Chapter 279: Who Still Plays Traditional Zerg?
"It takes three days to hatch the next generation, and fifteen days to produce an excellent next generation," the Mother Worm replied respectfully through Koyuki.
Kenichi raised an eyebrow. So there was a difference between ordinary and excellent variants?
He asked the moment the thought came.
"Master, ordinary offspring have no negative impact on the host's body," the Mother Worm explained carefully. "They can slightly enhance physical strength and power, and suppress the host's pain threshold, allowing them to fight without feeling pain as easily."
Over the past year, the Mother Worm had not been idle. It had learned a great deal about humans through Koyuki, and its speech had become far more natural.
Kenichi looked at Koyuki. The Mother Worm could now speak through her mouth, which was convenient. Otherwise, he would have had to maintain a constant connection just to communicate.
Honestly, even the ordinary parasite already satisfied him. No negative impact on regular people, a minor boost to strength and physique, and reduced pain sensitivity. That was practically a zombie like body, without the downside of losing reason.
Still, Kenichi's curiosity only grew.
"What about the excellent ones?" he asked.
"Excellent offspring can help ninja accelerate chakra extraction," the Mother Worm said, sounding faintly proud. "They can also store a portion of chakra inside themselves, completely suppress the host's pain, and even assist the host's injured parts when the host is wounded."
Kenichi's eyes narrowed with satisfaction.
Just accelerating chakra extraction and storing chakra was already valuable. Add complete pain suppression, and it meant a host could keep fighting even after severe injuries. In battle, that mattered more than comfort.
With that, the parasite's appeal would no longer be limited to ordinary people. It would become attractive to ninja as well.
In the ninja world, strength decided almost everything. As long as ninja could be controlled or recruited, the rest was easy. As for samurai, Kenichi did not take them seriously. Even if a few were formidable, the majority could not compare to ninja.
If he truly wanted to, he felt he could take the Land of Iron right now.
"Moreover," the Mother Worm continued, "the next generation can also help the host fight. As long as they absorb iron rich ore, they can transform into sharp blades, swords, and kunai."
Kenichi's satisfaction deepened.
This chakra parasite was better than expected.
That only made one question sharper in his mind.
If it was this useful, why did the Sage of Six Paths want to eliminate it back then? Was it because the Mother Worm tried to spread itself to everyone and push the world toward collapse?
Kenichi could not be certain. There were no reliable historical records, only rumors that sounded like urban legends. Still, many accounts used the same kind of phrasing, calling it an evil calamity that sought to destroy the world.
Without solid documentation, he could not verify it. But the possibility felt high.
"Can there be an even better next generation?" Kenichi asked, watching Koyuki closely.
Three days for ordinary, fifteen for excellent, and now he wanted to know if there was a tier above that.
"Yes," the Mother Worm answered with certainty. "But that kind requires a long cultivation period. About three months."
Kenichi's eyebrows rose.
Three days, fifteen days, then three months. That jump was enormous.
"What is the difference?" he pressed.
"Master," the Mother Worm said, sounding slightly confused, "because that kind contains a large amount of your excellent genes. They can help the host absorb a very strange energy. The increase in physical ability and strength will also be greater."
It hesitated, then admitted its limitation.
"I can sense the ability exists, but I do not understand what that energy is."
Kenichi went still.
He did.
If the Mother Worm described it as strange energy, it was very likely natural energy. In other words, offspring infused with his genes might help a host approach Sage Mode.
Then another thought slammed into him, awkward and unavoidable.
These offspring had his genes. The hosts would be carrying his gene heavy parasites. The logic started to feel uncomfortably close to calling them his own descendants.
Kenichi's expression turned into something like a baffled old man staring at a ridiculous notice board. He did not know whether to laugh or sigh.
He forced himself back on track.
"You can analyze the composition and function of genes?" Kenichi asked, realizing he had overlooked an important point. "Not just store them, but interpret them?"
"Mhm. I can detect some functions," the Mother Worm replied honestly.
Kenichi took a slow breath.
That was a big deal.
If the Mother Worm could partially interpret gene functions, it could assist him later, both in research and in selection.
"For now, cultivate some ordinary offspring and some excellent offspring," Kenichi said. "I will come back for them. They will be useful."
The Mother Worm's capabilities were undeniably strong. With it, Kenichi felt the success rate of his broader plan had increased significantly.
He also began to suspect the true origin of this parasite line. Their abilities and biology did not resemble something native to the ninja world. It was not impossible they were extraterrestrial lifeforms.
But that could wait.
Right now, he wanted to return to his laboratory as quickly as possible and test whether the Mother Worm's secretions could help him improve gene programming ninjutsu. If it worked, it would be a massive breakthrough.
"I obey your command, Master." Koyuki dropped to one knee, her posture rigid with reverence, her expression bright in an unsettlingly devoted way.
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
He was not used to being treated like this. It felt awkward in a way he could not properly describe.
