Orochimaru's gaze swept over the data sheets recorded over the past few days. His dark-golden pupils constantly shone with dazzling brilliance, and by comparing the various data and information, he finally deduced the secret behind Hyūga Bluebird's inability to activate his eyes.
It turned out that Bluebird, with the strange phenomenon of dual pupils, had several times the Byakugan's inherent eye power compared to ordinary Hyūga clan members. This meant that the amount of chakra required to activate it was also several times greater than that of other clan members. Moreover, the internal structure of Bluebird's dual pupil Byakugan was far more complex than that of other Hyūga. The combination of these two factors was the reason Hyūga Bluebird had been unable to awaken the Byakugan.
However, Orochimaru was now even more expectant of the effect and capability of Bluebird's Byakugan once it was awakened.
Knowing the reason why Hyūga Bluebird could not activate his Byakugan, Orochimaru began to ponder the solution. While Bluebird's inherent chakra was not weak, it was far from the level required to activate the Byakugan.
Furthermore, given the complexity of Bluebird's dual pupil internal structure, even with external assistance providing sufficient chakra, successfully channeling and integrating the massive amount of eye power within that complex structure would be a significant problem.
If any mishap occurred and the attempt failed, the result would not just be the failure to activate the Byakugan; it could very likely lead to severe problems such as blindness in both of Bluebird's eyes. After all, the eye is one of the most complex structures in the human body.
Orochimaru frowned. He knew that the Hyūga clan, with their penetrating Byakugan, must have also researched Hyūga Bluebird's condition. It seemed the challenge of the massive eye power requiring an enormous amount of chakra to be channeled, combined with the complex internal structure of the dual pupils, had halted their efforts as well.
Orochimaru considered his options. The ninja world had many methods for injecting chakra into an opponent's body for destructive purposes, but beneficial methods such as repair or internal guidance were scarce.
It looks like I will have to apply a Curse Mark after all, Orochimaru thought. Recalling the miraculous healing and pathway-repairing properties of Yamata's breath, Orochimaru made up his mind.
For the next month or so, Orochimaru focused his entire attention on researching and developing a new Curse Mark, in addition to his regular training.
He took blood samples from Yamata and combined them with the knowledge from his past life—the data series from extracting enzymes from Jūgo to develop the Cursed Mark of Heaven and Earth. Finally, after more than a month, he achieved results.
Orochimaru's dark-golden snake eyes locked onto the few milliliters of shimmering, pale-gold enzyme fluid within the glass test tube, which was about the thickness of a thumb. He licked his lips contentedly and let out a light chuckle of excitement.
In this new Curse Mark enzyme, Orochimaru had mixed Yamata's blood, his own blood, and a portion of his own chakra in precise proportions, striving to maximize its effectiveness and function.
Initially, Orochimaru, who only used Yamata's blood as the basis for the new Curse Mark enzyme, was consistently unable to synthesize a complete formula. All his series of data and calculations pointed toward failure.
It was then that Orochimaru remembered his first meeting with Manda and Manda's peculiar requirement for both Yamata's blood and his own blood. This sparked a moment of inspiration. He mixed some of his own blood into Yamata's blood, which unexpectedly led to some miraculous changes.
If Yamata's blood without Orochimaru's blood was a ticking time bomb containing enormous internal energy that could explode at any moment, then Yamata's blood with Orochimaru's fresh blood added became a beautiful and dazzling firework, also containing immense energy, and proving useful in many unforeseen ways.
Unable to perform human experiments as he did in his past life, Orochimaru pursued perfection, recalculating and deducing the formula multiple times. Only when the data repeatedly indicated success did he call for Hyūga Bluebird.
Over the past month, Bluebird's mental state had changed drastically. His eyes were now filled with anticipation and longing when he looked at Orochimaru—a palpable thirst for power.
Despite his extensive experience from his past life and the flawless data calculations, Orochimaru knew that a new Curse Mark that had never been truly tested on a human body carried a certain risk.
His dark-golden snake eyes fixed on Hyūga Bluebird, Orochimaru spoke solemnly: "I need to place a Curse Mark on you to solve your problem! You must consider this carefully. There is a certain risk. If it fails, you will not only fail to gain power, but it could very likely cause permanent blindness in your eyes!"
Hearing Orochimaru's words, the young Hyūga Bluebird displayed a carefree expression highly uncharacteristic of his age. He respectfully replied to Orochimaru: "Lord Orochimaru, for Bluebird, an outcome where the gain is proportional to the sacrifice is already a rare wish."
Orochimaru smiled wickedly. Yes, according to his calculations, this new Curse Mark carried a certain risk. The success rate was around fifty to sixty percent, and it was also related to the recipient's will and physique.
Furthermore, Orochimaru had understated the severity of a failed result. But for Orochimaru, this forty to fifty percent chance of failure was negligible compared to the failure rate of the original Cursed Mark in his past life.
Orochimaru motioned for Hyūga Bluebird to lie down on the medical experiment bed. The glaring, dazzling surgical light switched on, and Orochimaru's voice, slightly immature but deep and magnetic, spoke in Hyūga Bluebird's ear: "Child, prepare to welcome your paradise! You will serve as my lifelong follower and subordinate, perfectly executing my will!"
Immediately afterward, Bluebird felt a sting on his neck. A burst of incredibly powerful chakra surged into his body. Subsequently, his entire body began to tremble slightly from the pain. However, he did not utter a sound, and his bodily tremors were restrained by the straps on the medical experiment bed.
Orochimaru picked up the syringe containing one milliliter of the Curse Mark enzyme and injected it into Hyūga Bluebird's carotid artery.
The carotid artery, one of the body's major arteries, acted like a high-powered engine, rapidly channeling the Curse Mark enzyme throughout Hyūga Bluebird's limbs and body. Instantaneously, earth-shattering changes began to occur within Bluebird's body.
As the Curse Mark enzyme was injected, a miniature, pale-gold image of the Yamata no Orochi, identical to the Cursed Mark on Orochimaru's chest but several times smaller, appeared at the injection site on his neck.
After steadily pushing all one milliliter of the Curse Mark enzyme into Hyūga Bluebird's body, Orochimaru quickly withdrew the syringe.
The surrounding instruments continuously emitted "Dee-dee-dee, beep-beep-beep—" sounds of rolling data, vividly presenting the massive internal changes occurring within Hyūga Bluebird's body through complex data chains.
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