Hey! Ha!
In the training grounds of the Huiyue Territory, over three hundred people were enthusiastically practicing Taijutsu under the guidance of a man.
Among them were men and women, adults and children, and their hairstyles and clothing styles were clearly distinct. The only thing they had in common was the yearning look in their eyes.
"Strengthen your strength! No Chakra allowed!"
The man in charge of providing guidance gave a low, muffled shout.
"I don't care what you practiced before. Here, you'll all do as I say. I will teach you the best close-combat techniques. The physical body is the foundation of Taijutsu. Those who rely on Chakra in their usual training will never master proper Taijutsu!"
However, despite this, the man now known as Huiyue Ogata was actually quite satisfied with the clansmen before him.
The Land of Water brought these people not only pain, but also hearts of steel. To put it simply, these people have such good mental fortitude that they are almost abnormal!
At least, in the entire Konoha, it's impossible to find anyone or any group with such "solid" mental fortitude as the group in front of them.
Even though he adopted the strictest and most arduous methods to train them, from beginning to end, not a single person complained or backed down. They all persevered. Of course, some people reached their limit and could not continue, but they fainted from exhaustion. No one gave up voluntarily. Moreover, even those who fainted from exhaustion would immediately return to training once they recovered.
Just like Qi Suo, they don't have to worry about not having skills to learn now; it's just a matter of whether they're willing to risk their lives.
If there were a discerning outsider here, he would surely be alarmed by this group of people who have almost gone mad, and would turn around and warn his relatives and friends: when you're out and about, never mess with this newly formed Huiyue Clan.
However, compared to the fervent enthusiasm of the clansmen, the current patriarch of the Huiyue Clan is holed up in his room, searching for another path to strength for his clansmen.
"They actually left me with this kind of thing..."
Sitting on the tatami mat, on the low table in front of Qi, there was a fully unfolded scroll, and next to the scroll was an empty bamboo tube.
Without a doubt, this was exactly what Orochimaru left him...
"Could it be... that he foresaw my current situation back then...?"
Looking at what was written on the scroll, Qi's heart was now filled with nothing but turmoil.
Through this thing, he also confirmed one thing: Orochimaru didn't just start human research in the later stages of Third Shinobi World War; he had started long before!
What is written on this is not a combat-type Ninjutsu, nor is it simply Ninjutsu theory. Rather, it is the research result on bloodline limits developed by Orochimaru after long-term human experimentation.
This is no ordinary research. If we were to summarize its contents in four words, it would be: Bloodline Fusion!
Orochimaru, who has a deep interest in bloodline limits, is clearly not satisfied with just one type. His research goal is actually to find a way to fuse different bloodline limits into one!
Unfortunately, although the research always made progress, it always failed when it came to conducting experiments on living organisms. Until he handed the data over to Qi, there had been no successful cases.
According to Orochimaru's method, it was not difficult to separate the carrier of his bloodline power. The biggest difficulty was that he lacked a means of control and could only passively wait for the carrier to self-integrate within the test subject's body. This resulted in great instability and caused one failure after another.
The fate of those whose fusion failed was extremely tragic, with almost none surviving...
"It seems I also need live subjects for my experiments..."
A sinister glint flashed in Qi's eyes...
In their thirst for power, Qi and Orochimaru were not much different. He didn't care about ethics or morality either. In his view, this was something to be said to true friends. Deep down, he didn't think Orochimaru was that heinous, after all, Orochimaru had never harmed his own people.
Of course, Qi would never do what Orochimaru did and kidnap village ninjas. He wasn't that shameless; he couldn't treat the people of a village as inhuman just because he didn't know them.
From this perspective, this can be considered one of Qi's few strengths. His extreme aversion to internal strife means that, unless there are special circumstances, he will absolutely not be hostile to anyone from the same organization—unless, of course, someone really angers him...
"Chief."
The door suddenly rang, and then came the voice of a girl who had now changed her name to Huiyue Chiyo.
I've brought you some tea.
"Oh, please come in."
Qi snapped out of his reverie and casually put the scroll away.
Did I disturb you?
Chiyo, carrying a cup of hot tea, opened the door and came in.
How are the children?
Qi accepted the tea, and instead of answering, asked a question.
"Is your Ice Release going smoothly?"
"Yes, very good, their foundation is very good."
Chiyo smiled.
"I think, at this rate, they'll soon be fighting for the clan chief."
"Fight for me? No need."
Qi took a sip and smiled.
"Individualism is dangerous for a newly formed family; it can make people lose their minds. Let them fight for the family and for their people."
"I see."
Chiyo nodded, but didn't continue the conversation.
In her opinion, the Huiyue Clan and Qi were no different. In this newly established family, there was no so-called elders' council. Everything was brand new. To these reborn clansmen, Qi, the clan leader, was someone who, with just a single command, would send hundreds of people rushing forward with a roar.
" Kaguya's Taijutsu and Yuki's Ninjutsu, combined, will make our clan far stronger than before."
Qi placed the teacup back on the table.
"We're short on time. The cake is on the table; it's just a matter of whether we can eat it or not."
"Did the clan chief's teacher agree to the clan chief's request?"
Chiyo had also been exposed to the inside story, so of course she knew what Qi was up to.
"Not only did he agree, he also gave me a very generous gift."
Qi Xiao's eyes narrowed.
" The Root will likely be handed over to our Huiyue Clan in the future. At that time, we will have the strongest force in the Anbu, and becoming a powerful force in our own right will be a very simple matter."
"What a grand gesture! No wonder he's the clan leader's teacher, but it doesn't sound easy either."
Chiyo remained unmoved.
"That lord's Root has the highest average combat strength in Konoha. Can we reach that level in a short time?"
"How did I manage to rise from a Genin to Jonin in just two years?"
Qi said with absolute confidence,
"The combination of the two races' combat techniques is far more powerful than you can imagine. Not to mention, I've obtained something very interesting. I plan to try it out next time I go out. If it works, it's obviously nonsense for our strength to surpass Senju Clan Uchiha, but it's no problem for us to be close to the Hyuga Clan!"
Thinking of this, he gave a word of advice.
"I'm counting on you to teach me Ice Release. I need to study this thing carefully in the coming days."
He paused, then continued,
"Please tell my master that if he has time to go out, he should bring back a few living people for me. I need them very much."