Book 2: Chapter 6: Yuki vs Kidōmaru!!! Part II

Book 2: Land of Sand

Chapter 6: Yuki vs Kidōmaru!!! Part II

I ran towards a cluster of rock formations, some tall, some small, but they all could be used as cover to conceal my kunai traps. The only downside was that Kasai couldn’t help me. I doubted anyone could besides Tayuya and Sui. Though, did I really want Kasai’s help to begin with—

My finger twitched as I hid behind one of the larger rocks. I could have sworn I told Kasai I needed time to prepare. In what world was a minute any time for a Genin to set up traps! He’s so lucky I’m good under pressure.

“Hey Uchiha kid, let’s play a game.” That sounded like Kidōmaru. Apparently, he really liked toying with his opponents. They all did. “You like to set traps. I like to set traps. Let’s see who’s better! Ninja Art: Spider Web Net!”

Hearing his voice come from above, our eyes met as Kidōmaru opened his mouth and spat out a large spider web. I rolled out of the way feeling the world slow down. There I saw it was really me who was caught in a trap.

All around the area were thin spider threads coated in chakra that had spotted me the moment I entered the area. A smile grew on my face as I stared at Kidōmaru, who was standing about 20 meters across from me. Where in between us were his threads and my wires.

“You know, having eyes that can see my threads is cheating.” Kidōmaru pointed out, only for me to laugh.

“At least you had time to set up. I could’ve made a maze.”

“What, wasn’t a minute enough? Amateur.”

“Oh, this is going to be fun.”

“Yeah, for me! Ninja Art: Spider Web Flower!”

Kidōmaru spat out more spider webs. This time they were smaller, but there were at least twenty of them. I jumped, ducked, and weaved around them, dodging webs with ease as I hid behind another rock only to find him above me again to shoot out another volley of webs. It was a pain knowing he had an extra set of hands simply to perform hand signs, another set to track me in his net, and another to spider-swing around my traps. I really hated fighting in another person’s turf.

“C’mon you could at least try to burn them or something!”

“Yeah, then get stuck as my fire doesn’t melt them,” I said, hiding behind another rock.

Kidōmaru clicked his tongue. “Someone’s well informed.”

“Right back at you.”

“Well then, I guess it’s time to up the difficulty! Summoning Jutsu: Kyodaigumo!”

I peeked around the corner and saw curvy black lines had spread across Kidōmaru’s body, then he placed his hand on the ground. There a giant black tarantula about the size of the ramen shop appeared, letting Kidōmaru sit on top of it as it screeched. All eight of its eyes glared at me while drool escaped its mouth, showcasing its large fangs.

“That’s not good.”

“Time to die! Ninja Art: Spider Sticky Gold Javelins!” Out of Kidōmaru’s mouth came two long globs of golden goo that soon enough hardened into the shape of a javelin. It took three of his arms just to hold one, and that had me worried. Now I had never thought of it before, but with one arm, we threw things pretty hard. If we had three arms… Oh shit!

I jumped out of the way right before the golden javelin pierced through the rock, then stopped in place because if I had moved another step, I’d have gotten stuck in one of his webs on the ground.

“Phew, that was a close one,” I said, wiping the sweat off my brow.

“What do you mean by close?”

I looked around and sighed as I noticed I was surrounded by webs. His use of misdirection, forcing me into a corner with nothing to hide behind, and staying well outside of my trap range. He’d make a great shogi opponent. If only we weren’t enemies at the moment.

“I can’t believe it’s over already. Though, I don’t know what I was expecting from a spoon-fed Leaf Ninja. Probably coddled all your life.”

I scratched my head, wondering if my gamble would pay off. Not only was Kidōmaru far from me, but he had also kept a good distance from my wires too. Though hearing him insult me, look down on me, he was just like her. It made me hesitate for a moment. I didn’t want to lose control again. “Man, you and Tayuya are just alike. It’s really the only reason why you’re still alive.”

“Bwahahaha.” Kidōmaru laughed as he lined up his shot. “That’s some pretty big talk when it’s already—Game Over!”

“We’ll see about that.” I did the hand signs: Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog. “Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu!”

Right before Kidōmaru threw his javelin, I placed my hands on the ground creating a large wall of earth that grew from under Kidōmaru’s spider, taking it and my wire traps with it. That forced the spider to reposition in front of the wall or risk falling, yet that was all I needed to throw off his shot. There the golden javelin whizzed by my ear, slamming behind me.

“Hm, so you dodged.” Kidōmaru shrugged. “No matter, that doesn’t change the fact you’re—”

“Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!”

“Finally! Ninja Art: Spiral Spider Web!”

Kidōmaru, with his giant spider, didn’t even attempt to dodge the fireball as they both spat out a large net of webs. And as the two Jutsu met, they simply passed through one another as my fire wasn’t hot enough to burn away the webs, nor were his webs hard enough to stop the fire. Though the difference was Kidōmaru’s spider could reposition to the top of the mud wall and avoid the attack while I stood still smiling. There were kunai stuck along the mud wall, all wind-tagged. And by the time Kidōmaru noticed my smile, it was already too late.

“Checkmate. Improvised Style: Dust Styled Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!”

