Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 146 Cultivation (Part 2)

The pupil's power penetrates the intercolumnar cells.

The meat chunks in the jar instantly turned into a translucent, jelly-like substance, but instead of being soft and chewy like jelly, they became as crispy as cookies.

Only then did she realize that, centered on the finger bone, the gray power not only covered the surface of the interphalangeal cells, but also spread patterns throughout the flesh.

When vision enters the microscopic cellular level, the pale cells are completely stained with deathly gray. The tentacles on the cell surface are menacingly outstretched, like the open mouthparts of a predator tearing at its prey, but the frenzy that was when it surrounded the gray glass cells is gone.

Dead silence, quiet, peaceful.

The ash bones did not absorb the energy of the interstellar cells, but instead used that deathly power to kill them all.

Hui Li picked up the glass rod from the table and stuck it into the bottle, tentatively poking at the interstitial cells tainted by the gray bones.

Click!

Without applying any force, simply placing the glass rod on the meat caused countless cracks to extend from the gray markings on the surface of the meat.

Click... click...

The cracks spread rapidly along the lines of the invading pattern, followed by countless smaller cracks. Finally, the entire piece of meat quickly disintegrated, turning into a pool of gray powder mixed with brownish-yellow nutrient solution to form a muddy substance.

Such domineering power.

Hui Li squinted, cautiously observing the mixed solution in the cup.

Even the incomplete form of the All-Killing Ash Bones is so ferocious that it couldn't even withstand the fate of being broken down by the infinitely multiplying and devouring Hashirama cells. If it were to wait until her entire skeleton was fully evolved, who knows how dangerous it would be.

But that doesn't make sense!
The power of Hashirama's cells should already be very close to the limit of the Sage Body. If even the strongest Sage Body can't withstand the incomplete Ash Bones, then it seems meaningless for her to develop the Reverse Eight Gates.

No matter how strong her vitality is, it can't possibly be stronger than the cells in the stalk.

Gray Glass looks inward at himself.

The spotted bones were quietly enveloped by flesh and blood, constantly absorbing Hui Li's chakra and life force, but without using those gray spots to taint the body.

perhaps……

Her bones were harder than steel, but they were ultimately made of bone cells.

'Glass cells' and 'intercolumnar cells' are fundamentally different and incompatible.

The skeleton of the gray cells cannot recognize the vitality of the intercolumnar cells, so it can only treat them as enemies and kill them with its special gray markings.

It might require vibrant 'gray glass cells' to allow the skeleton veins to distinguish friend from foe and to produce some unknown change?
Why can the Nine-Tails' chakra be absorbed without any hindrance?

When it absorbed the Nine-Tails' chakra, the Shikotsumyaku did not reject it at all. Logically speaking, it should also be considered a 'foreign object'.

Could it be because the Corpse Bone Vein had not yet evolved into Gray Bone at that time?
As she silently pondered the relationship between the two.

The finger bone sank quickly to the bottom of the mud, landing on the bottom of the glass. Before the glass could react, the grayish-white patterns reappeared, slowly creeping up the transparent glass.

boom!
The finger bones were as heavy as solid iron ingots, instantly crushing the mottled bottom of the cup.

The shattered glass disintegrated into powder in the air, and even the flowing nutrient solution was stained with gray streaks and turned into powder.

Finger bones and ashes were scattered all over the ground.

This is not over yet.

Centered on the finger bone, the gray markings began to crawl across the ground, which had been compacted by earth-escape techniques, in Hui Li's shocked gaze. This time, the gray markings only spread to form a gray circle the size of a coin before finally stopping.

Stand the bottomless glass upside down on the table.

It has a wide opening at the top and a narrow opening at the bottom, making it a perfect funnel.

Hui Li bent down and gently scratched at the finger bones on the ground with her fingers. This time, the domineering markings distinguished friend from foe and did not spread towards her fingers.

At this moment, Hui Li's white eye saw that the unknown deathly gray power inside the bones was reduced to a tiny, insignificant wisp, flickering and seemingly about to dissipate at any moment.

裂！
She had a thought in her mind.

The incredibly hard bones, like the objects it tainted, crumbled into gray powder and dust.

Controlling her own bones to disintegrate was an ability she possessed from the very beginning of awakening her Corpse Bone Vein.

She didn't think much of it at first, but now, looking at the layer of gray-white powder covering the ground, she belatedly realized that the power of the Shared Kill Ash Bones had already shown its signs.

Clean up the dust on the ground.

Hui Li jumped out of the basement and used a sealing barrier to cover the entrance to the hole again.

Squeak!

The shadow clone pushed the bed back into place and then asked, "How is it?"

"See for yourself."

