"As expected."
Yakushi Kabuto accepted the outcome calmly, then opened the door and left the dueling arena.
They had already reached the fourth round of experiments involving the transplantation of the original cells.
Early on, they simply transplanted original cell tissue. Take Kimimaro as an example: once a complete balance was achieved, he would lose all power. Then, as natural energy accumulated, he would quickly enter a state of collapse and imbalance, turning into a giant bomb.
Sooner or later, the inhibitor would fail to work permanently. The more natural energy there was, the more inhibitor was needed.
Continuing research down that path led only to a dead end.
They tried using the original cells as the main focus, supplemented by the Cursed Seal. At first, there was some hope. Believing everything was progressing smoothly, they left the southern base.
However, in follow-up experiments at the northern base, many of the Cursed Seal test subjects turned into mindless giants. In their frenzy, they self-destructed. Juugo—the source of the Cursed Seal—had his primary personality forced into slumber, while his bloodthirsty alternate personality, catalyzed by this new natural energy, transformed into a monstrous form nearly five meters tall.
Once again, the experiments failed, leaving them no choice but to seal the now-monstrous Juugo inside the northern base and depart. Even so, they gained many new insights.
Originally, the plan was to conduct a third round of experiments in the Land of Rivers. But he (Kabuto) was captured by Link, which also brought in Sasori of the Red Sand. Forced to continue the research intermittently while being pursued by Sasori, they finally made some breakthroughs near Kusagakure.
They then changed their approach, abandoning the delicate and hard-to-control original cells as the main component. Instead, they allowed the Cursed Seal to absorb those cells. The heavily suppressed original cells were then utilized by the Cursed Seal. At first, the experiments went smoothly:
For ordinary test subjects who did not know how to refine chakra, there was no disruption in the balance of natural energy. By continually ingesting or injecting medicines derived from the original tissues, the Cursed Seal gradually improved its adaptation to those tissues and its control over the new natural energy.
They almost saw the dawn of success.
Particularly in the more advanced trials, the Sound Four—now new test subjects—managed to develop a "Cursed Seal Level Three." Their power soared to a terrifying degree, enough that even Orochimaru himself had to treat them with caution. This development further boosted their confidence.
Yet, led by the Sound Four, some test subjects became morbidly obsessed with the medicines made from the original tissues. Their physical deformities severely damaged their minds, and the Cursed Seals became fully corrupted, breaking free of Orochimaru's control. A group of monsters gathered and tried to seize the original specimens.
That battle caused them heavy losses. Had the person bearing the Five Elements Seal not gone berserk and eliminated most of the mutated test subjects, things would have spiraled out of control much earlier. Even Orochimaru's body was critically wounded. Still, he managed to capture and detain the Sound Four—who had activated Level Three of the Cursed Seal and thus had enormous value—at the eastern base. Then they hurried to a secret base hidden in the Land of Earth.
They used the berserker's ability to separate five types of natural energy, directly disrupting the most fundamental balance. They dissected out parts of the original cells and filtered them into five different attributes for separate transplantation.
Although the experiment was highly successful, it turned out to be far too weak. Forsaking chakra only allowed a single type of natural energy to be used. While the destructive power was barely adequate, physical enhancement was poor and severely lacking in variety. Furthermore, they no longer had the powerful regenerative ability provided when all five types of natural energy were combined. It got to the point where an ordinary person with a kunai could simply stab them to death.
After that, he began trying to mix different types of natural energy. However, since each individual's capacity to adapt differed, those who could handle two different attributes at the same time were extremely rare. The most recent experiments nearly came to a standstill.
Lord Orochimaru then proceeded with his planned reincarnation. At that moment—crack!—Yakushi Kabuto entered the lowest level of the underground base. Staring at the giant white serpent soaking inside a large tank, his expression grew complicated.
Since he was the only successful test subject, naturally, he was Orochimaru's intended vessel.
Because of the interference from the Five Elements Seal, the reincarnation both failed and succeeded. Now, there were two souls within his body, their memories hopelessly entangled. Neither soul could leave; they were both bound by the Five Elements Seal.
"Who… exactly am I?"
he murmured.
…
Land of Waves, Link's Base
"Ah—"
Karin felt her head swimming, her eyelids heavy as lead, and her throat in severe discomfort. "Cough, cough, cough…" Violently coughing, she slowly opened her eyes.
Not having seen the sun for some time, her eyes stung under the faint light, causing muddy tears to well up.
[I'm still alive? But where am I—did Orochimaru come back?]
She thought vaguely, attempting to steady herself on the bed and sit up.
Thud!
Without her left arm, her body lurched to one side, and her head smacked against the bedframe. The daze that had clouded her thoughts was suddenly lifted.
