Chapter 217: Explanation...

The next day, in the morning, at the inn.

"Orochimaru transplanted something into me, and that caused my power to spiral out of control—"

Under the influence of the Sharingan from across the room, the captured Jūgo spilled the whole story of what had happened to him, much like beans tumbling out of a bamboo tube.

Even though Sasuke wasn't particularly adept at genjutsu, once he opened the Mangekyō Sharingan, an ordinary person stood no chance of resisting it. And Jūgo, having been struck by the Mystical Palm Technique and robbed of his strength, was all the more powerless.

Link was somewhat familiar with the first part of Jūgo's account: being taken away by Orochimaru, the research that produced the Cursed Seal, meeting Kimimaro…

Then the story took a sudden turn.

Orochimaru transplanted some unknown creature's cellular tissue into Jūgo's body, causing the power of the original Cursed Seal to go haywire. His special abilities—[Cell Absorption] and [Cell Expulsion]—were drastically enhanced. His body shattered its previous limits, allowing him to freely and endlessly wield natural energy.

The price he paid was that his internal cells were constantly "burning out." The more he used natural energy, the faster his cells decayed. His murderous inner personality seized control, and to survive, he continually employed Cell Absorption to siphon other living beings' cells. Ultimately, Orochimaru used a special barrier to seal him in the base's underground prison.

As for the other "monsters," they experienced similar out‑of‑control mutations after completing Orochimaru's transplant surgery. Their lives were threatened, so using what remained of Jūgo's bodily fluids within the Cursed Seal, each of them obtained some fragmentary version of [Cell Absorption].

The stronger one's compatibility with the Cursed Seal, the more complete their Cell Absorption would be. Those whose grasp of it was severely lacking would quickly die and rot; those who managed a slightly more complete version could live longer, but still needed to devour fresh, living cells.

To put it plainly, they had to eat live creatures. The cells of wild animals are far inferior in quality to those of summon beasts, and most summon beasts have cells weaker than a human's. Among humans, ninja or samurai cells are superior. Naturally, cells from one's own kind are strongest of all.

Under normal circumstances, eating animals would be enough to survive. But those who had been influenced by the Cursed Seal didn't mind eating human flesh at all, and they felt no qualms about hunting their own.

After that rebellion, Orochimaru left. The guards he stationed were soon devoured by the increasingly powerful test subjects. For their own survival, the subjects turned on one another, then scattered, hunting whatever they could to stay alive. Two of them remained behind to spread word of Orochimaru's base, attracting more ninjas.

About a month ago, a group of Amegakure ninja arrived. During their fight with the two remaining subjects, they accidentally released Jūgo, who was sealed deep underground in the lowest level. Seized by his murderous personality, Jūgo immediately devoured the two other subjects to restore his body size. The Ame ninja unleashed a strange toxin that knocked him out briefly, then carved away large chunks of his flesh while he hovered in a half‑conscious state—taking their experimental equipment and data with them when they left.

From then on, Jūgo's two personalities alternated in control. He lingered near the base and refused to leave, until Link and the others eventually found him.

"So that's what happened."

Link more or less understood why those creatures had turned cannibalistic. The monsters on the southern island base had probably been low‑quality Cursed Seal test subjects. Unable to master a sufficiently complete version of Cell Absorption, they self‑destructed once their bodies began to collapse. The monsters in the northern base were more gifted; after one round of brutal elimination, most of them could just barely stay alive via Cell Absorption.

Logically, it all added up. Still, what on earth were those transplanted cells? Whatever the "original source" was, it seemed incredibly strong: boundless natural energy at its disposal—though it could only be released crudely, and it forced its host to devour living beings just to survive. Even Jūgo, who possessed the original Cursed Seal and could fully wield Cell Absorption, could only balance his regeneration and destruction by a narrow margin. Once he fought in earnest, his body shrank noticeably.

Although the ninja world isn't short on human experiments or other revolting practices, cannibalism did feel like crossing a line. Both Uchiha Sasuke and Utakata wore expressions of clear disgust.

After finishing his account, the now‑freed Jūgo sat cross‑legged and said calmly, "Are you going to kill me?"

Link hadn't decided how to handle him yet. Without Link's Mystical Palm Technique to keep his murderous side at bay, Jūgo was like a time bomb. Maybe they should bring him back for Tsunade to examine. It was starting to feel like that "Traveling Frog" game—every time he left the village, he ended up bringing something back.

But what on earth was Tsunade up to, disappearing so randomly? If this kept up, who knew when the new medicine would be ready. And Orochimaru's experiments… Perhaps Tsunade herself had made some breakthrough in Orochimaru's research?

Feigning composure, Link stood up and said, "We might still have some use for you. Get yourself together—we're heading back to the base. There are other tasks ahead."

…

A few days later, on a small island not far from the Land of Waves:

"Damn you, Uchiha!"

"Damn you, kids!"

