"So, does that mean my daughter only has three more years to live?" Amado asks with trembling hands.
"Yes!" Izuna calmly nods.
"Also, I am sure you were planning to clone your daughter and then transfer her personality to the clone!" Izuna enquires.
"That's right! That was indeed my plan." Amado nods his head.
"It's the reason I joined Konoha to gain the required resources and equipment."
"Unfortunately, that plan of yours might not work." Izuna shakes his head.
"The personality of a person or an individual is the reflection of their soul and is similar to fingerprints. It's unique!"
"But those…"
"Ah, so you planned to apply your research of Karma seal to facilitate the transfer." Izuna interrupts him.
He opens his palm to reveal a Karma seal. This Karma seal is the one Jigen planted in Ayaka and was later sealed by him. Of course, it was removed by him and Seiryū even proposed to beat the crap out of Jigen for this. Izuna withheld him back with much difficulty.
"That's Jigen's Karma Seal." Amado insects the Karma seal and recognizes the pattern of the Karma.
"You are right. This is indeed Jigen's Karma seal and contains backup information of his personality, genetic information, and a fragment of his soul. This Karma seal is the reason Otsutsukis can live forever by switching their host body."
Numerous seals appear around the Karma seal and restrain it in Izuna's hand. Izuna clenches his fist and the Karma seal disappears.
"Your plan to copy your daughter's personality using your research of the Karma seal is indeed a brilliant idea. Not only that, someone else has even successfully put it to the test." Izuna adds.
"Orochimaru!" Amado and Kushina speak at the same time.
"Yes, it's Orochimaru. I gathered his research data and read its contents. Orochimaru's cursed seals are a replica of the Karama seal and even inspired by it. However, Orochimaru has to abandon his humanity and has to resort to all sorts of vile methods to achieve the so-called immortality of his. Even then, his methods aren't perfect." Izuna turns to Amado.
"I am sure you must have improved the method of backup and transfer and your methods might not be as stringent as Orochimaru. However, there is just a little problem."
"What problem?!" Amado asks.
"There is a fundamental difference between Orochimaru and your daughter. Orochimaru was already an adult with a strong soul when he started his experimentation. However, your daughter is already a weak and frail little girl with an even weaker soul.
Also, the most important factor point. Despite Orochimaru's current body, his soul has the properties of a human. However, your daughter is different. Having spent her entire life since birth sharing a soul with a soul-devouring worm, her soul has mutated and thus possesses the aura and properties of an Abyss creature. In a sense, she is a half-abyss creature at the moment."
"Abyss!" Amado's lips tremble at the mention of that name.
Of course, having spent several years in Kara, he already knows about several alien organizations. Abyss is one of the top three dangerous organizations he mentioned to Izuna at the time of his first meeting with him. Not only that, but his wife was also a member of the clan that worshipped the Abyss.
His wife escaped from her clan and village and settled in a remote village. Later, he met the woman and fell in love with her. His wife got pregnant with their child. However, she died a mysterious death after the inception of their daughter.
It was later; he became aware of the origins of his wife when he was rummaging through her belongings.
"So, is there a way to save my method?"
Amado glances at the tapeworm-like parasite twitching in Izuna's arms. The other hand of the parasite is still within Akebi's head.
"C-can you treat my daugthe-er?" Amado's lips tremble as he utters these words.
"What do you think?" Izuna clenches his fist. The purple energy in his palm turns into purple flames. Soul-devouring parasite displays a violent resistance as if it has met its nemesis. Purple flames burn a portion of the tapeworm's body.
"Eew… it's gross, Onii-chan!"
Ayaka frowns in disgust at the revolting appearance and struggle of the soul-devouring parasite.
"I am willing to pledge my loyalty to Konoha and your organization if you can treat my daughter." Amado steels his resolve and lowers his head.
"He already betrayed Kara. What if he betrays us, too?" Kushina fiercely glances at Amado.
Amado doesn't deny or argue with her. He stares into Izuna's eyes with a steely resolve in his gaze.
