Naruto: Eating Kaido's Azure Dragon Devil Fruit-Chapter 348: Ice Release and Haku

After leaving the cave where Kimimaro had been imprisoned with him.

Sora brought Kimimaro back to the unmanned small island they had previously used as a temporary stop.

"Try attacking me."

Sora stood on the beach, speaking to Kimimaro, whose eyes still held a trace of bewilderment.

Kimimaro paused for a moment, then nodded.

Puff! Puff!

Several sharp bone spikes instantly pierced through the skin of his palms, stabbing towards Sora.

The movement was crisp and clean, completely unlike that of a four or five-year-old child.

Sora praised him inwardly; truly worthy of the Kaguya Clan’s purest Shikotsumyaku, this talent was indeed astonishing.

He casually sidestepped to avoid the attack, his finger flicking lightly and precisely striking Kimimaro’s wrist.

Kimimaro let out a muffled grunt, the bone spikes retracting into his palms as he staggered back a few steps.

"Your strength is passable, but your speed is too slow, and your application is even cruder," Sora commented.

Kimimaro lowered his head, a flash of disappointment in his eyes.

"I... I’m just a weapon..."

"Forget that word."

Sora interrupted him: "From now on, you are Kaguya Kimimaro, a ninja with unlimited potential, not anyone’s weapon."

He walked over to Kimimaro and said in a deep voice:

"Your Kekkei Genkai is very strong, but it needs proper guidance and hard training. Blindly relying on your bones will only keep you from progressing."

"Watch my movements carefully."

Sora slowed down and demonstrated a set of the most basic taijutsu movements: generating power, moving, dodging—every detail was exceptionally clear.

Kimimaro’s eyes widened, watching without blinking, striving to imprint every image into his mind.

He had never received guidance like this before.

Back in his clan, those people only ever locked him up, sending him to fight and kill when needed. No one had ever told him how to become stronger, or why he should become stronger.

An emotion called "hope" slowly began to sprout in his cold heart.

Over the next few days, Sora remained on this island, starting to provide Kimimaro with the most fundamental guidance.

Kimimaro’s learning ability and perseverance surprised even Sora a little.

It felt like seeing himself back when he was still in the Ninja Academy.

No matter how tough or tiring it got, Kimimaro gritted his teeth and persevered, never complaining. The light in those originally hollow eyes grew brighter and brighter.

His dependence on and reverence for Sora also increased day by day.

Sora knew that the seed of loyalty had been planted; it only needed time and nutrients to grow strong.

One evening, as Sora was instructing Kimimaro in chakra control, the space in front of them suddenly twisted.

The White Snake Sage appeared in her diminished snake form.

"Master, there is news about the child you instructed me to find."

Sora’s spirits lifted: "Speak."

"According to information passed on by my serpentine children, in a nearly abandoned town in the northern part of the Land of Water, they found a child matching your description."

"Black hair, delicate features, about four or five years old, timid by nature, often bullied by the other children in the town."

"Most importantly, he is suspected of having used the power of Ice Release. Once, while being bullied, he unintentionally formed ice to protect himself."

A look of understanding flashed in Sora’s eyes.

So it was him, after all. Haku.

"The specific location."

The White Snake Sage immediately reported a detailed address.

"Well done."

Sora nodded: "Continue to monitor any movements in Kirigakure, and report immediately if anything unusual happens."

"Also, deploy your snake population. I don’t need you to set up surveillance over the entire ninja world, but if I need to find someone, you must give me accurate information within a week."

Having said that, Sora squeezed out a drop of blood exuding a life-giving aura, which drifted towards the White Snake Sage.

Although the master-servant contract existed, this would maximize the mobilization of the White Snake Sage’s initiative.

After all, the current White Snake Sage, like Tagitsuhime, was only one step away from becoming a蛟龙 (a legendary dragon/serpent).

"Yes, Master."

The White Snake Sage accepted the blood and responded excitedly.

Kimimaro, standing nearby, watched all of this quietly.

Although he was young, he understood that the talking snake just now was no ordinary summoning animal.

This gave him a deeper understanding of Sora’s mystique and power.

"Kimimaro," Sora looked at him.

"Yes," Kimimaro immediately stood up straight, his small face tense.

"We’re leaving here to go get another companion."

"Companion?"

A hint of confusion appeared in Kimimaro’s eyes; to him, "companion" was a distant and unfamiliar word.

"Mm, a child who might be in a similar situation to you."

Sora didn’t explain further and reached out his hand: "Hold on tight."

Kimimaro unhesitatingly grabbed hold of Sora’s clothing.

Sora’s chakra surged around him, and the light of lightning abruptly appeared.

"Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"

Swish!

In an instant, their two figures transformed into a streak of lightning and vanished from the beach, heading north through the Land of Water at tremendous speed.

...

The northern part of the Land of Water, that run-down little town.