Hui Li pointed to her heart with her finger, and seven spiral chains of chakra, each carrying its own message and memory, traversed through the void.

The chains are six near and one far.

This corresponds perfectly to the six clones of wind, water, earth, fire, yin, and yang in the bedroom, and there is also a ninja school clone carrying a pink bear backpack walking home.

"The rejection rate of ash bones is stronger than that of interstitial cells!"

Yang-style Gray Glass touched her brow, and the kaleidoscope hidden beneath the black cloth slowly rotated.

"Whether it's organic or inorganic matter, it will die when it comes into contact with ashes. Only our own cells can be recognized by the ashes and avoid the infection of death marks."

As for why the Nine-Tails' chakra could be absorbed by the Shikotsumyaku without any hindrance, it's probably because of the order in which they were absorbed.

"Our chakra fused with the Nine-Tails first, turning the chakra core purple. At this point, the Nine-Tails' chakra was very similar in nature to ours, which is why the Shikotsumyaku (Corpse Bone Pulse) was able to recognize, absorb, and evolve into the Ash Bones."

Yin Dun Hui Li rubbed his temples in distress.
"Forget about transplanting Hashirama cells. Our tailed beast chakra is no match for the Hashirama cells' ability to devour us."

I just finished reading Orochimaru's speculations about Yin power.

Based on the Yin and Yang scrolls that Shikamaru and his group sent earlier, I guess that 'Yang,' which represents life, is the source of all power, while 'Yin' is the power transformed after absorbing 'Yang.'

Originating from 'Yang' but transcending 'Yang', only the Sharingan, representing the ultimate yin, can barely suppress Hashirama's cells.

"Can't I even roll my eyes?"

"The Hyuga clan protects the Byakugan too well; no one has tried to use it to control Hashirama's cells. The Byakugan's strength lies in control and harmony, so theoretically it should have some effect, but it's highly likely not as good as the Sharingan."

The yin and yang entities discussed the experimental results in the basement.

The other clones automatically mute the sound and continue reading with their heads down.

Their main role is to introduce knowledge into the brain. The development of ninjutsu is jointly handled by Yin, Yang and the main body. Of course, everyone's information and chakra are completely identical, so even if their positions are swapped, there is no difference; it's just a different division of labor.

Hui Li shook her slightly throbbing forehead.

The information transmitted back from each clone was numerous and complex, and when all of it was put together, her head was throbbing with pain.

"We don't need to worry about the Hashirama cells anymore. The most urgent thing now is to reverse the Eight Gates." Hearing the main body make the decision, the discussion between the Yin and Yang clones came to an abrupt end.

"You saw the experiments I conducted at the root, didn't you, main body?"

With her eyes closed, Hui Li recalled the fragments of memory that Yang Dun Hui Li had transmitted back, and quickly found the experiment she had mentioned.

As far as I remember, it was a carp experiment.

As Hai Ri's medical ninjutsu became more and more proficient, with the help of the Byakugan, she finally saw the life force that was extremely similar in nature to Yang Release chakra, representing the origin of life.

This life force is very difficult to control, and the stronger the life force, the stronger its resistance. At first, she couldn't even extract the life force from a carp.

After trying various methods, including using Yang Release to induce, eye power to control, injection anesthesia, and even dismemberment, Hui Li finally extracted a little bit of the carp's life force. She then used this life force to treat a white mouse that had been scratched by Wind Release.

The wound healed quickly, but on the surface of the wound on the mice, scale-like structures, similar to those of fish, grew. After about twelve hours, the mice began to show obvious rejection reactions, first becoming unusually agitated, then becoming weak and listless a few hours later, and finally dying quickly on the verge of death.

From the transfer of life force to death, it only took a short day.

She then conducted another experiment.

This time, the life force of the carp was used to treat another carp. The wound healed quickly without any strange growths, and the carp that received the life force lived healthily for several days.

Just when Yang Dun Hui Li thought the experiment was a success, one day the carp suddenly began to show signs of rejection and died soon after.

"Different species and individuals have different life forces. If you were to randomly transfer and devour something, the best-case scenario for your original self would be to become a carp spirit."

Perhaps because of her role as Chihaya Toru's assistant, Yang Release: Hairi also developed a talent for telling corny jokes.

"If your true form transforms into a carp spirit, you won't be able to escape either."

Yin-Dun Hui Li closed the book in her hand and made a precise retort.

"so troublesome!"

Hui Li felt a headache coming on. The development process of the Reverse Eight Gates was full of obstacles. No wonder it took the Fourth Hokage, who was so talented, three years to develop a Rasengan.

With readily available medical ninjutsu to help her, Yin and Yang Release scrolls from secret ninjutsu families, the Eight Gates as a foundation, the Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku as assistance, and even the ninjutsu knowledge provided by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, she still felt incredibly difficult despite all these conditions combined.