In a flash, everything went white as the light from the blast was even brighter than the sun, and I would’ve shielded my eyes with my arms, but sadly I was trapped underneath a spider web. Though that didn’t stop me from seeing the aftermath. The top part of the wall was gone, and hanging by a thread was Kidōmaru.

I assumed he was in his Curse Mark Stage 2 form because his skin became red, and a third eye opened on his forehead. He looked way more like a monster than Tayuya ever did. Somehow, he had survived the attack with all six of his arms shielding himself, yet even in the distance, I saw golden hardened goo fall off him in chunks. I had a feeling that was the armor that helped save him. Sadly, the same couldn’t have been said for his summon, as the giant spider was nothing more than falling legs.

“I-I’m alive...” Kidōmaru whispered as he continued to stare at the mud wall in shock.

“Yeah… hah…” I relaxed my eyes, concentrating on my body’s chakra flow. “I’m just as surprised as you are….”

“Kimimaro never said anything about that!”

“Kimimaro could dodge that… and so could you… but someone’s a cocky little bug—”

“I’ll kill you!”

Kidōmaru spat out another stream of golden goo, forming it into a golden bow, and immediately notched a giant golden arrow using his arms and legs to fire the thing. But I wasn’t worried. Not even the slightest. Because we had planned for this too.

Kidōmaru’s webs were nearly indestructible, surviving countless tests when trying to get Tenzō free from the cocoon binding he had been placed in. It was only thanks to Hiashi Hyūga that he was even freed. According to Kasai, all you had to do was inject your chakra into the substance, and it would tear apart. I hated that it was him who taught me how to do it rather than Sui, but I knew she’d want to see me alive. Damn it!

I opened my eyes, feeling the world grow cold as it slowed down, yet nothing could cool off how pissed I was! Eight Trigrams: Tenketsu Burst!

For a moment, my purple chakra flared out of my body, ejecting out of all 361 points in my body and injecting into the webs around me, tearing them apart. And as I came face to face with the golden arrow, I jumped.

“Now who’s the cocky little bug!” Kidōmaru laughed as he lowered himself to the ground, simply admiring the cloud of dust that came from his arrow. “What a fucking joke of an Uchiha. I didn’t even get to hear him beg for mercy—My eye!”

Standing on top of the arrow, I smiled as I hit a bullseye. A kunai with a wire attached to it stuck out of Kidōmaru’s third eye. Being alive thanks to Kasai, knowing Kidōmaru was one of the people who attacked Team Rou and possibly the one who killed Kou. I didn’t need the voice in my head to tell me to kill him. I had already sent a lightning trail down the wire.

“So, what was it you said before,” I said, staring down at him with red eyes. While I was sure, I didn’t have my sister’s eyes. I definitely had the Shinigami’s stare because Kidōmaru didn’t even try to take the kunai out. Though it wouldn’t have mattered either way since it was “Game over—”

“I think not.” Kimimaro appeared in front of Kidōmaru, holding his third eye in his hand, completely absorbing the shock with an endless number of bones forming out of his hand. “I can’t have you killing one of Lord Orochimaru’s chosen bodyguards.”

I clicked my tongue. “Seriously?”

“Th-thank you for the save,” Kidōmaru said as he quickly lowered his head.

“Do not thank me. I only saved you because you still have a job to do.” Kimimaro gave Kidōmaru a quick look over. It wasn’t out of concern. If it was, he wouldn’t have crushed the eye in his hand, casually wiping the blood off like he had just squashed a bug. “You can still fight, right?”

“Y-yes, I can. Losing an eye is nothing. I can fight through the pain.”

“Good. Then go assist Sakon and Jirōbō. They could use your help against Danzō’s ninja.”

“B-but what about the Uchiha? I may have underestimated him before, but I can still—”

With a mere glance, Kimimaro shut him up as he said: “Kill him? Can you even look at the child?”

Kidōmaru raised his head, trying his damnedest to stare up at me, yet he lowered his gaze the moment our eyes connected. For once, I wasn’t the joke everyone thought of me as. The joke that I tried to be. Rather I was the brother to the Shinigami. An Uchiiha whose eyes brought death.

“Just what I thought. Be glad I did not kill you—”

“Wait. Before you go, I have a question.” I took a kunai from my pocket and cast a Substitution Jutsu on it, making it look like a blue cat mask. “Which one of you killed the guy who wore this?”

“Like I could remember all the losers I’ve killed.” Kidōmaru spat before running off in Kasai’s direction. Well, running was a strong word, more like struggling, as I doubt he could even see straight from the pain of losing an eye, to the pain of the Curse Mark, to the pain of the desert heat. Though none of that mattered as I found out who the killer was.

“I did.” Kimimaro simply said as if it was of no importance. I couldn’t tell if he was lying or telling the truth. Then again, he didn’t seem to be the type to lie. “Does it make you feel better knowing I’m the one who dealt the final blow to this person?”

For once, I didn’t fight against the pain or the hate. Instead, I embraced it, letting it fuel me as I saw my purple chakra slowly become tainted in a black hue. “It does.”

“Oh, I can see why Kidōmaru was afraid. You are indeed compatible with the Curse Seal of Hell—”

“I will never let you have Yuki!”