Beside a garbage heap on the edge of town, several slightly older children were pushing and shoving a ragged child.

"Monster! A monster with no parents!"

"Get lost! Just looking at you brings bad luck!"

The child surrounded in the middle was Haku.

He hugged his head, curling up his body, his delicate little face covered in tears and mud, his eyes filled with fear and confusion.

He didn’t understand why he was treated like this.

He just wanted to play with others...

Just then, one of the children picked up a stone from the ground and threw it hard at Haku’s forehead.

Haku closed his eyes in terror.

The expected pain never came.

An inexplicable chill suddenly surged forth.

Crack!

A thin mirror of ice abruptly appeared before him, blocking the stone.

The ice shattered, falling to the ground.

The older children were stunned for a moment, then burst into even louder jeers and insults.

"See! I told you he was a monster!"

"He uses evil magic!"

Haku looked at the broken ice on the ground, then at his own hand, which had unconsciously lifted, his eyes filled with panic.

It was always like this...

Every time he encountered danger, this strange power would appear...

It was because of this that everyone hated him, called him a monster...

He closed his eyes in despair, tears flowing even more heavily.

"Is bullying the weak fun?"

A calm voice, yet carrying an invisible pressure, sounded.

The older children were startled and looked towards the source.

They saw a person wearing a white tiger mask and a black robe with red clouds, who had somehow appeared not far away.

Beside him stood a pale child with white hair and green pupils.

It was Sora and Kimimaro.

Sora looked at the scene before him, frowning slightly.

In the original story, Haku’s mother was driven to death by villagers because of her Kekkei Genkai, and Haku had been left to wander the streets since then, suffering all kinds of bullying.

Seeing it with his own eyes now still made him feel displeased.

"Who... who are you? Mind your own business!"

The leader of the older children bravely shouted.

Sora ignored him and walked towards Haku.

"Hey! Didn’t you hear me!"

The children, feeling ignored, became somewhat enraged. They picked up broken stones and wooden sticks from the ground, ready to rush at him.

But the moment they took a step, they felt a suffocating pressure bearing down on them!

In an instant, the children’s faces turned pale, and their legs went weak.

They stared in terror at the masked figure, then scattered screaming, tumbling away as they fled.

Haku timidly looked up.

The first thing he saw was Sora, standing in front of him, looking down at him.

That eerie mask scared him a little, but strangely, he didn’t feel any malice from this person.

Then, he saw Kimimaro beside Sora.

The冷漠 (coldness and detachment) in Kimimaro’s green pupils made him feel a sense of shared misfortune.

"You... you..." Haku’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Sora crouched down and said calmly:

"Don’t be afraid, we won’t hurt you."

He pointed to the broken ice on the ground: "Is this your power?"

Haku’s face instantly became even paler; he shook his head vigorously: "No... it’s not! I’m not a monster! Please, don’t hate me..."

Seeing Haku’s terrified expression, Sora sighed inwardly.

In the ninja world, Kekkei Genkai were a symbol of power, but in some ignorant places, they became the original sin for exclusion and persecution.

Sora said affirmatively: "This isn’t a monster."

"This is a talent, a precious Kekkei Genkai called ’Ice Release’."

Haku was stunned, forgetting to cry, staring blankly at Sora.

No one had ever... evaluated this "strange" power of his like this before.

Talent?

Precious?

"Re... really?"

"Of course."

Sora reached out and patted Haku’s head, asking, "What’s your name?"

"I... my name is Haku."

"Haku, that’s a very nice name."

Sora nodded: "Are you willing to come with us? To a place where no one will call you a monster, where you can peacefully learn and control your power."

Haku’s heart pounded violently.

Leave here?

Go to a place where no one bullies him, no one calls him a monster?

And also... learn to control this power?

For him, this was something he wouldn’t even dare to dream about.

He looked at Sora, then at Kimimaro, who had been silently standing by.

Kimimaro sensed his gaze and looked back at him. Although his face showed little expression, his eyes seemed less cold than before.

A powerful longing surged in Haku’s heart.

He nodded emphatically: "I... I am willing to go with you."

Sora reached out his hand, just as he had done with Kimimaro before: "Then, let’s go."

Haku hesitated for a moment, then extended his own dirty little hand and gently placed it in Sora’s palm.

A warm feeling came from the palm, dispelling the chill and fear in his heart.

Sora pulled Haku to his feet and said to Kimimaro: "From today on, he is your companion, Kimimaro."

Kimimaro looked at Haku, who seemed even more timid than himself, nodded, and forced out two stiff words: "Hello."

"You... hello."

Looking at these two children, who in the future were originally destined for tragic fates, the corner of Sora’s mouth lifted slightly beneath his mask.

Shikotsumyaku and Ice Release, both acquired.

"We should go back."

Sora once again activated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, taking hold of Kimimaro and Haku, one in each hand.

A flash of lightning, and the three vanished from this run-down little town.