Fate's Cruel Joke

He had heard of the secret techniques of the Aburame Clan, which were based on the symbiosis between humans and insects.

Its core principle is that clansmen must begin cultivating their own Kikaichū after they have mastered the basics of Chakra extraction around the age of five.

This process is extremely cruel and painful: the larvae, bearing the unique spiritual imprint of their breeder, will bite through the child's skin, burrow into the body, and nest and settle under the skin, in the fascia, and even in the Chakra meridians.

During this period, severe physical rejection reactions are inevitable, including high fever, redness, swelling, and excruciating pain, as if the body is experiencing a brutal civil war.

Only by successfully surviving this "human-insect integration period," allowing the body to fully accept the Kikaichū, and letting the Kikaichū transform the ninja's body into a living "insect nest," can one continue to cultivate the insect secret techniques that the Aburame Clan is famous for.

Through hundreds of years of practice and development, the Aburame Clan has long since formed a mature set of secret techniques and corresponding remedies, which greatly improves the success rate.

Even if they fail, it usually just means the child cannot become a Misaki Ninja, and rarely endangers their life.

The Aburame Clan hasn't encountered a situation like this for many years: after the Kikaichū Shisei Aburame finished building their nest, the rejection reaction not only doesn't subside, but becomes so intense that it threatens their lives. All their family's secret coping methods have become ineffective.

Taiichi at the readings of the various instruments beside him; all the physiological responses were hovering at a rather dangerous level.

He then formed a simple hand seal in front of his chest. His powerful Chakra Perception, like invisible tentacles, instantly expanded outwards.

The pressure was compressed, precisely enveloping Shisei on the hospital bed.

At the same time, his hands emitted a soft green glow, gently covering the child's chest and abdomen.

With dual perception, Shisei's internal condition became crystal clear.

The Sealing Jutsu's power was like a harsh winter, causing the countless Kikaichū residing in his body to fall into a complete dormant state. Even though Taiichi and experienced, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine when he saw the dense swarm of worms covering the child's entire body and penetrating deep into his muscles.

However, as the perception deepened, Taiyi's brows wrinkled tighter and tighter, forming a deep "Chuan" character.

He withdrew his hand, his eyes filled with immense confusion, and looked at Tsunade beside him. "Something's wrong! Teacher Tsunade, the Kikaichū inside this child have clearly completed their nesting process, and his body tissues show signs of acceptance at the microscopic level. This is completely inconsistent with the pathological characteristics of a conventional rejection reaction!"

The usual rejection response is when the body's immune system recognizes the Kikaichū as a "foreign object" and launches an attack. However, Shisei's body tissues did not exhibit this aggression; instead, his entire system was inexplicably collapsing.

Tsunade sighed wearily, maintaining the healing spell in her hands, and shook her head helplessly. "This is the strangest part! I've repeatedly questioned Shibi Aburame, and in their family history, there's never been a record of someone successfully building a nest with the Kikaichū, and after their body had initially adapted, experiencing such a deadly and unexplained 'side effects.' It's like—"

She pointed to a magnified image on a nearby monitor showing the Kikaichū covering Shisei's entire body, "It's as if these parasites have become a part of him, but his whole body is rejecting itself!"

She paused, then added in a heavy tone, "What's more troublesome is that the physiological integration between the human and the parasite is now complete. Even if we try to forcibly remove all the Kikaichū, the enormous trauma caused by the surgery itself, as well as the deep entanglement between the parasite nest and the nerves and meridians, will inevitably destroy the child's very foundation."

The best outcome would be lifelong paralysis, complete destruction of the Chakra pathways, leaving the person a cripple. The risk is too great, almost—

An impossible option.

"The Aburame Clan themselves didn't keep any records?" Taiichi low voice, his doubts deepening.

He lowered his head, getting closer to Shisei's small face to examine it carefully. The tightly furrowed brows and the subtle twitches that he couldn't suppress even in his unconscious state silently told of the inhuman torture he was enduring.

"What is Chief Shibi's opinion?" Taiichi asked calmly. "If the cause of his illness cannot be found, forcibly removing the Kikaichū will prevent him from becoming a worm-manipulating ninja. However, with my Medical Ninjutsu and your experience, I have at least a 70% chance of saving his life and allowing him to live as an ordinary ninja in the future."

This is the last resort.

