Capítulo 36: Chapter 21.1 : Worm!!
"Chirp, chirp!"
It seemed to sense Kagetsu's presence. A blue-green worm, about a meter long, wriggled toward where Kagetsu was standing.
"Looks like you've been taken care of well while I was away," Kagetsu squatted down and petted the worm's body.
Though it looked soft, the worm's skin was actually quite tough, feeling a bit like sandpaper. Kagetsu had tested it before—an ordinary kunai would face significant resistance when trying to pierce it.
The worm's body could also enlarge and form a large shield.
The worm nudged Kagetsu's hand with its head.
"Here, try this," Kagetsu teased the worm for a bit before taking a scroll from his bag. After unsealing it, the contents were revealed.
Two pieces of fresh-looking flesh.
Kagetsu placed one piece under the worm's mouth, feeding it like usual.
At Kagetsu's command, the worm opened its somewhat terrifying mouth, revealing an octopus-like maw hidden beneath folds of skin. It slowly devoured the piece of flesh.
After it finished the first piece, Kagetsu didn't rush to feed it the second. Instead, he used medical ninjutsu to carefully examine the worm's body.
The flesh came from a part of Jūgo's body after he transformed. It contained strong natural energy. Kagetsu had gotten it after applying to Orochimaru for it.
Orochimaru was also curious if Kagetsu's worm could digest natural energy.
It didn't take long for Kagetsu to notice a familiar change in the worm's body—something he had seen many times over the past few months.
The mutation triggered by natural energy.
Shadow Imitation Technique.
In an instant, Kagetsu's shadow wrapped around the worm. One of his hands formed a sharp chakra scalpel, cutting a small wound into the worm's tough skin. With his other hand, he injected a serum through the wound.
The serum was meant to help the worm's body accept and adapt to natural energy, reducing rejection.
Soon, the violent natural energy inside the worm calmed down under the effect of the serum, but Kagetsu knew this was only temporary.
According to the data from earlier experiments, the current serum could stabilize natural energy for a while, but it couldn't truly tame it.
Splat!
Kagetsu immediately jumped back.
The worm had already begun mutating. Black spikes burst from the folds of its skin, covering its body like the quills of a porcupine.
"Has it lost its mind?"
Kagetsu's calls for the worm received no response. Instead, it drew the worm's attention. Trapped under the tight control of the Shadow Imitation Technique, spikes on its body suddenly exploded outward like a shower of needles.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
A water wall spun up in front of Kagetsu, deflecting the black needles that had shot out at him.
However, to Kagetsu's surprise, after the first wave of needles, another quickly followed. The worm's body kept producing more black spikes, shooting them out continuously.
The process repeated over and over.
Even the reinforced walls of the laboratory were now riddled with these black spikes.
A coffin-shaped black rectangle rose from the shadow beneath the worm, engulfing it. Shadow weapons formed outside the coffin and pierced into it.
Shadow Coffin.
Shikakichi maintained the Shadow Coffin technique as he approached Kagetsu.
"What's going on?" Shikakichi, disturbed by the chakra outburst from the worm, looked at the black coffin and turned his head to ask Kagetsu.
"A small experiment mishap," Kagetsu said. Seeing Shikakichi's face darken, he added, "But it's under control."
Shikakichi ignored Kagetsu's words. His focus was fully on the Shadow Coffin, which was slowly fading away.
When the coffin finally dispersed, the worm reappeared, bloodied and heavily injured. Its skin was torn and its flesh exposed, with blood oozing out.
Squeak!
The worm's painful cry filled the air. The next moment, under Kagetsu and Shikakichi's shocked gazes, the worm's severely damaged body began to heal at an incredible speed.
"What is that?" Shikakichi's eyes widened in disbelief.
"The self-healing ability of a tenacious life form," Kagetsu said thoughtfully. The worm's stats did mention its exceptional vitality.
Was this healing power a sign of that vitality?
This made Kagetsu think of the S-rank forbidden jutsu Creation Rebirth, once demonstrated to him by Tsunade.
"Do you want me to use the full power of the Shadow Coffin?" Shikakichi asked cautiously, now prepared to completely eliminate this threat. He knew how much time and effort Kagetsu had spent on this worm, so he decided to ask first.
"Just help me keep it under control," Kagetsu said, forming hand seals and releasing his Shadow Imitation Technique.
Shikakichi quickly took over, using his own Shadow Imitation Technique to restrain the worm.
As Kagetsu completed his seals, intricate fan-shaped symbols spread across the ground from his hands, reaching the worm's body and sinking beneath its skin. Shikakichi was slightly surprised.
Sealing Jutsu!
And it was a high-level sealing technique, completely different from anything the Nara Clan typically used. Seeing the strange mutated worm, even Shikakichi, who usually didn't question Kagetsu's methods, couldn't help but feel curious about what Kagetsu had been doing outside the village during his absence.
The worm, which had been covered with sealing symbols, finally calmed down, falling into a deep sleep. It lay motionless on the ground. However, its black spikes remained, and its skin had turned jet black, looking as tough as steel.
This made the worm appear quite terrifying and ugly.
"Is it done?" Shikakichi asked, sensing that the struggling from his Shadow Imitation Technique was weakening. He realized Kagetsu had successfully controlled the worm but asked to make sure.
"It's done," Kagetsu nodded and sighed in relief as he stood up from the ground. The curse seal technique taught by Orochimaru should last long enough, giving the worm time to fully absorb the piece of flesh.
"This is such a hassle," Shikakichi retracted his Shadow Imitation Technique, yawning lazily as he scratched his head. "How am I supposed to explain this to your mother later?"
Kagetsu ignored his father Shikakichi's grumbling and glanced around his lab. The series of black spike explosions had caused significant damage to a lot of his equipment.
In the past, he might have worried about the cost, but since returning to the village, Orochimaru had not only acknowledged him but had also granted him permission to use his laboratory.
Compared to Kagetsu's simple lab, where everything relied on manual work, Orochimaru's lab was equipped with state-of-the-art tools—a true luxury.
With access to something better, he no longer cared about his own lab.
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