"Survive."
After hearing her leader's words, Yakumo felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
She had previously found it strange that the Dark Dawn had attacked and captured Hidden Rock's two Jinchūriki, yet her leader remained indifferent.
Now she understood the immense burden her leader carried.
Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she hesitantly said, "But… if we're to revive the 'Ten-Tails,' then Naruto…"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Compared to the safety of the entire shinobi world, Naruto's life might seem insignificant. But as a classmate and friend, she struggled to accept that Naruto's death was inevitable.
"Naruto…" Shinji frowned slightly.
He had considered this issue as well. Beyond their friendship, he was also concerned about the 'Sage of the Six Paths' behind Naruto.
Though the 'Sage of the Six Paths' now existed only as a spiritual entity, he still possessed the ability to influence the shinobi world.
If willing, he could artificially create two near-'Six Paths-level' fighters by transmitting the 'Power of Yang' and the 'Power of Yin.'
In the original timeline, it was the 'Sage of the Six Paths' who intervened, using Naruto and Sasuke to reseal his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Thus, even if not for other reasons, to prevent the 'Sage of the Six Paths' from intervening prematurely and obstructing the revival of the 'Ten-Tails,' Shinji needed to at least ensure Naruto's survival, as in the original timeline.
With this in mind, Shinji said, "I'll figure something out."
"Thank you!" Yakumo breathed a sigh of relief.
She had an almost blind trust in her leader. If he said he could handle it, she believed he would.
Shinji then gave a few more instructions: not to leak any information about the Hegemon to the outside world, to maintain a neutral stance regarding the Dark Dawn's Tailed Beast collection—neither overly proactive nor excessively passive—and so on.
Understanding the gravity of the situation, Yakumo replied, "I understand!"
After these instructions, Shinji said, "I came to you today because I need your Koryugan."
"What!?" Yakumo was taken aback, then quickly added, "These eyes were given to me by you, and I'll follow any arrangement you make. It's just… I've been by Tsunade-sensei's side lately, and I'm worried she might notice."
"I have a pair of Ketsuryugan here. They look similar to your Koryugan and should pass for a while."
With that, Shinji produced a small nutrient canister containing a pair of Ketsuryugan.
"Ketsuryugan?" Yakumo's gaze was immediately drawn to the eyes floating in the canister.
Shinji explained briefly, "The Ketsuryugan is the dojutsu Bloodline Limit of the Chinoike clan. Like the Sharingan, it falls under the category of genjutsu eyes. Its insight is inferior to the Sharingan, but it has the ability to manipulate blood, making it a very practical dojutsu Bloodline Limit."
Hearing that the Ketsuryugan could manipulate blood, Yakumo thought of her own Koryugan and asked, "Lord, what's the relationship between the Ketsuryugan and the Koryugan?"
Shinji considered for a moment. "If I had to make a comparison, you could think of it as the difference between a Sharingan and a Mangekyō Sharingan."
Of course, the Koryugan wasn't an evolved form of the Ketsuryugan. It was created by Shinji using the fusion ability of 'Susanoo Tomoshibi' to combine the Ketsuryugan with the Hogan.
Thus, the relationship between the Koryugan and Ketsuryugan was more akin to that between the Rinnegan and the Sharingan.
Eye transplantation was a simple task for Shinji now.
After instructing Yakumo to lie on the bed, he completed the eye swap in less than thirty seconds, removing her Koryugan and replacing them with the Ketsuryugan.
After the procedure, Yakumo felt some discomfort. "I didn't expect the Koryugan's dojutsu power to be so much stronger than a normal Ketsuryugan!"
Indeed.
Having grown accustomed to the Koryugan's dojutsu power, Yakumo immediately felt the gap after switching to the Ketsuryugan.
Shinji nodded.
The Koryugan he had created was a level above the Mangekyō Sharingan. In contrast, a standard Ketsuryugan's dojutsu power was slightly weaker than a three-tomoe Sharingan, making the gap between the Koryugan and Ketsuryugan even greater than that between a three-tomoe Sharingan and a Mangekyō.
At that moment, Ido suddenly emerged from Yakumo's body, exclaiming, "My power's gone!"
Shinji and Yakumo quickly looked over, noticing that Ido's 'spiritual' form was much fainter than before. If Ido had previously been a 'spirit' capable of interacting with the physical world, she now resembled a mere 'wandering soul.'
Yakumo hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"
Ido looked at herself and shook her head. "I don't know. After you swapped eyes, I felt my power draining rapidly! Damn it, now I can only move freely within a ten-meter radius!"
Sure enough, when Ido moved about ten meters away from Yakumo, her spiritual form began to destabilize, showing signs of collapse.
Yakumo immediately realized, "It's the Koryugan!"
Shinji nodded lightly. "Yes, the Koryugan can manipulate blood and enhance the soul. The Ketsuryugan I gave you only has the blood manipulation ability, so Ido's power has been weakened."
"Lord!" Ido looked at Shinji pitifully.
Without the Koryugan, she would revert to her previous state, confined to Yakumo's mental world, bidding farewell to her days of free roaming.
Shinji remained unmoved.
With no major battles imminent, temporarily weakening Yakumo's strength wasn't a big deal. His upcoming First Hokage cell transplant surgery was the top priority.
Besides, since Karin had contributed her Rinnegan, it was only natural for Yakumo to offer her Koryugan.
Yakumo, ever sensible, immediately said to Ido, "Stay put for now and don't interfere with the Lord!"
Ido, helpless, returned to Yakumo's body.
With the Koryugan, she could still hold her own against Yakumo. Without it, she was no match for her.
Soon, Shinji left the Kurama clan's main residence.
Everything was ready, and his next step was to perform the First Hokage cell transplant surgery in his secret laboratory.
However, the earlier incident made him realize he might have underestimated the Koryugan. He decided to study it further afterward to see if he could uncover new insights.