But he did not ask the Mother Worm to change it. A strict hierarchy was useful. If his future hosts started shouting about bonds, best friends, or village ideals while charging at him, that would be a disaster.
When necessary, he needed a structure that allowed him to suppress them decisively. That was the only way.
After a brief explanation to Koyuki, Kenichi boarded his airship and left the Land of Snow, heading back toward his laboratory. He was already impatient to test the secretion's value.
Meanwhile, in a secluded valley, a man wrapped in layers of bandages let out a harsh, delighted laugh as he walked toward the woman in front of him.
"Stop struggling, Pakura. You cannot escape from here."
Pakura gritted her teeth, staring at the monster in front of her. Her teammates were already dead, all killed by his hands. His strength was overwhelming, and worse, he seemed to understand her abilities far too well.
"No. I have to bring this information back to the village." She inhaled sharply and activated her Bloodline Limit again.
The next instant, she vanished.
"I told you," the bandaged man said, clapping his hands together, "Swift Release is useless against me."
The sealing barrier around them hardened further, the air itself seeming to lock.
To capture a woman who could move faster than the naked eye, he had spent a great deal of effort. He had prepared this sealing formation in advance, one designed specifically to prevent escape.
Even Pakura could not break out.
"As long as I capture her and absorb her, I will master four Bloodline Limits," he murmured, listening to the distant echo of impacts and blasts. A smile spread across his face. "And if I obtain the Sharingan too, I will become an immortal ninja."
He had already layered defensive techniques into the barrier. The sound in the distance had to be Pakura slamming into it, desperate and failing.
Then his smile faltered.
A sense of threat rose directly in front of him.
He calmly raised his left hand.
A long blade stabbed toward his palm, but the weapon shattered on contact, breaking into pieces that clattered to the ground.
Pakura's eyes widened. She bit her lip.
She had noticed earlier that his body was unnaturally hard. But that attack had been Swift Release, driven by high speed. Even a normal Earth Release wall would have struggled to hold it back.
Yet this monster stopped it with one hand.
"You demon," Pakura hissed. "What did you do to your body?"
"This is Steel Release," the bandaged man replied, smiling.
He had once been weak. Untalented. The kind of ninja who could only stand behind his friends and watch them grow stronger while he stayed powerless.
But he was not that man anymore.
Steel Release. Storm Release. Scorch Release.
These were powers he had collected with painstaking effort. As long as he absorbed two more Bloodline Limits, he would become an immortal ninja and rule the world.
Pakura forced herself upright and launched a final ambush.
"Earth Release: Earth Bullet!"
It slammed forward with the last of her chakra.
And it was absorbed.
The technique vanished without leaving a mark.
Pakura's pupils contracted.
She had heard of an ability like this, a rare Bloodline Limit rumored among top combatants, capable of absorbing ninjutsu and rendering attacks meaningless.
But the man in front of her also claimed Steel Release.
"You cannot have that many Bloodline Limits in one body," Pakura whispered, her legs giving out.
Chakra was life for a ninja. Once it was depleted, death followed.
She had nothing left.
"That is true for others," the bandaged man said, laughing. "I am not others. I am Hiruko. I am destined to become the absolute ruler of this world!"
"Oh? Absolute ruler?" A sudden voice cut through the valley.
Hiruko's pupils shrank.
He spun around and saw a ninja standing outside the sealing barrier, watching him with obvious interest.
"Who are you?" Hiruko demanded.
The newcomer wore no headband, giving no easy clue to his origin. But he stood outside the barrier, which meant he was almost certainly an enemy.
Kenichi looked at Hiruko with a subtle expression.
He had not expected to run into Hiruko here.
He had been piloting his airship back toward the Land of Rice Fields when he noticed something below. The sealing array's structure looked similar to something his teacher had once taught him. Curiosity pulled him down.
And then he saw the bandaged man, the desperate woman behind him, and heard the name.
Hiruko.
The moment Kenichi heard it, he knew exactly who this was. He had asked his teacher out of curiosity before, and his teacher had told him Hiruko had once been his friend.
Kenichi had not planned to interfere. Even if Hiruko intended to do something insane, it was not his concern.
But then he heard the rest.
Multiple Bloodline Limits.
Possibly even more.
Kenichi's interest ignited instantly.
Were there people in the ninja world who could carry multiple Bloodline Limits?
Outside of the Otsutsuki, there were almost none. On the surface, only Mei had two. Hiruko, however, had no Bloodline Limit originally. Kenichi knew that from his teacher.
So how did Hiruko obtain them?
That alone was worth investigating.
So Kenichi decided to meddle.
As for Pakura, Kenichi recognized her too. She was not the Hidden Sand legend people sometimes mixed into rumors. She matched the woman seen in the old accounts and films, right down to the face.
And right now, she was about to be devoured.
So Kenichi stepped closer, gaze locked on Hiruko, ready to see exactly how this so called immortal ninja worked.
.....
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