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Kimimaro in Naruto


Kimimaro, an antagonist, was the leader of the Sound Five (Hidden Sound Shinobi Five People) and sole survivor of the Kaguya clan.


Kimimaro possessed a rare Kekkei Genkai; Shikotsumyaku which resulted in his own clan fearing his abilities and thus, he was locked up in a cage unless he was needed for battle. At some point, he was recruited by Orochimaru and devoted his life to the latter’s ambitions.


All About Kimimaro


NameKimimaro
AliasNone
First Appearance in AnimeNaruto Episode 118
Japanese Voice ActorToshiyuki Morikawa

Makoto Tsumura (child)
English Voice ActorKieth Silverstein

Kari Wahlgren (child)
BirthdateJune 15
GenderMale
StatusDeceased
AffiliationVillage Hidden in the Sound
TeamSound Five
ClanKaguya


Kimimaro’s Background



The clan patriarch feared Kimimaro’s skills since he was a rare holder of his clan’s Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai and kept him caged unless he was required for combat. When they stormed Kirigakure, seemingly for no other reason than to slaughter and display their savagery, the Kaguya clan was destroyed. They slaughtered their opponents after underestimating their defenses, Kimimaro was the lone survivor.


After a brief period of wandering, Kimimaro was eventually discovered by Orochimaru and chosen as one of his most devoted ninja. Kimimaro found a meaning in his life under Orochimaru because he wanted to make sure that his master’s goals and aspirations would be carried out. Kimimaro did not mind such a fate if it meant helping his master even though Orochimaru took him under his wing only to be one of his future hosts.


Soon after, Kimimaro ran into Jūgo, a fellow berserker with whom he instantly connected. The events that resulted in Kimimaro being marked with the cursed seal that Orochimaru created from his research on Jūgo. This was after Kimimaro coaxed him into being experimented on in the hopes that it would benefit him, were caused by their friendship with Jūgo.



Kimimaro became the first member of the newly dubbed Sound Five after using his newly discovered abilities to defeat all four of the Sound Four by himself. However, Kimimaro contracted an unidentified sickness that rendered him worthless to Orochimaru. Due to his unusual anatomy and the dearth of medical knowledge about his tribe, Kabuto Yakushi tried to heal him but was unable to do so.


Thus Kimimaro was forced to stay in bed in order to prolong his waning life because he was unable to take part in the Konoha Crush, which Kabuto claimed was the reason for their defeat and retreat. It was revealed that Kimimaro served as a herald of shinobi clans in the Land of Sound, such as the Fūma clan, to induce them to vow fealty to Orochimaru.


Three Kusagakure genin were slain by the Sound Five after they infiltrated Konoha during the Chūnin Exams so that Orochimaru could pass for Shiore. He coughed blood at this moment but chose to disregard it. Kimimaro’s illness, however, fully shows when he takes part in the murder of the Fourth Kazekage and his bodyguards so that Orochimaru and the Sound Four can pose as them.


In order to keep him alive for as long as possible, Kabuto sends him back to Otogakure (Village Hidden in the Sound) where he receives strict medical attention. Kimimaro started sobbing inwardly when he learned that Orochimaru could no longer employ him due to his deteriorating condition.


Kimimaro During Sasuke Recovery Mission


When the Sound Four delayed too long in transporting Sasuke Uchiha to Otogakure, Kabuto planned to wake Kimimaro and coax him into aiding them even if it meant he would die. Kimimaro decided that bringing Sasuke, his replacement, is the only thing he can do for Orochimaru as he dragged himself out of bed.


Kimimaro visited Jūgo before he departed and reassured him that Sasuke is his legacy despite Jūgo’s concern for his health and thanked him for their friendship.



When Kimimaro found Tayuya and the casket that contained Sasuke, he threatened to kill her unless she killed some of the Konoha ninja, claiming that he had only allowed her to survive because she had a duty to fulfill. Then, after overcoming Naruto Uzumaki and escaping the barrel, Sasuke emerged from the coffin with Kimimaro protecting him as he fled in the direction of Otogakure.


As Kimimaro revealed Orochimaru’s intention for Sasuke, Rock Lee showed up and kicked Kimimaro and impressed him as a more formidable foe than Naruto. When Naruto began to pursue Sasuke, Kimimaro ran after him but Lee managed to seize his bone and let Naruto escape.


