- Shikotsumyaku is a fully corporeal kekkei genkai," the clone grinned, leaning on his neighbor and clearly feeling more confident, "and is not affected by the change in the quality and density of the chakra that has changed in me....
- And this gives me a chance to reproduce at least some of its properties with the help of iryoninjutsu on myself, - I continued his thought, - albeit in a reduced format.
The full-fledged grafting was out of the question - in addition to the lack of proven technology, who can say what will happen to my longevity and unique chakra from Uzumaki's genes if the experiment goes wrong?
So far, only Orochimaru had begun to study the interference in shinobi genes, and he hadn't gotten very far in that direction. It was a shame that he couldn't work on Kaguya's research until the new specimen was extracted, but a new perfect marionette would be more useful, especially if he could summon a disembodied soul with the help of Edo Tensei and teach him the basics of how to use the kekkei genkem.
- Okay, time to go, I have a meeting to go to soon," I tucked the scrolls into my pocket and grabbed Kaguya firmly by the shoulder, dragging him towards the cloaked slab that concealed the seal of transfer to the lab.
***
And while Ryo Nara was quietly doing his business, a storm of emotions raged in the Hokage Tower.
- Hiruzen, how could this happen? - Elder Utatane nervously paced the office of her longtime friend and comrade-in-arms. - In a time of peace, when our forces are at their peak, to miss such a large group of enemy jonins! Twenty people can't be hidden so easily, and the barrier team should have been able to spot them when they crossed the wall, let alone find them inside! Okay for the clans to trash us for such a blunder by Anbu, but what kind of message would this send to the other great villages? Konoha is weakened! It's practically a direct invitation to war and a reason for the allies to think twice!
- I don't know any more than you do, Koharu! - Sarutobi retorted irritably, smoking his third pipe of tobacco in an attempt to calm down since he had returned to his office after dealing with the aftermath of the battle and awaiting the preliminary report on the interrogation of the captured Kirigakure shinobi.
Naturally, each of them was found to have a crossed out hitai-te of their home village, indicating their nukenin status, which the Mizukage would surely confirm, but the trio of shinobi understood the background of what had happened - it was an attempt at revenge for Sakumo Hatake's successful mission and the two killed great swordsmen of the Mist along with the theft of the village treasure, albeit somewhat delayed in time.
Now it was urgent to find out what loophole in the defense the Kiri-nin had exploited to launch an attack, going undetected until the last moment, and it urgently needed to be covered.
Of course, Hiruzen knew that this was the penultimate nail in the coffin of his title as Third Hokage, because the clans would not let it go, but he had already made his peace with it and was only concerned with the well-being of Konoha - the next attack could well be near the Sarutobi clan, not the Hatake clan, and that had to be taken into account.
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