The modification room.
Kisame lay flat on the operating table, his limbs locked down by metal restraints—a second layer of insurance in case anything went wrong during the procedure.
The chakra in his body had been suppressed by a special sealing technique. He couldn't even move a single finger.
Not far away, Samehada had been dismantled into dozens of separate pieces and soaked in different cultivation tanks.
Tobirama wore a pair of goggles, his expression focused.
In his hand was a chakra scalpel, blue energy flowing steadily along the blade.
The knife glided across Kisame's chest. A precise incision opened, and blood slowly seeped out.
Kisame's body trembled uncontrollably. The agony was unbearable, yet no sound left his throat.
Shinju stood to the side, holding a scroll covered in complex cell fusion diagrams.
The data on it came from Orochimaru, but his system still had several flaws. After Shinju's optimization, it had become the theoretical foundation for this operation.
"Tobirama-sama, the key problem is cellular rejection," Shinju said calmly. "Samehada's cell activity is far too high. We need to use the Uzumaki clan's Yoton Fuuinjutsu (Yang Release sealing technique) to guide and suppress its devouring instinct, or the fusion will never stabilize."
"That much, I understand," Tobirama replied without looking up. His hands remained rock steady.
A slender probe, its tip glowing faintly, pierced into Kisame's heart and drew out a tiny sample of chakra-infused cells.
The cell sample was immediately sent into a nearby analyzer.
On the wall, a light screen lit up, enlarging the structure of Kisame's cells many times over.
Tobirama glanced at the data on the wall, then lowered his head to compare it against the diagrams on the scroll.
"His cellular activity is even higher than estimated. His body's tolerance for chakra is outstanding. That gives us excellent conditions for fusion," Tobirama said, his excitement clear. "The real problem now is Samehada's devouring nature. I need to convert that from a chaotic instinct into a controllable ability. Otherwise, he'll just end up devouring himself."
He took a small piece of live Samehada tissue out of one of the cultivation tanks. The moment it left the fluid, it began to squirm on its own.
Tobirama placed it into Kisame's exposed chest cavity.
The chakra scalpel shone again. Tobirama's hand speed was so fast it left afterimages.
He carved countless fine lines across Kisame's skin, muscles, and even the surfaces of his internal organs.
Those lines interconnected, forming a vast and intricate sealing array across his body.
Even Shinju couldn't help but sigh at the sight. To use sealing techniques this way… he really was a genius among geniuses.
A gentle blue glow flowed out of the seal, wrapping completely around the chunk of Samehada tissue.
"Fusion, begin."
Tobirama spoke in a low voice, his hands forming seals as he accurately injected his chakra into the core nodes of the seal.
The light of the technique flared.
Kisame's body arched violently off the table, only to be forced back down by the restraints.
He felt as if countless starving insects were crawling into his flesh and blood, gnawing away at his cells and injecting something entirely new into them.
But he could only endure it in silence, unable to make a single sound.
Then the changes began in earnest.
Dark gray patterns appeared on the surface of his skin, like the rough hide of a shark.
His teeth were being reshaped, growing sharper and more menacing.
The chakra within his body was skyrocketing at a runaway pace.
Samehada's hunger for chakra tangled together with his own will, twisting into a more violent and purer kind of desire.
Unprecedented power roared through every part of his body.
For everyone else watching, the process did not take very long.
But to Kisame, it felt like an entire century had dragged by.
His consciousness, however, remained crystal clear from beginning to end.
Tobirama's chakra acted like a set of chains, firmly shackling his mind and forcing him to witness every moment of his body's metamorphosis.
Finally, Tobirama withdrew his chakra and stopped all movement.
The modification was complete.
Tobirama released the restraints.
Kisame jolted upright from the operating table. He hopped down and quickly forced himself to stand.
He took huge breaths of air as he examined the changes in his body.
Strength, speed, perception—every physical function had been boosted to a terrifying level.
He could clearly hear the hum of instruments running in the room next door.
He didn't even need to form hand seals.
A single thought flashed through his mind.
His right arm transformed in an instant.
The skin split open as the muscle tissue beneath rapidly reorganized itself before his eyes. A gray, armored layer spread across it, forming a limb that mirrored Samehada's barbed, scaled texture.
Even without holding the sword, he himself now possessed Samehada's abilities—no, something even stronger than before.
Chakra surged endlessly through his body like a boundless ocean.
The title of "tailless tailed beast" had finally become a reality in the truest sense.
"Do you want to try it?" Shinju's voice sounded from behind him. "Feel this almost inexhaustible power for yourself. Consider it the new life I've given you."
Kisame turned and looked toward the far wall at the end of the modification room.
It was a chakra absorption wall—one of the research facility's special targets used to test high-powered jutsu, and it stored an enormous amount of chakra within.
He raised his arm, which had already become a deadly weapon. He didn't circulate any chakra on purpose, didn't even get serious.
He simply swung it forward in a casual motion.
The barbs along his arm spread open. A powerful, invisible suction erupted from them.
The chakra sealed within the wall was instantly stirred up and dragged toward Kisame's arm in a wild torrent.
The energy indicator lights on the wall flashed frantically as the numbers plunged downward toward zero.
Three seconds.
In just three seconds, that wall was reduced to nothing but a lifeless piece of scrap metal.
Kisame merely let out a small burp.
This absorption efficiency was more than ten times greater than what he'd been capable of when working with Samehada before.
Now he finally understood the true nature of the "gift" Shinju had bestowed upon him… just how terrifying this new power really was.
This had already gone beyond the scope of a so-called "tailless tailed beast." It had surpassed everything he'd previously understood as "strength."
This was a miracle.
He turned around, facing Shinju and Tobirama, then dropped to one knee without the slightest hesitation and bowed his head.
"Thank you, Shinju-sama, for granting me a new life. Hoshigaki Kisame is willing to offer you everything I have."
Shinju accepted his pledge of loyalty.
Tobirama removed his goggles.
"Perfect. Cellular fusion rate over ninety-eight percent. Chakra circulation system is stable. This is simply a miracle born from the union of science and ninjutsu."
"Can we move Deidara and Sasori's modifications up the schedule?"
Shinju shook his head.
"Not yet. Their 'art' has far more interesting uses elsewhere."
He walked over to the holographic sand table in the center of the modification room. All the intel Jiraiya had gathered had already been fed into it, and the map of the entire ninja world was clearly displayed.
The image on the sand table zoomed in rapidly, finally locking onto a small country perpetually shrouded in rain.
Rain Village.
Akatsuki's last known base was marked there, encircled by a glaring red ring.
"Now," Shinju said quietly, "it's time to go pay Pain a visit."
"Nagato, I'll be the one to bring an end to your suffering."
(End of Chapter)
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