The clan was cautious of him, fearful even. A small bit of Katsuo had hoped that Kimimaro's ascension to patriarch would dilute the perception Shikotsumyaku users had among the clan, that maybe they could move towards appreciating their Kekkei Genkai.
He was dutifully wrong. The public opinion of Shikotsumyaku users was formed from generations of enforced superstitions and stereotypes. It was said that the first Shikotsumyaku user had desecrated the corpse of Kaguya herself, and was thus cursed with bones that never stopped growing.
The red dots on their forehead that they bared since birth was seen as a permanent mark of their ancestor's crimes.
The Shikotsumyaku users were treated differently depending on the patriarch. Most were punished to isolation and captivity whenever the Kaguya weren't in a battle, as well as never getting the opportunity to foster children of their own.
A few patriarchs were more extreme in their measures. Hachiro, the clan's last Shikotsumyaku user, was forced to fight a group of clan members whenever he wanted food. He was barred from using lethal force, while the members came at him with the intention to kill.
During the Third Great Ninja War, he tried to desert, but was caught by Kyo himself, who took his right arm (which became the sword he used in battle). He eventually grew the arm back and successfully fled, only to get killed by a Konoha genin who'd thought he was an Iwa-nin.
The day of his death, March 22nd, was declared as a holiday within the clan, claiming they'd finally rid themselves of their curse. Of course, that hadn't been true at all.
They'd started their movement out of the Land of Water, which meant a big battle was along the horizon. Katsuo couldn't have the clan fearing himself or Kimimaro, so it was up to him to disprove the reputation Shikotsumyaku users had until this point.
It was easier said than done.
The other children were the easiest to win over. He'd already had their respect, having led most of their training sessions and being hailed a prodigy before the tournament. The bias within their mind hadn't grown to the extent that the adults had as well, so he was able to persuade them to a different line of thinking.
He hadn't made even a lick of progress with the adults. Maybe if he was older himself he might have had more success, but being a child made it impossible to get through to them.
That was what brought him to the situation before him. He'd originally planned for him and Kimimaro to flee to Konoha after their clan's genocide, but his memories of the future weren't as certain as he thought, so he'd have to work with what he had.
He'd never convince the clan members to join an existing village willingly, if any villages would take their clan in at all, which meant they'd have to conquer one for themselves.
Something more static would allow for them to grow their strength. He wasn't sure if the threat Madara and the Akatsuki posed still existed, but it was better to be prepared just in case. They needed to target somewhere smaller though, and built up from there.
Amegakure and Kusagakure were immediately crossed off the list. He wasn't ready to face off against someone like Pain or Orochimaru. Takigakure possessed a jinchuriki, and they'd have to cross through the Land of Earth to get to Hoshigakure.
This left Tanigakure as their greatest chance of success. His memories hadn't signaled any significant shinobi hailing from the valley-hidden village, and the journey there wouldn't be that long.
The problem was, the Kaguya as a whole weren't as strong as they believed. Kyo had fought a handful of Chunin within his lifetime, so it was fair to assume that was his skill level, but in the clan who'd fought him— besides Kimimaro of course, had even been able to hold a candle to the previous patriarch.
Even Tanigakure should have at least a Jonin level shinobi, if not the kage himself, which puts them at a major disadvantage. He and Kimimaro couldn't fight an entire village alone, and it didn't help that Katsuo hadn't fought Kyo, so he didn't know where exactly he stood on the strength spectrum either.
If he had the support of the clan adults, cultivating strength might have been easier, but for now he had to stick to the other children. The group of fifteen barring himself met in his clearing every morning, where Katsuo would try to instruct them.
It hadn't borne much fruition yet. Katsuo wasn't the greatest teacher, or even a good one at all. Prior to Kimimaro's ascension to patriarch, the clan kids would just follow him around while he did his own training, copying his movements until they grew too tired.
If the clan had other Shikotsumyaku users the method might have been able to work, but his fighting style used the Kekkei Genkai too much to be copied by someone without it. This meant there wasn't much the boy could instruct the others on.
He'd have to ignore taijutsu in his lessons and focus on something else. Ninjutsu wasn't his strong suit, but he had decent enough chakra control to instruct beginners.
