"No need to keep trying to convince me."
Seeing that Sasori was about to speak again, Link cut him off:
"If you want sealing techniques or the 'core,' you can apply through the Hokage."
After Orochimaru was captured, his "cores," a bunch of failed experiments, and all related research data had been hauled back to Konoha. Research continued there, but Link had lost interest.
They'd basically confirmed that relying solely on pure natural energy wouldn't work – mere humans couldn't keep pace with the infinite stream of nature's chakra.
Orochimaru was using Yakushi Kabuto's special constitution to repeatedly apply chakra regeneration, strengthening the "core" cells' regenerative abilities while discarding the "five-element negation" aspect. This canceled out the side effects and granted him an almost perfect Sage Mode.
Actually, that earlier approach with the "weakened core cells" that destroyed the five-element structure, leaving only one specific type of natural energy, was theoretically another path.
The problem is, once someone is transplanted with those weakened core cells, they're stuck forever dealing with just one type of natural energy—like metal, wood, water, fire, or earth.
The risk isn't too high, but the power isn't great either. The natural-energy-based attacks it could fire off would be weaker than the average jōnin's casual ninjutsu. Sure, it made the body sturdier, but let's face it: no matter how strong a shinobi's body is, a kunai through the brain is fatal.
From Orochimaru's viewpoint, not only would these variants interfere with each other, but you couldn't achieve immortality.
Plus, they demanded a certain aptitude, and the upper limit was obvious. Throw in the cost of discarding your normal chakra, and it simply wasn't worth it.
After Konoha recovered Orochimaru's data, Tsunade actually saw potential in it – not for most shinobi, but possibly for civilians who never become ninja, or as a way to cultivate new types of ninja beasts.
So nowadays, the Konoha Medical Corps and Shizune kept pushing the research. Supposedly, they'd had some progress: after successive trials over a dozen generations on "Specimen D," the weakened-core cells were nearly harmless.
Grafting them into an ordinary rabbit gave it the ability to blow little flames from its mouth. And the offspring of two such experimental rabbits perfectly inherited that flame-spitting ability.
They're weak, sure, but at least there's a glimmer of promise. The only real snag? Now that these flame-breathing rabbits possess paranormal powers and still have zero intelligence, they're basically mindless.
(But I've heard that "fire-rabbit" meat has a naturally spicy flavor. Maybe I should try it sometime…) Link caught himself thinking absurd thoughts, then said, "About human puppets… yeah, hang on."
His shadow clone left quietly, prompting an instinctive wariness from Gaara's trio. In the past, the shadows had terrified them; any sign of a moving shadow and they'd gather chakra to defend themselves.
"Link-sensei," Kankurō suddenly ventured, summoning the courage to speak. "It's been ages since we've seen each other. How about a friendly match?"
He felt rather ashamed for being spooked by the shadow's departure. After all, he'd grown a lot in the past year, and the old memories of battling Link's shadow technique surfaced. He was convinced that if he, Temari, and Gaara fought together, they could win now.
Sasori shot him an odd look. He'd personally seen Link's strength during the fight with Kakuzu and Hidan. He himself wasn't confident he could handle Link's shadows, so what nonsense was Kankurō spouting?
(Did he secretly modify his own brain somehow?) Sasori thought, recalling how Granny Chiyo had once replaced parts of her own body. Maybe Kankurō had dabbled in immature tech to tinker with his own mind.
"I mean, just like before," Kankurō clarified, facing everyone else's stares. "Link-sensei, you use your shadows, and the three of us team up – the same bell-stealing exercise."
"You mean, I stand still, you all come at me and try to 'steal' my shadow?" Link scratched his chin, pretending to ponder.
Kankurō grinned. "Exactly. So? We've really improved a lot – don't underestimate us."
Temari, too, looked eager to give it a shot.
Gaara frowned, thinking it was a bit inappropriate to fight a friend, and was about to voice his concern when Link said:
"All right." He gave them a warm smile, then turned to Sasori. "You join too, Sasori."
(This guy…) Sasori stood stiffly, uninterested in "matches" or "training."
"If you all win," Link mused aloud, "Kankurō, I'll let you have all the human puppets you want. Sasori, I'll give you back your original body, Gaara. And I can also arrange for you to take part in the sealing-tech research," he went on. "As for you…"
He paused, eyeing Temari. He wasn't sure what to offer. The best option he had might be resurrecting the main-world Baki, but that Baki was deeply linked to the Cast Net Jutsu and aware of a lot of secrets. Summoning him could risk messing up the main world's plans. Then again, with Kaguya on the loose, any "plan" might be moot…
"If we win, you have to go out on a date with me!" Temari declared, her eyes bright.
"Uh—" Link was momentarily stunned. He still considered himself "underdeveloped," only about 150 cm tall at age twelve. His face had remained that of a two-years-younger kid, all baby cheeks, thanks to overusing his Delicate Extraction Technique.
It never crossed his mind that someone older like Temari might take a liking to him. Was this Tsunade's brand of cradle-snatching?
"Scared?" Temari pressed, folding her arms over her chest. He'd said she had more feminine charm, but a few words later, she'd reverted to her brash old self. After all, her missions required constant fighting – she wasn't about to go all soft.
Seeing their battle-ready gazes, Link smiled. "All right then, it's a deal."
Clack— A standing shadow clone returned, holding a scroll of human puppets. Link casually tossed the scroll to Kankurō. "Here's your prize in advance. If you lose, you'll have to pay me for it."
Between how the world situation had changed and Link's own position soaring, he no longer minded giving stuff away.
He was so high up in Konoha's hierarchy that even the Second Hokage – once the world's fastest – let him get away with playful cheek-pinching.
As for money, Konoha could supply him any amount. The real limitation on his "Money Binding" jutsu was how much he could physically carry, since without Utakata's battery-like chakra, he couldn't summon large quantities of banknotes.
And Money Binding only worked within ten meters; in high-level battles, enemies usually keep their distance. The ironically "high-ceiling" technique rarely had a chance to shine – akin to the plight of Amaterasu.
They were both dangerously powerful yet often easy to avoid.
~~~
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