At first, Kimimaro appeared to be more than a match for Lee but as he began employing the Drunken Fist, Lee took the initiative. Kimimaro was unable to respond to his movements even after he figured out what Lee was using. He acknowledged he couldn’t read Lee’s actions after Lee succeeded in attacking him. To defeat Lee, he then turned on the first phase of his cursed seal and he then sliced Lee’s face with his bones, bringing him to the ground.



He knocked Lee down again as the latter tried to get back up. Thinking he had killed Lee, Kimimaro started to pursue Naruto but Lee managed to stand back up. He almost killed Lee by catching his kick using his bones. However, Gaara arrived and saved Lee at this moment and started fighting against Kimimaro.


Kimimaro realized Gaara was a rather more formidable foe and that his sand was a potent defense, so he withdrew his bones. Recognising the challenge of pulling Gaara into close quarters, he assumed Gaara wasn’t a close combat fighter.



Kimimaro attempted to employ his Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets while avoiding Gaara’s strikes when he began to attack him. He reminded out that Gaara was dumb to fight where there was no sand because all of his methods required sand. In order to divert Kimimaro’s attention while he grabbed hold of him by the feet, Gaara called his attention upward. He then continued by explaining that as long as he had his sand, he could utilize it to create more.


When Gaara’s sand imprisoned and crushed Kimimaro, he managed to survive by forming a layer of bone beneath his skin. After breaking free, he turned on the Cursed Seal of Earth’s initial phase. Kimimaro acknowledged that he had underestimated Gaara but vowed not to repeat the error.


Gaara’s Armour of Sand prevented Kimimaro’s attempt to attack him after he managed to avoid being buried by the tsunami of sand that he unleashed. He then utilized his two-part dance to kill Gaara and restrain him, but it was unable to penetrate his ultimate defense.


Kimimaro’s Death



Kimimaro starts to lose focus when Gaara makes fun of his devotion to Orochimaru after he was buried 200 meters down, where the pressure may break steel. However, Gaara and Lee just evaded the battlefield’s transformation into a forest of bones thanks to Kimimaro’s last dance, which left the former’s chakra reserves drained.


They managed to hang onto a little cloud of sand but Kimimaro rose from one of the bones, fueled by his fury of hearing Orochimaru belittled, and prepared to sever the two into shreds. However, he eventually passed away while he was standing due to his condition just before he could kill Gaara. Later, Gaara came to the conclusion that no one can overcome loneliness, even if doing so requires taking care of someone like Orochimaru.


Kimimaro During Fourth Shinobi War


Kimimaro was resurrected by Kabuto Yakushi to battle the Allied Shinobi Forces in advance of the Fourth Shinobi World War. In addition to Chiyo and Hanzō, he joins the group that Chūkichi asks for help from after being mobilized. With this improvised team, he later comes to the surviving members of the Surprise Attack Division, where Deidara is held captive.



Kimimaro pursued the retreating opposition while reflecting on how Orochimaru’s chakra now flows through him and his determination to accomplish his given tasks.



When enemy reinforcements arrive from the Fifth Division to help, Kimimaro attacks them with his Shikotsumyaku, which is able to pierce even the chakra-infused blades of the samurai. By the next day, Kimimaro had fatally impaled a number of these samurai. He then sees Naruto’s shadow clone arrive and adds that this battle would go differently than their previous one.


He is attacked by Naruto’s Wind Release: Rasenshuriken but he manages to dodge it, and commented that Naruto’s appearance shows that time has passed. When the Reanimation Technique is released, a shocked Kimimaro who was still fighting the Alliance’s members, was engulfed in a sort of light before his soul soared from his disintegrating body to return to the afterlife.


Kimimaro’s Personality


Kimimaro, unlike the rest of his clan, had no desire to engage in combat or murder, and he solely regarded his talents as a way to help others. He was a quiet, collected person who would give his all to the task at hand. Despite having a natural aptitude for warfare and special skills that made him the strongest of his clan, he was kind person when he was young which is seen by his love in flowers and his reluctance to hurt people he had no connection to.


His empathy and kindness for Jūgo, as he was one of the only people able to prevent Jūgo from losing control of himself, serve as further evidence of his tenderness. After hearing from Kimimaro that Sasuke, who shared his cursed seal, is his living legacy, Jūgo decided to join Sasuke’s gang and obey Sasuke’s commands without hesitation.


Kimimaro had a strong sense of devotion as seen for his master Orochimaru and he pledged his purpose to only serving Orochimaru until his death. Kimimaro’s relation with Orochimaru was similar to Haku’s with Zabuza, the difference was that Orochimaru ultimately lost interest in him when he became of no use to him.


