Kimimaro Biography

Kimimaro was the sole survivor of the Kaguya Clan, who were battle-loving barbarians. Being a rare owner of the kekkei genkai, Shikotsumyaku, Kimimaro's father, fearing his son's abilities, locked him up in a cage for most of his life, releasing him only when he was needed to fight for the clan. The Kaguya clan was wiped out when they attacked Kirigakure, seemingly for no reason other than desire to kill. Having underestimated their opponent's defenses, they were slaughtered, with only Kimimaro surviving.

With nowhere to go, Kimimaro began to wander, he was eventually found by Orochimaru, and recruited as one of his most loyal ninja. While belonging to a clan that loved killing, murder, and slaughter, and being the most powerful of this clan, Kimimaro was not truly violent, because he never really knew the outside world. Thus, the only reason he fought was because his clan needed him to do so, and being needed by someone was the one thing he truly desired. However, when he met Orochimaru, his desires changed to serve him, and to ensure the continuation of his master's dreams and ambitions. Kimimaro was selected to be one of Orochimaru's next bodies, primarily because of the rare kekkei genkai he possessed. However, Kimimaro was unfortunately afflicted by an unknown disease, and hence, was no longer useful to Orochimaru.

Kimimaro was a close friend of Jūgo, one of Orochimaru's test subjects, and was the only person capable of suppressing Jūgo's killing instincts. After hearing that Kimimaro had died in Part I to ensure Sasuke Uchiha reached Orochimaru, Jūgo believed that Kimimaro's spirit continued to live on in Sasuke.

Unlike the rest of his clan, the battle loving Kaguya clan, Kimimaro didn't have a particular interest in fighting or killing. He merely saw it as a means to be of use to others. He was calm and quiet individual who would dedicate himself to whatever mission was at hand. As a child, he was gentler despite his natural talent for combat and unique abilities which made him the strongest of his clan, as seen from him not wanting to hurt others he had no involvement with, and his interest in flowers. His gentleness is also reinforced by how empathetic and kind he was to Jūgo.

After meeting Orochimaru, Kimimaro developed a strong devotion towards him, bordering on religious zeal or considering him a father figure (the manga suggesting the former, and the anime suggesting the latter), as Orochimaru was the only person to seemingly care for and inspire him. Kimimaro's relationship with Orochimaru was similar to Haku's relationship with Zabuza, both having similar backgrounds, and both found a purpose in living for their respective master. His dedication to Orochimaru was so great, that, despite his body's failing strength, he was able to will himself into battle, and still proved himself as an extremely dangerous opponent for the likes of Naruto Uzumaki, Rock Lee and Gaara. 

Kimimaro believed that his purpose was to serve and protect Orochimaru, and that the only reason for him to exist was to serve the one who rescued him from a life of despair and loneliness. Gaara compared the eyes of Kimimaro to those of Sasuke Uchiha's, the eyes of those who only sought to prove their own existence, nothing more; even after death and revival, Kimimaro retains his loyalty to Orochimaru. But he is shown to be patient, as seen during his battle with Lee, where he waited for him to take his medicine.

Gaara commented on Kimimaro to be hasty, as he suddenly attacks after he saved Rock Lee from his attack. Aside from that, he demonstrated extreme distaste for "trash" ninja, as he put it. He generally attempted to "clean them up", by killing the people who were the "trash" ninja, even if they were his allies (he plotted to kill Tayuya after she defeated Shikamaru, because she was unable to deliver Sasuke by sunset). Despite his verbal disrespect of his opponents, Kimimaro had been shown to have a sense of honor in battle, as demonstrated when he stopped the battle to allow Rock Lee to take his "medicine". He also had a habit of underestimating more powerful opponents, as he underestimated Gaara multiple times during their battle, though to be fair, Kimimaro himself did not suffer any true repercussions from his mistake.

The most notable trait that separated him from his four colleagues was that he rarely showed emotions, other than surprise, until Gaara insulted his faith in Orochimaru, causing him to become enraged before his death. It was also shown that Kimimaro was crying silently when he discovered he was no longer useful to Orochimaru.

Kimimaro was characterized by his pale skin, vivid green eyes, masculine facial features, two dots on his forehead - a symbol of his clan, and shoulder-length white hair, which he wore divided down the middle on his head (distinguished by an atypical 'zigzag' hair parting) with two separate partings on either side of his face. As a child, Kimimaro's hair is longer, which is tied in a loose pony-tail near the middle of his back, though the initial style was very similar to his later one.

