Chapter 263: Endless Cycle
The world around a certain Sound shinobi swirled as he slowly regained consciousness. It was Kimimaro, and he was feeling the weightlessness encasing him. Then he heard his ears ringing. He coughed slightly, an instinctual response reflecting his sickness. To his surprise, no blood coated his lips; it seemed as if he had been reborn and given a second chance—or some twisted version of it.
As he steadied himself, he remembered bits and pieces: his lineage, the servitude under Orochimaru, and most vividly, the moment he had died.
He placed a hand over his head, thinking to himself how was this possible?
Out of the fog stepped a familiar figure with silver hair filtering through the foliage. Clad in the garb of a Sound ninja, Kaito stood with their signature purple rope tied around his waist.
"You..." Kimimaro gasped in disbelief.
"Yes, me," Arthur, cloaked as Kaito, coolly replied. "Kimimaro, as promised, I've revived you. And now I'll kill you again and again until you understand who your true lord is."
Kimimaro became shocked as clarity slowly returned. The memories flooded him—he had been a loyal servant under Orochimaru until Arthur, with his mysterious powers, had intervened, healing him and orchestrating his own death as if to erase the chains that bound him.
But how can one trick death? Kimimaro felt a primal instinct to attack, and before he could think, he swiped his hand: "Digital Shrapnel!"
A bone bullet hurtled toward Arthur. Yet, to Kimimaro's utter astonishment, the bullet struck Arthur's forehead and simply fell to the ground. Arthur hadn't even moved!
A deep silence settled with tension following. Arthur finally broke the quiet, "You can try as many times as you'd like. Fight back, waste your Kekkei Genkai. But in the end, I'll keep killing you till you learn."
Instinctively, Kimimaro's body surged with desperation, propelling him to flee. The moment he turned, he collided again with Arthur, who swiftly seized his arm and twisted him to the ground.