It's hard to imagine how Tobirama Senju's brain works.

I must cut it open and study it if I have the chance.

"How did the interstitial cells solve this problem? Are there any clues?" Hui Li asked directly, rubbing her greasy head.

She can use the Corpse Bone Vein to shield herself from physical fatigue, but when it comes to the mental fatigue that comes with knowledge and memory, the Corpse Bone Vein is also powerless.

At this moment, her memories were extremely chaotic, with information on sealing techniques, Yin and Yang, medical ninjutsu, and other things mixed together, making her brain feel like a rusty machine, so heavy that it was difficult to function properly.

However, in this case, all you need to do is lie in bed and sleep, and wait for your subconscious to sort out the memories in your dreams. You don't need to put in too much effort. The most urgent thing is to solve the problem of the ashes.

Yang Release: Gray Glass noticed the weariness in the main body and succinctly recounted the findings she had made during her month-long experiments at Root:

"The surface of interstitial cells has a special protective layer that is both like a cell membrane and a cell wall, which can filter out impurities contained in different life forms. It grows tentacles by controlling the deformation of that membrane, and inserts the tentacles into the cytoplasm of other cells to absorb energy."

Squeak!

A bizarre scream came from the bed.

With her mind still foggy, Hui Li collapsed onto the bed, her neck resting on Yin Dun Hui Li's lap, letting her clone massage her temples to relieve her fatigue.
“Peel off its outer layer and use it as a filter.”

"I can't do cell-level skin peeling surgery. The purity obtained from physical and chemical extraction is not enough, and it's easy to damage its structure. If impurities leak out, the consequences would be unimaginable." Knowing that the main body's mind was not quite clear right now, Yang Dun Hui Li suppressed the urge to complain and quickly explained.

Yin-style Kairi pressed his thumb against his temple and proposed a plan:
“I have a plan. If the main body absorbs the chakra of Hashirama's cells, is it possible to inherit that power?”

"lighter."

As Hui Li felt the pressure from the massaging fingers on her temples decrease rapidly, she closed her eyes in satisfaction and began to enjoy it.

Beneath the bed are 'ministers' devoted to her secret arts, while on the bed are 'concubines' massaging her and relieving her worries. She now enjoys the treatment of an emperor.

The only drawback is that the emperor, ministers, and concubines are all the same person, which makes it a bit monotonous.

"When the main body absorbed the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto's chakra was also mixed in. Do you see that we inherited Ashura's power?"

"makes sense."

Yin Dun Hui Li nodded, continuing her massage.

Breathe
Long, labored breaths came from his legs.

Look down.

Her silver hair was loose, and the girl was fast asleep with her head tilted to the side.

The Yin and Yang clones exchanged a helpless smile. Eight times the training intensity didn't sound particularly terrifying, but shadow clones didn't need to sleep. Training 24 hours a day for a month was something even Naruto might not be able to withstand.

Over such a long period of time, although the body has been sleeping and resting every day, it is ultimately unable to digest all the fatigue.

The fatigue kept piling up and began to affect her daily routine.

She would fall asleep at any time due to exhaustion, and she would wake up at any time to eat. In order to develop the secret technique, she had completely lost her regular lifestyle.

Yin and Yang Huili lowered their voices and continued their discussion, while the other clones sitting around flipped through their books, creating a rustling sound of pages turning.

Bed.

Gray Glass remained motionless, as if it had entered another world.

……

Two days later.

"Ahhh~"

A man with broken limbs lay on the hospital bed, his eyes bloodshot with fear.

He howled in agony, his body twisting and struggling, his naked, dark upper body revealing spiderweb-like burn scars, but mostly covered in dense sealing spells.

"Cloud Ninjas are tough and thick-skinned."

Chihaya Toru sat leisurely in a chair, munching on an apple, while Hairi, who was originally her assistant, took the lead in the operation.

A purple chakra scalpel covered his palm, and his hand stroked downwards along the man's chest, crimson blood flowing down his dark skin.

Use your fingers to pry open the chest cavity.

She took out a petri dish that she had prepared in advance. The milky white nutrient solution swayed slightly, revealing the fleshy ball immersed in it.

The fleshy ball was only the size of Gray Glass's fist, and it was completely pale.

A bright chakra core has condensed at the very center, and the chakra, brimming with vitality, flows slowly without its usual aggressiveness.

The reason is that three scarlet Sharingan eyes with single tomoe are embedded on the surface of the flesh ball, and purplish-red nerves like blood vessels are inserted into the flesh. The evil eye power has locked the life force of Hashirama's cells.

(End of this chapter)