You Can View It as a Double-Edged Sword

Orochimaru's spy.

Ling Xuan understood instantly.

"Thank you for your kind intentions." Ling Xuan stood up, moving calmly to stand between Kabuto and Sasuke. "His condition is quite unique, and it is not convenient for outsiders to handle. We can manage it ourselves."

The smile on Kabuto's face stiffened. He looked at the black-haired youth with the profound gaze before him, feeling as if his disguise was laid bare. He gave Ling Xuan a deep look, said nothing more, and turned to leave with a nod and a smile.

Once only the members of Team 7 remained in the room, Ling Xuan walked over to Sasuke, who was still unconscious.

He did not rest, instead taking out a fresh blank scroll and a brush.

Kakashi looked at him and asked, "What are you planning to do?"

"Analysis, and... design." Ling Xuan's answer was simple and direct.

He looked at the Cursed Seal on Sasuke's neck, which he had temporarily sealed. There was no sympathy or pity in his eyes, only the pure, cold desire for research that a scientist feels toward a rare experimental subject.

The first phase of isolation was complete; the next step was reverse engineering.

Orochimaru, you gave Sasuke a lethal curse, but you also gave me the perfect key to peer into the very source of your power.

Life inside the Central Tower was a rare moment of calm before the storm of the Chunin Exams.

Every team that had passed the second stage had gained precious time to recover after the brutal slaughter in the Forest of Death.

Yet, the invisible competitive pressure in the air only grew. Everyone knew that what awaited them next were more direct and cruel individual duels.

In the lounge of Team 7, the atmosphere was heavy.

Because of Sasuke's severe injuries and his own sense of powerlessness before Orochimaru, Naruto had become uncharacteristically silent. He spent most of his time sitting cross-legged in the corner, desperately refining and controlling his chakra.

That battle had made him realize deeply that passion and perseverance alone were far from enough.

Sakura remained by Sasuke's bedside, caring for him diligently. She would change the damp towel on his forehead at regular intervals and check his physical condition.

After witnessing Ling Xuan's miraculous medical ninjutsu, she had begun to study the introductory medical ninjutsu scroll Kakashi had given her, neglecting sleep and food in hopes of contributing her own part.

As for Ling Xuan, he had turned the entire room into his temporary laboratory, pouring almost all his focus into researching the "incomplete Cursed Seal" on Sasuke.

He needed no precision instruments; Ling Xuan's Eye of Truth was the world's top-tier microscope and analyzer, capable of perceiving the very origin of things.

The protective shell created by the Cage of Isolation sealing technique provided Ling Xuan with a perfect experimental environment that would not cause secondary harm to Sasuke.

"So that's how it is... The essence of the Cursed Seal is a form of incomplete life-form modification based on senjutsu chakra."

Ling Xuan's fingertips brushed lightly over the sealed area. In his vision, countless streams of information cascaded and reorganized.

He saw the evil chakra left behind by Orochimaru constantly trying to infect Sasuke's cells like a virus, forcibly altering the nature of the chakra within his body.

This change brought an explosion of power, but the cost was a massive burden on the body and gradual assimilation of the spirit.

"Orochimaru's ambition is far more than just taking over a body. He is conducting a sowing; he turns his own will and power into seeds, planting them in the vessels he has chosen. Then he observes, selects, and waits for the most perfect fruit to ripen."

Ling Xuan naturally knew the core of Orochimaru's plan, and the "flaw" he had found was being magnified infinitely at this moment.

"Because the casting process was interrupted, an irreparable gap appeared in the core circuit of this Cursed Seal. This means Orochimaru's will cannot resonate perfectly with the seal. In other words..."

"Sasuke can borrow the power this Cursed Seal provides, but it will be extremely difficult for Orochimaru to use it to control Sasuke in return. Furthermore, this gap has become the key that allows me to interfere and even tamper with the entire technique."

Ling Xuan spread out a new scroll and began to draft calculations. He was not designing a way to remove the Cursed Seal, because he knew that given Sasuke's current thirst for power, he would never agree to it.

He was designing a brand-new controller—an auxiliary seal that would allow Sasuke to use the power of the Cursed Seal safely to a certain extent, while minimizing the influence of Orochimaru's will.

Over these few days, in addition to his research on the Cursed Seal, Ling Xuan's Shadow Clones had established initial contact with Zabuza and Haku, who were far away in the Land of Waves, through a newly established encrypted channel.

Intelligence from the Land of Waves arrived in a steady stream.

Zabuza was using iron-fisted methods to consolidate the vast underground network left behind after Gato's death, while Haku acted as his shadow, handling matters that were inconvenient for the Demon to attend to personally. They had established a firm foothold in the Land of Waves and were beginning to extend their intelligence tentacles into neighboring countries.

Everything was within Ling Xuan's expectations.

Several days later, Sasuke finally stirred from his coma.

"I... where am I?" He struggled to sit up, his first sensation being the agonizing pain throughout his body.

"You're awake," came Ling Xuan's calm voice.

Only then did Sasuke see Naruto, Sakura, and Ling Xuan gathered around his bed. He remembered everything that had happened in the forest, the nightmare of a man, and his own humiliating defeat.

He clutched his left shoulder tightly, the exact location of the Cursed Seal.

"That thing..." His voice was filled with fear and resentment.

"I have sealed it for the time being," Ling Xuan said indifferently. "It will not flare up again, but it has not disappeared."

Ling Xuan explained his analysis of the Cursed Seal and the fact that it was incomplete to Sasuke in the most concise language possible.

"You can think of it as a double-edged sword. It can bring you power, but it will also constantly erode you. Orochimaru wanted to use it to control you, but because of my interference, he failed. Now, the hilt of this sword is in your own hands."

Sasuke fell silent. He touched his left shoulder, feeling the evil yet powerful force lurking beneath his skin, his eyes flickering with complex light.

"I understand," Sasuke said after a long time.

He did not say he wanted it, nor did he say he didn't. But Ling Xuan knew he had already made his choice.

Just then, the door to the room was pushed open.

The proctor, Anko Mitarashi, walked in with several Konoha jonin.

"Alright, brats, break time is over." A look of excitement was on Anko's face. "Where there is success, there is failure. Now, there are seven teams left who passed the second stage—that number is still too high."