Clone Experiment

After dismissing Anko, Hyuga Lan once again opened those sets of data to study them carefully.

These materials were obtained through his trade with Orochimaru, and they recorded the principles and insights of genetic modification and artificial embryo technology.

Orochimaru was truly the number one scientist in the Ninja World; the technical means he mastered were beyond imagination. Hyuga Lan had originally thought Orochimaru only had a simple understanding of these technologies, but after taking over this intelligence, he realized that Orochimaru's attainments in genetic modification were profound.

Orochimaru was indeed a scientific genius. With these technologies, the Kaguya Clan Head could be saved.

It was no wonder Hyuga Lan spared no effort to trade with Orochimaru to obtain these techniques; they were essential for him to treat the Kaguya Clan Head.

Since the Kaguya Clan Head's survival was tied to the success or failure of his plans, Hyuga Lan had grown anxious upon discovering that the Kaguya Clan Head's body was deteriorating day by day.

If he did not perform the Blood Exchange Therapy soon, even if he consumed a massive amount of Tenseigan chakra, he feared he would be unable to keep him alive for another six months.

Six months was far too short; it would certainly be impossible to complete the preparations for his plan in that time.

Therefore, performing the blood exchange ritual for the Kaguya Clan Head to help alleviate the damage caused by the Kekkei Genkai Disease had become a matter of extreme urgency.

In an underground space within the Land of Fire.

A figure wearing a milky-white mask arrived before the Kaguya Clan Head, who was sleeping while submerged in nutrient solution.

Looking at the Kaguya Clan Head, who was still sleeping quietly, Lan used tools to extract some tissue cells from the man's body.

Afterward, he took these tissue cells to a room filled with scientific research equipment.

Most of the instruments in this room had been purchased for him recently by Pakura, who had been complaining to him through puppets during these past few days.

Between dealing with the pursuit of various factions and having to scrape together funds to purchase the equipment, the time Hyuga Lan had given her was simply not enough, so she hoped Hyuga Lan could grant her more time.

However, while he could wait, the Kaguya Clan Head could not. Thus, Hyuga Lan chose to ignore Pakura's pleas and instead issued a strict order, demanding she gather the equipment he needed within the specified time.

If she couldn't even handle such a small task, she would be a great disappointment to him.

Just as Hyuga Lan was using various scientific methods to cultivate a clone embryo of the Kaguya Clan Head, a new turn of events occurred in the Ninja World.

Ever since the Fourth Hokage and his wife both passed away on the Night of the Nine-Tails, the Ninja World, which had just calmed down, once again showed signs of war.

Now, more than half a year had passed, and the Cloud Village seemed to have finally run out of patience...

The Cloud Village attacked a Konoha Village outpost on the border of the Land of Fire, firing the first shot of the war between the two nations.

It was only when a figure in a tattered blood-colored robe arrived outside the village that Konoha received intelligence from the front lines, learning that the Cloud Village had assembled a large army and was preparing to attack Konoha Village.

Hyuga Lan, who knew the story of the Hokage, was not surprised by this news.

However, he only knew that after the Fourth Hokage and his wife died, war broke out between Konoha and the Cloud, and this event eventually led to the future death of Hizashi.

As for the intensity and duration of this war, Hyuga Lan's memory was very vague.

But when the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up; as a youth like him who had not yet passed the Jonin promotion exam, he did not need to face the dangers of the battlefield for the time being.

Therefore, during the initial stages of the war between the Cloud Village and Konoha Village, Hyuga Lan used a Shadow Clone to impersonate himself at home, while he began to busy himself in the laboratory where the Kaguya Clan Head was being held.

Because the Kaguya Clan Head's body had been severely overdrawn by the Kekkei Genkai Disease, it took a great deal of effort for him to select relatively healthy tissue cells from the man.

Even so, the embryos induced and cultivated from these cells still had a low survival rate. He did not know how much heart and blood he had poured into it before he finally caught a glimmer of hope for victory.

More than half a month later, looking at the well-growing embryo in the petri dish, Hyuga Lan's expression brightened with joy.

After working so hard for so long, there was finally a success.

After observing it for a period of time, Hyuga Lan placed the individual embryo, cultivated from the Kaguya Clan Head's tissue cells, into a large Life Support Device and began to accelerate its growth.

At this point, Hyuga Lan's goal was very clear: he intended to use cloning to create a replica of the Kaguya Clan Head.

Once the clone was fully cultivated, he could use it to perform the blood exchange ritual with the Kaguya Clan Head.

Ever since he learned from the Kaguya Clan Head about the blood exchange ritual that could reduce the intensity of the Kekkei Genkai Disease, he had thought of using cloning to artificially create members of the Kaguya clan, as there were no other Kaguya left to perform the exchange.

That was why, when facing the desperate Kaguya Clan Head, he had the confidence to say he possessed the means for treatment.

Because it was a clone cultivated from the subject's own tissue cells, all aspects were similar to the original body. Using a clone to perform the blood exchange ritual would likely be even more effective than the rituals performed with fellow clansmen in the past.

More than a month later, looking at the face in the life support device that bore a striking resemblance to the Kaguya Clan Head, Hyuga Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, there was still time. The Kaguya Clan Head's condition was far more serious than he had estimated; if he had been half a month later, he feared that even the blood exchange ritual would have been useless.

When the clone finished developing, Hyuga Lan removed it from the device and placed it on the examination table to check it.

Because it was a clone, this replica of the Kaguya Clan Head had no spirit or consciousness, allowing Hyuga Lan to manipulate it on the examination table at will.

After a series of tests, the data for this Kaguya Clan Head clone was recorded.

Compared to the Kaguya Clan Head, the clone's physical indicators were far inferior in every way, with the only exception being its vitality; because the progression of the Kekkei Genkai Disease was slight, the clone appeared to have more vigorous life force.

Not bad; this clone also had a mild case of the Kekkei Genkai Disease, but it was not severe—at least it was sufficient to be used for the blood exchange ritual.

However, looking at this clone, which was merely a shell without a spirit, Hyuga Lan suddenly had a small idea.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, and as chakra surged into his eyes, golden light erupted from his pupils; he had activated the Tenseigan state.

Then, a surge of Yin Release power flew out from Hyuga Lan's body and into the clone that had been created from the Kaguya Clan Head's cells.

Soon, the clone, which had been lying quietly on the experimental bed, suddenly opened its eyes, then stood up and moved about on the spot, as if it were adapting to its new body.

It turned out that Hyuga Lan had used the Tenseigan's spiritual possession ability to inhabit the clone of the Kaguya Clan Head. He had only intended it as a simple experiment, never expecting that a soulless clone could truly serve as a vessel for possession.

Hyuga Lan felt a distinct sense of sluggishness in this body compared to his original form, as if there were some sort of dampening barrier between his spirit and the flesh.

However, this sensation was not severe, and as time passed and his control over the body and its organs strengthened, the resistance began to fade rapidly.

Before long, seemingly accustomed to his new body, Hyuga Lan began to explore the power of the Shikotsumyaku contained within it.

This clone had exhibited mild symptoms of the Kekkei Genkai Disease since its birth, precisely because it had awakened the Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit from the very beginning.

Click...

A slit opened along the right forearm of the clone Hyuga Lan was possessing, and white bone extended outward from the wound, transforming into a Bone Sword.

As Hyuga Lan drew the Bone Sword, the wound healed rapidly, leaving no trace on the surface whatsoever.

Tsk tsk, so this is the power of the Shikotsumyaku?