Ino quickly gestured for Kabuto to calm down. "You're a 'dead person' right now. It'll be troublesome if the Village's patrol team discovers you."
Kabuto's expression looked particularly conflicted, and he said with tears in his eyes, "I know it's wrong, I know, I know all of it, but... but I really want to live. Even one more day, one more hour, would be good."
How could he continue to "live"? They had discussed this question before when studying myths, and now the conclusion could be directly applied.
That was the core issue from the very beginning of their Baroque Works: the King of Hell and the sage eye.
The sage eye possesses the supreme power to resurrect the dead, as recorded in some ancient texts. Yakushi Kabuto had also received confirmation from Orochimaru that this claim existed, but as for how exactly to resurrect? No one had seen it. Orochimaru didn't know and didn't care.
Yakushi Kabuto certainly wasn't here to find the sage eye, and Ino wouldn't dare to provoke the sage eye. Their conversation quickly turned to Edo Tensei.
Ino spoke some of the truth: "I only know how to dispel this Jutsu; I don't know how to use it. The Second Hokage wanted this Jutsu to be buried forever, so he only taught me the dispelling part. Senior Kabuto, do you need this dispelling?"
Kabuto indeed needed it. Dispelling was also part of the Jutsu. If one's Ninjutsu level was high enough, they could deduce the original Jutsu. But he had just passionately declared that he "wanted to live," so he couldn't immediately say he needed the dispelling. That would be too fake.
He said, "My meager Medical Ninjutsu caught Orochimaru's eye, and he made me his experimental assistant. During the experiments, I gathered some information about Edo Tensei. You are a famous Ninjutsu genius in Konoha Village. Take a look and see if you can truly resurrect me?"
If you don't spare the child, you can't catch the wolf. He painstakingly played the role of a humble, timid little person, occasionally flattering Ino to satisfy her vanity.
For someone like Yakushi Kabuto, who clearly possessed Jonin strength but performed 163 garbage tasks like feeding pigs and weeding every day to conceal his identity, face was worthless. He had no mental burden whatsoever.
And there was an unexpected gain? Ino took the scroll he handed her and examined it carefully.
It was indeed content about Edo Tensei, but it was extremely fragmented. Many parts were just scattered phrases, and they weren't coherent.
The scroll recorded some external manifestations of Edo Tensei, but there was no information about the Jutsu's execution process.
Without specific hand seal methods, Jutsu formulas, or Chakra flow paths, this scroll was more like a description of a Ninjutsu or a symptom research report.
Ino also showed Kabuto the partially withheld dispelling section.
Both of them read quickly, then shook their heads in unison.
Based on the available information, it was impossible to deduce Edo Tensei.
Kabuto was a bit unwilling and brought up another matter: life energy.
Even if Orochimaru's consciousness could be drawn out of the cursed seal, a vessel was still needed.
In the original timeline, Sasuke resurrected Orochimaru using Sage Kabuto's cells. At that time, Kabuto was in Sage Mode, and his body was full of Sage Art Chakra, formed by balancing physical energy, spiritual energy, and Natural Energy. This Chakra contained extremely vigorous life energy, which could be used to resurrect Orochimaru.
Now, Kabuto didn't even have the concept of Sage Mode, so he had to find another way.
He still used the pretense of being "dead," saying that he couldn't find the sage eye and was now trying to find a body with powerful life energy, after which he would abandon this "unclean" Edo Tensei body.
Ino snapped her fingers: "You've really come to the right person! Senior Kabuto, look at this!"
She unsealed a scroll and pulled out a half-mechanical, half-flesh severed arm.
Yakushi Kabuto was someone who could eat among corpses, so a severed arm was nothing to him. However,
As a top-level Medical Ninja of his time, just one glance allowed him to determine the original owner's height, weight, and other data based on the arm's length, skin color, and body fat percentage. In this case, there was no need to even judge; isn't this Jirobo's arm? Did he agree to you taking his arm off?
"Look."
Ino shot out five Chakra threads, connecting them to the five Chakra points on the severed arm, then manipulated it using the techniques of a Sunagakure Puppet Master.
Yakushi Kabuto knew Sasori and had been a spy in Sunagakure, so he was no stranger to Puppet Masters. In his opinion, Ino's control was truly terrible.
Focusing intently, he noticed something: "Miss Ino, is this... a Human Puppet?"
He was too surprised. Human Puppets were Sasori-sama's unique skill. Those people in Sunagakure couldn't make them at all; they could only create traditional puppets using materials like metal and hardwood. Traditional puppets were easy to control but had limited techniques, while Human Puppets were complex to control but offered a rich variety of techniques, as they were made from a Ninja's body. Due to the presence of Chakra, they could often even use the Ninjutsu the Ninja had possessed in life.
He felt a strange Chakra within the severed arm, somewhat like the cursed seal Orochimaru gave to the Sound Four, and somewhat like Jirobo's own Chakra. It also seemed to be mixed with something else.
He saw a clear Sealing Technique on the side of the severed arm.
"Did you research this? That's truly remarkable." He was greatly astonished by Ino's research abilities. "Girl, you're truly wasted in Konoha. Sunagakure needs a talent like you!"
Ino held her head high, maintaining her image as a genius.
Kabuto wanted Ino to unseal the side of the severed arm; he wanted to see what was providing the Chakra inside.
"Alright." Ino readily agreed: "Flesh is weak, machine ascension. Release!"
The seal had just been released. The next second, several dark red, vine-like tendrils, as thick as a baby's arm and with a metallic texture, suddenly shot out from inside the severed arm.
These tendrils were dark red, covered in growths, and normally hidden beneath the arm's muscles, acting as blood vessels and Chakra pathways.
A pungent smell of blood rushed towards him. Kabuto feigned panic, scrambling and rolling over ten meters away. Only when Ino re-sealed the tendrils did he slowly walk back, looking as if he had been greatly shaken.
With just those two glances, he understood Ino's general idea.
She had implanted a Chakra-infused plant into the severed arm, which absorbed the flesh and cells within. It also seemed to have encroached upon the cursed seal Orochimaru had given Jirobo. Now, the plant was like some kind of parasite, integrated with the flesh and machinery.
Those tendrils, in his opinion, somewhat resembled Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. He decided to retract his previous words: "Girl, don't go to Sunagakure. That place is too small for you. Lord Orochimaru needs a talent like you even more!"
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