Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Orochimaru: Kyohiko, You Understand Me Best!
Beast Modification.
Kyohiko merged with the memories, secretly examining and comprehending. After several minutes, his expression became slightly strange. It wasn’t that there was a problem with the technique itself. The knowledge it contained was extensive, covering ninja wolves, monkeys, birds, and even swimming creatures in the sea. It could be said to be all-encompassing.
Kyohiko glanced at Orochimaru. The other was still trying to improve the puppet arm, pondering whether the structure could be further optimized. Not far away... in the forest, the monkey troop was once again fighting with the modified beasts within the forest.
Those modified beasts included some ninja wolves, ninja hawks, and ninja birds, a great variety of them. These species had all appeared in Orochimaru’s research base.
Well, I’ll be!
Is the system shearing Orochimaru’s sheep?
Kyohiko’s thoughts drifted, then quickly focused again as he continued to ponder the knowledge and abilities that had appeared in the system.
Mere ninja beast modification was not surprising. Such modifications could be achieved with an expert-level mastery of the knowledge. What was truly important were the next two levels; that was where the qualitative change occurred.
Soon... Kyohiko roughly understood.
Genes!
Low-level ninja beast modification was more about improving chakra and the abilities of the ninja beasts. At the grandmaster level, one could perform more special gene extraction and improvement, similar to the summoning beasts that Pain had!
If applied to humans, this would certainly be a very taboo research. But for ninja beasts, especially in a place like the ninja world... ninja beast improvement seemed perfectly normal.
Kyohiko’s eyes lit up. Good stuff!
Of course, for Kyohiko himself to improve and create summoning beasts had little practical value. It was more for cultivating the summoning beasts of the Anbu. In addition, the Inuzuka clan would definitely not refuse such knowledge.
But before that, he had to make a sample first!
Kyohiko’s thoughts raced as he began to ponder how to operate. He soon thought of the Uchiha clan’s special two-tailed cat and Kakashi’s few ninja dogs...
Kakashi was watching Orochimaru’s research, fascinated—he rarely had such an opportunity. But as he watched... he felt a chill run down his spine, as if someone was staring at him.
He turned his head. "Kyohiko, why are you staring at me?"
"I’m not. I just suddenly thought of a research topic," Kyohiko said with a smile.
Kakashi looked at his own hand, then said, "You want me to do the research?"
"Not that. I was just thinking, is it possible to extract the special genes from ninja dogs and beasts, and then improve another ninja dog with the excellent genes," Kyohiko replied.
Kakashi was slightly stunned, then quickly realized—the other party wasn’t interested in him, but in his ninja dogs!
Andre. The ninja dog his father had raised. Although he was not as strong as in his younger years due to his age, his genes were definitely very good. But... extracting genes...
He was still pondering when, below, Orochimaru, multitasking, smiled and said, "Kyohiko has also researched genes?"
"I was just watching your research and operations and had some minor thoughts, so I went to learn and research it a bit," Kyohiko said, flickering to his side.
Orochimaru put away the booklet. He had already planned how to improve and design the chakra armor for the Wood Release puppet arm. The next step was just to re-forge it.
But he was very interested in the "genetic modification" Kyohiko mentioned.
"Kyohiko, this is a forbidden field!"
"I won’t use it on people," Kyohiko shook his head.
Orochimaru was silent, then couldn’t help but feel a little regretful, but he still tried to persuade him. "If we can unravel the secrets of genes, we can directly transplant the genes of a certain Kekkei Genkai..."
"But, everyone’s situation is different, and the results of gene transplantation are also different. A thousand people will have a thousand different outcomes. Are you going to pile up lives for this?" Kyohiko’s tone was serious.
Beside them, Yamato thought of the terrible past, took a step back, and looked at Orochimaru with a bit of vigilance. Before, Orochimaru’s gentleness had made him feel that he was kind and not a threat. But Orochimaru’s words just now reminded him that the other party was the terrifying existence who had created such cruel experiments...
Yamato swallowed. So, Orochimaru hadn’t changed at all. He just seemed kind now because he was suppressing his terrifying side.
Kakashi, after all, had not experienced such a thing, and having carried out similar missions in other villages while in the Anbu, his reaction was much better than Yamato’s. But, clearly, he did not agree with Orochimaru’s philosophy and was more in favor of Kyohiko’s ideas. At this moment, his attitude was clear as he stood beside Kyohiko.