Tsunade's face showed a complex mix of sorrow and regret. "Shibi himself—as a father, of course he has no objections. He was outside just now, practically begging, saying that as long as his child could live, he'd be content with being an ordinary person. But—"

Her gaze fell on Shisei, filled with pity. "This child— Taiichi, you know, the children of these large families, especially the sons of the patriarch, are instilled with responsibility and expectations from a young age."

Shisei —before the ceremony, he was very determined, yearning to become a powerful Bug User, to protect his family and village like his father. Before falling into a coma, he was still muttering in his sleep. If we forcibly remove him, even if we revive him, I'm afraid he—"

Tsunade didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear: it would be a devastating blow to Shisei's spirit.

For a child burdened with the expectations of their family and possessing an extremely strong will, the blow of losing power may be more unbearable than death.

Taiichi remained silent. The children of the Ninja World were indeed precocious, almost heartbreakingly so. He understood Tsunade's unspoken words. A five-year-old child already possessed his own convictions and "Ninja Way."

"What about the fluid analysis and tissue biopsy? Didn't they find anything abnormal?" Taiichi asked, clinging to his last shred of hope.

"We've done every possible test!" Tsunade said with a hint of frustration. "Blood, lymph, tissue samples—routine and unroutine tests, even the latest Cell Activity Analyzer."

The results all showed that, apart from abnormally weakened vitality and a surge in stress hormones, no pathological evidence pointing to a clear rejection reaction could be found! The only clue was—"

She pointed to the sealing array that was maintaining its operation, "As long as the power of the seal is strengthened and the activity of the Kikaichū is suppressed, even if it's just to make them quieter," Shisei's rejection symptoms will be relatively weakened, and his vital signs will be relatively stable.

This suggests that the root of the problem lies almost certainly with the Kikaichū! But this completely contradicts the core theory provided by the Aburame Clan: "Successful nest building equates to stable symbiosis!"

After listening to Tsunade's account, Taiichi fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

Instrumental examinations were ineffective, and routine pathological analysis yielded no results. The cause lay hidden in the seemingly "successful" yet deadly relationship between the Kikaichū and its host.

He took a deep breath, a resolute glint in his eyes. He straightened up, took a few steps back, and stretched his neck and shoulders, as if preparing for a fierce battle.

Tsunade, seeing his posture, paused for a moment, then asked in confusion, "What are you trying to do? Healing and saving lives isn't like going to war! Calm down!"

"Since neither the instruments nor conventional sensing can find the clue," Taiichi's gaze sharpened, locking onto Shisei on the hospital bed, "Then we'll have to use my own method to look deeper."

He needs a perspective that goes far beyond conventional Medical Ninjutsu.

Before he finished speaking, Taiyi quickly made a "noon" seal with his hands on his abdomen.

In an instant, it was as if an invisible breeze swept through the treatment room, and the free-floating Natural Energy in the air, as if attracted by a black hole, frantically converged into his body!

The next moment, a pure and dazzling golden light suddenly shone from the depths of his eyes.

Sage Mode, activated!

The powerful Natural Energy merged perfectly with his own Chakra, transforming into a higher level of Senjutsu Chakra that surged and circulated within his body.

The air in the entire treatment room seemed to freeze, and the invisible pressure made the other Medical Ninja present hold their breath, their gazes towards Taiichi filled with awe.

Tsunade's eyes also lit up with amazement. It wasn't the first time she had seen Taiichi enter Sage Mode, but every time she witnessed this instantaneous transformation, she was deeply shocked.

This control over Natural Energy has reached an unbelievable level.

Without pausing, Taiichi Hand Seals again, this time the "Si" seal.

His surging Senjutsu Chakra, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, was highly concentrated in the palms of his outstretched hands.

Those hands seemed to have transformed into the most sophisticated life detectors, radiating a soft and profound golden-green glow.

He gently placed his hands, imbued with Senjutsu Chakra, over Shisei's chest and abdomen once more.

This time, guided and empowered by Senjutsu Chakra, his perception penetrated the barriers of flesh and blood, transcended the boundaries of cells, and entered a more microscopic and essential level.

His "vision" penetrated tissues and cell membranes, reaching deep into organelles, but that wasn't enough!

His perception of Senjutsu continued to deepen, transcending the scope of traditional microbiology and beginning to touch upon the more fundamental units that constitute life and Chakra.

Time passed slowly in the tense silence. Only the rhythmic ticking of the equipment and the suppressed breathing of the patients filled the treatment room.

