Chapter 521: Blood Replacement

Chapter 521: Chapter 521: Blood Replacement

Maintaining peace in the shinobi world, ensuring that Otsutsuki Kaguya would never break free from her seal and destroy the world—these had always been the responsibilities of the Sage of Six Paths, the creator of the shinobi world.

Until he found suitable replacements, the Sage of Six Paths was unlikely to casually abandon Naruto and Sasuke, the two saviors he had personally chosen long ago.

Moreover, upon closer analysis, Naruto and Sasuke’s current circumstances weren’t all that terrible.

What Akatsuki needed was Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Sasuke was merely an ordinary hostage in their hands. Meanwhile, what Orochimaru needed was Sasuke, who possessed the Sharingan. The Nine-Tails inside Naruto held little significance to him.

Therefore, an exchange of hostages was practically inevitable.

Before that exchange took place, both Naruto and Sasuke’s lives should be reasonably secure.

Furthermore, Akatsuki and Orochimaru had long since lost all trust in each other. Their hostage exchange was certainly not something that could be completed in a short period of time.

After reassuring Itachi, who was worried about Sasuke, Kagami left a shadow clone behind in the village. He then quietly departed and secretly returned to the aerial fortress, which had been moving in an irregular pattern over the ocean.

As soon as Kagami returned to the aerial fortress, Gaara and Karin came forward to greet him.

"Welcome back, lord!"

Kagami nodded, then solemnly examined the Four Symbols Seal on Gaara’s body.

Seeing that the sealing formula of the Four Symbols Seal had dimmed considerably and that its sealing power was nearly exhausted, he said to Gaara, "Bear with it for a moment. I need to reinforce the seal on your body."

"Yes!"

Although Gaara didn’t quite understand why Kagami needed to do this, he obediently nodded.

Kagami said nothing further. He immediately gathered all the chakra in his body and meticulously reinforced the Four Symbols Seal that restrained the One-Tail, Shukaku, within Gaara.

"Ah..."

Under the intense pain, even the ordinarily stoic Gaara couldn’t help letting out a small cry.

Karin hurriedly supported him and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Gaara gritted his teeth and shook his head. "I’m fine."

"I’ve completely sealed the One-Tail inside you. From now on, unless I give you permission, do not attempt to draw upon even the slightest bit of its power. Understood?"

After completing the seal, Kagami looked at Gaara and gave him a stern warning.

This time, his sealing of the One-Tail was different from before. He had practically sealed away the One-Tail inside Gaara completely, severing all spiritual connections between the two.

It was precisely because of this that Gaara had experienced such intense pain when the sealing power invaded his mental world.

Realizing that he had lost his connection with the One-Tail inside him, Gaara hurriedly said, "My lord, Shukaku has been behaving himself lately. He hasn’t disturbed me in a long time."

Kagami replied indifferently, "I’m sealing him for other reasons. You don’t need to know too much about that right now. Just do as I say."

"Yes!"

Gaara quickly nodded.

After dismissing Gaara and Karin, Kagami headed toward his laboratory.

The main reason Kagami had gone to such lengths to completely seal the One-Tail inside Gaara was to guard against Akatsuki.

After all, he wasn’t certain whether Akatsuki possessed some method of sensing Tailed Beasts.

In the original timeline, Akatsuki had generally encountered little difficulty locating Jinchuriki. They practically found every target they searched for, and on several occasions, they had even managed to intercept their targets while they were alone.

Therefore, as a precaution, Kagami had no choice but to completely seal the One-Tail inside Gaara.

Only by ensuring that Shukaku did not fall into Akatsuki’s hands could he delay their plan to revive the Ten-Tails as much as possible. And as long as the Ten-Tails remained unrevived, the situation would not spiral completely out of control.

Upon arriving at the laboratory, Kagami immediately took out his storage scroll and retrieved the Type-A Wind Release clone sealed within it.

After placing it on the examination table, Kagami used his instruments to conduct a comprehensive examination of the clone.

He discovered that its physical condition was extremely poor. Its circulatory system was on the verge of complete collapse, while its bones and muscles had suffered extensive damage. Furthermore, due to the presence of the All-Killing Ash Bones trait, these injuries were impossible to repair.

"It’s even worse than I imagined!"

Kagami rubbed his chin, a troubled expression appearing on his face.

Had this been an ordinary human body, it would have long since become a lifeless corpse. An ordinary person’s body simply could not withstand injuries of this magnitude.

Only a physique as formidable as that of the Type-A Wind Release clone could barely sustain itself under such conditions.

Even so, if Kagami did not take immediate action, the clone would only be able to hold on for another two or three days at most.

That was already its absolute limit.

If he wanted to repair this clone, the key was to first eliminate the excessive concentration of the All-Killing Ash Bones trait within its body.

With that thought, Kagami instinctively shifted his gaze toward the Type-B Wind Release clone in another nutrient tank.

A blood transfusion was undoubtedly the best way to address the excessively high concentration of the All-Killing Ash Bones trait within the Type-A Wind Release clone.

And as it happened, his laboratory had a sufficient supply of blood readily available.

Arriving before the nutrient tank containing the Type-B Wind Release clone, Kagami fell into thought.

The Type-B Wind Release clone’s various parameters were actually quite impressive. It was only when compared to the extraordinary Type-A Wind Release clone that it appeared rather mediocre.

Therefore, sacrificing the Type-B Wind Release clone to repair the Type-A Wind Release clone was not a particularly difficult decision for Kagami.

However, the blood of the Type-B Wind Release clone also contained the All-Killing Ash Bones trait, albeit at a concentration far lower than that of the Type-A Wind Release clone.

Thus, even if he replaced the Type-A Wind Release clone’s blood with that of the Type-B Wind Release clone, it would merely treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.

At best, it would barely sustain the Type-A Wind Release clone’s bodily functions. It would not resolve the bloodline disease caused by the All-Killing Ash Bones trait.

After weighing his options, Kagami ultimately decided to repair the Type-A Wind Release clone through a blood transfusion.

After all, his development of the Type-A Wind Release clone was already approaching perfection. As long as he could maintain its bodily functions until the final stage of his Kekkei Mora Project, that would be enough.

As for the bloodline disease that would accompany the fusion of the Type-A Wind Release clone, there was actually no need to worry about it.

If Kagami’s Kekkei Mora Project succeeded, then upon completing the ritual, he would become a true Kekkei Mora in every sense of the word.

His physique would undergo an earth-shattering transformation, placing him on the same level as Otsutsuki Kaguya.

Naturally, the bloodline disease caused by his physique’s inability to withstand the All-Killing Ash Bones trait would resolve itself without any treatment.

And if the Kekkei Mora Project failed, Kagami would die during the fusion ritual itself, long before the bloodline disease had a chance to erupt.

Therefore, regardless of whether he succeeded or failed, the bloodline disease plaguing the Type-A Wind Release clone would have no effect on Kagami after the fusion ritual...