"Very well! I hope you are true to your words and won't make me regret my decision in the future."
Shiing…
The Kaleidoscopic pattern in Izuna's Reigan spin rapidly. Izuna places his hand on top of Akebi's head and pulls her soul out of her body.
Fwoosh…
In the next second, a transparent figure similar to the Akebi's current appearance appears in front of the group.
"So, that's her soul!" Amado and Kushina gasps in surprise.
This is the first time they had a clear look at someone's soul. Previously, Kushina remained in a soul form for several years, but back then neither Izuna nor Kushina was as strong as the current them. The group glances at the trembling figure in front of them.
The disgusting tapeworm has merged with the right side of Akebi's soul and occupies almost thirty percent of her current soul. Seven chains of energy connect the soul to Akebi's body.
Out of these eight chains, the middle chain is the thickest and connected to the location of Akebi's heart. Two out of the other seven chains are rusted and infected with a deathly violet aura.
Akebi's soul grimaces in pain as the soul-devouring worm slowly feats upon her soul. The infection in her soul increases by a little with every passing second.
"Daddy, it hurts!" Akebi winces in agony, with tears overflowing from her eyes.
Amado's heat lurches in pain at the sight. He raises his hands to touch his daughter's soul and soothe her.
"Calm down!" Izuna's voice snaps him out.
"What are those chains around her body, Onii-chan?" Ayaka asks with curiosity.
Kushina and Amado also notice the seven suspending chains.
"They are her soul bindings," Izuna explains.
"Every person has eight souls, One 'True Soul' and seven Secondary souls."
"What's the difference between them?" Ayaka tilts her head in confusion.
"The true soul is the essence of one's existence. Whenever someone dies, their true soul will unbind itself from their body and enter into the Samsara to reincarnate. The thick middle chain, you see, the one connected to the heart is a part of the True Soul."
Izuna waits for them to understand before he continues.
"Now, the seven other soul chains you see are part of the 'Secondary Souls'. The seven secondary souls are Body Soul, Life Soul, Spirit Soul, Mind Soul, Yin Soul, Yang Soul, and the Free Soul. I won't explain the deep intricacies and functions of these souls, since you won't understand it either way." Izuna shakes his head.
"Also, these souls are the reason an Edo-Tensei isn't as strong as their living counterpart. When a person dies, their seven secondary souls slowly disperse as memories of the world, since they are a close part of the physical body. Only their true soul enters into the Pure Land. So, a soul summoned with Edo-Tensei only has their True Soul temporarily bonded to the seven secondary souls of their host. Since the compatibility between the two foreign True Soul and Secondary Soul isn't good, an Edo-Tensei can't use the full potential of their power." Izuna briefs the nature of the Edo Tensei.
"Oh, Grandpa Madara's case is slightly different. Kabuto extensively altered the body of his host to the point that four out of seven secondary souls are compatible with him. So, it's the reason he is much stronger than the rest of the Edo and can summon a major portion of his strength. Also, no matter how someone perfects the Edo-Tensei, the Free Soul will never be compatible with the other body." After the explanation, Izuna's expression turns serious, and he focuses his attention on Akebi's soul.
Purple flames slowly cover the two rusted and infected chains. They slowly burn off the infection from the soul.
"Soul-devouring worm starts by infecting the Spirit Soul and the Life Soul of a person. Then it gradually affects the Body Soul, Yin Soul, Yang Soul, Mind Soul, Free Soul, and finally True Soul." The flames burn off the infection and cover Akebi's entire soul body.
Akebi screams in pain as the flames slowly burn the sight of infection. The soul-devouring worm resists with all its might, but the purple flames act like its bane and slowly incinerate it into nothingness. The entire process takes half an hour.
During this entire time, Amado clenches his fists several times but holds himself back.
"It's done!" Izuna removes his hand from Akebi's head and her soul returns to her body.
