Chapter 454: The Troubles of Being Too Outstanding

Chapter 454: Chapter 454: The Troubles of Being Too Outstanding

Flipping through the scroll of the Chimera Technique once more, Orochimaru alternated between furrowing his brows and curling his lips into a smile.

With Orochimaru’s seasoned eye, there was no need for him to personally test the Chimera Technique to discern some of the hidden dangers lurking within the forbidden technique Hiruko had developed.

Even so, he could not deny that the Chimera Technique possessed tremendous potential. It was a forbidden technique capable of fundamentally transforming a person.

After all, no matter who it was, once they fused five different Kekkei Genkai into themselves, their strength would inevitably undergo an explosive increase. Hiruko, the creator of the Chimera Technique, was the perfect example.

Before completing the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual, a small fry like Hiruko was someone Orochimaru would not even have bothered looking at twice.

But after Hiruko completed the Kekkei Genkai Fusion Ritual, Orochimaru paid the price for his arrogance. He was effortlessly subdued by Hiruko’s Sharingan genjutsu. Had Hyuga Kagami, who had been controlling his Fire Release clone at the time, not rescued him, Orochimaru might already have died at Hiruko’s hands.

Being subdued one after another by the Sharingan genjutsu of both Hiruko and Uchiha Itachi made Orochimaru vaguely realize that there was a flaw in the forbidden technique he himself had developed, the Living Corpse Reincarnation.

It also made him realize that something seemed to be wrong with his spiritual body.

His resistance to genjutsu had not increased after replacing his body with a younger and stronger one. On the contrary, it had actually weakened as a result of repeatedly changing bodies.

The reason Orochimaru coveted the bodies of the Uchiha and yearned for the Sharingan was precisely because he wanted to compensate for his weaknesses with their strengths. By obtaining the Sharingan, which represented Yin Release, he hoped to make up for his vulnerability to genjutsu.

After setting down the scroll of the Chimera Technique, Orochimaru sank into deep thought.

Just as Kagami had warned Danzo at the Root base earlier, the Chimera Bud’s unparalleled ability to fuse flesh and blood was a complete double-edged sword.

It could devour the Kekkei Genkai of others—

but it could also turn around and devour its own host.

As someone proficient in human-body modification, Orochimaru understood better than anyone that if a Chimera Bud implanted within the body ever went out of control, it would not only contaminate the physical body but could even inflict severe damage on the spiritual body.

Orochimaru, who possessed the forbidden technique Living Corpse Reincarnation, might not care much about damage to his physical body, but he did not dare ignore damage to his spiritual body. Therefore, despite being extremely envious of Hiruko and Furin for being able to possess multiple Kekkei Genkai at once, he still could not bring himself to make the decision.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to Orochimaru.

"Danzo, blinded by his obsession with the position of Hokage, definitely won’t be able to resist the temptation of the Chimera Technique. Perhaps I can use him to gather experimental data and further improve the Chimera Technique."

......

Atop the dome of the Uchiha ruins.

Moonlight poured over the earth like a silver waterfall.

Amid the picturesque moonlit scenery, Kagami sat cross-legged atop the dome, carefully examining his own body with the Byakugan.

Through the Byakugan’s penetrating vision, he discovered that all the flesh surrounding the spine of his Type-A Wind Release clone had become inflamed. Worse still, the inflammation appeared to be showing signs of spreading.

Deactivating his Byakugan, Kagami wore a troubled expression.

He had never imagined that one day he would actually find himself troubled because one of his clones was too outstanding.

Yet this absurd situation was truly unfolding right before his eyes.

Although he had only gone through a single intense battle, he could clearly feel that the compatibility between this Type-A Wind Release clone and his spiritual body had already approached perfection.

Every movement of his hands and feet felt just as natural as when he inhabited his Yin Release true body. There was none of the sluggishness and awkwardness he had experienced during the initial adjustment periods with his Water Release and Fire Release clones.

But precisely because the Type-A Wind Release clone was too outstanding, its bloodline disease had also erupted earlier—and far more violently—than he had anticipated!

There was no need to return to the laboratory and draw blood for testing. Kagami could already estimate that the concentration of the All-Killing Ash Bones characteristic in the blood of this Type-A Wind Release clone had definitely surpassed Kimimaro’s.

"I’ll have to avoid using the Shikotsumyaku as much as possible from now on. Otherwise, this clone will probably collapse before long."

Although refraining from using the Shikotsumyaku could not prevent the bloodline disease altogether, it could at least slow down the disease’s erosion of the body and buy this clone some more time.

Shaking his head with a sigh, Kagami pushed himself to his feet.

The Uchiha ruins were only so large, and he had already searched them thoroughly, inside and out, without finding the slightest clue. Moreover, after waiting for so long, there was still no sign of Shisui or Itachi.

After considering it for a moment, he decided to return to the village first.

Shisui and Itachi were together, after all, so there was no need for him to worry about their safety.

Thanks to his ability to fly using Magnet Release, Kagami returned to the village ahead of Kurenai. It was not until the evening of the following day that Kurenai finally dragged her exhausted body back to the village.

At Konoha Hospital, after Kurenai finished receiving treatment, Kagami took her to an empty room before anyone else could and began questioning her.

As an ANBU directly subordinate to the Hokage, Kurenai had been abducted from within the village itself—and the person who had abducted her was none other than Orochimaru, who had defected from Konoha long ago.

This was by no means a trivial matter.

Kagami was certain that sometime within the next day or two, the Third Hokage would personally make time to question Kurenai. Therefore, he had to obtain her report first if he wanted any opportunity to tamper with it.

Kurenai also understood the seriousness of the situation, so she gave Kagami a detailed account of how Orochimaru had ambushed her.

While taking notes, Kagami watched Kurenai and asked, "Then how did you manage to escape from Orochimaru?"

He had already made up his mind.

As soon as Kurenai revealed any detailed information concerning Furin, he would steer the matter toward the possibility that she had been poisoned at the time—or perhaps placed under the enemy’s genjutsu.

By doing so, he could muddle Kurenai’s own judgment and make the intelligence in her report vague enough that it could not be fully trusted.

Kurenai’s expression turned serious as she replied, "We encountered a member of Kamigami. Orochimaru ended up fighting him."

As she spoke, Kurenai gave a detailed account of how Orochimaru had summoned the First and Second Hokage, placing particular emphasis on the Wood Release ninjutsu used by the First Hokage.

Seeing that Kurenai had barely mentioned Furin at all, Kagami was somewhat surprised. He cautiously probed, "Did the Kamigami member who fought Orochimaru have any distinguishing characteristics?"

Kurenai avoided Kagami’s gaze and lowered her head.

"I was poisoned at the time, so I couldn’t see very clearly. I... I only saw that the mask on his face had a raging-wind pattern."

"What the hell is going on? She clearly saw my clone’s face!"

Muttering inwardly, Kagami asked again, "Then what ninjutsu did he use?"

Still speaking softly, Kurenai replied, "Just as described in the intelligence the village distributed on Kamigami. He used the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai."

Kagami, who had already prepared himself to mislead Kurenai, knitted his brows tightly.

For a moment, he genuinely could not figure out what was going on with her.

He asked again, "Only Magnet Release?"

Kurenai nodded.

Then, inwardly, she told herself,

"I’m definitely not doing this for that bastard Furin! I just don’t want a conflict to break out between the Hyuga Clan and the village and threaten the village’s stability. Mm-hmm, that’s exactly why..."