Chapter 102: Chimera Technique
"Power is the truth!"
"Eternal life is the truth!"
Inside the spacious laboratory, Orochimaru and Hiruko stood at odds with each other, neither willing to back down.
To some extent, their words represented the divergence in their philosophies.
Orochimaru pursued eternity. Power was merely secondary to that pursuit.
Because of this, when conducting experiments, he naturally placed greater value on the stability of the results.
Stability first, then the pursuit of power.
Hiruko, by contrast, was far more radical.
"Hmph."
Hiruko gave a cold snort.
"Eternal life without the strength to protect it is nothing but false eternity. A truly powerful person could kill you with a single thought."
"And with the method you chose, it is not even certain that you can achieve eternal life."
He sneered.
"Continuously seizing other people's bodies might let you reincarnate again and again, but your spirit will inevitably be contaminated."
"If this keeps going, forget eternal life. You'll probably go mad sooner or later."
"As long as one's will is strong enough, mere spiritual contamination can be resolved in many ways."
Orochimaru was just as blunt.
"And is your Technique really free of risk?"
"Forcibly devouring other people's Bloodline Limits causes violent rejection within the body. Once or twice may be fine, but if you truly want to do what you described and gather five or even more Bloodline Limits into one body, your body will collapse sooner or later."
"Even if that kind of power can exist, it will only be temporary. One day, your body will no longer be able to endure it."
"When that day comes, no method will be able to save you."
"You!"
Hiruko and Orochimaru glared at each other.
As people working in the same laboratory, they had long been deeply involved in each other's research. They were more than aware of the flaws in each other's techniques.
Generally speaking, both Orochimaru's Reincarnation Jutsu and Hiruko's Chimera Technique had major defects.
One revolved around seizing bodies with the soul, which meant that the spirit would inevitably suffer repeated erosion. It might not be obvious in the short term, but if it continued long enough, there would eventually come a day when the soul could no longer endure it. True eternity was still far out of reach.
Hiruko's Chimera Technique, on the other hand, centered on devouring Bloodline Limits.
But as Orochimaru had said, blindly devouring more and more Bloodline Limits would lead to increasingly severe bodily rejection. If things went wrong, it could result in complete bodily collapse. It was also a technique burdened with serious side effects.
The flaws in both techniques were obvious. Neither of them had come close to true perfection.
"You two are disgusting!"
Not far away, Tsunade listened to their argument, her face full of blatant revulsion.
"One of you spends every day coveting other people's bodies, and the other spends every day coveting other people's Bloodline Limits. Do you really have to be this gross?"
"I'm the dignified Princess of Konoha. Why do I have to be on a team with you two?"
Looking at the increasingly unhinged Orochimaru and Hiruko, Tsunade found the situation hard to accept.
At the end of the day, she was still a normal person. Though as a shinobi her tolerance was far above that of ordinary people, it was not enough to calmly accept two teammates constantly discussing how to take over other people's bodies and Bloodline Limits.
"This is supreme art. What does a vulgar person like you understand, Tsunade?"
Orochimaru and Hiruko spoke in unison, both glaring at her now.
"I don't understand anything about art or research."
Tsunade clenched her fist.
"But you two just mentioned the Senju and the Uchiha, didn't you?"
She wore a smile, but her entire body radiated danger.
"Standing right in front of you is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, the inheritor of the purest bloodline in the Senju Clan."
"Are the two of you planning to discuss seizing my body or devouring my Bloodline Limit?"
"And as for the Uchiha's Sharingan... Kei has that too, doesn't he? Don't tell me you were thinking about..."
"We were only giving examples. Just examples!"
The moment Hiruko heard that, he waved his hands frantically and immediately distanced himself from his own words.
"I would never dare covet Teacher's Sharingan!"
"Orochimaru, you were the one just talking about seizing other people's bodies to obtain powerful Bloodline Limits, weren't you?"
Seeing Hiruko retreat, Tsunade turned her gaze toward Orochimaru.
"I never said that."
Orochimaru waved a hand.
"Besides, even if I wanted to do something like that, I would naturally choose shinobi from enemy villages."
"To be honest, the Ice Release of the Yuki Clan and the Shikotsumyaku of the Kaguya Clan are both quite excellent Bloodline Limits."
"At least you know your place."
Tsunade let out a snort and said nothing more.
"What are you all discussing?"
From behind them, Kei's voice drifted over.
The expressions of the three instantly changed.
Tsunade's face, which had been full of ferocity just moments ago, immediately softened into exceptional gentleness.
"Kei, you're here."
"Orochimaru and the others were just discussing academic topics."
