Chapter 526: The Cell Activation Technique
"What the hell is this thing?" Ino discovered that whenever she entered a ten-meter radius of the giant purple insect, her own chakra would be siphoned away.
And for some reason, the creature was relentlessly attacking only her.
She suspected it was some sort of final instruction, or perhaps an order, from Shinnō before he died.
Ino had no regrets. A guy like Shinnō deserved to be killed.
She used the Wood Human Technique, controlling the forty-meter-tall wooden giant to wield the Seven Star Sword. She dismembered the giant insect three times and even shattered its white mask, only to find that the creature still wasn't completely dead.
Like dicing a ribbonfish, she sliced the giant insect from head to tail into more than ten pieces and then burned them one by one with "Sage Art: Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation."
Half a day later, the Sky Ninja's flying fortress had been completely cleared out.
Ino obtained Shinnō's medical notebook. Inside, she found a somewhat messy write-up of a "Cell Regeneration Technique" and a "Cell Activation Technique."
Also in her possession was treasure worth two hundred million ryo. Hearing that Kakuzu had made off with the lion's share, her heart ached.
One hundred and ninety-two Sky Ninja were killed by the Konoha forces, with over seventy more seriously injured. The remaining five hundred-plus Sky Ninja chose to surrender.
How to deal with these individuals was up to the village; Ino wasn't involved.
By questioning the prisoners, she learned that the giant insect she had burned to death had a rather impressive title. It was different from the nine Tailed Beasts and was called the Zero-Tails—as in, Tailed Beast Number Zero. It was a monster that Shinnō had created using dark power after reading ancient texts. Besides being an experimental subject, the Zero-Tails' other function was to serve as the power source for the flying fortress.
Now that the Zero-Tails had been turned to ash, the flying fortress would never fly again.
Ino studied it for a while and found that the flying fortress indeed required a massive energy source to operate. Unlike the airship she had confiscated from the survivors of the Southern Continent, this fortress could only be used within the atmosphere, and its power system only recognized chakra.
What a piece of junk!
Seeing no use for it, she directly notified the village.
The next day, Minato Namikaze arrived on the scene. He used his summoning technique to call Gamabunta, Gamaken, and Gamahiro to do the heavy lifting.
The three behemoths dragged the flying fortress, bit by bit, toward Konoha.
Minato was not Jiraiya; he was not so reverent toward Mount Myōboku.
In his view, respect was necessary, but there was no need for ninja and their villages to worship the three great sage regions like gods. I summon you, you do work for me. It's a willing transaction. There's no question of who owes whom a favor.
Mount Myōboku knew that Konoha had a new leader. They wanted to continue exerting their influence on the ninja world, so they took a step back. After all, it wasn't the elders like Fukasaku or Shima doing the work. If having three sturdy toads put in a little effort could maintain their harmonious relationship with Konoha, it was a good deal. So, they did it.
The three toads pulled with all their might, and the flying fortress was finally dragged back to Konoha.
The villagers were astonished at the sight of the behemoth. While the villagers were apprehensive, Naruto, the bona fide prince, had no such concerns.
He took a few of his newly acquired underlings and played a treasure hunt game inside the flying fortress. The Konohamaru trio, watching from the outside, called his behavior overly childish.
After a noisy argument, they were all taken away by Genma Shiranui, who was now serving in the Konoha Military Police Force.
In the administration building, Ino presented Shinnō's body before the assembled jonin. Several prisoners also testified that the well-regarded medical-nin, Shinnō, was indeed the leader of the Sky Ninja.
With that, the Intelligence Department's mission was considered complete.
On the stage, Koharu Utatane tirelessly droned on about the next phase of work, rambling on and on.
Tsunade kept yawning, Shizune was looking down, catching up on her hospital work notes, and the remaining jonin were either daydreaming or chatting quietly among themselves. Everyone was doing their own thing.
In the audience, Ino casually struck up a conversation with Might Guy.
"Teacher Guy, I discovered something while on my mission. That old man named Shinnō could use a forbidden technique called Cell Activation to relatively safely open the eighth gate, the Gate of Death. I got my hands on the instructions for this technique, and I've studied it a bit..."
Ino explained many of the pros and cons of "Cell Activation" and "Cell Regeneration."
Might Guy was dumbfounded, staring at her with his bull-like eyes. It made her feel a bit flustered. No way... if you tell me you don't know who I am after all I've said, this will be really awkward.
Kakashi, sitting in the front row, turned around with a wry smile. Worried that Ino might be offended, he quickly explained on his friend's behalf, "Guy's not glaring at you, he's thinking."
Thinking is the nice way to put it. The blunt way is that his brain just hasn't caught up, right?
Kakashi asked in a low voice, "I don't know much about medical ninjutsu, and I don't understand the Eight Inner Gates as well as Guy does, but can this Cell Activation you're talking about really reduce the side effects of the Eight Gates?"
Ino took out Shinnō's notes on "Cell Activation."
The man had a lot of notes, a thick stack of them. She had spent several days reading them on the road.
Kakashi briefly flipped through them. Just as he had said, he knew a little about medical ninjutsu, but he was far from proficient, only knowing a few simple techniques for stopping bleeding.
Shinnō's notes were far too advanced for him.
After a quick glance, he handed them back to Ino.
Ino said, "According to the notes, the human body's cells are torn apart when the Eight Gates are opened. The Cell Activation Technique infuses the cells with Yang Release chakra beforehand to promote cell growth. When the gates are opened afterward, the damage caused by the cellular tearing can be minimized. Shinnō opened the eighth gate when he fought me. I calculated that he maintained it for over three minutes."
Kakashi wanted to ask more, but Koharu Utatane, who was speaking on the stage, became furious. The old woman didn't say anything, just stared daggers at them.
Ino crossed her arms and remained silent.
Kakashi had reached a state of wanting nothing. So what if the advisor was dissatisfied? You won't let me be Hokage? I'd thank you for that. I'd love not to do it!
But in this setting, he was still respectful. He smiled and waved his hand, indicating he wouldn't continue chatting.
After the meeting, Ino, Kakashi, and Might Guy headed to the back hills.
Tsunade immediately followed. Then came a gently smiling Minato Namikaze and a stoic Shikaku, and finally, a few jonin who had previously been very interested in the Eight Inner Gates.
Sasuke had intended to go off for his own training, but when he saw Neji Hyuga follow them, he thought for a moment and tagged along too.
Koharu Utatane was fuming. Homura Mitokado chuckled and pulled the old woman along to watch the show.
Ninja have sharp ears. They had all heard the conversation between Ino, Might Guy, and Kakashi. Now, they all wanted to know what astonishing effect would be produced by combining the Eight Inner Gates with this Cell Activation Technique.
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