use your kekkei genkai, you always do it the same way? Forcing your bones out of your body like just now, and then drawing them back in afterward?"
Kimimaro blinked, unsure of where this was going. "Yes. Is there something wrong with that?"
Naruto crossed his arms. "So when you kill someone or when your bones come into contact with blood or dirt you just pull them straight back inside afterward?"
Kimimaro nodded without hesitation.
Kabuto's eyes suddenly widened in realization. "That explains it. So that's why he's been suffering from those bacterial infections!"
Even though Kabuto had spent most of his time as a spy, his medical knowledge was still sharp. He frowned, deep in thought. "I always believed Kimimaro's infections came from some kind of genetic bloodline illness. But you're saying it's actually due to external contamination?"
He turned to Naruto, seeking confirmation. "Is that what you mean?"
Naruto nodded slightly. "Exactly."
Orochimaru narrowed his golden eyes. "Explain."
Kabuto inhaled deeply. "Even the air around us contains countless bacteria and microbes. Normally, the human body has defenses that keep them out. But in Kimimaro's case, his bones act like a perfect gateway. When he draws his bones back into his body, those external bacteria come with them, spreading infections from the inside."
The explanation hung in the air like a sharp revelation.
Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "Does no one in your clan study medicine? Ever since Tsunade founded the modern medical system, every village has been adopting it. Basic knowledge like this isn't even restricted. Don't tell me your clan never bothered to learn something that could literally save your lives."
Even Kimimaro, usually expressionless, felt his mouth twitch.
Study? In the Kaguya clan?
Those people were born for battle, not books. Asking them to sit down and learn was like asking them to stop breathing. They lived to fight, and when they died, they called it glory. Reading? That was a foreign concept.
Naruto caught the look in Kimimaro's eyes and sighed softly. "So that's how it was… Jōmu."
He turned to Kabuto. "Treating the infections isn't difficult. We'll have to completely replace his blood, cleanse every trace of bacteria from his organs using medical ninjutsu, and restore his nutrients. But the real problem lies in his cells."
Naruto frowned. "They're deteriorating too fast not dying normally, but collapsing."
Kabuto's eyes flickered. "So that's what Lord Orochimaru called the Bloodline Disease…"
"Cell collapse," Orochimaru murmured, brows knitting. He'd seen something like this before back when he'd experimented with Hashirama's cells. The test subjects' bodies had been torn apart from the inside by power too overwhelming to control.
Could Kimimaro's cells possess the same destructive vitality as Hashirama's?
The idea made Orochimaru's pulse quicken.
Perhaps their ancestors weren't so different after all.
He licked his lips unconsciously, mind racing. Research like this the kind that unraveled the truth of bloodlines was what fascinated him most.
Naruto's voice broke his thoughts. "You've been malnourished since childhood, haven't you? Weak body, constant overtraining, ignoring the damage until you burned yourself out completely."
Kimimaro's emerald eyes fixed on him. For a moment, he almost wondered if Naruto had been watching him all his life. "You're right," he said quietly. "I awakened my kekkei genkai as a child. After that, they locked me away. Unless there was a war, I was confined. One meal a day, if I was lucky a rice ball, sometimes spoiled food."
His voice was flat, but the emptiness beneath it was suffocating.
He hadn't even understood what "living" meant until he met Orochimaru. Only then did he think he'd found his purpose.
Jiraiya frowned, baffled. "Wait, hold on. Why would your clan lock you up after you awakened your kekkei genkai? That makes no sense."
He'd heard plenty about the Kaguya clan the wild, fearless warriors of the Mist but this was pure madness.
Kimimaro looked at him and answered softly, "They feared my power. But they still wanted to use it."
Jiraiya felt a headache coming on. "So basically… they were idiots."
Naruto couldn't help but smile wryly. He was just grateful he'd met someone like Guy someone who understood strength and responsibility.
Guy had built his entire training around Naruto's physical limits, pushing him to extremes but never past the breaking point. Every recovery bath, every nutrition plan Guy made sure Naruto's body grew stronger instead of breaking down.
Guy had even spent most of his savings on Naruto's development. Now that he was training Lee, he had to take more missions just to make ends meet.
Naruto had once tried to repay him with part of his inheritance, but Guy refused flatly.
"A teacher's duty is to raise his student," he'd said. "Not profit from him."
Naruto had said nothing after that, but deep down he'd made a silent promise when Guy grew old, Naruto would take care of him. Because to him, Guy wasn't just a mentor. He was family.
Orochimaru's voice cut through the silence. "Naruto, given his condition, do you have any suggestions?"
Naruto blinked, pulling his thoughts back. "His body's been completely overdrawn. That's why his cells collapse so fast during relapses. You could try restoring his life energy to slow the decay."
"Life energy…" Orochimaru murmured thoughtfully, glancing down toward the floor below. His gaze landed on Tsunade, who was watching quietly.
Jiraiya followed his eyes and then froze. "Wait… that's Dan and Nawaki down there?"
He hadn't noticed them before, too distracted by Orochimaru. Now his eyes widened.
Naruto grinned. "Guess Lord Orochimaru's done at least one good thing today. If you want to heal Lady Tsunade's trauma, the best way is to let the ones she lost reach her themselves. Maybe we won't have to lift a finger. Her heart might just heal on its own."
That, Naruto thought, was the real reason he hadn't attacked Orochimaru.
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