"She is too weak at the moment. It will take at least half a year for her to recover. from her coma. Later, I will send her to Shikkotsu Forest to accelerate her recovery." Izuna waves his hand as his right eye turns normal.
"Thank you!" Amado expresses his gratitude from the bottom of his heart.
"Now, it's time for you to fulfill your end of the deal." Kushina and Izuna turn toward him.
"Very well. The mastermind of the current situation is…"
Outside Kabuto's secret hideout in the Land of Ancestor,
"This is so slow!" Itachi and Sasuke frown as the progress of barrier-breaking is very slow.
Suddenly,
Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh…
Several figures in red flicker toward the group.
"Who's there?"
Itachi, Sasuke, and the rest of anbu team members point their weapons towards the intruders while protecting the members of the Barrier breaking team.
"We are allies!"
The person in the lead removes the cloak to reveal her face.
"Yuri-san!" Sasuke recognizes the woman in the lead.
The rest of the people also remove their cloaks to reveal their faces.
"The elders of the Uzu clan!" Sasuke recognizes almost all of them.
"You know them." Itachi and other anbus turn towards Sasuke.
"Yes, they are our allies from a distant land." Sasuke nods his head.
The information about Redaku Island is confidential, so he doesn't reveal much.
"What are you people doing here?" Sasuke walks towards them.
"We are here to help on the orders of Lord Minato!" Yuri passes a scroll to Sasuke.
Sasuke glances at the scroll and passes it to Itachi. Itachi glances through its content and nods.
"They are here to help us." He informs the rest, much to their relief.
"We will help with breaking the barrier." The elders of the Uzu clan immediately walk towards the members of the Barrier, breaking the team to crack open the barrier.
They lay down several large Fuinjutsu scrolls and make a series of hand signs. The process accelerates by several folds.
"Is Izuna-san participating in the war?" Yuri asks with curiosity.
"No, Nii-san's whereabouts are still unknown." Sasuke shakes his head.
"I see!" Yuri sighs in disappointment.
She shakes her head and walks towards the entrance of the hideout to study the Fuinjutsu formation.
Fifteen minutes later,
BANG…
With a loud bang, several cracks appear on the crimson barrier around the hideout.
"Quickly everyone, attack that spot!"
Yuri points towards the weak spot of the barrier.
Swish… swish…
Sasuke makes a series of hand signs.
"Chidori Raikiri: Lightning Spear,"
Sasuke creates a lightning spear and stabs it at the weak spot.
Crack… Crack…
Cracks spread across the entire barrier and, with another loud bang, the entire barrier shatters into countless fragments.
"We did it!"
The members of the barrier-breaking team shout in joy and bow in gratitude to the Uzu clan members.
"Let's go!"
Itachi signals them to carefully move in.
Both Itachi and Sasuke activate their Sharingan while carefully traversing across the maze-like structure of the fort.
Once the group enters the fort, Yuri makes a series of hand signs and places her finger on the ground. Other sensor shinobis also perform their sensing techniques to scout the area ahead.
Swoosh…
A pulse of chakra escapes from her body and spreads across the entire labyrinth-like hideout.
A minute later,
Yuri opens her eyes and reports.
"I sense several powerful presences with a mix-match of chakra within this building. This place has six underground floors with more than three hundred rooms. There is a barrier on each floor, and the lowermost floor even blocks my senses." Yuri reveals the detailed structure of the hideout.
Itachi turns to the other sensor shinobis of his team. All of them almost say the same thing as her, though with not that much detail.
"Then, let's clear the path ahead while avoiding or disarming the traps along the path." Itachi nods and signals the special jounins in his team to take the lead.
The group traverses through the maze-like structure of the first floor while disarming several traps and hidden weapons along the way. Yuri and the rest of the members of the Uzu clan also assist the group whenever they notice a hidden fuinjutsu trap or kill formation.
They encounter assault from several of Orochimaru's stray test subjects along the way. Itachi, Sasuke, and the rest of the anbu members quickly dispatch them to the afterlife.