She glanced at Orochimaru and Hiruko before speaking.
"Oh?"
Kei immediately became interested.
"What academic topics?"
The expressions of Orochimaru and Hiruko changed sharply.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Tsunade repeated every bit of what the two of them had just been saying.
"You two..."
Standing there and listening to Tsunade's retelling, Kei found himself somewhat speechless.
"It's not a good idea to say things like that so openly in the laboratory."
"Do you know what would happen if what you just said leaked out?"
For the major ninja clans, their Bloodline Limits were things they valued above almost everything else. If talk like that were to spread, it would definitely cause a massive uproar.
In that environment, what Hiruko and Orochimaru had just said was extremely sensitive. Once it got out, they would probably be immediately branded as people coveting other clans' Bloodline Limits.
By then, their reputations would become utterly dreadful.
"We understand."
Seeing that Kei was not actually angry over what they had said, Orochimaru and Hiruko both let out quiet sighs of relief.
Neither of them was stupid. Once they calmed down, they both understood that their words had indeed been highly inappropriate.
The only reason they had spoken so recklessly was because they had become too heated during the discussion itself.
For people like them, that only ever happened during academic debates.
Normally, no matter the situation, they were calm people and rarely had such strong emotional reactions.
"Both the Chimera Technique and the Reincarnation Jutsu have serious flaws."
After hearing their reports, Kei gave his conclusion.
"Once the Chimera Technique begins devouring Bloodline Limits, the body's stability will inevitably decline. The more Bloodline Limits it devours, the worse that instability becomes."
"This is an unavoidable drawback. No matter how much the technique is improved, it cannot be completely eliminated."
"So instead of trying to improve that aspect, it is better to use the technique only once or twice at most."
"Using the Chimera Technique to devour two Bloodline Limits should already be the body's limit without pushing it into dangerous territory. I would not recommend trying more than that."
"Hiruko, you should begin thinking carefully about which two Bloodline Limits are truly most suitable for you."
He continued,
"More Bloodline Limits do not necessarily mean greater strength. Having more does not mean being better."
"Hashirama sama, who founded Konoha back then, only possessed Wood Release. The famous Asura of the Ninja World, Uchiha Madara, only had the Sharingan. Yet both of them became godlike figures who suppressed the entire shinobi world."
"Yes."
Hearing Kei speak like that, Hiruko opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to argue, but in the end only nodded.
"I understand."
No, you probably do not.
Looking at Hiruko's expression, Kei knew very well that Hiruko had probably not really taken the words to heart. He was still clinging to his own ideas.
But that was only natural.
Outstanding researchers were often obsessives.
If Hiruko could be made to abandon his beliefs because of a single sentence, then he would never have become such an excellent researcher in the first place.
"Orochimaru, the same applies to you."
After finishing with Hiruko, Kei turned to Orochimaru.
"Even if your Reincarnation Jutsu is perfected, you must not use it too frequently."
"Every reincarnation will cause you to be influenced by the original owner of the body. If you undergo too many reincarnations, whether you are still yourself in the end, or have become someone else carrying your memories, will become a major question."
"I understand."
Orochimaru froze for a moment, then nodded solemnly, clearly taking Kei's warning to heart.
After finishing his exchange with the two of them, Kei continued.
"The testing phase of the Chimera Technique is complete. It is about time for a real trial."
"Let me do it."
At the mention of that, Hiruko immediately became eager.
"Teacher, I'm ready!"
The Chimera Technique was a forbidden jutsu that had been gradually perfected over the past two years, and at present, only the four of them knew about it.
Since Kei now intended to perform a real test, one of the four naturally had to be chosen as the subject.
And Hiruko felt that he was the most suitable candidate.
After all, the Chimera Technique had originally been his idea, and the majority of the detailed research had also been completed by him.
To put it bluntly, he was the one who understood this technique best.
And in terms of strength, he was the weakest among the three, including Orochimaru, and also the one who most urgently needed to perform the Chimera Technique.
"Fine."
Looking at Hiruko, Kei thought for a moment, then agreed.
He did indeed need someone to carry out a true attempt with the Chimera Technique.
Only by witnessing the entire process personally could he make more accurate observations and then improve and refine it further afterward.
From that perspective, Hiruko really was a suitable candidate.
As for the Bloodline Limit that needed to be devoured, Kei had already chosen it for him.
Wood Release.
The performance of the Chimera Technique did not require a living person. It only required flesh and blood with enough vitality to serve as material.
And in that regard, the Wood Release bloodline of the First Hokage was undoubtedly the most convenient choice.
.....
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