Chapter 245: Arthur’s Cruelty
The statement struck Kimimaro instantly, and in that moment, everything clicked into place.
Arthur was indeed the one who had facilitated the healing—the sudden sting he felt on his thigh. But more than that: his "healing" had not been a complete remedy but a mere patch to a far heavier underlying issue.
Kimimaro continued to cough as he struggled to find his bearings. With trembling hands, he grasped the earth for support, fighting against the urge to crumple entirely.
"What did you do?" he growled in defiance and desperation.
Arthur paused, finally turning to face him. Without even a shred of amusement, he revealed, "You have a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta... Brittle bone disease is what it's really known as, and it wouldn't show up on record for more than one hundred years..."
No one would have known this fact since they weren't from earth nor had the medical expertise like Arthur had. It was also ironic considering Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai was all about bone manipulation.
The revelation settled over the Sound shinobi hard. Because inside, he knew that Arthur was telling the truth.
Brittle bone disease—the cruel irony struck at Kimimaro's very identity. He had spent everything perfecting the manipulation of his bones, shaping and harnessing them as tools, and yet, somewhere within him, the twisted truth was too hard to bear.
The weakness he had felt, the moments of dizziness, the myriad times his body had faltered under the strain of his talents. It had all led to this moment, a culmination of a disease that rendered him both a principal and a prisoner to his own craft.
Arthur stood over him with a cold gaze.
"You see," he began, "the day I treated you, I made sure to give the right dosage—knowing precisely when it would wear off." Kimimaro's vision began to blur. "What Kabuto should have done back in the Sound Village was to monitor you for at least a week. That would have allowed them to keep tabs on your condition. But your pitiful Sannin didn't let him."