At the border of the Land of Fire, in a secluded cave.
Lin Ze sat cross-legged and took out the scroll recording the technology for creating an "artificial tailed beast."
"Orochimaru may be a crafty bastard, but at least he didn't play any tricks when it came to honoring our deal."
Muttering to himself, Lin Ze slowly unrolled the scroll.
Its contents were far more extensive and complex than he had expected. Densely packed jutsu formulas and diagrams, along with copious annotations of experimental data, filled almost the entire scroll.
Lin Ze took a deep breath, focused, and began studying it word by word.
But the further he read, the deeper his brow furrowed.
This "artificial tailed beast" technology was nowhere near as simple as he had initially imagined.
Its core consisted of two parts:
First, a "shell" tough enough to contain an enormous amount of chakra while also possessing vitality.
Second, an extremely complex compound sealing formula, used to restrain, guide, and control the chakra within the shell, making it simulate a tailed beast's form and behavioral patterns.
The key material mentioned for constructing the shell was a special mineral called [sea dragon jade].
According to the scroll, this jade was found only in specific waters near the former site of the Land of Whirlpools, buried deep beneath the sea. It contained unusual life energy and conducted chakra well, making it the ideal material for the junction connecting an artificial tailed beast's energy core to its shell.
"The Land of Whirlpools... sea dragon jade..." Lin Ze murmured, a glimmer of understanding flashing in his eyes.
He finally understood why Konoha had mastered this technology but never put it into widespread use, and why it had rarely even been mentioned in the later parts of the original story, until that