Life Spore

Lord Liao Wu found a place to rest while thinking over his own problem.

There were over a thousand Uchiha Clan Members, but only around two hundred had become ninja, and probably only about fifty had awakened the Sharingan.

The Sharingan did not depend on talent. It depended on love—or rather, what Senju Tobirama had discovered by studying Uchiha brains: intense emotional impact.

The core triggering emotions were extreme loss and pain, such as losing a lover or a Close Friend. Negative emotions like regret, despair, and grief had to erupt all at once.

In the past, Lord Liao Wu had been an Evil Cultivator who did Tile Breaking, Bridge Blocking, and played Yuan Shen. He had nothing to do with things like "pain" and "loss," because they simply did not exist for him.

As for Mikoto and Itachi, ever since Fugaku had made Mikoto and Itachi reduce their contact with Lord Liao Wu, their feelings had faded.

He had already been removed from the Uchiha rolls, so what feelings could he still have for them?

The secondary trigger for the Sharingan was an extreme desire to protect and an obsession. For example, the protective urge to become stronger and defeat the enemy in order to protect an important comrade.

As for obsession, it meant excessive fixation on a certain goal.

Lord Liao Wu feared death. When Minato had nearly killed him before, his eyes had shown a reaction, but because he still had a backup plan and knew he would be saved, that obsession had been cut off.

After brooding over it for a while, Lord Liao Wu stopped thinking about it. This kind of thing could not be forced. At worst, when the time came, he would ask Madara for a pair of Sharingan to transplant.

Outsider eyes were Outsider eyes! If he could casually acknowledge someone as Mother, why couldn't he casually swap eyes?

Tobi learned from Lord Liao Wu very quickly and was currently working over Obito and Ryūsetsu.

"Obito, hurry up and talk. Who else is in your family? What's their contact method? If you want to leave, then have your family pack up all their secret techniques and send them over."

Obito was the kind of stubborn mule who would never lower his head no matter what. "Tobi, you damned bastard! I, Uchiha Obito, only have this one life. If you want it, then take it!"

Lord Liao Wu walked over. "Tobi, why are you wasting words on him?"

Tobi gave up the main seat. Recently, Tobi could be considered to have taken Lord Liao Wu as his Big Brother.

Following Lord Liao Wu was obviously more interesting than following Obito. He could not learn the good things, but picked up the bad things immediately.

As soon as Lord Liao Wu arrived, he shocked Obito. "Are you talking or not? Talking or not!"

Obito, this Fire Filial Son, started cursing Lord Liao Wu whenever he had strength. Every other sentence was about how good the village was to us Uchiha.

You, a Leaf Ninja who had bathed in the Will of Fire since childhood, actually wanted to collude with a Big Villain like Madara Uchiha. Truly disloyal and unfilial, forgetting your own ancestors.

Lord Liao Wu did not even bother wasting words on someone like this. He just shocked him directly.

Obito screamed from the shocks, but did not even furrow his brow. "Bastard, I, Obito, will never lower my head to a guy like you who has Betrayed Nindo."

Lord Liao Wu cursed, "Still pretty arrogant, huh? White Zetsu, go capture Rin for me. I'm going to Crush Her Pancake right in front of Obito!"

"Ahhh—"

"You're not allowed to hurt my Rin!"

Obito roared in anger. His black eyes turned into blood-red Sharingan, and tomoe spun within them.

Just as three tomoe were about to appear, his eyes suddenly closed and he fainted.

Lord Liao Wu patted Obito's face. "I gave you a chance, but you were useless. I gave you a chance, but you were useless!"

Lord Liao Wu had also considered dragging Obito down with him, but Obito, before being blackened, had Naruto's personality. The will of this kind of person was firmer than anyone else's.

The more they were suppressed, the firmer they became instead.

Only when the person they cherished most died would they clearly understand the reality of the world.

Lord Liao Wu looked at Ryūsetsu, who was hanging beside Obito as well, and pointed at Obito, who had been shocked unconscious. "See that? This Is the result. Ryūsetsu, who else is in your family? What techniques do you have? Explain all of it."

Ryūsetsu: "o((⊙﹏⊙))o."

Tobi reminded Lord Liao Wu, "Lord Liao Wu, it's time for today's training. You should develop the Forbidden Technique for Lord Madara."

"Good Good Good, I'll work, all right? Go get me a White Zetsu Clone."

"Yes, Lord Liao Wu!"

Lord Liao Wu took the fresh White Zetsu Clone that Tobi brought and placed it on his Experiment Table.

Lord Liao Wu then snapped his fingers and let Ryūsetsu down. Ryūsetsu was obedient, stepping forward like a little assistant to help Lord Liao Wu hand over tools.

They had been together for some time now, and Ryūsetsu felt that although Lord Liao Wu was a little beastly, his punishment toward her had only been that one time when he tickled the soles of her feet.

Although Obito was kindhearted, he was somewhat naive.

Even she could see it.

Both of their lives were tied to Lord Liao Wu. If Lord Liao Wu had no way to make that Terrifying Old Man Restore Youth...

All three of them would die.

Grass Village was a Small Ninja Village, and the helplessness of a Small Ninja Village was that one had to learn to survive in the cracks. As a member of Grass Village's Dove Faction, Ryūsetsu had known from very early on that ninja had to endure.

"Ryūsetsu, forceps!"

"Lord Liao Wu, here!"

Lord Liao Wu seemed serious, but in truth, he was putting on an act as he conducted the experiment.

The space where Lord Liao Wu was located had been opened up by White Zetsu. It was not the same space where Madara and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path were located.

