Bloodline Disease
It was three days later when they left the Land of Rain.
After Kushina Uzumaki's matter was resolved, Kato Osamu and Nagato Uzumaki closed themselves off and talked all night, exchanging information and almost completely understanding the ins and outs of events in the Shinobi World from a thousand years ago to the present...
Nagato also realized that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was the shell of the Ten-Tails, and Kato Osamu also obtained more detailed information about the Rinnegan.
With this matter settled, Kato Osamu did not linger in the Land of Rain and returned to Kusagakure.
"Rinnegan... Sage Eye..." One thing Kato Osamu, who had met the Sage of Six Paths, didn't tell Nagato Uzumaki was that the legendary Sage Eye weren't the Rinnegan, but rather something called the Rinne Sharingan. And as far as he knew, the Uzumaki Clan only inherited the Sage Body, and would never have any bloodline of the Sage Eye...
On the contrary, the Sage Eye and the Sharingan are closely related. Suddenly recalling seeing the frail and elderly Madara Uchiha, Kato Osamu felt as if there was still one last mystery that had not been solved...
"Research on the Sharingan has always been limited to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan state. Even after so many years, there has never been any further evolution..." Kato Osamu knew that Sharingan were to evolve one more time, it would become the Mangekyō Sharingan, a higher-level bloodline. However, through laboratory methods, the most that could be achieved was to bring the One-Tomoe Sharingan to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan state.
Even now, he can no longer spontaneously evolve the Three-Tomoe Sharingan into the Mangekyō Sharingan. It seems there are some constraints he hasn't yet understood, preventing such a thing from happening...
"The Sharingan is also known as the Eye of Reflection of the Heart... the soul... could it be related to the power of the soul?" Before truly obtaining any Mangekyō Sharingan, all speculations are baseless.
"The secret of the Uchiha Clan... I'll have to go back to Konoha again if I have the chance..."
With Kusagakure near, Kato Osamu stopped thinking about it, shook his head slightly, and looked up at the territory that was now entirely his own...
Under Nonō's management, Kusagakure has gradually developed over the years. Kusagakure, which is also located in a plain, does not have many high mountains. Within the entire Kusagakure area, there is only one hill about 100 meters high, which is also the center of the current Land of Grass.
The streets and alleys of the entire Land of Grass extend outwards from the highest point of the hills, while a wide river flows through them, providing ample water for the people of Kusagakure...
Schools, hospitals, parks, and various public facilities were built, and even the Grass Shinobi built their own Kage Building, located at the highest point of the hills...
A large defensive barrier covered the entire area of Kusagakure, but unlike Konoha, it did not have a high wall. Developed under the supervision of Kato Osamu, Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru, Hiruko, this defensive sensory barrier possessed functions similar to the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, easily detecting the entry and exit of anyone...
"Perhaps this place should be given a new name..." With a slight smile, Kato Osamu didn't conceal her presence. With a slight movement of her hand, the barrier quietly opened, and Kato Osamu passed through the outermost layer of forest, walking into the streets and alleys of Kusagakure...
"Please come in, guests..." Perhaps due to the increasingly open policies and stable environment of Kusagakure in recent years, war immigrants from all over have gradually flowed into Kusagakure, and shops of all sizes have opened up.
As Kato Osamu walked along, he came across a hot spring shop. Perhaps remembering something, he stepped inside.
The rising steam soothed his nerves; he was the only person in the entire hot spring, and a sense of tranquil beauty welled up in his heart.
"Looks like you're having a pretty good time..." A hand suddenly touched Kato Osamu's head as she rested it on the edge of the pool, gently massaging her head.
"Nothing's happened these past few days, has it..." Having already sensed the other's arrival, Kato Osamu simply closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.
"It's alright, it's just that little one is a bit of a headache..." Thinking of Hinata Hyuga, Mei Terumi felt a little helpless. While she could be described as gentle, she could also be quite stubborn. Having accepted her fate and gradually adapted after arriving in Kusagakure, she began training herself with relentless determination, truly making defeating Mei Terumi her goal...
"It's good that you're alright... I'll probably be staying here for a while..." Kato Osamu wasn't concerned about the girl with the Byakugan; instead, she was thinking about Kimimaro, the last owner of the Shikotsumyaku bloodline she brought back from Orochimaru's base...
"Have you gotten any results from Hiruko regarding the Bloodline Disease of the Shikotsumyaku?" The sound of rushing water rang out Mei Terumi leaned against Kato Osamu's side, gently stroking the scars on Kato Osamu's body.
"It seems there's some progress. Hiruko's always busy in the underground lab; I rarely see him... But Kimimaro seems to be getting along well with Hinata... They're both quiet and reserved; who knows how they ended up chatting together..."
"You seem quite concerned about that girl with the Byakugan..." Kato glanced at Mei Terumi. She seemed unusually attentive to that girl lately, and even though Kato Osamu didn't care, she couldn't help but find it strange...
"Who knows... maybe I'm just overflowing with maternal love..."
"You don't have any children, so where does your maternal love come from...?"
"Is it my fault that we don't have children?" Mei Terumi glanced at Kato Osamu with a resentful look, hesitating to speak. Hearing Mei Terumi's tone, Kato Osamu turned to look at her, her beautiful eyes brimming with emotion, her gaze misty and ethereal...
