Chapter 57 : Revised

After two more unsuccessful attempts to get my body to accept A's blood I had given up on it.

It took a week and a half for the chakra to start changing your body and I couldn't keep A's chakra in my body for that long without additional blood transfusions.

So, I needed to find another way to cultivate A's chakra.

Easy Peasy.

...

Another day and another mission from Orochimaru.

I was supposed to kill a merchant who was selling to Kumo.

He was the seventh son of some noble in Fire Country and was using his name to send fellow merchants through Frost to Kumo.

I expected it to be a complete waste of time and was not let down in the slightest.

After taking an explosive tag to the leg I acted in self-defense and blew up an entire building.

Sadly, that earned the ire of Orochimaru as the assassination was supposed to be quiet.

I wasn't affected by Orochimaru's constant blabbering about failing the mission.

I wasn't making my way through a trapped building to kill someone.

With the satisfaction of a job well done, I made my way to the lab in preparation for some post-mission fun.

...

"Aomi bring me the tumor please."

I had created a fleshy mass using A's cells and now it sat suspended in a nutrition solution.

It took constant attention from Aomi, myself, or my clones to keep the fleshy mass alive but it was worth it.

The mass was the size of my torso and the sight of Aomi rolling a giant fleshy tumor looking thing on wheels over to me never failed to amuse.

"My baby!" I took it and dragged it over to the side of the room under the unamused gaze of Aomi.

I popped the lid off and reached into the gooey solution and touched it with the tips of my fingers.

I manipulated the cells of the mass and slowly my hand was engulfed.

Now that I had my tumor glove on, I turned my attention inwards and started to guide my Spiritual energy down my arm and into the tumor.

I continued feeding the tumor spiritual energy while I fed my chakra into the Strength Of A Hundred Seal.

After a couple of boring minutes, my reserves were nearly empty and only had some dregs of tumor chakra from the previous time, I had done this.

I turned my attention back to the fleshy mass and started absorbing the chakra from it.

After a few minutes, the process was done and I started manipulating the tumor to free my hand.

I gave my hand a shake, ridding it of the nutrition solution.

"Alrighty, go give my baby back to the clone." I ignored her disgusted look and walked over to the sink to free my arm from the remaining nutrition solution.

As fun as it was too weird Aomi out, I'll be happy when I don't have to spend my time keeping a mass of cells alive.

I just needed a few more day's worth of chakra and I should be good...

Although I hadn't gained as much as Isami had I still gained much from A's physical energy.

My body's resistance to Lightning Release had grown greatly and I was now close to completing my version of the Lightning Cloak.

With my Dermal Armor, the Lighting Cloak might be able to exceed A's own.

I wouldn't get my hopes up though.

My newly gained Lighting Resistance wouldn't be able to exceed years of practice that the current Raikage and future Raikage put into the Lighting Cloak.

But hopefully, over time I'd bridge that gap.

So, my next step was to train the cloak...

And train it repeatedly.

I absently mindedly dried my hands.

Train the cloak and try to get rid of Minato's Genin...

I've had them for two weeks now...

Plan of action decided I made my way out of the lab.

...

The training was going to take up a good portion of my time, but that was in the future.

I had to let my body soak up the chakra and I had to use the chakra a little to keep it flowing through my body.

So, for the next two to four weeks, I'd be training heavily with the chakra I'd made using the fleshy mass.

Being seen with a separate chakra type by the local Hyuga might become a bother.

But it wasn't anything a little murder wouldn't solve.

I brushed the thought off and decided that blackmail and threats were the better options.

"Sigh..." If all else fails, a little murder was ok.

Now would be the ideal time to take our month-long break.

I was somewhat vulnerable as most of my chakra was put inside the seal.

The chakra that I needed to use the Shikotsumyaku.

The bloodline with the longest name.

I could unseal the chakra anytime assuming I had some warning.

But it was better safe than sorry...

I held back a sigh and wondered why I hadn't thought of this earlier...

Now I had to go see if I could take some time off.

Orochimaru wasn't going to be happy, and we hadn't been interacting as of late.

Perhaps he wasn't interested in me anymore, or perhaps he had other things to focus on.

Or he could be getting paranoid...

I smiled wearily and decided that I better ask for leave soon.

Orochimaru should have eaten a while ago and he might be in a good mood.

Hopefully...

...

"No." Orochimaru didn't even pause to consider it.

Which was fine, but I would've liked the illusion of thought at the very least.

"Alright." I didn't bother to protest, I was probably needed, so it was fine.

I hadn't expected a yes anyway.

"What ya working on?" I pointedly stared at the thing on the table.

Orochimaru side-eyed me, likely having a mental debate about how much to share.

"Chakra is the bridge between body and soul." Orochimaru paused and tapped the tiger-human hybrid on the forehead. "I'm trying to influence the soul through the body and chakra."

