Sage of Six Paths
Kabuto Yakushi chuckled, unable to hide the joy in his eyes, and began to busy himself, displaying the data from each instrument one by one.
"Professor Xu, everything is fine. The clone's indicators are all normal, its body and brain are fully developed, and we can proceed to the next stage of the experiment..."
Kabuto Yakushi is now quite adept at this, and after receiving the 'White Zetsu' cells from Kato Osamu, he cloned dozens of clones of various bloodlines in just three months.
"Good..."
Upon hearing this, Kato Osamu let out a soft breath, closed his eyes slightly, and a special Chakra aura suddenly emanated from his body. Orochimaru seemed to sense something and stared intently at Kato Osamu.
"The power of Yin–Yang Release is truly formidable..."
Orochimaru, who seems to have little talent for Natural Energy, has rediscovered some hope in another, more powerful force— Yin–Yang Release. He believes the Power of All Creation can replenish the soul damage caused by his Living Corpse Reincarnation, thus paving the way for his immortality...
"Kabuto, inject the maximum dose of the active agent to catalyze the clone's body to its most perfect state..."
A ball of pale blue light slowly emerged from Kato Osamu's hand. His spirit seemed to wane for a moment, but a smile remained on his face.
"To split a part of one's own soul into another complete individual...?" Orochimaru, despite already knowing the purpose of this plan, still felt a little excited when he saw it with his own eyes.
"Yes, Teacher Xu!"
Kato Osamu slowly approached the life support container. The blue light cluster wrapped in the black chain in his hand gradually passed through the glass chamber and entered the clone's Sea of Consciousness as he moved.
"Alright, let's wait for him to wake up..."
The blue light sphere disappeared into the clone, which floated quietly in the green nutrient solution, showing no difference whatsoever. Everyone was silent, their eyes fixed on it.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a hint of surprise flashed in Dou's eyes, and he couldn't help but speak:
"Teacher Xu, the activity level of the clone's cerebral cortex has begun to rise steadily..."
"Okay, drain the nutrient solution and attempt to awaken the patient..."
The nutrient solution was slowly drained, the glass door of the culture chamber opened, the clone's body trembled slightly, and its eyes suddenly opened.
"Awake... What a strange feeling..."
Kato Osamu, whose soul had been split off, had not completely severed his connection with the other, and the dual gazes momentarily made him lose his composure.
"Now it's time to proceed to the next step..." Kato Osamu didn't speak, but the clone looked at everyone with a slight smile on his lips, his voice a little hoarse.
"A true clone technique..." Orochimaru's eyes flashed with a hint of contemplation as he looked at the freely moving clone with a touch of excitement. Unlike other clone techniques, the two Kato Osamu before him were both living, breathing people.
"What a waste that it's all been used up like this..."
"Orochimaru- sensei, if you wish, Kabuto is ready to conduct this experiment for you anytime..."
With a slight smile, Orochimaru seemed to seriously consider the matter for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Perhaps that day will come..."
The words had barely left his lips when the hand Hand Seals were completed in an instant. The clone seemed to know what it had to do, and sat quietly cross-legged on the ground. The clone, which had been born less than ten minutes ago, was about to Dead Demon Consuming Seal and become a sacrifice to the Shinigami...
Wearing the Shinigami Mask retrieved from the Uzumaki Shrine, the unknown Chunin, who almost knew he was about to lose his life, slowly entered through the side door of the basement. His eyes, however, seemed to hold no fear, only a fanatical devotion to Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru! I'm about to begin!"
"Alright, let me see your loyalty..."
Suddenly, a Chakra storm surged forth, and a huge pale blue Chakra phantom enveloped the Chunin. A shrill scream began to echo in the underground space, as if performing such a ninjutsu had put enormous pressure on his mind and body.
However, after being modified by Kabuto, this Chunin unleashed Chakra level comparable to that Kage Level a Kage at this moment.
"Ah... Lord Orochimaru! I... I can definitely do it!"
"Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
The Shinigami's translucent body was fully revealed. With a light swing of his long sword, the soul of Kato Osamu's clone, along with fragments of Kato Osamu's soul, was completely torn out of the body, offering almost no resistance.
"It should be fine now..."
Sensing the soul of the clone, now a sacrifice, rapidly passing away in a certain direction, Kato Osamu sat cross-legged in the laboratory, his senses connecting with the soul of the sacrifice.
"This is..."
The soul offered as a sacrifice was plunged into complete darkness, utter darkness devoid of any light, yet it continued to move in a specific direction. Having lost its sense of time and space, Kato Osamu was unable to determine its location...
Suddenly, a burst of seven-colored light appeared in Kato Osamu's perception, as if it had a great attraction to the soul, and the sacrificed soul flew swiftly toward the seven-colored light.
