Land of Swamps, Demon Sealing Mountain.
Swoosh~
A figure flashed through the air, and Suijin, bringing Hiruko and his three subordinates, appeared within the underground experimental base. Inside the base, Kagutsuchi, also clad in a black robe with gold trim, was already waiting silently.
"You're back," Kagutsuchi said, his tone indifferent as he saw Suijin and the others suddenly appear. As he spoke, his gaze couldn't help but sweep over Ran and the other two subordinates accompanying Suijin.
As Kagutsuchi's gaze passed over them, Ran and his companions all felt a faint yet powerful pressure emanating from him. Instantly, a chill ran down their spines. Another incredibly powerful member of the Divine Court!
"You take him for now. I'll... 're-educate' these three first," Suijin said, leaving Hiruko in the laboratory before flickering away again with Ran and the other two.
In the laboratory, Kagutsuchi looked at Hiruko, who had been left behind, a keen glint flashing in his eyes. The Chimera Technique! This mysterious ninjutsu was something Tatsuya was very eager to study in detail.
Thinking this, Kagutsuchi spoke, "Hiruko, your body has already been completely crippled by our leader. From now on, you will peacefully assist me with my experiments here."
Hearing Kagutsuchi's words, Hiruko turned around, a look of astonishment on his face. "You're not going to kill me? Aren't you worried I'll find a chance to escape?"
Kagutsuchi let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Escape? No matter where you run, we can easily find you and bring you back." Kagutsuchi's gaze shifted downwards, pausing for a moment on Hiruko's chest.
Noticing Kagutsuchi's gaze, Hiruko also looked down at his own chest. A look of dawning realization then appeared on his face. It was the special seal formula of the Flying Thunder God Technique. His opponent was reminding him that with this mark, they could easily locate him at any time.
Despite this, Hiruko's face showed no trace of despondency. He thought for a moment, then held up a finger towards Kagutsuchi. "What your leader wants is likely my Chimera Technique, correct? I can provide you with all the information regarding this ninjutsu. However, I have one condition." When he mentioned the word "leader," an undeniable look of profound shock still flickered in Hiruko's eyes. Who could have imagined that the leader of the Divine Court would actually be a ninja from Konoha Village's Akimichi clan?
Kagutsuchi's eyes glinted slightly. "State your condition."
A fanatical gleam appeared in Hiruko's eyes. "I want to participate fully in your experiments. I want to see if this ninjutsu can truly be perfected in the end!"
After Hiruko finished speaking, Kagutsuchi stared at him with his cold, piercing gaze. After a moment, Kagutsuchi slowly replied, "On behalf of the organization, I can agree to this condition. Hand over the ninjutsu data first."
A smile spread across Hiruko's face upon hearing this.
Ancor Vastian fortress.
In a relatively isolated building, Pakura sat alone at a desk in her room. Piles of documents were stacked on the desk, and she was rapidly processing them.
Over these past few years, although Yakugakure had completely vanished from the wider ninja world, the development of Ansei Hall and the relocated Yakugakure had never stagnated. In the span of more than four years, the first three batches of students from Yakugakure's Ninja Academy had successfully graduated. In the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps, Yakugakure's ninja had become the main force for undertaking commissioned missions.
Due to the considerable distance of the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps from the mainland, ninja from the Five Great Shinobi Villages rarely accepted missions in these two countries. For this reason, these two overseas smaller nations had always been regions seldom tread by mainstream ninja. In the past, apart from major incidents like the sealing of the demon Moryo, the ninja willing to come to the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps to undertake missions were generally not of high caliber. This was also the main reason why the Yomi Cultists had chosen to develop their operations in the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps back then.
But now, the situation was completely different. With the development and growth of Yakugakure, the number of missions completed in the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps began to climb steadily. The various influential powers and leaders within the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps were also more willing to entrust a greater number of missions to Yakugakure, which had now established a strong local presence. Coupled with the support of the Priestess's Shrine, the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps had effectively become the secure rear base for Ansei Hall and Yakugakure.
However, a corresponding consequence of this was that these islands had become even more closed off and isolated from the outside world. There had been instances where ninja from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, while pursuing clues related to Ansei Hall, had set foot in this region, but they were all swiftly and decisively eliminated.
In the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps, Guren, whose strength had already reached Kage level, had become Yakugakure's iconic powerhouse. In various missions, her Crystal Release ninjutsu played an enormous and crucial role.
Swoosh~
In the room, the sound of air being cut echoed, and Suijin, along with the three former subordinates of Hiruko, appeared directly within. Sensing their arrival, Pakura looked up at them. She had long since grown accustomed to Suijin and the others' habit of appearing and disappearing like ghosts. The Flying Thunder God Technique! Tatsuya had once tried to teach this ninjutsu to Pakura, but she hadn't been able to grasp the essentials at all; there was simply no possibility of her learning it. Pakura wasn't particularly bothered by this. However, the one thing that did make her feel a little surprised and perhaps slightly indignant was that Suijin, Kagutsuchi, and the other core members of the Divine Court were all proficient in this art. They would often demonstrate its convenience in front of her.
Her gaze swept over Ran and the other two, and Pakura asked with some confusion, "And they are?"
Suijin replied, "These three are spoils of war captured by the Leader. From now on, they will be part of Yakugakure. I will first... 'recondition' them thoroughly."
Pakura nodded slowly upon hearing this. "Alright. After you've 'reconditioned' them, I will make suitable arrangements for them."
Two days later.
In the underground base at the edge of Konoha Village's Forest of Death.
Swoosh~
A figure flashed within the laboratory, and Tatsuya appeared in the room. Walking over to the surgical table, Tatsuya's hands quickly formed a series of seals.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted, and a summoning scroll appeared on the surgical table. Tatsuya unrolled the scroll on the table and carefully examined its contents. A look of delighted surprise appeared on his face. This scroll contained the detailed information regarding Hiruko's Chimera Technique. Tatsuya immediately had his bio-chip record all the data into its database.
Regarding the research of this ninjutsu, Tatsuya didn't plan to simply replicate Hiruko's methods entirely. The Chimera Technique was a ninjutsu with extremely obvious advantages and disadvantages. It could help a ninja fuse their body with summoning beasts or other ninja, thereby allowing the user to acquire the abilities of the one being fused. This even included Kekkei Genkai. To some extent, this ninjutsu could indeed plunder the abilities of others, thereby achieving the goal of improving one's own inherent qualities and potential.
However, its drawbacks were that it was extremely unstable, and the failure rate was incredibly high. Abilities acquired through such crude fusion methods were not entirely controllable.
Tatsuya planned to improve the Chimera Technique. What he wanted was to retain the Chimera Technique's ability to fuse Kekkei Genkai, and then use that to further modify and enhance his own clone bodies. For Hiruko, achieving this level of refinement and control would have been incredibly difficult. But for Tatsuya, who possessed the advanced bio-chip, this was not a problem.
Over these past few years, the amount of data recorded in the bio-chip's database in Tatsuya's mind had reached an astonishingly vast level. When Tatsuya issued the task to the bio-chip to improve the Chimera Technique, it quickly concluded that the task was achievable. The only requirements were a large supply of chakra and about two months of time.
These two conditions, for the current Tatsuya, were not a problem at all.
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