(Kabuto's POV)
Kabuto looked at the girl with a certain curiosity, Nanami, Dosu's student, currently under his care.
Unlike Ryuta and Kenta, who were being beaten up, Kabuto's training was much more subtle.
Nanami had been tied to a chair for almost 12 hours, her hands bound behind her back. She looked incredibly tired, but she stubbornly bit her lip.
Kabuto's request was simple, cut the ropes with a chakra scalpel. If she didn't cut them, he wouldn't take her away.
She couldn't eat, she couldn't drink, she could only sleep, and with great difficulty.
This stressful environment could be counterproductive, but Nanami didn't have much time, so she had to learn quickly or not learn at all.
They were in his lab, he would only glance at her occasionally, then return to focusing on his own research.
Nanami didn't complain about the situation, she needed to get stronger, even knowing that Fuu was a Jinchuuriki (Guren had warned her), she didn't want to give up so easily.
Her chakra had recovered somewhat, so she tried again, sharpening her chakra to the point of being as razor-sharp. She felt the strings tear a little more, but she wasn't satisfied.
If Kabuto's chakra scalpel was what its name promised—a true scalpel—hers was like a blunt dagger.
She could barely cut anything before her chakra was drained.
She breathed heavily again, her stomach protesting continuously, her lips dry from dehydration, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to calm down, compelling her body to generate chakra again.
She would grow stronger, it was a promise to herself, her companions, and her Sensei, she would become an excellent ninja they could rely on in the future!
She never wanted to feel that despair again!
//-//
(Jugo's POV)
Jugo was in a hidden room inside Orochimaru's research center, his tastes hadn't changed, still the same cold, stone room.
He calmly observed the experiment before him, the ground was covered in seals once more. Beside him, Orochimaru was watching with even greater intensity than Jugo. In front of them, a werewolf stood waiting for the experiment to begin, with no thought other than wanting to help Jugo.
The seals began to light up in a flickering light, the chakra concentrating in the center of the seal. As they watched, the Werewolf frowned slightly for a moment, but the next instant, its body seemed to expand from the sides, as if being pulled from both sides, but not tearing, only stretching.
It only took a brief moment, as it was being pulled, new flesh grew and when it was all over, two identical figures were in the center of the seal, even the clothes were recreated.
Jugo and Orochimaru watched both sides intently, but it was Jugo who was sensing the soul of the test subject.
Perfectly divided, without any damage, this was... a success.
Jugo let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, the last few days had been hectic, he'd barely had time for a break, and he couldn't remember how many times he'd failed, having to revive his subordinates time and time again.
He could only think that those maniacs from Iwagakure were truly insane.
It's no coincidence that only Mu had used that strange technique.
Jugo often cheated with his clones, he had learned so many jutsus from them that he barely remembered some of them. Unlike Kakashi, who was said to know a thousand jutsus, Ringo had truly learned thousands, to the point of losing count.
But this wasn't one of those techniques, it was a technique that divided not only the body, but the soul.
Orochimaru approached the split pair, took a chakra paper in each hand and handed it to them, neither asked any questions, only infused chakra into the papers.
One of them caught fire, the other split in two.
The previous result? Division and burning, but now even the chakra properties of both had been divided.
It was a success, a real success.
Jugo would still conduct a few more tests, and he would also take the opportunity to use his Tenseigan to observe the chakra flow of both of them, but for now, that was enough.
Orochimaru seemed even more excited than Jugo. Jugo could almost imagine the guy's mind pondering the usefulness of this jutsu, having two of himself would not only facilitate his research but would also be an even better insurance measure than the curse mark, which needs a catalyst to revive him.
Jugo ignored his research boss's madness and instead began to worry about other things.
Would that be enough?
In the world of LOTM, when a demigod has a child, they can decide whether the child will inherit some of their Beyonder characteristics, many Beyonders even use this to get rid of excess characteristics.
Jugo's plan involves creating a new, clean body, devoid of any of his own characteristics. This means he needs to maintain control during the division, keeping his characteristics on one side and not the other.
The theory is good, but although he's almost certain it would be possible, in the end it's not absolute certainty, after all he won't have one child, but rather split himself in two.
At that point, there was no point in backing down, he might soon discover whether everything he had done was useless or the key to his problems.