Chapter – 604 Hiruko and the Chimera Buds
The base of the Akatsuki Organization
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"
Out of nowhere and without any warning, suddenly an extremely painful cry penetrated through the rock walls and resounded throughout the underground base, shocking both Sasuke and Neji who were busy in a training fight, causing them to stop their training and look at each other in shock and confusion.
Sasuke asked Neji, "Did you hear that too?"
Neji nodded with a horrified expression and then with his activated Byakugan he tried to search the location from where the cry was coming only to be left disappointed because that place is probably out of the range of what he can perceive currently, as such, he was unable to confirm it… Regardless, even he could not see the person in question, he could still feel the pain and despair that the cry was carrying… In fact, to Neji, it didn't feel that the cry belonged to a human, at least not one human, it felt as if hundreds of people or probably ghosts were crying in pain and despair…
Seeing that Neji was unable to find anything, Sasuke turned towards Shinichi––who was seemingly unaffected by the sound and was calmly sitting on a rocking chair with a dry twig in his mouth––and asked, "Shinichi-san… what's the matter with this sound? Are you Akatsuki Shinobi torturing weak people?"
Shinichi opened his left eye and said with a lazy expression, "Even if we are torturing ordinary people, it's irrelevant to a bunch of brats who can't do anything… so shut your mouths, and continue to train without getting distracted by every little thing…!"
"You…!" Sasuke was annoyed at Shinichi's response but understanding that Shinichi was indeed correct, he decided to tacitly shut his mouth and continued to train…
The same was the case with Neji, although, he was curious, he didn't try to explore things he shouldn't know because of his weak strength.
After reprimanding Sasuke and Neji, Shinichi looked in the direction of the gate of the dungeon cell with a thoughtful expression on his face… 'So it's finally time… huh?'
…
Somewhere else at the base of the Akatsuki Organization.
Konan looked solemnly at Sasori and Kakuzu, then questioned, "How is his situation?"
Sasori shook his head with a helpless expression, and similarly, Kakuzu also fell silent as he glanced into the sealed room behind them…
The previous cry filled with pain and depression came from the sealed room behind the two of them… and the source of the cry was none other than Hiruko who is sealed inside the room behind them.
After being saved by the masked man, Hiruko was brought back to the base and sealed here…
Back at the battlefield in Konoha Village, although the masked man managed to save Hiruko from the last blow of Fujin, the damage that was dealt with him by Fujin was already done and those injuries that were a result of the disintegrating characteristics of All-Killing Ash Bones are not something that can be treated or healed so easily…
If it was some normal Shinobi in place of Hiruko, it would have been instant death because of instant disintegration of his body, but because Hiruko is slightly different he was able to delay the death and heal himself… Hiruko has mastered Yomi's Dark Medical Ninjutsu and using that he was able to survive for quite a long time by the continuous use of Dark Medical Ninjutsu…
However, given how grave Hiruko's injuries were, even if he somehow managed to heal them, he could not escape the backlash caused by the unstable Chimera Buds in his body.
And the moment he lost control over the unstable Chimera Buds, he was decapitated, his organs began to decay at an extremely fast speed, and his entire chakra pathway disintegrated within seconds… With all this damage, he lost complete control over the Chimera Buds in his body and those same Chimera Buds took control of his body… Sort of like a Shinobi version of 'Venom' (Spider-man reference).
But unfortunately for Hiruko, even the 'Venom' version of Chimera Buds was not that smart and all it did after taking control over Hiruko's body was further destroying Hiruko's body. So, within just a few minutes Hiruko who might have survived became messed up and goo-ey.
When Obito returned to Akatsuki Base and took out Hiruko from his Kamui dimension, he, no, not just him, all members of Akatsuki were surprised at Hiruko's condition he was nothing but a mess, and they were not even sure what to do with him.
In fact, what happened with Hiruko was actually within Kuroto's expectations… Considering how forcibly Hiruko absorbed his targets during the ritual, Kuroto had predicted that something of this sort will happen… His doubts were only confirmed when during Fujin vs Hiruko battle he felt Chimera Buds gaining control over Hiruko… So, Kuroto has been sure that after Fujin vs Hiruko battle, Hiruko would no longer remain alive and most definitely die.
And to make sure such a thing doesn't happen to him, Kuroto is taking extreme precautions and risks… The fact that he is cooperating with Danzo, and is even going as far as to reveal several of his theories to them is all for the sake of eliminating the hidden dangers that the Chimera Jutsu carries… because he doesn't want to end up the same way Hiruko did.
Anyway, all that aside, receiving no reply from Sasori and Kakuzu, Konan––who was unwilling to give up––questioned again, "Is there really no other way to save him?"
Hiruko is Nagato's worshipper and follower, and his strength is also the third strongest within the Akatsuki Organization, so Konan is not willing to give up on him so easily…
Sasori said with a helpless expression, "He is no longer Hiruko… aside from the physical damage, even his soul is broken and distorted to the point that it can no longer be saved… All I can do for him now is turn him into a puppet without any soul… that's the only thing possible… other than that, there is no other way…"
Konan sighed after receiving Sasori's explanation, and then looked at Kakuzu…
Kakazu also shook his head and said, "I can't do anything either… For my Earth Grudge Technique to work, he has to be alive and he has to be a human… that's no longer the case… in fact, I am surprised that he was able to survive this long… but it won't work anymore… and we can't do anything for him even if we want to do anything for him… "
In fact, from a certain perspective, it can be said that the Chimera Buds that are in Hiruko's body are somewhat similar to the Earth Grudge in Kakuzu's body, but of course, they have somewhat different functions, and the Chimera Buds in Hiruko's body are too terrifying when it comes to assimilating the flesh and blood of others.
As far as Kakuzu considers, putting that kind of stuff in one's body is equivalent to signing a death agreement because if the person in question doesn't pay attention and let down their guard for even a moment then it will start to take control over the body of the user.
Seeing that body Sasori and Kakuzu have given up on Hiruko, even if she was unwilling, Konan had to accept this fact, and after a sigh, she asked, "Then what will happen to him? Will he just continue to do what he is doing at this moment?
Through the small observation glass in the gate, Sasori looked inside and said while shaking his head, "I don't know… and I am afraid no one can answer this question… It's possible that the gluey substance that has shown some signs of intelligence will evolve and change into an intelligent species capable of working together with us, and it's also possible it will become an uncontrollable monster that only wants to destroy everything…"
Of the people left in the Akatsuki Organization, no one can actually predict what will become of the Chimera Buds… in fact, no one in the Shinobi World could tell what will become of the Chimera Buds… because no one truly understands what is the true extent they can evolve into…
The Chimera Jutsu of Hiruko has actually opened a gate to the realm of Gods, and as the first user of Chimera Jutsu, whether that thing will become an uncontrollable monster or an almighty God is not something the likes of mortal can guess…
Regardless of what happens, that thing is no longer Hiruko, and it will no longer be Hiruko.
.
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