Juin-ninshu.
That was the name of Suguru's newest technique, and Hiruzen marvelled at its ingenuity.
'This is an application of that phenomenon... How did you come across this?' Hiruzen sent his thoughts over.
—I'm currently staying in Kumo. The jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails uses it often. After requesting his aid, I've simply improved upon its simplicity.
Hiruzen's brain froze over for a moment.
Kumogakure? The shinobi killer, Killer Bee of the Hachibi? How had Suguru become so comfortable in their presence?
'Suguru, you—'
Related questions burned in his mind. However, all he got in return for his confusion was the smug laughter of a child.
This laughter began to disipate into nothingness — a sign of the severed connection which Suguru had no longer maintained. Hiruzen, whose hand was still outstretched, reaching for a beating heart, had finally realized the state he was in.
"Sigh,"
Interrupted so suddenly, Hiruzen once more steeled his resolve.
—Squish.
Diving through viscous green fluid, his hand grasped at the beating heart of a jinchuriki.
The heart of Uzumaki Naruto, which had been extracted by none other than Danzo himself.
It was a brutal procedure, painting the prison walls with the victim's blood.
Had it not been for the Kyuubi's monstrous healing, forcefully invoked by the decree of a Mangekyou Sharingan's Genjutsu, then Naruto would have long been erased from the world.
Now, Hiruzen planned to use it for himself.
Thus...
—Squelch.
Hiruzen pulled his hand out of the viscous fluid, and a green glow slowly suffused it. The glow wrapped around his hand like a warm blanket in the winter, keeping the heart beating, delaying its 'death,' and guaranteeing its 'quality.'
'Time to see what they were trying to achieve...'
After one glance at the beating heart in his hand, Hiruzen disappeared in a flicker of movement.
***
Suguru chuckled as he thought about Hiruzen's thoughts when he initiated the connection with the old man's Curse Mark.
It seemed like Hiruzen had become entangled with a rather intriguing scheme. It was intriguing enough that Suguru was tempted to return to Konoha for a time.
After all, he had completed his initial interviews with Matatabi and Gyuuki.
All that was left was to cause chaos within Kumo by selling Sharingan en masse.
"Hehehe~"
Suguru could barely hold in his laughter.
Standing before him was a Human Clone with a blank stare. Its irises were a dull black, quite similar to a few other clones Suguru had harvested for their chakra.
However, something special was done to this one.
It had the Uchiha Clan's DNA.
"Hm," Suguru glanced at a Shadow Clone monitoring the Human Clone Chakra Farm. "What's the status on this one again?"
Suguru's Shadow Clone blinked and scanned the relevant file on his clipboard. After a brief moment, he stepped forward and began speaking.
"Uchiha-Injected Human Clone, Number 724. First official success and replication of the Uchiha Clan's DNA. Currently unsure as to whether it can be a vessel of Indra's chakra."
"Seven hundred and twenty-four? Is the Chakra Farm's metabolism moving that fast?" Suguru raised a brow, and another Shadow Clone stepped forward this time.
"...That, well, we're observing a higher cycling rate of biological material with each chakra absorption. In a way, the cellular mass is going through a growth spurt."
"Ah, the theorized puberty phase. So, over only a few weeks, it has aged this fast? What is its predicted lifespan based on the cell's telomeres?"
The Shadow Clone activated his Sharingan and looked straight into the churning white slab of artificial flesh. "Based on its telomeres, it should have a lifespan of another month or so. However, we have been observing a few bonuses to its life force due to the influence of Hashirama's Cells..."
"...And possibly the chakra of Ashura's reincarnation?" Suguru completed his Shadow Clone's thought.
"Is there a possibility that the Rinnegan will be born in any of our Human Clones?"
Another Shadow Clone stepped forward and shook his head. "Mixing the chakra of Indra and Ashura to create Hagoromo's is as integral as mentioned in the original."
"...Have we had any success in determining the location of the DNA of another Otsutsuki?"
All of the clones shook their head this time.
"Negative."
Suguru fell into thought. "I see,"
Directing his gaze back onto the Uchiha-Injected Human Clone, a sigh left his lips.
"This is a failure, isn't it?"
The other Shadow Clones sighed as well.
"Although we succeeded in creating an 'Uchiha' clone, we did fail to recreate the Sharingan. Unfortunately, the Human Clones would need the ability to feel emotions if we want them to awaken the Sharingan we need."
Suguru nodded slowly, and thoughts aplenty swirled in his mind.
"Everyone," He looked around, drawing the attention of all his Shadow Clones. "Let's reset. We need to brainstorm."
—POOF!
Suddenly, the lab was filled with the smoke of dispersing Shadow Clones. A flood of memories and information assaulted Suguru's brain — however, the boy had grown resistant to it.
Since Suguru was still a child, his brain had yet to mature — still deep in the developmental stages. The endless use of his cognitive capabilities had essentially heightened his intellectual prowess to staggering degrees.
Unfortunately, there was something he could not offset.
—Stagger.
Here was a mismatched step:
A loss of balance.
"Haaaa,"
It was the immense fatigue of having hundreds of clones constantly at work.
"I need to work on this soon..."
Steam had begun rising from Suguru's body as his cells went into overdrive. He was so tired that his healing factor had been triggered into operation. His Dark Release physique devoured chakra like an endless abyss.
Desperate for rejuvenation.
"...Now that I think about it, I might need to take a break for a while."
When was the last time Suguru had slept? He couldn't remember. Life had been fulfilling recently.
It was so fulfilling that Suguru was on a manic research spree. His desire for knowledge was like a freight train, and there was no stopping it.
After all...
—Fwoosh!
Suguru urged his chakra to life. The thousands of Human Clones he had devoured thus far revealed their final form, manifesting as an aura around the boy himself.
His chakra reserves were no longer something a mere human could have.
Perhaps now, he could replicate the pressure that Tailed Beasts usually exude. Although the range wouldn't be that great, people would still feel his chakra from a distance away — even if they weren't sensory types.
'Still not up to Kurama and Hashirama's levels, but it should be more than six times an average jounin's...'
There was only one more step until he became a Tailless-Tailed Beast like Hoshigaki Kisame.