"Has it crossed the boundary between the mortal world and the Pure Land...?"
In reality, the phantom of the Shinigami had completely disappeared. The clone used as a sacrifice and the Chunin who cast the Chunin had both died. Orochimaru quietly watched Kato Osamu sitting cross-legged to the side, a complex look flashing in his eyes, but he did not make any move. He slowly pushed open the door and left the basement.
"Kabuto, if Osamu wakes up, remember to let me know immediately..."
Seeing Orochimaru leave the basement, Kabuto Yakushi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps Kato Osamu had a backup plan, or perhaps not, but Kabuto Yakushi understood that Kato Osamu was extremely vulnerable at this moment, and even an ordinary Genin could seriously injure or even kill him...
Kabuto Yakushi silently protected Kato Osamu, vigilantly watching their surroundings, even though he knew this was already the most secluded place in the entire base...
Meanwhile, Kato Osamu suddenly crossed the boundary between the mortal world and the Pure Land, and his senses suddenly became clear and open. This was a space with no perceived boundaries, and countless dark blue orbs of light appeared in it.
In the distance, there was a towering statue— the Shinigami —sitting quietly in the space. As if sensing the entry of Kato Osamu's split soul, it slightly opened its eyes and then closed them again.
"The Shinigami..." With just one glance, Kato Osamu felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy, sweating profusely. In the Pure Land, the Shinigami was the being who controlled the rules.
"Truly a creation of Yin–Yang Release!" In the Pure Land, Kato Osamu could clearly sense the presence of the Shinigami and fully understand its existence. The creation of Yin–Yang Release was the guardian of the Pure Land, acting in accordance with the rules set by the being that created it.
Slightly calming her mind, Kato Osamu controlled a portion of her soul to tentatively approach a ball of light. These soul balls, drifting aimlessly in the Pure Land, included some that were perfectly integrated and others that were almost dissipated.
"This is... an ordinary person..."
Kato Osamu approached the orb of light, and the instant the two orbs made contact, he saw the image of a soul within them: an ordinary middle-aged man, standing dazedly in an open space, spinning around as if he had no consciousness whatsoever.
Perhaps there has never been anyone like Kato Osamu who entered the Pure Land with independent consciousness. All souls in the Pure Land will fall into chaos and lose all consciousness.
"The power of my soul is slowly draining away..."
Perhaps freed from the constraints of a physical body, Kato Osamu, in his soul state, possessed an indescribable perception. He seemed to be in complete control of his own state, clearly sensing the slow, albeit very slow, flow of his soul's power...
"It seems like something is drawing in the power of the soul..."
Kato Osamu drifted further and further away in the direction where the soul power had dissipated...
After an unknown amount of time, the number of dark blue light spots increased and became more and more obvious. Strands of soul power, like ribbons of dark blue color, drifted towards a certain depth.
A pale blue light enveloped a cluster of golden light. Kato Osamu moved forward little by little along the light until he could gradually sense the presence of the golden light...
"This is... a person!"
It seemed that his mere perception had startled the humanoid being within the golden light. The figure, which had been quietly floating in the air, suddenly opened its eyes and, in an instant, locked onto the location of Kato Osamu's remnant soul.
The gazes, like two beams of golden light, swept over, and an irresistible attraction, along with the power of the soul, firmly drew Kato Osamu's remnant soul towards His direction.
"Irresistible..."
"Should we abandon some fragments of our souls and leave the Pure Land...?" Just as Kato Osamu was in shock, it seemed to sense Kato Osamu's presence, and the golden light suddenly softened, making Kato Osamu's soul power feel a little warm.
"Did you wake me up...?"
A golden light flashed, Kato Osamu returned to his original form, landing quietly on a patch of ground radiating golden light. A strange-looking old man appeared before him.
"I never imagined that someone could achieve something like this..."
Kato Osamu could feel a complete sense of being seen through. Perhaps this wouldn't happen in the real world, but in this Pure Land, it was the other person's domain, and everything operated according to their will...
He didn't even need to think; the moment he saw the old man, Kato Osamu understood that this old man was the true master of the Pure Land!
"May I have your name?"
"Kato Osamu..."
"Kato... I seem to have heard this name before when I occasionally wake up and look around the world..."
"The Kato Clan has passed down the Spirit Transformation Technique for generations..."
Despite being wary of the old man before him, Kato Osamu could tell that his existence was ancient, and that he had perhaps been secretly observing the Shinobi World all along. He might be the hidden mastermind he had always suspected...
"I am Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki..."
Kato Osamu nodded hesitantly. At this moment, Kato Osamu seemed to have no idea what the surname represented. However, what Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki said next made Kato Osamu's eyes widen suddenly, filled with shock and disbelief.
"Perhaps you've heard of me by another name; they call me..."
"The Sage of Six Paths..."