Along the way, the members of the Anbu teams paste several special chakra paper tags at various hidden spots along the wall.
"What are these?" Yuri and the Uzu clan members ask in curiosity.
They can sense the chakra and see the Fuinjutsu seal on the tag, but the fuinjutsu runes are new to them and thus they aren't aware of its function.
"These are special explosive tags that can be triggered or disarmed from a distance. If this hideout is too dangerous, then we will demolish it with the explosion." The anbu members explain to them.
"Still, what's with this number of mindless test subjects? Just how many people did Orochimaru sacrifice to achieve his goal?" One of the anbu members grits his teeth in anger as he burns another mindless shinobi to ashes.
This anbu member is also a victim of Orochimaru. His brother was kidnapped by Orochimaru to experiment and his dead body was later discovered in one of Orochimaru's abandoned hideouts.
"Be careful of your surroundings and don't exhaust your chakra before confronting Kabuto!" Itachi instructs them.
Most of the test subjects on this floor have some kind of body modification or some sort of enhancement drug injected into their body. Most of these shinobis have mutated into monstrosities after their bodies rejected the forced modification.
The expressions of Uzu clan members and Yuri turn pale after witnessing the dark side of the shinobi world.
"We have only heard the heroic tales of shinobis since birth, but never did I expect to witness such a cruel and brutal side of their world." Yuri takes a deep breath.
"We shinobis are warriors, killers, and soldiers. Battles are an inherent part of our life, but even so, we, too, condemn such vile action against humanity." The vice-captain of the team shakes his head.
The group soon reaches the center of the first floor.
"Careful!" Yuri senses something amiss.
However, one of the anbus knocks over a hidden plate in the ground and activates a mechanical trap. The sounds of gears and machine echo through the entire floor.
"W-what's going on?"
The anbu members and shinobis look around in confusion. Yuri closes her eyes and places to sense her surrounding chakra signature.
She quickly opens her eyes.
"Everyone quick, get ready to fight!"
Soon, several test subjects rush towards them from all directions to attack them.
"That earlier trap mechanical trap triggered the mechanism of all of their cells, thus freeing them from their prison. Now all of them will gather here to attack us."
Itachi and Sasuke frown. Soon, another gruesome battle ensues.
An hour later,
Huff… huff…
The exhausted anbu members relax on the ground. The stench of blood permeates the air, making the atmosphere solemn.
"Did you find the entrance to the next floor?"
Itachi turns towards the scouts, who shake their heads in dismissal.
"Why don't we break the floor?" One of the anbu suggests.
"There is a risk of collapse. All of us will get buried alive if we do that." Itachi shakes his head.
"Let me give it a try!" Yuri proposes.
"Alright!" Itachi signals Sasuke to move along with Yuri to protect her.
Another ten minutes later,
"Found it!"
Yuri points towards a wall in a corner.
"Are you sure it's here?" The anbus skeptically stares at her.
Yuri walks forward and makes a series of hand signs to create fuinjutsu seals.
The fuinjutsu seals crawl over the wall to reveal another fuinjutsu formation.
"Let's break this seal!" The Uzu clan member and the barrier-breaking team make their move.
"Wait, we can brute force this seal if we strike at this place." Yuri marks a spot.
"Very well!"
An orange rib cage with a single arm surrounds Itachi. The arm clutches its fist and strikes the weak spot.
BANG…
With a loud thud, the wall explodes to reveal the passage to the next floor.
"Let's go!"
Itachi disperses his barrier and the rest of the team follows along.
"There is another barrier ahead at the entry. It's a strong barrier and will take us a few minutes to crack." Yuri stops the anbu members from progressing further ahead.
The teams quickly take their spots to dispel the barrier.
-------
Hmm…
Kabuto raises his head and glances in the direction of the First floor.
"They already broke past the first floor. Quite fast on their feet, aren't they?"
Kabuto releases a snake.
"Release all the prisoners to prepare a welcome party for them."
Hiss…
The snake hisses and dives into a nearby hole.
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