Orochimaru sighed lightly. "Kyohiko-kun, you are much more open-minded than many of the decaying people in the village. In this village, you are the only one who can understand me."
Even Jiraiya and Tsunade, Orochimaru did not think those two could understand his vision. They would only think that his research was horrifying.
But Kyohiko was different. He would research, discuss, and explore the uses of it, putting his research and ideas to use instead of avoiding them like the plague or shelving them. With Kyohiko, he felt the joy of being recognized.
What was regrettable was—even Kyohiko, at many times, still had the limitations of being human. Of course, this was from Orochimaru’s perspective.
From Kyohiko’s perspective... "Senpai, this is a persistence of being human. But you don’t have to worry. Some difficult problems will be solved in the future," Kyohiko said with a smile.
Orochimaru pondered for a moment, then smiled. "Let’s discuss it later. This content might be too advanced for these two children."
"You two go back first. I’ll discuss the matter of the ’tree bark’ with Orochimaru-senpai," Kyohiko nodded.
Kakashi was speechless. He and Kyohiko were clearly the same age, at most Kyohiko was a few months older than him, but now... he always felt that Kyohiko was several years older than him, as if they were not of the same generation. For example—Orochimaru, Minato, and Kyohiko all interacted as if they were peers, not as if there was a generation gap.
But... Orochimaru also knew about the "tree bark"? Kakashi’s mind was very active. He quickly thought of a piece of information—back then, the Anbu prison had once held the elite Jonin of the Sand Village, Pakura, but later Pakura had disappeared from the prison.
Could it be Scorch Release Pakura? His eyes widened slightly.
Kyohiko patted him on the shoulder, then immediately remembered another matter. "Take this."
Kakashi took it, his eyes revealing a hint of doubt.
"I used your identity last time. I heard your value has soared. This is some of my experience that will be beneficial to you. You can take a look. You don’t have to learn everything. We can learn from and exchange with each other," Kyohiko said.
His White Fang Sword Style had reached the grandmaster level before and had already formed its own style and path. It could be said that at that point, it was no longer the White Fang Sword Style—it was a sword style different from the White Fang’s.
Kyohiko’s sword was more for coordinating with taijutsu, ninjutsu, and the Flying Thunder God. Due to Sage Mode, the Lightning Release Armor, and Superhuman Strength, as well as his own powerful physique... his sword had more power and didn’t need to be so concerned. These were innate advantages that Sakumo and Kakashi could not achieve. They could only change through technique, so blindly learning from him would definitely be a dead end.
Besides the sword style experience, there was another ninjutsu on it.
Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite. The Third Raikage’s proud technique. Mastering the one-finger version would make its destructive power very strong, similar to Kakashi’s Lightning Cutter.
Kakashi didn’t refuse. He needed to become stronger! After becoming stronger, he could take on higher positions, do more things, and protect more comrades.
"I’m off," Kakashi waved.
Kyohiko nodded lightly, watching him leave with Yamato. Then he said, "About Pakura’s side, should I go alone or will you come with me?"
Orochimaru was already impatient. How could he possibly go with him? "It’s just a matter of reinforcing the seal. You go ahead. I’m too lazy to make a trip. Also, have Minato bring the people back quickly, and bring back a batch of metal for the armor while you’re at it."
"Since Kazahana Dotō wanted to use this kind of armor to kill Kazahana Sōsetsu, it’s impossible that he only left behind materials for one set of armor!" He couldn’t wait to see the complete armored puppet. An armored puppet controlled by a person, wasn’t that much stronger than chakra armor?
***
Outside Kikyō Castle, Rasa, escorted by a small team of Konoha ninja, left for Konoha. His mood was complicated.
Compared to the past, the current Kikyō Castle was more prosperous. Many caravans passed through Kikyō Castle, turning it into a hub from the Land of Fire to the western countries. Even some caravans from the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Hot Water deliberately took a detour through here.
There was no other reason. The Land of Fire was safe and stable. Especially the capital of the Land of Fire. Who didn’t know now that the capital of the Land of Fire was garrisoned by a group of ninja trained by Konoha and the ninja monks of the Fire Temple? Those ninja were a force recognized by both Konoha and the daimyō.
In addition, the number of ninja stationed in some important border towns was not small. In the entire ninja world, no trade route was safer and easier to travel than this one in the Land of Fire.
In comparison, the Land of Wind... it wasn’t that there were no caravans, but the caravans in the Land of Wind were more concentrated in the rich and fertile south, while too few people came to the northern desert. Especially after the defeat in the war.
