Flying Fortress, Laboratory.
After completing the data collection, Shinji spoke to Neji and Kimimaro, who were lying on the operating table: "You two can get up now!"
Hearing this, the two sat up and looked at Shinji in unison.
Shinji said, "It was my negligence this time. I didn't expect that the dual confinement of the black receivers and the sealing jutsu would fail to prevent them from carrying out the parasitism."
"Leader, what should we do next?"
Neji looked slightly nervous, while Kimimaro maintained his usual indifferent demeanor, seeming not to take the Otsutsuki parasitism too much to heart.
Shinji smiled. "Don't worry!"
Momoshiki and Kinshiki made a grave mistake this time. Their plan was flawed from the start because even if they used 'Karma' to manipulate Neji and Kimimaro to escape the Flying Fortress, Shinji could easily find them using Eida's 'Senrigan'.
After all, the two of them couldn't keep 'Karma' in a liberated state forever.
"That's a relief!"
Hearing Shinji's words, Neji let out a sigh of relief.
When the 'Karma' was liberated, he indeed felt Momoshiki's will fighting him for control of his body. Fortunately, he had undergone relevant training, and with 'H' (Hyuuga/Hamura chakra/or a specific designation in this fic) in his body, he and Kimimaro did not lose control.
Shinji's gaze shifted to the instruments on the side, and he fell into deep thought.
The current situation had exceeded his expectations and completely disrupted his plans. The 'Karma' on Neji and Kimimaro wasn't a problem; he could rely on his own overwhelmingly powerful chakra to erase the consciousnesses of Momoshiki and Kinshiki within the two 'Karma' marks, allowing the 'Karma' to slowly liberate within Neji and Kimimaro purely as a form of power.
In this way, Neji and Kimimaro would essentially reverse-possess Momoshiki and Kinshiki, advancing to the 'Six Paths Level' in a way Shinji had never envisioned.
So for Neji and Kimimaro, this was undoubtedly a tremendous blessing. All they needed to do now was actively adapt to Momoshiki and Kinshiki's 'Karma' to accelerate the liberation speed.
But for Shinji, this matter was somewhat troublesome.
Because Momoshiki and Kinshiki were the sacrifices Shinji had prepared. The existence of these two Otsutsuki was roughly equivalent to two 'Chakra Fruits' for Shinji. Now that Momoshiki and Kinshiki had 'died' in this manner, it was undoubtedly equivalent to Shinji losing two 'Chakra Fruits' that were within easy reach.
"Forget it, I'll think of another way!"
Shinji sighed helplessly.
After reassuring Neji and Kimimaro, Shinji opened a space portal and arrived at the Research Institute.
Tsunade and the others who had returned to Konoha had now come back to the Research Institute. Although the situation in Konoha was terrible, since Urashiki was only in a hurry to harvest chakra and didn't finish off his victims, there were many injured Konoha ninjas but few deaths.
Despite this, the Research Institute still held an emergency meeting.
Tsunade was the first to express her opinion: "Otsutsuki Urashiki's target is chakra; this point is already very clear. As long as we analyze based on this behavioral logic, we will definitely be able to catch him!"
Sasori sneered, "There are over a dozen ninja villages, large and small, scattered across the nations of the ninja world. Unless we get lucky and camp the right one, how are we supposed to catch him?"
Orochimaru said, "The opponent is an Otsutsuki; he won't care about average amounts of chakra, so we can temporarily rule out some small ninja villages. He has already attacked Kumo and Konoha, so the ones most likely to be attacked next are Iwa, Kiri, and Suna."
Sasori asked, "One out of three, how do we choose?"
Orochimaru smiled and didn't speak.
In his view, this wasn't an issue; just camping at any one of them would suffice. As for what to do if the other two villages were attacked, that was completely outside his scope of consideration.
Shinji's arrival interrupted the meeting.
However, Shinji had no intention of presiding over the meeting. He called Amado away alone, then instructed the others, "You guys continue!"
Taking Amado to an empty conference room, Shinji reviewed the summary report of Hiruko's ritual.
Flipping through the report, Shinji asked, "So, Hiruko concealed part of the ritual content beforehand?"
Amado nodded slightly. "Yes, he secretly increased the intensity of the ritual and hid a certain technology from us that could briefly suppress the 'Chimera' buds."
"Idiot!"
Shinji gave his assessment.
He didn't understand how Hiruko dared to hide things from the Research Institute in a matter of life and death. Even if Hiruko had luckily succeeded, Shinji wouldn't have let him off.
If everyone held back a hand like this and played the Research Institute for a fool, then the Research Institute wouldn't need to advance any research projects in the future.
Subsequently, Shinji asked, "Did the Research Institute obtain that technology to briefly suppress the 'Chimera' buds?"
"Yes!"
Amado nodded but didn't explain exactly how they got it.
In fact, Hiruko had done things very absolutely. Before conducting the ritual, he destroyed all his research files, clearly ready to use the Research Institute's resources for a big gamble. If he succeeded, it went without saying; if he failed, he wouldn't leave any valuable research results to the Research Institute.
Since Hiruko played it that way, the Research Institute naturally gave him a taste of his own medicine.
Since they couldn't find Hiruko's research files, the Research Institute directly interrogated Hiruko himself. As for how they interrogated him, one has to mention 'Impure World Reincarnation' (Edo Tensei). With this forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, even the dead could speak.
Shinji didn't have the energy to care about these details right now. Seeing that Amado had already handled Hiruko's matter, he asked, "What level can the success rate of the ritual reach?"
Amado pondered for a moment and said, "About 55%."
Although the Research Institute had only conducted the fusion ritual twice in total, and failed once, this failure was not without value. At least it tested where the upper limit of the fusion ritual lay. Orochimaru's attempt was already the limit; continuing to increase the power of the ritual would only lead to an end like Hiruko's.
So after summarizing the gains and losses of the two rituals, the Research Institute now had some grasp on the basic success rate of the ritual.
Shinji nodded with satisfaction and stated the purpose of his visit. "I need Otsutsuki, Otsutsuki that can serve as sacrifices for the God Tree!"
Amado's expression turned serious. "You want to manufacture Otsutsuki through the ritual?"
"Correct. Orochimaru actually already possesses Otsutsuki characteristics!" Pausing for a moment, Shinji continued, "But it's not enough. The sacrifices I need must be closer to the Otsutsuki bloodline. Only in this way can the God Tree be activated!"
Shinji had thought it through. The step of artificial Otsutsuki had to be taken. After all, the number of Otsutsuki clansmen in the starry sky was limited; he couldn't rely solely on capturing Otsutsuki clansmen to obtain 'Chakra Fruits'...