Tsunade held her breath, maintaining support for Shisei's vital signs, while Ziguang kept his eyes fixed on Taiichi, waiting for him to uncover the mystery.

After a long while, as if a Taiichi had passed, the dazzling golden-green light from Shisei's hands covering Zhixing's body slowly receded like a tide.

The golden light in his eyes also subsided, returning to its usual depth, but a trace of realization and—an indescribable astonishment—remained within.

"How is it? Did you find it?" Tsunade stepped forward almost immediately, her voice filled with barely suppressed urgency and anticipation. The other Medical Ninja also cast tense and expectant glances their way.

Taiichi nodded, a complex expression on his face mixing "I see" and "eye-opening." He slowly spoke, and the answer he uttered stunned everyone, including Tsunade: "Found it. The root cause—lies in 'Chakra' itself."

"Chakra!"

Tsunade gasped in disbelief, her beautiful eyes wide with shock. "This—how is this possible? Chakra is the product of the fusion of spiritual and physical energy; it's a form of energy!"

It's not bacteria, a virus, or a foreign protein! How could it cause a rejection reaction? This—this completely defies common medical sense!

Energy triggering rejection? This concept was beyond her comprehension.

Strictly speaking, it cannot be completely equated with a material "rejection reaction."

Taiichi explained patiently, his eyes gleaming with insight, "A more accurate description is—a hypersensitive conflict at the Chakra level, or an incompatible eruption of energy fields."

He organized his language, attempting to transform the abstract visions perceived by Senjutsu into understandable pathologies.

"As you know, anyone will instinctively resist or feel uncomfortable Chakra with a strong foreign spiritual imprint is injected into them. This is a mental defense mechanism. The stronger the will of a strong person, the stronger this resistance will be. Genjutsu resistance is based on this."

But Shisei's situation is completely different, and much more serious.

Taiichi walked to the bedside and pointed to the area where Shisei's liver was located, which was the place where the rejection reaction had been the most severe. "The core of the problem is here—the liver."

"The liver?" Tsunade frowned. As a top-tier Medical Ninja, she instantly thought of the liver's immune function. "The liver is one of the most important detoxification and immune organs in the human body—"

"That's right!" Taiichi affirmed. "Under the power of my Senjutsu senses, I discovered an extremely peculiar phenomenon, one that could even be described as a 'coincidence within a coincidence':"

Shisei's own liver cells, especially the key cell groups responsible for energy metabolism and immune regulation, exhibited a "pathological, destructive hypersensitivity" to the Chakra "fluctuations" emitted by the specific Kikaichū he had contracted with!

He further elaborated: "The Chakra of this Kikaichū, its energy frequency, the flavor of its spiritual imprint," or some kind of bio-energy field characteristic that we do not yet fully understand, resonated catastrophically with or clashed with some innate receptor in Shisei's liver cells!

It was like a key mistakenly, yet perfectly fitting, into another lock, triggering a violent breakdown of liver cells! This conflict wasn't about immune cells attacking the parasite, but rather directly "poisoning" Shisei's liver!

"As a core metabolic and immune organ, the liver, once it experiences such a fundamental functional disorder, immediately triggers a chain of pathological reactions!"

This is why the instruments can't detect the foreign object, because the foreign object is not the insect itself, but a Chakra field naturally emitted by the insect that is incompatible with the specific organs of the host!

This explains why the symptoms could be temporarily relieved after the Sealing Jutsu suppressed the insect's activity (reducing the intensity of its Chakra emission).

The treatment room was completely silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was stunned by the unprecedented pathological mechanism described by Taiichi. This was completely beyond the scope of conventional medical knowledge, touching upon the profound realm of the interaction between the nature of Chakra and living organisms.

Only Tsunade, after the initial shock, truly understood the epoch-making significance of Taiichi's discovery, thanks to her profound medical knowledge and insight.

Her expression became incredibly complex, a mixture of shock, realization, and deep emotion.

She looked at the unconscious child on the bed, her eyes filled with pity and a sense of the absurdity of fate. "The odds of this happening are probably a billion times slimmer than finding a needle in a haystack! And yet, he happened to be in this situation—should we say he's incredibly lucky, or just too lucky—"

She couldn't find the right word to describe the "uniqueness" of this extreme misfortune.

Taiichi nodded heavily. "Yes. If it were another Aburame tribeswoman, or if he hadn't chosen this 'Kikaichū,' this would never have happened. It's an extremely cruel and rare 'joke' played by fate."