This was also why Rasa had to come to Konoha. The Sand Village had no other way to go but to be more closely tied to Konoha!
"Kazekage-sama."
"Let’s go. They are only escorting us," Rasa’s emotions were stable.
Maki exhaled and nodded. "Yes!"
***
On the border, Kikyō Castle.
In the Flying Thunder Formation, a chakra fluctuation was transmitted. Everyone was on high alert. A few seconds later, Kyohiko appeared in the center of the Flying Thunder Formation.
Shirakumo Hayama quickly rushed over. After arriving and seeing that it was Kyohiko, he was stunned for a moment, then said, "Kyohiko-sama, I just sent the Kazekage and his group off..."
"It’s fine, I’m not looking for them," Kyohiko nodded. The matter of the Flying Thunder Formation, of course, could not be known by Rasa.
He glanced at Shirakumo Hayama. "Senpai, the Hidden Stone Village has been making frequent moves over there. We’ll have to trouble you on this side."
"I will definitely not betray the village’s trust in me!" Shirakumo Hayama stood at attention.
Kyohiko chatted for a few sentences, then quickly flickered away.
Outside Kikyō Castle, Pakura closed her eyes, feeling the rhythm of the cursed seal. This cursed seal had given her stronger power, and her chakra had also increased a bit. But at the same time, she would also be controlled by the cursed seal—as the time approached, she could clearly feel her body being eroded, and she needed to use chakra to resist to offset this negative effect.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes and took out a kunai. "It’s me."
The voice came, and at almost the same time, Kyohiko had appeared beside her. The voice and the person arrived almost one after the other.
So fast! She was secretly shocked in her heart.
"How is your body?"
"It’s alright, I just need to use chakra to suppress it," Pakura answered. Then, she paused for a moment. "I fought with Hanzō and that guy before, which might have accelerated its infiltration."
With that, she revealed her arm—her cursed seal had been planted on her arm, appearing as a small white spot. If one didn’t look closely, one wouldn’t be able to see the difference. But, through sensing, Kyohiko could still feel that the chakra of the cursed seal was indeed seeping out.
But, for now, it couldn’t cause direct damage, and the poison inside had not spread.
Safe!
His hands formed a seal, quickly reinforcing the seal. Then his fingers spread open, and one after another, wooden spikes grew out from his fingertips, piercing into the area around Pakura’s cursed seal.
Pakura gritted her teeth and endured the pain. One second, two seconds... The chakra from the cursed seal was drawn out along the wooden spikes, and the wound quickly healed. After that, Kyohiko added another layer of sealing. This was the technique of the Yin Seal.
"What is this?" Pakura looked at it strangely.
After the sealing was complete, a strange mark appeared where the seal had been planted before.
A Flying Thunder God marker? Kyohiko’s Flying Thunder God marker, he had shown her before. It didn’t look like this.
"You can understand it as a second seal. It can store the chakra that seeps out from inside. And when it turns green, you can release the seal to extract the chakra."
"Will it be alright?" Pakura raised an eyebrow.
Kyohiko shook his head. "The chakra itself doesn’t cause much damage. Besides, if you’ve reached the point where you need to use it, do you still need to consider the consequences of using it?"
"Then when it’s full, do I need to unseal it and release it?" Pakura asked.
Kyohiko nodded and replied, "You need to be careful. The accumulation of this kind of chakra over a long period of time will definitely be harmful to the human body, so you can only keep it for half a month."
This was one of the "Hashirama battery" solutions he had thought of. It could be used now, but it was very rigid—according to the fool-proof seal-releasing method he had improved, this plan currently required it to be full before it could be used. And after being released, it would empty all the chakra at once.
Since the person who was planted with it didn’t understand the Yin Seal, so... it also couldn’t be re-sealed.
After making it clear, Pakura understood. This thing was just for her to use as a buffer.
"If you want to use it in advance, just actively input chakra into it. It will take some time, but it will definitely be faster than waiting for you," Kyohiko said.
"Thank you." Pakura nodded, her mood very complicated.
As a Konoha ninja, Kyohiko didn’t have to do this. The reason he was doing so was clearly because he hoped she would have the ability to survive if she encountered danger. Otherwise, Kyohiko wouldn’t have gone to this extra trouble at all.
And... the cursed seal... was getting more and more perfect. She could imagine that the full version of the cursed seal would definitely have more uses than just this.