"Sadly, the soul is no longer as malleable after the age of twenty." Orochimaru turned the hybrids head towards me and I looked into its glassy eyes. "Though the more chakra one has the faster the soul is influenced."

Orochimaru tapped on its forehead and spoke again.

"I had given up on manipulating the soul, but now that I can expand the specimens chakra network I've started experimenting again."

I raised an eyebrow when Orochimaru started running his fingers through the hybrid's hair.

"By changing its DNA, physical features, giving it the memories of a tiger, and the chakra system of a tiger, it becomes a tiger chakra-wise." Orochimaru turned its head back and closed its eyes with his fingers.

"Those changes are reflected in the soul." I hummed I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

I grabbed the hybrids clawed hand and used the Diagnostic Jutsu on it.

There wasn't much chance to its body's structure, the muscles and bones were stronger, and the chakra system was different but other than that the hybrid was still internally human-shaped.

"So, chakra can influence the soul?" I released its hand and took a step back.

"Hmm..." Orochimaru hummed in affirmation. "Chakra is the bridge between body and soul." He repeated.

"What's the purpose of influencing the soul like this?"

Orochimaru stayed silent, and after a moment it became clear that it was on purpose.

"Sigh..." Perhaps there was no purpose to this experiment, Orochimaru might be doing this just for the sake of doing it.

Orochimaru sent me a mildly annoyed look at my sigh.

I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks for sharing your knowledge Sensei." I bowed.

Orochimaru nodded, though he didn't look as happy as he usually did at my use of 'Sensei'.

"Leave me." He eyed the hybrid. "I have work to do."

I nodded and sent him another bow, before beating a hasty retreat.

I had some thinking to do.

And I had to ask for some books on the subject...

Perhaps when he's in a better mood.

...

I spent a while trying to figure out how Orochimaru could see the soul but gave up on it after realizing Fuinjutsu was likely the answer.

I shifted my focus back to chakra wondering if the chakra I was running through my body was changing my soul.

That could have been the case for Isami as she was much younger than I was but I doubted that my old soul would change much.

Then again who knew, I knew nothing substantial about the soul.

It was mostly guesswork on my part.

"Sigh..." Perhaps that's why I could use the Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku...

My chakra has been affecting my soul for a long time...

I flipped my pillow over and enjoyed the sensation of cool fabric on my face.

I now had a lot of questions...

But Orochimaru wasn't too forthcoming with his research into the soul...

I might need to sick around him for a while.

There was still much to learn.

...

I gave Isami a transfusion using my blood.

There weren't any changes other than an increase in appetite.

Something similar happened when she first got A's blood, she just needed some nutrients as her body was changing slightly.

It was good as it meant the physical energy from my cells was doing something.

I stopped scanning Isami with the Diagnostic Jutsu and hummed quietly to myself.

Perhaps a flesh transplant would be more beneficial?

If blood was doing this well, cells that were directly connected to the chakra network would likely have better effects...

I let the idea bounce around and found myself liking it.

It was something to try at least, probably on a prisoner.

Aomi tapped me on the shoulder bringing me back to reality.

Isami had taken off, likely wanting to train with Duy while the offer was valid.

"The notes please." I held a hand out and received the notes not a moment later.

I glanced at the notes and nodded.

"Good work." There was nothing to add.

Aomi nodded and started towards the tumor as it was about time for a good ol chakra making session with Tumor-chan.

I snickered.

My new favorite thing to do was making Aomi cringe in disgust.

And Tumor-Chan was indeed cringe-worthy.

But perhaps a human name would be even more cringey...

...

Jerky in the Naruto-Verse was not seasoned very well.

I stared at the piece of thinly sliced jerky sadly.

It made me sad to eat such garbage when I knew it could be so much better with different seasoning.

"Sigh..." I tossed it into my mouth and slowly chewed it, the taste of salt and smoke was ok, but it could be better.

Better tasting jerky was probably low on the list of things that need improvement, so I wouldn't see it for a while.

As nostalgic as I was feeling about tasty jerky, I didn't care enough to try my hand at making it.

I was a murderer, not a cook.

"..." I stared at Aomi and wondered if I should make her go off in search of better jerky.

Aomi met my stare and raised an eyebrow.

"Like what you see?" I winked at her and she looked away.

Whatever...

...

"Hello, Senpai." Rin sent me a cheery smile that reminded me of Minato.

I nodded at her in greeting and studied Obito gasping and sweating form in the distance.

"Senpai, why's your hair black?" Rin pointed at my head.

I didn't need the clarification, I knew what hair was and where it was located.

"I'm going on a mission soon and people run or surrender when they see me." I paused for a moment wondering if I should soften what I was about to say.