The reason was that Liao Wu still needed to practice ninjutsu, and as he practiced, he would end up aiming it at the sleeping Madara.

Black Zetsu was afraid Liao Wu would launch a sneak attack on Madara, so he drove him into this independent space and even arranged for Tobi to monitor him.

Every day, there was a fixed time for ninjutsu practice, while the rest of the time had to be spent developing the forbidden technique to restore Madara's youth.

Tobi was messing around nearby, and Liao Wu blasted him away outright. "Can you even understand this? Go take your dabian somewhere else."

Tobi very obediently took a wooden stick and went off to draw poop.

Liao Wu secretly glanced at Tobi, and seeing that he was not paying attention, reached his hand into the White Zetsu Clone's chest.

Chimera: Plunder Regeneration!

Liao Wu's Chimera Technique could indeed plunder other people's life, but there was still a limit.

He was like a wooden bucket: plunder a bucketful of water, and it was full. If he wanted to keep plundering, it would overflow.

At times like this, he needed the thinking behind the Yin Seal—to seal the plundered life inside a seal, then take it out to save himself when his own life was declining.

But Liao Wu did not know the Yin Seal, and the explanation behind the latest version of the Yin Seal had quite the origin.

It had not been developed by Tsunade, but was a hereditary ninjutsu of the Uzumaki Clan, originating from the Ōtsutsuki Clan's "Karma."

When members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan were about to die, they would turn all their core information—their personality, power, memories, and so on—into data and implant it into another person's body.

The person implanted with "Karma" was the "vessel."

When the data finished completely thawing, the member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan would be fully revived from within the "vessel's" body.

The Uzumaki Clan's Yin Seal was a "Karma" adapted to the human body, without the influence of being reincarnated by an Ōtsutsuki.

But this forbidden technique was passed down through a single line. Originally, it was in Mito Uzumaki's hands, and Mito Uzumaki then passed it to Tsunade.

Liao Wu had no chance to steal it.

However, when Liao Wu activated White Zetsu Mode once, he discovered that White Zetsu Cells could transform excess life force into spores.

It was just like a tree blooming and bearing fruit.

Liao Wu called these spores Life Spores. Life Spores were Liao Wu's Life Clones.

Liao Wu had White Zetsu Cells and knew the Spore Technique. Ordinary White Zetsu spores were different from Liao Wu's Life Spores.

The spores White Zetsu used could attach to a target's body surface, covertly monitor them, and steal and transfer chakra.

During the Five Kage Summit, even the Five Kage failed to discover that White Zetsu's spores were eavesdropping on them.

Liao Wu's Life Spores had all the abilities of ordinary spores, and could also copy his complete strength. Even Kekkei Genkai could be copied.

Life Spores could be used multiple times, but White Zetsu's spores could only be used once.

Most importantly, a Life Spore was One Life. It could provide Liao Wu with life.

Liao Wu did not know whether giving a Life Spore to Madara would give him One Life, and he did not dare try. He had always been developing it in secret and had not dared openly take it out.

By now, Liao Wu had already secretly transformed ten Life Spores under the pretext of scientific research, which meant he had ten lives.

That would help him preserve himself properly in the storm to come.

As for Plunder Regeneration 2.0, which Madara had ordered Liao Wu to develop, Liao Wu had already completed it based on Ryūsetsu's Dragon Life Reincarnation, and was only waiting for Madara to wake up.

Outside.

With the help of his Animal Friends, Orochimaru began a large-scale search for Liao Wu's whereabouts. The Grass Village People did not know what Orochimaru was looking for either.

But they all felt it had to be connected to the Child Kidnapping Case and the Ninjutsu Theft Case that had occurred in the village, so they followed far behind Orochimaru, searching along with him.

Orochimaru suddenly made a discovery. Twenty li due north, the snakes he had sent there were dying off over a large area.

"Heh heh, found you, Liao Wu!"

Jiraiya finally could not hold back anymore and leapt out from the bushes, blocking Orochimaru's path.

"Orochimaru, you've already refused the village's transfer order many times. Are you preparing to defect from the village?"

Orochimaru looked as if he did not care at all about Jiraiya's appearance, but in truth, the hand inside his sleeve was already ready to form seals.

He gave a cold laugh. "Jiraiya, you finally couldn't resist jumping out?"

Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru and said, "Orochimaru, go back! Liao Wu is already dead, and his forbidden technique has completely disappeared too."

Orochimaru shook his head. "No, he isn't dead. He's still alive and well. He fooled all of us."

Jiraiya was certain Orochimaru was just refusing to admit defeat. "Orochimaru, stop being stubborn. The old man is already getting impatient with you."

"Today, no matter what, you're coming back with me."

Orochimaru reached out, revealing his hand seal. "And if I don't leave? Jiraiya, are you going to kill me?"

"I..."

Jiraiya hesitated, unable to move forward.

Only a few days ago, a like-minded companion had died, and now he had to become enemies with the bond he had had since childhood?

My comrades... when did we all go our separate ways?

Jiraiya thought of the running exercise the class had organized when they were children.

Back then, Tsunade had good stamina and ran at the very front, Orochimaru steadily followed behind, and Hiruko chased after Orochimaru in defiance.

Jiraiya, relying on brute strength, had wanted to chase after them, but the frail Liao Wu had grabbed him by the back. "For the sake of the Party-State, give your brother a hand!"

Now, on that running track, Liao Wu and Hiruko had stalled out, while Orochimaru was heading in the opposite direction from him and Tsunade.

What was going on? Why were all the ninjas from the village that preached the Will of Fire so rebellious?