Transplanting Cloned Limbs

While Orange Flame devoured his dried fish, Neji carried the giant Scroll into another room in the basement. Sasuke followed close behind.

With a pop, Neji released the Scroll's Sealing, revealing three transparent Vessels half as tall as a person on the table.

Three arms floated in the Vessels, submerged in Cultivation Fluid: two left arms and one right.

The two left arms had been produced through Targeted Cloning using tissue Cells from Naruto Uzumaki. The right arm had been cloned from Sasuke's tissue Cells.

Transplanting cells alone could, of course, grant Indra and Asura Chakra. Back then, Madara Uchiha had simply sewn a piece of Hashirama Senju's flesh onto his chest.

Neji had chosen to transplant entire limbs because he suspected that Madara had only awakened the Rinnegan in old age because the piece of Hashirama's flesh he had transplanted produced too little Asura Chakra.

That was why Neji had decided to transplant whole arms instead of just Cells.

He couldn't bear the thought of waiting decades to awaken the Tenseigan.

"You first, or me?" Neji asked Sasuke, tilting his head toward the bed.

Sasuke took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I'll go first!"

Neji pointed to a wooden bed in the room. "Lie down and inject yourself with the anesthetic."

Sasuke obediently did as he was told.

After Sasuke had injected the anesthetic and lain down, Neji waited a while. He then struck several of Sasuke's pressure points with the Gentle Fist before drawing a sharp Tachi and bringing it down in a swift stroke.

Slash! Blood spattered as Neji severed Sasuke's left arm high on the upper arm.

Because Neji had sealed his pressure points with the Gentle Fist, only a little blood spurted from the stump at first. There was no heavy bleeding.

Neji opened a Vessel and removed a left arm. After comparing it with the one he had cut from Sasuke, he trimmed the cloned arm to fit.

Once everything was ready, Neji picked up the cloned arm and pressed it against the wound on Sasuke's left arm.

After positioning it properly, Neji's palm lit up with the Green Light of Medical Ninjutsu.

The attachment did not take long. Neji used the Accelerated Healing Technique, a jutsu that sped up wound healing at the cost of cellular lifespan. As long as a wound was not fatal, it could heal rapidly—even bone could knit back together quickly.

An hour later, Neji had finished attaching the arm. With his Byakugan, he could see that he had reconnected its nerves.

It was not quite at Madara Uchiha's level of grabbing an arm and using it immediately, but Neji still thought the result was extraordinary.

Neji then used the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to remove the anesthetic from Sasuke's body and wake him.

As soon as Sasuke regained consciousness, he sat bolt upright.

"Try it," Neji said, telling him to test the arm for problems.

Sasuke moved his newly attached left arm. After feeling it out for a while, he said, "No problems. Other than the slight difference in skin tone, it feels just like my own."

"Good." Neji nodded, then placed Sasuke's severed arm back in the Vessel to preserve it.

"What about you? You can't work on yourself with one hand, can you?" Sasuke asked, looking at him in confusion.

Neji smiled faintly and formed Hand Seals. "Kage Clone Technique!"

With a pop, two Shadow Clones of Neji appeared.

"Won't your Shadow Clones disappear if your original body loses consciousness?" Sasuke asked, puzzled. "Don't tell me you improved the Shadow Clone Technique too!"

"You're giving me too much credit. I couldn't do that." Neji gave him a look. "I'm not planning to use anesthetic."

Sasuke shuddered at Neji's words. He could not imagine the pain.

Neji really is ruthless, Sasuke thought as he watched him.

Neji took out a towel, rolled it up, and clenched it between his teeth.

One of Neji's Shadow Clones struck several points on his body with its fingers, then raised the blade and brought it down hard.

Slash! Two bright splashes of blood appeared on the Basement wall.

Sweat covered Neji's face. He bit down hard on the towel as searing pain tore through him, and a low roar escaped his throat.

Sasuke swallowed despite himself. Neji's willpower exceeded anything he had expected.

Is this the will of a bird trapped in a Birdcage, longing to be free? Sasuke wondered.

Neji's Shadow Clones wasted no time. They helped him lie on the bed, then took out the cloned arms, trimmed them, and attached one on each side.

Seeing Neji's pale face as he endured the agony, Sasuke felt a surge of respect. What a powerful will his longing for freedom has given him! I, Sasuke Uchiha, truly acknowledge you, Neji Hyuga!

Could I, as an avenger, endure pain like that? Sasuke asked himself.

Yes! The answer came at once. No matter what darkness and pain lie on the path to revenge, I, Sasuke Uchiha, will keep going until I have my vengeance!

Time ticked by. An hour soon passed, and Neji's arms were attached.

With the work done and his clothes soaked through with sweat, Neji collapsed weakly onto the bed. He spat out the towel and gasped for breath.

That hour had felt like an eternity. Without the resentment in his heart and his longing for freedom to sustain him, Neji felt he might not have made it through.

"I almost couldn't take it," Neji said between breaths, feeling as though he had narrowly survived.

"And here I thought you barely felt a thing," Sasuke teased, his face expressionless.

"I'm not that tough." Neji smiled bitterly. In the beginning, it had taken sheer grit just to cut off his arms.

Once the treatment began, though, there had been no turning back. He could only grit his teeth and see it through.

"But at least they attached perfectly." Neji moved his new arms. He could feel subtle differences, ones only someone who had practiced the Gentle Fist for years would notice.

After the Hyuga Clan's systematic training, every pressure point and meridian in a member's body could release Chakra. His pressure points and meridians therefore differed slightly from those of an ordinary ninja.

To Neji, those differences stood out like lights in the dark.

"How long will it take for Yin and Yang Power to become the Power of All-Creation and awaken the Rinnegan?" Sasuke asked.

Having mostly recovered, Neji sat up and saw the expectation on Sasuke's face.

"Don't rush." Neji got off the bed and placed his two severed arms in the Vessels. His Shadow Clones had reached their limit and vanished.

He looked at Sasuke. "You can't rush something like this. The Rinnegan won't awaken overnight. Think about how immense that power is. How could it appear all at once? It needs time to build up and transform, little by little."

"Hmph." Sasuke snorted. "It had better not wait until I'm old and decrepit to awaken."

"It won't." Neji shook his head. "It shouldn't take that long. I'm sure you'll start noticing changes in your eyes before too long."

Whether Neji could awaken the Tenseigan was still uncertain, but Sasuke was almost certain to awaken the Rinnegan.