Katsuo had lucked out with his earth affinity. The innate chakra of the land a person was born in affects their chakra nature. It was why most Konoha-nin had fire affinities, Kiri and water, Kumo and lightning, and so on.
The Kaguya being nomads meant they'd been to a great number of places. Katsuo had little doubt that they held a diverse set of affinities amongst their clan. They'd spent the most time in the Land of Earth, which showed in their sparse Ninjutsu catalog being entirely earth release.
Katsuo could at least teach the others with an earth affinity the Jutsu that he knew, but he had no way of knowing who had which affinity. That was what had brought him to his current dilemma.
Shinobi were usually well off, which meant there was a great market for the tools they used, even amongst civilian merchants. It was why caravans got attacked so frequently, bandits hoping to steal a high quality sword meant for shinobi, or even Jutsu for themselves.
They'd never obtain the latter, as villages hogged every Jutsu they could find for themselves, but that didn't mean caravans were completely devoid of chakra tools. They usually carried the most basic of seals, but what Katsuo was searching for was chakra paper.
For rogue bandits who knew the bare-minimum about chakra, if they knew anything at all, the paper was completely useless, making it more likely to be salvaged after a raid. His own clan had constantly complained about the caravans they raided having little beyond 'cheap paper' within.
Katsuo knew better than that, though, and the seemingly cheap goods would be the first step to building the strength of the Kaguya.
He'd been following the same caravan for about an hour. An older man on a horse led the way, two carts covered in curtains trailing shortly behind him. Two civilian bodyguards flanked to both sides of the man, thick swords of steel bobbing up and down as their own horses moved as well.
Katsuo's real threat, however, was the four shinobi flanking the carts from all sides. The leaf symbol on their headbands was a testament to where they hailed from. Katsuo silently cursed to himself when he first saw them. He'd wanted to avoid Konoha-nin as much as possible, so that their journey to Tanigakure could go unnoticed.
He'd have to hope the village saw it as just another bandit attack, and not the infamous clan finally turning their gaze towards the leaf-hidden village. Luckily for Katsuo, none of the shinobi sported the attire of a Chunin or Jonin, which meant they were all Genin.
Hopefully they'd be unimportant enough for their deaths to be brushed aside.
Katsuo considered the avenue he should take for his approach, scanning his soon to be opponents. Protecting the rear was a strongly-built man, perhaps in his mid to late twenties. A dark green padded shirt matched the similarly colored cargo pants he wore, a skinny sword posted on his back.
To the right side was another man, this one much skinnier than his rear-protecting counterpart. Long, muddy-brown hair draped from his head, covering almost the entirety of his back. He wore a jet-black kimono, a dark blue jacket sitting atop it.
To the left was a shorter, more rotund woman. The spiking brown hair atop her head, as well as the red shirt and marks on her cheeks signaled her clan; the Akimichi.
At the front near the two civilian guards was a young, black haired girl. If Katsuo had to guess he'd say she was around twelve or thirteen, meaning she'd only recently been minted. She wore a gray collared shirt and slick black pants, an utility belt located on her hip.
She looked painfully average, but upon further inspection Katsuo saw something that made his blood chill ever-so-slightly. Stitched onto the back of her shirt was a familiar red-and-white circle. If he hadn't already come to the conclusion that this world was different from that of his memories, the sight of this girl would have been his biggest signifier.
An Uchiha.
It looked as if his mission was going to be much more difficult than he originally thought. Not only was he greatly outnumbered, but he was facing two clanned Shinobi. Part of him wanted to turn back, go home and try again with a different caravan.
The other part of him was trying his hardest not to immediately rush in. They were Genin no matter the clan they bore. If he couldn't even defeat the four of them, they'd have gotten slaughtered when they reached Tanigakure.
His hands blurred as he began signaling, his right hand quickly shooting to the ground. 'Doton: Doroku Gaishi'. A thick layer of rock erupted from the ground, splitting one of the carts in two and temporarily splitting the shinobi into duos.
Katsuo's hand blurred again, not wanting to give his enemies any time to gain composure. His body started to sink into the ground below him, until he was completely submerged. Even with the layers of earth above him, he could clearly see what was happening above.
