At its core, Earth Grudge Fear (Jigenryū) is a form of biological symbiotic modification.
It uses jutsu to forcibly rge a human with the Earth Grudge Fear organisms, modifying and strengthening the host's blood vessels until they transform into black threads.
These vascular tentacles can steal young hearts and usurp the chakra natures of others, granting the user a form of grotesque immortality.
Shisui left his workbench and quickly located the records concerning this technique on his bookshelf.
However, after a period of intense study, he realized that a successful modification would take an imnse amount of ti—sothing he didn't have.
It would require countless trials and a level of biological engineering he hadn't yet mastered.
Furthermore, a simplified version of the technique wouldn't grant the ability to steal hearts or achieve immortality; those weren't properties of the jutsu itself, but unique traits of the Earth Grudge Fear organisms.
Then there was the hurdle of biological instinct.
The instincts and will of the Earth Grudge Fear organisms are incredibly low; they exist like fungi, rely absorbing nutrients from the earth to persist.
But the Symbiotic Kikaichu were true insects. Their desire to consu and reproduce was overwhelming. Even if a perfect symbiosis was achieved, this primal hunger remained a ticking ti bomb.
Worse yet, once rged, the insect might drain every drop of energy from both itself and the host just to produce a single clutch of eggs.
To succeed, the human will would have to act as the dominant pilot, using a powerful survival instinct to utterly suppress the insect's biological programming.
This was no longer just a physical fusion; it was a psychological and spiritual blending—territory that Shisui, a master of entomology, found himself ill-equipped to handle.
"There are only three true masters of flesh and fusion: Sasori, Orochimaru, and Shinno," Shisui mused, leaning back. "Kakuzu rely followed a blueprint by luck; he's a craftsman, not an architect."
"As for spiritual fusion... perhaps only a later-stage Orochimaru, or the Sage of the Six Paths who could make his sons' chakra reincarnate through generations, truly understands it."
He sighed. Solving one problem only dragged deeper ones into the light. His original goal was simple: use the high-protein, high-energy output of these insects to boost his own cellular energy, break his natural limits, and expand his chakra reserves.
He hadn't expected the path to deviate so wildly into the realm of forbidden body modification.
However, he had verified one truth: simply stacking energy was useless. Human cells are like bottles—they have a fixed capacity.
No matter how much water you pour in, the excess just spills away.
The thod to "expand the bottle" was right in front of him, but he had to master the symbiosis to continue his research into extracting insect pheromones for himself.
"Tch... so much trouble. Maybe I should just let them die."
Shisui realized he was looking at a year or two of research for a jutsu he himself didn't even need, all to save a handful of subordinates he had controlled on a whim.
They were expendable—re test subjects. Logically, he only needed to study their corpses to find the pheromone extraction thod.
He had only intended to use them for a year or two anyway, and the shinobi world never lacked for desperate n to replace them.
Yet, they hadn't betrayed him. They hadn't failed. For the past few months, his peaceful life of research—his steady supply of materials and his freedom from village politics—was entirely thanks to their tireless work in the outside world.
"In the end, I'm the one who has to do the hard work."
Shisui closed his eyes, contemplating. He realized that exploring these theoretical boundaries was a necessary part of his growth.
Like "useless" academic subjects that later beco the foundation for a breakthrough, this was a gap in his knowledge that needed filling.
But the human-insect fusion had to wait. If he spent months researching a perfect jutsu, his subordinates would be mummified husks long before he finished.
He looked at the hairless, unconscious Chunin on the slab, his mind racing through alternatives.
Surgical extraction? His dical skills weren't precise enough to peel the parasite away from the nervous system without causing a fatal reaction.
Fūinjutsu? He had tried it; at best, it was a temporary suppression. His sealing skills were adequate, but far from "master" level.
He was forced to admit a humbling truth: outside of his mastery of insects, he was a "jack-of-all-trades, master of none."
Over the next few days, as corpse after corpse was fed to the swarm, he crossed out his theories one by one. So were dead ends; others failed due to his own lack of technical skill.
He did manage to make two test subjects survive, but they were broken. Their chakra pathways were shredded, their muscles atrophied.
They could no longer mold chakra or perform ninjutsu. This was a failure. He didn't just want them to live; he wanted to preserve the "tools" they had beco.
The only silver lining was that his surgical precision improved drastically. Practice, it seed, was indeed the ladder to progress.
Seven days passed.
Shisui's main body remained in the basent, while a Clone acted as his proxy in the village. Takigakure remained harmonious on the surface, though the few Jonin who suspected the truth lived in a state of constant, quiet dread.
One night, one of these Jonin decided he had enough. He quietly gathered his valuables, intending to abandon his family and flee the village under the cover of darkness.
At the edge of the Takigakure barrier, the ninja looked around nervously. He began a series of complex hand seals, pressing his palms against the shimring wall. He expected a gap to lt open, allowing him a silent exit.
The barrier didn't budge. It had been subtly altered without anyone noticing.
"And where do you think you're going?"
A Clone made of grey insects rose from the shadows of the barrier's edge.
"I... I..." The ninja spun around, his hair standing on end, unable to finish a sentence.
"Abandoning your wife and children is a poor habit," the clone said tonelessly. "However, considering your skills in Fūinjutsu are decent, I'm willing to give you a second chance."
The clone raised its hands, presenting a single grey insect egg.
"Eat it. This is a treatnt usually reserved for the Four Elders."
The ninja gripped his kunai, a flash of defiance in his eyes, but it died instantly. He slumped to his knees, head bowed. "Lord... I won't leave. It was a mont of madness. Please, spare ."
"Am I not sparing you?" The insect clone pointed toward a nearby ravine. Deep in the shadows lay several sets of bleached white bones—skeletons of those who had tried to run before him, frozen in their final monts of flight.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: Patreon/kazama677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.
User Comments
0 comments from readers