"You're awake, meow." A dark silhouette stood at the doorway. The cat in its arms opened its mouth to speak.
Propping herself up with her right arm, she asked, "You're… from the Ninja Cat Clan?" She could faintly recall them.
"Is Uncle Shouhe still alive?" She blurted out, then clarified, "He's the man who was in the same room hiding with me."
When the base's test subjects turned into monsters and rampaged, they went berserk attacking everyone. In the prison area—where most people were held—destruction came almost immediately. Karin had tried to suppress the test subjects and lost an arm in the process; fortunately, that inmate named Shouhe saved her life for reasons unknown.
They were both forced by the rampaging monsters to flee deeper into the base. Using hidden mechanisms, they completely sealed the lab's doors. The monsters couldn't break through the lab's specially reinforced walls, but that also meant there was no way to escape. Day by day, they simply waited to die. Eventually, she lost consciousness, and upon waking, she found herself here.
"You mean that man, meow?" The cat nodded. "He's dead, meow."
Karin froze in shock.
"Just kidding, meow." The ninja cat smirked. "He lost both legs and is now unconscious in the next room. Your physique is really something—recovering so quickly from injuries like that, meow."
"But since you're awake, come with me to meet my partner, meow."
Karin wasn't sure how to respond; perhaps she should be angry, but the fact she had been rescued and that Shouhe was still alive also relieved her. Meanwhile, the agony of losing an arm struck her again. Countless emotions churned in her mind. She rose unsteadily, placing her feet on the floor.
After taking a few steps, she felt lightheaded; the room spun around her, and she swayed. It seemed someone caught her body—she never felt the impact against the back of her head—and her consciousness slipped into darkness, the last thing she heard being the ninja cat's voice in her ear:
"Such a troublesome brat, meow…"
When she came to again, she was back in bed. A man in a blue yukata was pressing a hand against her, releasing chakra to heal her. She opened her mouth to thank him, but no sound emerged.
"Her condition is not very good. Her chakra has been overdrawn multiple times," the man in the yukata said to someone else. "I checked the man in the neighboring room; this girl appears to have a special constitution—she can heal others' chakra and injuries by letting them bite her, but it expends her own chakra…"
Karin turned her head with effort and saw a short figure standing on the other side of the bed.
"Leave it to me," said the figure in a slightly youthful voice—yet with a mature, gentle tone.
At that moment, Karin felt two small hands press against her body. In the next second, she felt as though she were soaking in a hot spring, her entire body loosening up. The pain and fatigue that had built up from repeated stress seemed to melt away.
After a few hazy seconds, she reflexively whispered, "Thank you." Her voice was still a bit hoarse, but at least she could speak normally.
Growl—
Her stomach rumbled. Slightly embarrassed, she sat up against the headboard. "Thank you for saving my life," she said.
She didn't mention Orochimaru. Now that her senses and vision had cleared, she recognized at once who the short figure was: Link from Konoha, the very person Orochimaru and Kabuto had frequently mentioned. What's more, the chakra of the blue-yukata man was terrifying. There was no way these two belonged to Orochimaru.
[Are they going to interrogate me now? I must still have some value…]
Feeling a bit nervous, though her expression hardly changed, she simply said, "My name is Karin."
"You're one of Orochimaru's subordinates, right? Tell me exactly what happened," Link asked.
She saw no reason to cover up for Orochimaru and recounted in detail the events that had taken place recently: how the experimental subjects became monsters and attacked everyone else.
That would explain why the island was deserted and filled with rotting corpses.
Link fell into silent thought. So the Five Elements Seal can cause this? Or was there another factor at play? Why would those who became monsters end up dead? He couldn't figure it out.
He decided not to dwell on it further. He was clueless about research—reading experimental reports was enough of a headache. Moreover, those reports they had seized before never mentioned anything about test subjects becoming monsters; they only recorded dosages and observations.
Since Orochimaru had already created so many strange things, Link was determined to keep him from causing any more chaos.
"You'll have to live here for a while," Link said, eyeing the red-haired girl whose body was nothing but skin and bones. The Delicate Illness Extraction Technique he had used earlier was nowhere near enough to fully heal someone so badly injured. Still, something about the girl reminded him of that other member of her clan, Nagato.
Karin listened quietly.
Link gestured to a "retired shadow" to come forward. "He'll be in charge of taking care of your daily needs. If you need anything, just call."
"Y-you're leaving?" Karin asked anxiously. She had already been abandoned once, and if those monsters appeared again…
Link had no time to spare for the emotional wounds of a teenage girl. He simply said, "Don't try to run away. If you do, he will kill you."
With that, he exchanged a glance with "Utakata," and the two of them—plus the ninja cat—left the room.
Next stop: Orochimaru's northern base.
~~~
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