Chapter 435: Mutation

Chapter 435: Chapter 435: Mutation

Kagami was certain that, at least as of yesterday, this inconspicuous bump had not existed between the brows of the Type-A Wind Release clone.

Suspicious, he slowly closed his eyes. Then, the instant he opened them again, his originally pure-white eyes transformed into the Tenseigan, brilliant as the stars and concealing a divine radiance within.

Under the Tenseigan’s vision, the Type-A Wind Release clone’s entire body was immediately laid bare before him.

"It really is bone..."

After confirming that the protrusion between the clone’s brows really was a small piece of bone growing beneath the skin rather than some other kind of soft tissue, the doubt on Kagami’s face only deepened.

Growing horns from the forehead was a prominent characteristic of the Otsutsuki Clan.

As far as Kagami knew, aside from the Otsutsuki Clan, the only people in the shinobi world who seemed to have grown a pair of horns were Kumogakure’s Gold and Silver Brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

That’s right—the very same domineering pair of brothers who had successively killed the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage!

The brothers were also said to possess the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths. During a battle with the Nine-Tails, they had once been swallowed whole by the beast. Yet the two brothers stubbornly survived by eating the flesh and blood from inside the Nine-Tails’ stomach, tormenting even a ferocious beast like the Nine-Tails to the point that it could no longer endure them and ultimately had no choice but to spit the pair back out.

And by consuming the Nine-Tails’ flesh and blood, the brothers obtained its chakra.

A ridiculous story like that would have been legendary enough even if it had appeared among the myths and legends predating the Warring States Period.

Yet it had actually happened.

And it had happened only a few decades ago.

Aside from them, even Otsutsuki Toneri, a descendant of Otsutsuki Hamura’s lineage on the Moon, had no horn on his forehead under normal circumstances. Only after entering Tenseigan Chakra Mode would a single horn grow from his forehead.

As for Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito, they had only grown horns after becoming the Ten-Tails’ jinchuriki. Even Kagami himself had no horn on his forehead, not even while in Tenseigan Chakra Mode.

"Looks like the Type-A clone underwent a mutation during its development, causing an atavistic phenomenon similar to what occurred with Kinkaku and Ginkaku."

Since both the Hyuga Clan and the Kaguya Clan traced the origins of their bloodlines back to the progenitor of chakra, Otsutsuki Kaguya, such an atavistic phenomenon was not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it suggested that this Type-A Wind Release clone might have gained additional bloodline power as a result of the mutation.

Before long, Kagami removed the Type-A Wind Release clone from the nutrient tank and placed it on the laboratory table.

After recording the clone’s basic physiological data, he did not hesitate. He immediately activated the Tenseigan’s Spirit Descent Technique, transferring his spirit into the Type-A Wind Release clone.

Whoosh...

Having switched bodies, Kagami abruptly sat upright on the laboratory table.

"This feeling..."

As he moved his limbs, he simultaneously sensed the flow of chakra throughout his body.

For some reason, this clone gave him an extremely peculiar feeling.

It was almost as though the body had already been developed and conditioned beforehand. Controlling it felt almost completely seamless, without the slightest trace of sluggishness. In fact, it felt even smoother than the Water Release and Fire Release clones he had spent so much time acclimating himself to.

"Huh? The compatibility between my spirit body and this clone is actually this high?"

Kagami was inwardly startled.

This development was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Based on his previous experience developing the Water Release and Fire Release clones, the process of acclimating his spirit body to a clone was indispensable. There was no shortcut around it, either. The two could only be gradually brought into harmony through prolonged use and intense battles in which he completely immersed himself.

But this Type-A Wind Release clone was completely different.

It seemed almost tailor-made for Kagami’s spirit body. Controlling it felt practically identical to controlling his Yin Release true body—utterly smooth and effortless.

"Could it be because of the mutation?"

Temporarily suppressing the doubts in his heart, Kagami began examining every part of the Type-A Wind Release clone’s body one by one.

"Byakugan!"

As the Byakugan in his eye sockets activated, Kagami discovered that once the Type-A Wind Release clone’s Byakugan merged with his spirit body, its vision was exceptional, and its range of penetration was also greater than that of an ordinary Byakugan.

"This is a high-purity Byakugan!"

Kagami was no inexperienced amateur, so he quickly determined that once the Type-A Wind Release clone’s Byakugan merged with his spirit body, its purity would instantly surpass that of an ordinary Hyuga Byakugan.

It might even surpass the Byakugan of the Main family.

At the same time, the instant he activated the Byakugan and mobilized his chakra, he suddenly discovered that the amount of chakra within this Type-A Wind Release clone was also far beyond his expectations.

It was nearly comparable to that of his Yin Release true body!

"The stats of this clone are ridiculous in every respect. Did I just stumble upon a treasure? Or are all the Wind Release clones this exceptional?"

At that thought, Kagami’s gaze subconsciously shifted toward the Type-B Wind Release clone inside the other nutrient tank.

And so, he removed the Type-B Wind Release clone from its nutrient tank as well, then used the Spirit Descent Technique to transfer his spirit body into it.

After conducting a thorough examination, Kagami discovered that the Type-B Wind Release clone was much more normal.

Although the Type-B Wind Release clone was also excellent, whether in terms of compatibility with Kagami’s spirit body, the purity of its Byakugan, or the amount of chakra within its body, it was far inferior to the Type-A Wind Release clone.

Carefully comparing the data from the two Wind Release clones, Kagami murmured, "So it really was because of the mutation..."

After once again using the Spirit Descent Technique to transfer his spirit body into the Type-A Wind Release clone, Kagami casually picked up the secret scroll containing the Kaguya Clan’s various secret techniques and slowly made his way to the training ground.

Unrolling the secret scroll, Kagami began reading it carefully.

The Kaguya Clan’s taijutsu consisted entirely of nintaijutsu designed to complement their Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai. And because the primary chakra nature of nearly every member of the Kaguya Clan was Wind Release, their speed and explosive power were exceptionally outstanding. Even those of mediocre talent, so long as they received proper shinobi training, could smoothly develop into fully qualified shinobi.

As a result, practically every member of the Kaguya Clan was a formidable fighter, while the outstanding members among them were, without exception, battle maniacs.

After studying the scroll for quite some time, Kagami set it aside.

Then, extending his right hand toward a target in the distance, he shouted:

"Secret Technique: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"

Swish! Swish! Swish...

The moment Kagami finished speaking, five bullet-like bone projectiles shot from the fingertips of his right hand, streaking toward the distant target with piercing whistles as they tore through the air.

In an instant, the sturdy target was blasted to pieces.

And that wasn’t all.

After punching straight through the target, the bone bullets barely lost any momentum. They continued onward and slammed into the wall behind it, punching several holes straight through a wall that had been reinforced with sealing formulas.

"Uh..."

Staring dumbfounded at the shattered pieces of the target scattered across the ground, then at the holes in the wall, Kagami was completely speechless.

He had only wanted to give it a try and see whether he could successfully use Shikotsumyaku.

He hadn’t expected the result to turn out like this...