Chapter 186: Mechanical Ascension!
Ino quickly gestured for Kabuto to calm down, "You're 'dead' right now. It'll be troublesome if the village patrol finds you."
Kabuto's expression was particularly conflicted, tears welling up as he spoke, "I know it's wrong, I know, I know all of it, but... but I really want to live. Every extra day, every extra hour, it all matters."
How could they allow him to continue "living"? This question had been discussed by the two of them when researching mythological stories, and now the conclusion could be directly applied.
That was the core issue since the establishment of their Baroque Works: the King of Hell and the Sage Eyes.
The Sage Eyes possessed the supreme power to revive the dead, as some ancient texts recorded. Kabuto had also received confirmation of this from Orochimaru; this claim indeed existed. As for the specifics of the revival? No one had ever seen it. Orochimaru didn't know and didn't care.
Of course, Kabuto hadn't come looking for the Sage Eyes, and Ino was even less inclined to provoke them. Their conversation quickly shifted to the topic of Impure World Reincarnation.
Ino revealed a partial truth, "I only know how to release the curse of this jutsu. I don't know how to use it. The Second Hokage wished for this jutsu to be buried forever. He only taught me the release part. Kabuto-senpai, is it the release you need?"
Kabuto indeed needed it. The release was also a part of the jutsu. With a high enough level of ninjutsu, one could deduce the original formula. However, he had just vehemently declared his desire to "live," so he couldn't immediately switch to asking for the release; it would seem too disingenuous.
He said, "Orochimaru took a liking to my meager medical ninjutsu and made me his research assistant. During the experiments, I gathered some information about Impure World Reincarnation. You are a famous ninjutsu prodigy in Konohagakure. Take a look; can you help me truly revive?"
No pain, no gain. He diligently played the part of a humble and timid small fry, occasionally throwing in a few compliments to satisfy Ino's vanity.
For someone like Yakushi Kabuto, who possessed Jonin-level strength but concealed his identity by feeding pigs, weeding, and completing 163 various menial tasks, face was worthless. He had no psychological burden whatsoever.
"Oh? An unexpected gain?" Ino took the scroll he offered and carefully examined it.
It was indeed content related to Impure World Reincarnation, but it was severely incomplete. Many parts were just fragments, and the information wasn't coherent.
The scroll recorded some of the external manifestations of Impure World Reincarnation, but there was no mention of the summoning process or anything similar.
Without specific hand seals, the sequence of hand seals, and the chakra flow, this scroll was more like an explanation of the ninjutsu or a report on symptom research.
Ino also showed Kabuto the part about the curse release that she had held back.
Both of them flipped through the information quickly, and then simultaneously shook their heads.
With the information at hand, it was impossible to deduce the complete Impure World Reincarnation jutsu.
Kabuto was a little unwilling to give up and brought up another matter: life energy.
Even if they could draw Orochimaru's consciousness out of the cursed seal, they would still need a vessel.
In the original timeline, Sasuke used Sage Kabuto's cells to revive Orochimaru. At that time, Kabuto was in Sage Mode, his body brimming with Sage Chakra, which was formed by balancing physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy. This chakra contained extremely vigorous life energy, which could be used to revive Orochimaru.
Currently, Kabuto didn't even have the concept of Sage Mode, so they had to think of another way.
He continued to use his "death" as a pretense, saying that he couldn't find the Sage Eyes and was now trying to find a body with strong life energy, after which he would abandon this "filthy" Impure World Reincarnation body.
Ino snapped her fingers, "You've really come to the right person! Kabuto-senpai, take a look at this!"
She undid the seals on a scroll and took out a severed arm that was half mechanical and half flesh.
Yakushi Kabuto was someone who could eat in a pile of corpses, so a severed arm wasn't much to him. However, as one of the top medical ninjas in the world, he could tell the original owner's height and weight just by glancing at the arm's length, skin color, and body fat percentage. This one didn't even require judgment. Wasn't this Jirobo's arm? Did you detach his arm with his permission?
"Look."
Ino released five chakra threads, connecting them to the five chakra points on the severed arm. Then, she manipulated it using the techniques of a Sand Village puppeteer.
Yakushi Kabuto knew Sasori and had also been a spy in the Sand Village, so he wasn't unfamiliar with puppeteers. In his opinion, Ino's control was terrible.
Focusing intently, he saw the clue, "Ino-san, is this... a human puppet?"
He was too surprised. Human puppets were Sasori's unique technique. The people in the Sand Village didn't know how to make them at all. They could only use metal, hardwood, and other materials to create traditional puppets. Traditional puppets were easy to control, but their methods were relatively limited. Human puppets were complex to control, but their methods were diverse. After all, they were puppets made based on a ninja's body. Because of the existence of chakra, they could often even use the ninjutsu the ninja had used in life.
He felt a strange chakra within the severed arm, somewhat similar to the cursed seals Orochimaru had placed on the Sound Four, somewhat like Jirobo's own chakra, and it seemed to have something else mixed in.
He saw obvious sealing formulas on the side of the severed arm.
"Did you research this? Truly remarkable." He was greatly surprised by Ino's research ability. Girl, you're truly wasted in Konohagakure. The Sand Village needs talent like you!
Ino held her head high, firmly establishing her genius persona.
Kabuto wanted Ino to undo the seal on the side of the severed arm. He wanted to see what exactly was providing the chakra inside.
"Alright," Ino readily agreed. "Flesh is weak, mechanical ascension is the way! Release!"
As soon as the seal was undone, in the next second, several vine-like appendages, as thick as an infant's arm and with a metallic texture, suddenly burst out from within the severed arm.
These vines were all dark red, covered in growths. They were usually hidden beneath the muscles of the severed arm, acting as blood vessels and chakra meridians.
A pungent smell of blood rushed towards them. Kabuto pretended to be panicked and scrambled back more than ten meters. Only after Ino resealed the vines did he slowly walk back, feigning lingering fear.
With just those two glances, he understood Ino's general idea.
She had implanted a chakra-carrying plant into the severed arm, which absorbed the flesh and cells within. It seemed to have also eroded the cursed seal Orochimaru had placed on Jirobo. Now, the plant was like some kind of parasite, integrated with the flesh and mechanics.
In his opinion, those vines were somewhat similar to Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. He decided to take back his previous words. Girl, don't go to the Sand Village. It's too small a pond for you. Lord Orochimaru needs talent like you even more!
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