"It makes me uncomfortable to chase down and murder people, it feels more justified when they fight back." Rin looked perturbed even though I held back a great deal of what I wanted to say.

Not telling her about how happy a good fight makes me was the right move.

"The black-hair is nice, it makes us look more like mother and son." Mom changed the topic and averted what would have been a long stretch of awkward silence.

I nodded at her in both thanks and acknowledgment.

"Want me to keep it?" It was easy to do and would throw people off for a while.

Mom shrugged.

"As much as I like it, it isn't you." Mom nodded to herself. "Black hair doesn't look cool when it's covered in blood like white hair does."

I nodded in agreement.

"I like white anyways." I jutted my thumb at my clothing.

Mom nodded and started towards Obito, who was still running around the frost-covered clearing.

"Any news from Sensei?" Rin quickly shook her head.

"That's annoying..." The fighting in Grass might be picking up, that or they needed someone in Sand Country or Noodles.

I had things I wanted to do and having Minato's Genin here was putting a dampener on my experimentation.

"Whatever." I stared at the sky to see how much time we had. "Chakra control or sparing?"

Rin tapped her chin and glanced at Obito for a moment.

"Chakra control please!" Rin sent me a brilliant smile.

I nodded absently while staring at mom and Obito who had started sparing.

Obito didn't seem to want to spar so it was just mom chasing him around the field with the threat of bodily harm.

I turned away from the spectacle they were creating and started towards a large tree on the edge of the clearing.

Hopefully, mom would motivate Obito some, he could use it.

...

...

Interlude.

Orochimaru-Sama had ordered Shiro to disguise himself, infiltrate Keishi and assassinate a merchant.

It couldn't be known that we assassinated the merchant.

So Duy, Sumiko, and I were tasked with keeping a lookout while Shiro stealthily made his way through the building and to the merchant.

The mission was going well.

Boom*

Until the building exploded.

The explosion was massive and easily the biggest explosion I had ever seen, it shattered nearby windows and debris the size of me rained throughout the immediate area.

I turned to Sumiko as she was the leader.

'Proceed' I signed.

Sumiko shook her head with a look of annoyance.

I was about to question her when I was distracted by the scent of burnt flesh.

I turned and saw Shiro kneeling behind me.

He was horribly burnt and I would have been worried about had I not seen bone peeking through patches of rapidly healing burnt skin.

"I see you had fun..." Sumiko's dry voice startled me.

Shiro stared at his mother quietly for a moment before replying.

"Yes, lots of fun..." Shiro's voice was equally dry.

'Retreat' Duy signed while looking uncharacteristically serious.

Shiro nodded and took a running leap off the building and onto the adjacent one.

Sumiko, Duy, and I followed after him at a more sedate pace.

...

"So how did the building explode?" Duy still looked serious.

Yawn*

Sumiko rubbed one of her eyes and yawned.

"Shiro did it." Her bluntness surprised me and I couldn't stop the snicker that escaped me.

Sumiko looked at me and smirked.

"They had a sensor and knew Shiro was coming, so they decided to trap the building." Sumiko's smirk widened. "Shiro probably didn't want to go through all the traps and blew them up."

"There wasn't supposed to be any ninja." Duy spoke up. "Especially in Fire Country's capital."

I nodded in acknowledgment and looked at Sumiko.

"There wasn't" Sumiko smirked. "They arrived just as we started."

I nodded in understanding.

Had it not been Shiro who was sent, the merchant might've survived.

But the ninja arriving when they did, meant that we had a leak somewhere.

The timing was too good.

Though it seemed that they didn't know who would be sent...

"Eat now, we're leaving when Shiro finishes his shower." Sumiko knocked me from my thoughts.

I nodded and Duy nodded as well.

He was looking less serious now.

I sent him a nod and started on my ration bar while he nodded back.

...

We were halfway to Frost Country when Shiro spoke breaking the silence that had befallen us since we left Keishi.

"Orochimaru's going to throw a fit." Shiro's voice was bland, he didn't seem to care all that much.

Sumiko nodded with a small smile on her face.

"Yes, but it was you who blew the building up, not us." Shiro shrugged and I nodded.

Orochimaru-Sama's attention would be focused on Shiro.

"I could always blame Aomi." Shiro's eyes met mine and the playful glint in them made any panic I felt disappear.

"How Unyouthful!" Duy summer-salted in front of us and landed in a pose.

"Young Shiro! You must be kind to the Beautiful flowers of Konoha!" Shiro gave Duy a thumbs up.

"How Youthful! I will never mistreat a Beautiful flower Duy-San!" I let out a silent groan and covered my face with my hands.

This was embarrassing.

Shiro and Duy continued their antics while Sumiko and I sped up.

After a moment the youthful chatter was barely audible and I was feeling less embarrassed.

...