Ch.266 Mad Cultivation

For the next few days, Uchiha Shinji didn't immediately perform the transplant surgery for Yakumo. Instead, he spent his time extracting Yakumo's cellular tissue, conducting fusion tests with White Zetsu cells, while keeping an eye on the village's surveillance of Yakumo. 

After several rounds of testing, he discovered that Yakumo was indeed relatively suitable for transplanting White Zetsu cells.

The essence of White Zetsu cells was a diluted form of the First Hokage's cells. 

Even though their concentration had been watered down, the Yang Release chakra contained within White Zetsu cells remained outrageously domineering—ordinary people would basically die the moment they came into contact with it. 

To fuse with White Zetsu cells, the host either needed to possess Yang Release chakra of a similar intensity, like Karin, to forcibly resist the erosion of the White Zetsu cells, or they had to have Yin Release chakra of considerable strength, like Obito, to neutralize the cells' erosion through a balance of yin and yang. 

Thus, the Kurama clan, skilled in genjutsu and predominantly wielding Yin Release chakra, might be slightly inferior to the Uchiha clan, but they were absolutely more suited for White Zetsu cell transplants than ordinary people. 

Even so, the risks remained enormous! 

Or rather, the risks of transplanting White Zetsu cells could never be fully eliminated—not even for Shinji, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. 

This was also why he had yet to transplant White Zetsu cells into himself. 

As for the village's surveillance of Yakumo, after observing for a few days, Shinji confirmed it had indeed been lifted. 

Over those days, not a single shadow of the Anbu lingered around Yakumo anymore—though Shinji couldn't quite figure out why that was. 

Having confirmed Yakumo's potential to fuse with White Zetsu cells and that the village had ceased monitoring her, Shinji pondered for a moment before deciding to first perform the Koryugan transplant surgery on Yakumo. 

In a secluded, hidden training ground in Hidden Leaf. 

Dozens of Narutos, grouped in threes, split into over ten teams across the vast training ground, cultivating the "Rasengan" that Jiraiya had taught him. 

There was no doubt about it. 

This was Naruto using the "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu" to accelerate his training of the "Rasengan."

Mastering an A-rank, no-hand-sign ninjutsu was an incredibly thorny task for most jonin, let alone Naruto—an eight-year-old still attending the shinobi academy. 

But Sasuke's desire to switch teammates had stung him too deeply, so he'd been holding in a burning resolve to prove himself to Sasuke. 

In the distance. 

Watching dozens of sweat-drenched Narutos pouring their effort into the training ground, tirelessly attempting the "Rasengan" over and over, Tsunade's eye twitched slightly: "This is way too reckless! If I'm not mistaken, this kid's only eight years old, right?" 

Jiraiya replied calmly, "At his age, Minato was already capable of defeating several Mist shinobi spies and single-handedly rescuing a kidnapped Kushina." 

Hearing Jiraiya compare Naruto to Minato, Tsunade immediately realized just how high Jiraiya's expectations for Naruto were. She asked, "Can he handle it?" 

"Ha!" Sighing, Jiraiya said, "The Akatsuki is gunning straight for the tailed beasts with fierce momentum. He's got no choice but to rely on himself." 

Ah! 

Just then, Naruto let out a scream from the training ground! 

Boom, boom, boom. 

Following that, his shadow clones scattered across the field vanished one by one in a series of dull thuds, dissolving into white smoke. 

The real Naruto, now the only one left in the field, clutched his head and groaned! At the same time, orange-red tailed beast chakra began leaking out of his body. 

"Not good!" 

Jiraiya and Tsunade flinched, and with a *whoosh*, they both vanished from their spots. 

In an instant. 

Jiraiya appeared behind Naruto, knocking him out with a single chop to the neck, while Tsunade appeared in front of him, catching the unconscious Naruto and examining his condition. 

A moment later, Tsunade said with a grave expression, "It's fine. He's just mentally exhausted, which gave the Nine-Tails an opening. The seal itself isn't compromised!" 

As she spoke, her gaze softened as she looked at Naruto. 

When she'd first returned to the village, she'd heard plenty about Naruto's mischievous antics and pranks, leaving her with the impression that he was just a neglected kid seeking attention through outrageous behavior. 

But now, seeing an eight-year-old Naruto display such tenacity in his training, her impression of him shifted dramatically. 

"Phew." 

Jiraiya let out a breath of relief. 

If Naruto went berserk in the village, it wouldn't be a laughing matter—even for someone like him, suppressing it would be a massive struggle. 

Tsunade said in a low voice, "It's still too much. He can't keep going like this, or his mind will collapse!" 

Jiraiya stared at the unconscious Naruto and said, "I believe in him!" 

Just as Tsunade was about to say more, Naruto, cradled in her arms, stirred awake, mumbling, "What's this? So soft!" 

Jiraiya's face flushed, a hint of envy flashing in his expression. 

Tsunade's face darkened, and she swung a fist, sending Jiraiya flying. Then she turned to Naruto and asked, "How's your body feeling?" 

"Oh right, I was training the 'Rasengan'!" 

Naruto forced himself to stand, raising his hands to form seals, ready to resummon the "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu" and keep training the "Rasengan" with his clones. 

Tsunade quickly pressed down his hands mid-seal: "No way. You need to rest right now." 

While having enough chakra to perform the "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu" wouldn't directly harm the caster's body, using it for training meant the caster had to absorb a flood of memories fed back from the clones. 

If it were just one or two clones, that'd be manageable. 

But Naruto often summoned dozens at a time, so each time the clones returned their memories, it caused a massive surge of information in a short span, battering his mind. One misstep, and it could even lead to a mental breakdown. 

Feeling Tsunade's concerned gaze, Naruto shook his head: "I feel like I'm about to master the 'Rasengan.' I'll rest once I succeed!" 

Watching Naruto ignore her protests and resummon the "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu" to continue training, Tsunade shook her head helplessly. 

Jiraiya stepped up beside her at that moment: "How's he doing?" 

"He's courting death!" Tsunade said coldly before adding, "I'll keep a close eye on him these next few days." 

Jiraiya's lips curled into a slight grin. 

He knew Tsunade well. Ever since losing her brother and lover, it had been a long, long time since she'd cared this much about someone. 

And with Tsunade, a master of medical ninjutsu, by their side, he was confident he could boost Naruto's strength to a level others couldn't even imagine in a short time. 

After all, a jinchuriki's potential was right there for the taking. 

And Naruto wasn't just any jinchuriki—he was the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, with the blood of the Uzumaki clan running through his veins.