"Okay..." Kato Osamu Mei Terumi. He lowered his head and kissed her, Mei Terumi's body instantly went limp. The hot spring was only a few dozen meters away from the room next door, and by the time Kato Osamu placed her on the bed, her whole body was already flushed.
How many do you want?
"Let's see what you can do..." Mei Terumi glanced provocatively at Kato Osamu, Mei Terumi tilted her head, looking ready to be taken, though her cheeks were already flushed crimson...
[Skipping over N tens of thousands of words...]
After an unknown amount of time, in a daze, Mei Terumi vaguely heard a deep and long exhalation, which seemed to be the first sound of life.
Early the next morning, Kato Osamu arrived at the underground laboratory where Hiruko was located. Besides Hiruko and some staff, there was also a white-haired child with two bright red dots between his eyebrows, lying on the bed, quietly staring at the ceiling...
"How is Kimimaro doing?"
"The situation is alright. Because he is still young and hasn't used the power of the Kekkei Genkai, the existing damage is not irreversible..." Seeing Kato Osamu enter the laboratory, Hiruko to dismiss everyone, looked at the data in her hand, and spoke softly.
"However... a complete cure is almost impossible..."
"It's called Bloodline Disease, but the actual cause is that the Shikotsumyaku can manipulate bone formation at will, constantly stimulating osteoblasts and osteoclasts in the body. This causes cells to be in a state of high-intensity division for a long time, which will naturally lead to extreme deterioration of the body and a short lifespan..."
Upon hearing Hiruko's diagnosis, Kato Osamu frowned slightly. Such a systemic problem meant that unless he never used his Kekkei Genkai again...
Looking at Kimimaro lying on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, seemingly uninterested even in their conversation, Hiruko hesitantly voiced her other theory.
His Chimera Technique incorporates various bloodlines, and almost no one in the Shinobi World understands the various Kekkei Genkai better than him. Naturally, he has also come into contact with a certain special possibility...
"However, I have some speculations, just one possibility... Compared to other Kekkei Genkai, in the process of studying Shikotsumyaku, I always felt that this Kekkei Genkai was like a half-finished product... Generally speaking, Kekkei Genkai itself should not cause such irreversible damage to the holder... After all, in the process of continuous evolution, such bloodlines that cause continuous damage will be gradually eliminated..."
"There are two possibilities... One is degradation... A complete Shikotsumyaku might be a Kekkei Tōta or even Kekkei Mōra, but the existing Shikotsumyaku, due to factors such as talent, was not inherited by later generations and could only degrade into Kekkei Genkai... The other possibility is that it has not yet fully evolved... Perhaps in countless years, after countless generations of evolution... it will gradually evolve into a better Kekkei Genkai..."
"But..." Hiruko head. Now, only Kimimaro remains of the entire Taketori Family. If no change can be achieved through Kimimaro, then the Taketori Family can essentially be considered extinct...
"I understand..." Kato Osamu didn't know much about Kekkei Tōta or even Kekkei Mōra, but he knew it was an extremely rare bloodline. In the entire Shinobi World, the only one openly known to be Bloodline Elimination was the Third Tsuchikage's Dust Release Kekkei Tōta...
"Generally speaking, Kekkei Genkai of the 'Kagemitsu' category are formed by fusing two 'Kagemitsu' techniques together in a special way, thus creating bloodlines... such as Ice Release, Wood Release, etc... while Kekkei Genkai of the body category are generally related to Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation..."
"Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku) should theoretically be considered Kekkei Genkai of the body's organs, but it's not quite the same as other bloodlines of the body. Instead, it's similar to bloodlines of the escaping techniques... like a creation-type bloodline of Wood Release, except that the objects created by Shikotsumyaku are his own bones..."
"So, you mean that the Shikotsumyaku is actually a special kind of escape technique?"
"I believe it's like this... at least from what I know, the Shikotsumyaku and Wood Release are extremely similar..."
"Okay, I understand. So, there might only be one way to solve Kimimaro's Bloodline Disease... and that is to evolve into Kekkei Tōta as much as possible?"
"It's a rare opportunity... Also, my suggestion is, if possible, try to integrate the power of Yang Release into the Shikotsumyaku. The Shikotsumyaku causes too much damage to the body; only Yang Release can alleviate it even slightly..."
"Okay..." Understanding Kimimaro's current state, Kato Osamu no longer hesitated and gently tapped Kimimaro's forehead, bringing him back to his senses from Kimimaro dazed state...
"Kimimaro... Orochimaru sent you here to me. In other words, from now on you are a member of Kusagakure. Do you understand?"
"Yes... I will fight for you..."
"This place doesn't need a little kid like you to fight..." Hearing Kato Osamu's voice, Kimimaro was slightly taken aback. His limited and barren life was filled only with battles, endless battles, until Orochimaru brought him to the Land of Rice Fields. After learning about his Bloodline Disease, it seemed that he had once again lost the meaning of his life...
"Live well... Kimimaro..." Kato Osamu patted Kimimaro's head, looked at Kimimaro's slightly confused eyes, and shook his head slightly. He roughly understood Kimimaro's experiences and had also come into contact with the Taketori Family. Some wounds can only be healed by time...