Chapter 201: The Two Deadly Flowers (Part 1)
"Experiment number 0103. Recording begins now."
Deep underground.
A dozen or so Root ninja, all skilled in genjutsu, were simultaneously casting a jutsu on Kushina, who was in the center of the field. She, with her crimson, three-tomoe Sharingan, was enduring the combined assault.
Whatever she was experiencing in the illusion, tears of blood slowly trickled from her eyes, and the three tomoe, under the pressure of the external genjutsu, began to spin on their own.
"The test subject's genjutsu resistance is very high. Do not stop. Continue the release."
After a long time, the experiment, deep beneath Konoha, finally ended.
Kushina, under the restraint of the curse marks on her body, numbly returned to her cell.
The development of the Jinchuriki was not going as smoothly as Danzo had imagined. Though he had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, had obtained the Nine-Tails, and had successfully transplanted the three-tomoe Sharingan, Kushina was still unable to freely control the tailed beast's power, unlike the Cloud's Blue Bee.
When her tailed beast cloak reached five tails, she would hit some kind of limit, and she would pass out, and the cloak would dissipate.
Danzo had flown into a rage several times over this.
The Root's researchers had tried many methods, such as using drugs to keep her in a state of constant excitement to prevent her from passing out, or adding sealing formulas to help restrain the beast's power, but nothing had worked.
One of the researchers had suggested that both the Sharingan and the tailed beast cloak were related to emotion, and that they could try using genjutsu to stimulate her consciousness, to try and break through the unknown barrier.
Though it was a bit of a desperate move, with no progress in other directions, the plan had been approved for a trial run.
Because the absolute will of the Foundation, Danzo Shimura, was getting impatient.
He didn't care if her mind was traumatized, or if her personality changed. He had long since considered her a mindless, humanoid weapon. In fact, if her mind were to be shattered by the genjutsu, he would be even more at ease in using this "weapon."
Back in her cell, Kushina, as usual, lay down on her small bed, closed her eyes, and her consciousness descended into the depths of her mind.
The Sharingan in her eyes seemed to be still slowly spinning.
In her inner world, she opened her eyes again. The familiar, massive sewer.
Behind the giant iron bars, the coiled Nine-Tails opened one eye.
"You're here again, brat."
She nodded and walked to the front of the cage. Ignoring the water in the sealing space, she sat down cross-legged and pressed her forehead against the cold iron bars, silent.
The Nine-Tails shifted uncomfortably. "Are you going to keep doing this?"
"I want to wait for that person to come," she said after a long moment.
"Impressive," it sneered. "You have a chance to escape, but you choose to endure."
"My... these eyes," she said, her forehead pressed against the cold bars, "they've been strange lately."
"Oh?" it said, burying its head in its fur, one eye still open. "Interesting. All I know is that these eyes are far from their limit. But you are not their original owner. You will likely never see it. This cursed eye draws its power from a person's negative emotions. The fact that you're feeling uncomfortable probably means you're about to break."
"Nine-Tails," she said after a long time, "that's just a nickname humans gave you, isn't it? Do you have a name? A real name?"
"Are you in a position to be asking such questions?" it sneered. "Or has my help made you think you're worthy of getting close to me?"
She did not reply. After a while, seeing no response, it also lost interest in talking.
Almost every night, she would descend into her inner world to soothe the wounds of the day. The Nine-Tails had gotten used to it.
The two of them, the human and the fox, sat there, separated by the massive iron bars, in silence.
As if they were sleeping, and also as if they were...
Licking their respective wounds.
The next day, the researchers brought her to the lab again. But today was different. A figure who had been absent for a long time was also here.
As she passed Danzo, a flicker of emotion crossed her face, but she quickly suppressed it.
He looked at her, his heart filled with frustration. He had paid a great price to obtain the Nine-Tails, but it was still not satisfactory. And he didn't even know the reason. The pressure from the other two elders and Sakumo was growing. He had persuaded them by promising to "master the power of the Nine-Tails as soon as possible," which had bought him Sakumo's silence. But as time went by, and he still had no results, the three of them seemed to be having second thoughts.
He was considering whether to bring Orochimaru in. With his research skills, he was even better than the Foundation's own researchers.
"Experiment number 0104," a voice from the testing ground said. "Recording begins!"
"Genjutsu, prepare!"
In the forest, Tsuki Kaguya was moving at high speed, her clansmen in hot pursuit.
Last night, after she had dealt with the people in the clan head's residence, she had continued to "cleanse" the rest of the clan. But halfway through, she had been discovered.
Though she had taken down a few of them, she had woken up the rest. Surrounded, she had had to fight her way out.
And with the Kaguya's warlike nature, almost all of them were now after her.
A volley of finger bones shot at her, shattering a rock by her side. She looked back. It was a middle-aged woman in her forties. Though the status of women in the clan was low, the Kaguya, both men and women, were all fierce and warlike. Last night, most of the adult men had been at the clan head's party, so the ones who were now pursuing her were mostly women.
She returned fire. Her pursuer was clearly much weaker than her and was sent tumbling from the air.
But more and more figures were catching up. And even the one who had been hit was not dead. She would soon be back in the chase.
She did not engage. She continued to run.
As she ran, the pursuing group was gradually stretched into several echelons. She would then turn back and fight, trying to kill her pursuers.
The clash of bone blades. She was the victor. A girl, a little older than her, her bone blade shattered, was impaled through the head, a bloodthirsty expression still on her face. Perhaps she was not after revenge, but just wanted to enjoy the fight.
She panted, but did not stop. She moved on, waiting for her next chance.
The chase lasted for a whole day. She finally shook them off on the sea. Though the external wounds on her body had all healed, thanks to her Kekkei Genkai, she was now at her limit.
She gritted her teeth and pushed on. At dawn, she finally saw land again. She had made it from the isolated island of the Land of Water to the mainland.
Because of the chase, she did not know where she was. But at least she knew which direction to go.
She rested for a short while and was about to get up and continue when she saw a figure approaching in the distance.
Tch. They still haven't given up?
She had thought it was a pursuer from her clan. If it was just one, she wouldn't mind taking them out before she continued.
But as he got closer, she realized that it was the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.