His devotion for Orochimaru was enough for him to fight against dangerous opponents such as Naruto, Lee and Gaara, which ultimately resulted in his death. Even after being reincarnated by Kabuto Yakushi, Kimimaro still expressed his devotion to Orochimaru and wanted to carry out Kabuto’s instructions.


Kimimaro differs from his four teammates in three ways despite his verbal disrespect for his opponents and excessive underestimation of their abilities. The first is that he has a sense of honour in battle, as seen when he paused to give Lee time to take his medicine (which he was unaware of it being alcohol that would strengthen Lee’s combat abilities).


Second, Orochimaru had faith in him because he had no flaws that would prevent him from moving forward and even thought that his team’s tardiness was intolerable. Third, he rarely expresses emotions other than surprise, with the exception of those related to his principles, as demonstrated by his wrath before dying at Gaara’s insult to his faith in Orochimaru or his sadness after learning that his assistance to Orochimaru was no longer required.


Kimimaro’s Appearance


Kimimaro was characterized by his light skin, bright green eyes, angular features, two scarlet dots in his forehead which all members of his clan possessed. He had shoulder-length white hair, which he wore parted in two different places on either side of his face and divided down the middle of his head.


Even though his early style was quite similar to his later one, Kimimaro’s hair was longer when he was younger and was pulled back in a loose ponytail towards the middle of his back. Kimimaro wore a modified version of the traditional Oto-nin outfit while serving Orochimaru. It included a light lavender, loose-firing, long-sleeved, zip-up shirt and black pants that were cut off at the ankles. He also wore traditional shinobi sandals, and a purple, rope-like belt that was tied around the waist in an inverted bow. Additionally, he wore two red hair accessories in the shape of tubes, one on each side of his head, holding two strands of his silvery-white hair in place.


At the base of his throat, he has a circular tattoo of three curving lines that is part of his Cursed Seal of Earth. With the exception of the grey sclerae that are typical of all previous ninja who used that technique to reincarnate, Kimimaro’s appearance was essentially unchanged after his death.


Kimimaro’s Abilities


Orochimaru and Kabuto regarded Kimimaro as the most potent member of the Kaguya clan, with combat abilities considerably superior to those of the entire Sound Four. Before Sasuke, he was the only person who could easily manage Jūgo. Even when close to death, Kimimaro’s might was enough to intimidate the ordinarily haughty Tayuya and engage in a sustained combat with Naruto, Lee and Gaara without actually losing to any of them.


He avoided being imprisoned after his reincarnation and slew a lot of foes before Itachi Uchiha had Kubuto release the Impure World Reincarnation. He was able to surround himself in a wall of white smoke, which was powerful enough to repel several enemies away from him.


Shikotsumyaku


Shikotsumyaku was a kekkei genkai that allowed its user to control their own skeleton structure as a weapon which was the source of Kimimaro’s skills. In particular, it enabled Kimimaro to control the osteoblast and osteoclast cells, which are in charge of constructing or destroying bone formation.


With complete control over the amount of calcium present in his bones, he was able to alter their destiny or malleability. In addition, Kimimaro claimed that his bones were more durable than tempered steel.



He could use his bones as taijutsu attacks to give him a variety of abilities, as well as nearly indestructible defense that could withstand being crushed despite being buried under 200 metres of compressed sand. Not only that, it could withstand most of the impact from even a chakra-enhanced blade and cut through regular shuriken.


Kimimaro used this ability to wield his bones as weapons in battle. He also has the power to sprout a whole forest of enormous bone blades and can even combine with one of them to climb out of the ground and launch a lethal sneak strike. According to Orochimaru, this is the supreme taijutsu skill, which is highly regarded, and the major reason he wanted Kimimaro to be his next vessel.


A user of the Shikotsumyaku powers, such as Kimimaro, does, however, have a different physiological structure than others because, according to Kabuto Yakushi, there was insufficient knowledge of his body to provide any medical care of his fatal disease.


Physical Prowess and Chakra


Kimimaro was well-suited for close-quarters combat due to his skills which included incredible taijutsu prowess along with equally amazing speed, agility and dexterity. He was able to easily fight hundreds of Naruto’s Nine-Tails-enhanced shadow clones while preventing himself from being hit. Kimimaro created numerous lethal “dances” by fusing his Shikotsumyaku and taijutsu skills. Lee, a taijutsu expert, hailed Kimimaro as a master of the art who doesn’t waste any time.