He burst outward from where he'd been tunneling, his left hand latching onto the ankle of the rear-guard shinobi. A shout in surprise turned to one in pain as a spear of white erupted from his palm, going through the man's leg.
The man grit his teeth and swung his sword towards Katsuo's exposed back, the steel meeting a bone that'd extended from his spine. Katsuo kicked off the ground, bringing himself to his feet while also slamming the man forward.
The man quickly raised his sword, just narrowly fast enough to block Katsuo's spear-tipped palm. A kick to Kaguya's left knee saw him lose his balance slightly, allowing the man to climb to his feet.
Katsuo rushed forward towards the man, not wanting to give him any breathing room. He was forced to halt his progress as a giant fist smashed the ground where he would've been standing. Katsuo jumped back to avoid the other hand, which was intending to grab him.
The built man went through hand signs, his throat bulging before three small balls of fire hurled towards Katsuo. Katsuo rushed through his own hand signs, a thick wall of rock erupting to meet the rays of heat.
It wouldn't be long before the Uchiha and the other man joined the fight as well. Katsuo had to take out at least one of them before that happened. The built man was obviously reeling from his injured leg, and all of them could see it.
The Akimichi would no doubt try to draw attention away from her injured comrade. He'd have to find a way to avoid the amount of space her clan's Jutsu was able to cover if he wanted to take advantage of his surprise attack.
Ideas flashed through his head. He was obviously at a numbers disadvantage, so lessening that should be his biggest priority. He'd been practicing the 'Tsuchi-Bunshin', but always seemed to pour too much chakra into it. It was a high-risk high-reward situation. If he messed up, he'd be without half of his chakra, but a successful clone would allow him a bit of breathing room.
His chakra seeped from his feet into the ground beneath, the large drain something he hadn't grown used to yet. He willed the chakra towards the injured man, unsure if it'd hold against the Akimichi well.
With a ram hand sign, a clone of him formed from the ground behind the injured man, its form barely finished forming before it struck forward. Katsuo rushed towards the Akimichi, dodging the attempts to turn him into mush.
She blocked Katsuo's leading hook, but his swift rising knee caught her by surprise. Katsuo's other hand surged forward, a spear of white erupting from his palm. Seeing as she couldn't block it, the Akimichi tried to dodge. A jet of bone erupted from Katsuo's still extended knee, impaling through her side.
The sudden damage caused her dodge to slow. Katsuo pushed his spiked palm towards her neck, but was met by an enlarged hand. The hand grabbed a strong hold of his arm, ignoring the spear that'd rammed into its palm.
Katsuo was thrown into the air, a flurry of shuriken following shortly after. Small cuts decorated his body, but they weren't deep enough to cause any problems.
The spear within his palm extended until it was completely out of his body. With the help of Kimimaro, Katsuo was finally able to separate his bones from their static locations in his skeleton. He couldn't produce dozens of swords like his brother, but it'd been a great addition to his repertoire.
He cocked his arm back, the spear rocketing towards the Akimichi. The woman hadn't been expecting it, and the spear of white lodged through her leg, pinning her in one place. Katsuo began his descent from the air, his spiked fist cocked back.
Enlarged hands shot up in an attempt to block, but gravity served as a powerful backer for Katsuo. The force sent the woman's own hands back into her face, causing her to fall onto her back.
Katsuo landed on the woman's body, spears of bone already prepared in his palms. In a flurry of quick movements, the woman saw her body filled with holes. With a strike to her neck for good measure, Katsuo rose from the Akimichi.
He turned to help his clone against the built man, only to see it had been taken out by the Uchiha and the skinnier man. To make it worse, the injured man was still up and kicking. The harsh look on their faces was a clear sign of their reaction to their teammate's defeat.
Wanting to take advantage of the moment of shock, Katsuo rushed forward. A great jet of fire caused him to jump to the side, abandoning his attack.
The Uchiha stepped forwards, streaks of tears forming from her eyes. Her black iris turned red, and two tomoe began spinning within the crimson.
Katsuo fought to not falter under the intense gaze. It seemed the battle was just beginning.