Under the wing of Orochimaru, Kimimaro wore a specialized version of the traditional Oto-nin ensemble, consisting of a light lavender, loose-fitting, long-sleeved, zip-up shirt, black pants cut off around mid-calf, bandages wrapped around his ankles, traditional shinobi sandals, and a purple, rope-like belt tied in an inverted bow around his waist. He also wore two red, tube-like hair ornaments; one on either side of his head, securing two locks of his silvery-white hair. He did not wear a Sound headband, despite his extreme loyalty to Orochimaru. His Cursed Seal of Earth is applied at the base of his throat, where it is a circular pattern of three curved lines.

Apparently, as a user of the Shikotsumyaku abilities, Kimimaro was given a different bodily structure from others, as Kabuto Yakushi claimed that there had been too little information on his body to give any medical treatment for his terminal illness.

Kimimaro was referred to by Orochimaru as the most powerful member of the Kaguya clan, having "abilities that even his war-loving clan feared". Because of this, he was locked away in a cage for most of his life, only released occasionally when needed to fight other clans. His fighting abilities far outclassed all the members of the Sound Four combined, and his mastery of the Cursed Seal even impressed Jūgo, the source of the Cursed Seal.  In fact, Kimimaro is the only person before Sasuke who could control Jūgo without exerting any efforts. Kimimaro also had a very strong determination, as when his failing body would be impossible to move physically, he forced it through sheer will, and still proved to be a deadly opponent. The fact that he could fight Naruto, Lee, and Gaara while dying of disease, and never actually being defeated by them, indicates he was an extremely powerful combatant at his peak. Indeed, even near death, his mere presence was enough to frighten the normally-arrogant Tayuya, as well as retaining a high level of stamina, which he showed in his battles with Naruto Uzumaki, Rock Lee, and Gaara, battling all three one after the other without collapsing.

Kimimaro's abilities came from his kekkei genkai, Shikotsumyaku, which allowed the user to manipulate their own skeletal structure as a means of combat. Specifically, it allowed Kimimaro to manipulate his osteoblast and osteoclast cells, which are responsible for building or breaking down bone tissue. This ability gave him absolute control over the concentration of calcium within his bones, allowing him to control the density or malleability of them. Kimimaro also stated that his bones were stronger than tempered steel. Kimimaro used this ability to wield his bones as weapons in battle, and could use them in the form of taijutsu attacks (which he called dances) to give him a variety of abilities, as well as grant him a near-invincible defense, able to withstand most of the impact from even a chakra-enhanced blade. Orochimaru has stated that this was the ultimate taijutsu ability, which is held in high regard, and the main reason why Orochimaru desired Kimimaro to be his next vessel.

Kimimaro's abilities made him well suited for close-range combat fighting, demonstrating tremendous taijutsu skills combined with equally impressive speed, agility, and dexterity. He was able to defeat several hundred of Naruto's Nine-Tails-enhanced shadow clones effortlessly, at the same time not allowing himself to be struck. Kimimaro combined his Shikotsumyaku and taijutsu capabilities to form many deadly "dances". Rock Lee, a taijutsu virtuoso, has claimed that nothing was wasted in Kimimaro's movement, and that he (Kimimaro) was a taijutsu master. Kimimaro also possessed immense strength, enough to pull himself out of Gaara's chakra-infused sand, which is normally difficult, if not impossible, due to its sturdiness.

Like many others of Orochimaru's closest followers, Kimimaro was given a Cursed Seal, which granted him tremendous power. He bore the Cursed Seal of Earth, which is said to be equal in power to the Cursed Seal of Heaven, and both said Seals are said to be the strongest amongst the ones used by Orochimaru. When in his Level 2 form, Kimimaro's appearance was similar to that of a dinosaur, with dark grey skin, six large bone spines protruding out of his back, and a long bone-spiked tail. Jūgo stated that Kimimaro had great enough skill with the Cursed Seal that he could do a partial transformation. Furthermore, Kimimaro's fighting style changed after entering his Level 2 state: he became much slower, but his strength increased to the point of smashing Gaara's Shield of Sand with ramming, and his skin became thicker and harder, making it impossible for even Gaara's sand to penetrate it.