Kimimaro had a tremendous deal of proficiency with kenjutsu; he could use his bone blade to parry shuriken and stab with such speed that he could produce afterimages to confuse his foes before striking them fatally. He was also incredibly strong, dragging himself out of the tough, chakra-infused sand of Gaara, which is ordinarily difficult, if not impossible.


Kimimaro had an extremely strong will and endurance as well as even while his deteriorating physique would have made movement physically impossible, he was still able to force it and proved to be a dangerous foe. He also maintained a remarkable degree of stamina as he could fight Naruto, Rock Lee and Gaara all at one without tiring.


Despite his failing physique, Kimimaro also possessed a powerful chakra that was visible to the naked eye.

Cursed Seal


Kimimaro, like many of Orochimaru’s closest disciples, received a cursed seal that gave him extraordinary power. He wore the Cursed Seal of Earth, which is considered to be just as potent as the Cursed Seal of Heaven and to be the two seals that Orochimaru deployed that were the strongest. Even Jūgo, the Cursed Seal’s originator, was impressed by Kimimaro’s mastery of the spell, telling him that he was skilled enough to undergo a partial change.



When the Level 1 was active, it extended throughout their entire body in parallel and contorted lines. With dark grey skin, dark black eye sclerae, yellow eye irises, sharp teeth, six sizeable bone spines sticking out of his back and a long bone-spiked tail. He also has two dark black curves like markings under his eyes — one under each eye — as well as two as elongated eyebrows — one above each eye — Kimimaro resembled a dinosaur when in Level 2.



After reaching Level 2, Kimimaro’s fighting technique was altered. He became considerably slower but his physical strength improved to the point where he could easily tackle Gaara’s sand defenses and his skin thickened and hardened. That made it impossible for even Gaara’s sand to penetrate it. It also improved his capacity for healing, as seen by the fact that the tears in his flesh from earlier were promptly repaired as he released the power of his seal.


Kimimaro’s Quotes


(To Kabuto) “I’ve realized recently… that everyone is given life for a reason. Everyone has something important to accomplish. The quest to discover what that is… is the only freedom us humans have been given.”


(To Kabuto) “I must agree… I no longer have the capacity for metempsychosis… in fact it’s quite difficult to discover my purpose now that I’ve lost everything. However, I finally understand.. although he may not be me. I will bring in the new “container” here… even if it costs me my very life. This is how I show my thanks to Lord Orochimaru and my way of repaying my uselessness.”


(To Tayuya, about Sasuke) “This is an important “vessel” for that dream… but… you all were too late….”


(To Tayuya) “The reason I’ve yet to kill you is… you still have a mission to accomplish by staying alive. Please take put those… two trashes over there.”


(To Gaara) “Because of my body’s illness, I won’t last long… But.. that destruction will not happen for I am not alone. While I am fulfilling Orochimaru’s aspirations… I will stay in Orochimaru’s heart forever.”


(Last words) “I’m not brainwashed. Lord Orochimaru is the only one who understands me. You know nothing!”


Kimimaro in Other Media


Kimimaro is a playable character in the following video games:


  1. Naruto Mobile
  2. Naruto Shippūden : Ultimate Ninja 4
  3. Naruto Shippūden : Ultimate Ninja 5
  4. Naruto Shippūden : Ultimate Ninja Blazing
  5. Naruto Shippūden : Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
  6. Naruto Shippūden : Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
  7. Naruto Shippūden : Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations
  8. Naruto Shippūden : Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution
  9. Naruto x Boruto : Ninja Voltage
  10. Naruto : Gekitō Ninja Taisen! 4
  11. Naruto : Ninja Council 3
  12. Naruto : Shinobi Collection
  13. Naruto : Shinobi Collection Shippū Ranbu
  14. Naruto : The Broken Bond
  15. Naruto : Ultimate Ninja 3
  16. Naruto : Ultimate Ninja Online
  17. Naruto : Ultimate Ninja Storm


FAQs about Kimimaro


Q. What was so special about Kimimaro?

A. Kimimaro’s abilities came from his kekkei genkai, Shikotsumyaku, which allowed the user to manipulate their own skeletal structure as a means of combat. It specifically allowed Kimimaro to manipulate his osteoblast and osteoclast cells.


Q. What clan is Kimimaro from?

A. Kimimaro was born into the Kaguya clan as a rare holder of the clan’s kekkei genkai, Shikotsumyaku.


Q. What disease did Kimimaro have?

A. Kimimaro was suffering with toberculosis.


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