A hulking slug form struggled. Its eyes flickered with the Mangekyō Sharingan, but it could only stand in place while its body was sliced apart chunk by chunk with a Chakra Scalpel. Furious shouts reverberated through the area by way of chakra.

"Tailed Beasts don't feel physical pain, do they?"

That thought crossed Link's mind as he sealed up lumps of the Tailed Beast's chakra. Judging from the way the Six‑Tails behaved, it seemed utterly enraged and overflowing with hatred. Achieving the sort of peaceful understanding seen during the Fourth Great Ninja War clearly wasn't going to happen here.

It hardly mattered anyway. To become a perfect jinchūriki, you need certain gifts. Without genuinely recognizing the Tailed Beast as an equal, there's no trick to achieving perfection. Chakra connects hearts—nobody can fool themselves about that.

"That's enough. The Six‑Tails is about to die," Utakata said, stopping Uchiha Sasuke from continuing to drag the Tailed Beast out with the Sharingan.

Link—busy storing five large scrolls—shook his head, disappointed.

"We barely carved off a dozen slices, and it's already at its limit? How frail. Look at the Nine‑Tails—having half its power taken away hardly seemed to faze it. Even being eaten by the Gold and Silver Brothers didn't do much damage. But the Six‑Tails is being overly dramatic."

Utakata explained, "A Tailed Beast's power comprises two parts: its chakra and its will. If a jinchūriki forces the Tailed Beast's power, its will seeps in and causes corruption—that's the danger. As for your ninja tool, it doesn't simply cut away the Six‑Tails' chakra; it also severs pieces of its will. To the Six‑Tails, it's like having chunks of its body torn off. Even a Tailed Beast's regeneration isn't limitless. It can't keep being cut to pieces forever. Right now it's so weak that it will take years to recover. But interestingly, I can still use its chakra because it's nearly unconscious now. I might even be able to pass that chakra on to others."

"A portable battery?" Link was just about to test it out when Sasuke extended his hand. Utakata paused, then placed his palm on Sasuke's arm, transferring the Six‑Tails' chakra to him.

"I can use it," Sasuke said, nodding curtly. "No side effects so far. It's very suitable for you, Link."

Utakata wanted to speak but hesitated. While channeling chakra into Link, he added, "Without the Tailed Beast's cooperation, I have to be close by to share its chakra. And the Six‑Tails is so weak now that there isn't much left to give."

That "not much left," of course, was on a Tailed Beast's scale. By human standards, it was still enormous.

"I don't think I can transform into a Tailed Beast anymore," Utakata said, letting out a massive wave of Tailed Beast chakra. A pale bluish‑white aura enveloped him, but the usual Tailed Beast shroud failed to appear. "It's not that there isn't enough chakra—the Tailed Beast's will has faded away. Now I get it…"

"That's a lot of chakra…"

Link tested the Tailed Beast chakra inside his own body, finding it oddly familiar. Though it was clearly external in origin, it was easy to wield. Forming seals, he attempted to use Clone Technique—strangely enough, the chakra didn't vanish into thin air this time but operated smoothly under his control.

"Poof!"

To his surprise, a grayish‑white clone appeared and slumped to the ground.

Wait a second…

Thoughts raced through his mind. He tried again, this time releasing ninjutsu purely with Tailed Beast chakra, and the clone came out normally. Repeating multiple tests, he discovered the pattern: any time he mixed in even a fraction of his own chakra, the jutsu would mutate. When he used the Six‑Tails' chakra by itself, the ninjutsu stayed normal.

So my chakra is the problem…

As everyone knows, chakra is created by combining spiritual energy and physical energy. So, was the issue with his mind or his body? The answer seemed obvious.

Link recalled how he had always learned ninjutsu in a rather unorthodox, "conceptual" way. Many thoughts flickered through his head, but he forced himself to stay calm. Guesswork alone wouldn't solve anything—he needed concrete practice.

Being able to cast standard ninjutsu is a huge boost for me. At least now I can properly use something like the Shadow Clone Technique and speed up my training. With the "experience hack" from clones, I can brush up on all kinds of elemental jutsu and forbidden techniques. I'll just need to revisit the standard versions of the jutsu I've already learned—and then…

He was momentarily tempted to delay his pursuit of Orochimaru and focus on training. An abundance of Tailed Beast chakra plus the efficiency of Shadow Clones meant endless possibilities for synergy between normal ninjutsu and mutated jutsu. There was so much to explore.

No—I can't drag this out. With the Mangekyō Sharingan on our side, as long as Obito and Pain don't show up, we can swiftly handle Orochimaru. We can't let him keep developing unchecked. Dealing with just one Jūgo is already a pain; if more start cropping up, it'll be a total disaster. I need to get my hands on that mysterious "original body."

Steeling himself, Link said, "Utakata, lend me a bit more chakra. I'll use it to draw on my Purple Hermit technique and check everyone's positions. Then let's wrap things up with Orochimaru in one go."

~~~

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