Chapter 371: The Great Treasure
"What kind of treasure is it, really?"
Suigetsu muttered to himself as he watched the others vanish from his sight. He understood the nature of the Department of Research and Development—it was meant to study things, similar to what Orochimaru used to do. But in this era of peace, what kind of treasure could possibly make a hero of the Shinobi world like Tobitake Tonbo so concerned?
Moreover, Tonbo had allowed Orochimaru—a man under constant surveillance—to see it. It didn't make sense.
"Forget it. I heard a new burger shop opened in Konoha. It's a new product developed by a gourmet ninja, supposed to be pretty tasty. I'll go try that." Suigetsu gave up on the mystery. Thinking of the advertisement he saw today, he began to drool.
Passing through various sci-fi-looking sectors and many guards, a laboratory appeared before them. The sign above the door read A1. It was the highest-specification lab in the entire R&D Department.
Orochimaru noted, "Oh, guarded by so many layers of barriers. It seems your treasure is quite extraordinary." He could sense the barriers surrounding the lab, stacked layer upon layer.
Keigo Tobitake also looked at the laboratory with curiosity.
"This is Sector 13 of the R&D Department—the most secure place in the entire facility and where the highest-spec labs are concentrated," Tonbo explained. "Of course, right now, besides various equipment and experimental instruments, there's nothing much to guard against yet. My treasure isn't exactly in here—alright, let's go in first."
Tonbo injected his chakra into a panel by the door, followed by a fingerprint and retinal scan. A portal opened through the layers of barriers, and he led the two inside.
Orochimaru followed, curiously observing his surroundings. He noticed that the interior occasionally emitted chakra probe waves to check for their presence.
"That's a sensory barrier to prevent enemy intrusion. I'm currently controlling it, so your chakra signatures have been collected in the database. You'll be able to enter in the future without being attacked."
Tonbo pointed to puppet-like objects appearing at intervals along the corridor, each with a round glass dome on its chest. "Those are puppets infused with my Yin Release nature transformation. They possess all of my combat experience. The chests contain chakra power-accumulation rings developed by the Land of Snow, allowing them to fight continuously without needing my chakra."
Soon, they entered a room filled with computer equipment and instruments. Countless screens flickered before Orochimaru's eyes.
"This is the latest technology from the Land of Lightning, with a few of my own improvements to make it more suitable for research. However, I haven't invested much time or energy into this aspect, so it hasn't reached an ideal state yet."
In the center of the room, a small circular platform caught Orochimaru's eye.
"Impressive. What is this?" Orochimaru pointed to the platform. He was thoroughly satisfied; if he had possessed these conditions back in the day, his research would have been completed in much less time.
Tonbo input chakra into a screen next to the platform.
Click!
Clack, clack, clack!
A barrier rose around the circular platform.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
A body appeared on the platform.
"This is a Sealing and Detection Stand. It possesses the strongest sealing and diagnostic capabilities in the R&D Department. And this is the treasure I told you about. I need your strength to analyze every bit of data from this body and hand it over to me in full detail. I think you'll find it quite agreeable."
Tonbo had been researching Urashiki Otsutsuki's power for a long time, but there were many things he still hadn't figured out. This had caused his goal of absorbing Otsutsuki data to evolve his own body to progress slowly. The same applied to Kaguya Otsutsuki's body.
Questions remained: how do Rinnegan form? Why is every Otsutsuki's Rinnegan different? What are the differences in Byakugan ocular power? What is the physical base that allows an Otsutsuki to perform Shinjutsu?
Currently, his deepest research only covered how the Otsutsuki body accommodates so much chakra and certain weaknesses of that chakra, as those were areas where he already had successful results. He was completely at a loss regarding other directions. Without research results, his Forced Evolution ability couldn't be utilized—this was the weakness of that ability.
Therefore, he needed Orochimaru's strength, and might even need others to help in the future. He wondered what kind of brain that future scientist, Amado, had to be able to research so many things in such a short time.
Despite having clones spread across the Shinobi world since the Fourth War, he had found no trace of Amado or the Kara organization. It was as if they didn't exist. If Boruto hadn't traveled back to the past, he would have thought the organization was a myth.
Is the power of fate really that strong? Tonbo thought of various novel plots. The villain must be solved by the protagonist. Now, the protagonist isn't even born, and the villains haven't even sprouted.
Orochimaru's eyes gradually brightened, his voice becoming raspy. "Yes... I would be very happy to. Where did you get this?"
It was unbelievable—a corpse of the Otsutsuki clan. He had seen information about them in ancient Otsutsuki ruins within the Shinobi world. Everything in the world was brought by the Otsutsuki; that is, the power of chakra. The Sage of the Six Paths had merely established the chakra theory and passed it down.
"His name is Urashiki Otsutsuki. I captured him during Pain's invasion of Konoha. He is of the same clan as Kaguya Otsutsuki and possesses the Rinnegan and Byakugan. By the way, their techniques don't require hand signs; they are called Shinjutsu. From this perspective, their life level is higher than ours. So, I need you to help me research this deeply—it's also for your own benefit," Tonbo explained.
Except for techniques like the Rasengan, which involve shape transformation without nature transformation, virtually all ninjutsu require hand signs. This included Tsunade's Heaven Strainer Kick, the Raikage's Lightning Armor, and Ohnoki's Particle Style. Hand signs were the prerequisite.
Ninjutsu that didn't require signs were limited to the likes of the Rasengan or those used by ninja with Otsutsuki power—like the Rinnegan's abilities. Otherwise, even the Mangekyo Sharingan required signs. This was something Tonbo had seen with his own eyes on the battlefield. It was only because ninja of his level had such high speed and modified methods of weaving signs that it appeared as though they weren't using them.
For example, Jiraiya could weave signs with his feet. Tonbo could also weave signs in other ways, such as pre-forming the sign structures within his body via his nerves to trigger them directly. He could also weave signs mentally.
He had tried it: except for the Rasengan and Bungee Gum, basically everything required signs. Signs were the foundation of ninjutsu. The idea that one could skip signs just by becoming familiar with chakra flow was a fantasy. The function of hand signs was to temporarily focus the mind; different signs created different mental concentrations, which reacted with physical energy to release different nature transformations.
Ninja cannot directly manipulate the spirit, so they cannot perform signless casting through mere proficiency. Those who could reduce the number of signs did so because a single sign, combined with their subconscious mental state, triggered the mental shifts of dozens of signs.
Regardless, even if you only need one sign to cast, you still have to weave it. In this regard, Tonbo was no different, which was why he needed Orochimaru's research on the Otsutsuki.
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