At the border of the Land of Fire, in a hidden cave.
Sora sat down cross legged and took out the scroll recording the "artificial tailed beast" technology.
"Orochimaru, this guy, though cunning and deceitful, did not play tricks when it comes to transaction credibility."
Sora muttered to himself quietly, slowly unrolling the scroll.
The contents of the scroll were even more vast and complex than he had anticipated. Dense patterns of techniques, along with extensive annotations of experimental data, almost filled the entire scroll.
Sora took a deep breath, focused his mind, and began to study it word by word, sentence by sentence.
But the deeper he read, the tighter Sora's brow furrowed.
This "artificial tailed beast" technology was far from as simple as he had initially imagined.
Its core lies in two parts.
First, providing a "vessel" that is sufficiently tough, possesses vitality, and can contain massive amounts of chakra.
Second, an extremely complex compound sealing technique, used to restrain, guide, and control the chakra within the vessel, making it mimic the form and behavior patterns of a tailed beast.
And the core material mentioned for creating the vessel is a special mineral called [Sea Dragon Jade].
According to the scroll's records, this type of jade is only found in specific sea areas near the former site of the Land of Whirlpools. Hidden deep under the sea, it contains peculiar life energy and has excellent chakra conductivity, making it the best material for serving as the energy core of an artificial tailed beast and the connecting hub for the vessel.
"The Land of Whirlpools... Sea Dragon Jade..." Sora murmured, a flash of understanding in his eyes.
He finally understood why Konoha possessed this technology but did not apply it on a large scale. It was even rarely mentioned in the later parts of the original story. It was not until that guy Shinno from the Sky Ninja Village somehow obtained incomplete technology that he created that "Zero Tails."
The reason is none other than the incredibly high technological barrier.
Not to mention the complex sealing technique that makes one's scalp tingle, just gathering the materials to create the vessel, especially the core [Sea Dragon Jade] hidden deep in the sea, is an extremely difficult and luck dependent task.
The Land of Whirlpools had been destroyed for many years. The situation in the sea areas near its former site is complex. Trying to find specific mineral deposits in the vast sea is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Moreover, the scroll clearly mentions a major flaw of artificial tailed beasts. They are extremely prone to rampage.
Because the chakra source of an artificial tailed beast is not like that of a real tailed beast, which is a unified, massive entity with its own will. Instead, it is forcibly blended from multiple chakra sources, or formed by splitting and restraining an extremely powerful chakra source. Its stability is extremely poor.
Once there is a slight deviation in the sealing technique, or if the external pressure it withstands is too great, it may cause the chakra to go out of control. The entire artificial tailed beast can instantly collapse and rampage, with power no less than a large tailed beast bomb explosion.
"Unless... a single chakra source that is strong enough and stable in nature can be found."
Sora stroked his chin, falling into deep thought.
Theoretically, if there is a person whose chakra amount is massive enough to rival a tailed beast, and whose chakra nature is sufficiently stable and gentle, then having him alone provide the chakra would greatly enhance the stability and controllability of the artificial tailed beast.
But the problem is, in the entire ninja world, the number of people who can reach such a chakra amount can be counted on one hand.
An elder of the Uzumaki clan might be able to. Senju Hashirama definitely exceeds the standard. Then there is the future Naruto, and... certain cheaters.
But which one of these people is not a top tier existence in the ninja world.
Who would be willing, or rather, who could be forced to serve as a "power bank" for an artificial tailed beast.
"No wonder Konoha sealed this technology. The input and output are completely disproportionate. Wouldn't it be better to spend this effort and resources on training a few elite jonin."
Sora shook his head, expressing understanding of the Konoha higher ups' choice.
But understanding is one thing. For him, this technology has irreplaceable value.
His goal has never been to create an obedient war machine, a tailed beast.
His goal is the Dragon Vein.
The Dragon Vein's immense, nearly infinite natural energy and chakra is precisely the most suitable existence to serve as the single chakra source for an artificial tailed beast.
As long as the problems of the vessel and the sealing technique are solved, he can create an unprecedented artificial tailed beast powered by the Dragon Vein.
"It seems that after the Land of Earth mission, a trip to the former site of the Land of Whirlpools is necessary. Not only to search for [Sea Dragon Jade], but also to find a quiet place there to thoroughly study these sealing techniques, and incidentally conduct some preliminary experiments."
Sora planned his subsequent actions in his heart.
The Land of Whirlpools had been destroyed for a long time. It is located in a remote area, with many islands in the surrounding sea. It is the perfect place to establish a secret laboratory and conduct various dangerous experiments.
Moreover, it is not too far from the Land of Fire. With his speed, traveling back and forth is relatively convenient.
As for [Sea Dragon Jade], collecting it is not difficult for him. The deep sea is like going back home for a dragon, with no difficulty at all.
So first, he must go complete the S rank mission he received from Sarutobi Hiruzen a few days ago. Secretly infiltrate the Land of Earth to conduct reconnaissance activities, and selectively sabotage the rear of Iwagakure.
Similar to the previous Land of Wind and Land of Water missions, this time Sarutobi Hiruzen set Sora's mission target as the Land of Earth.
Sora couldn't help but feel somewhat helpless. Even with just thinking, it's likely that the next one to be targeted is the Land of Lightning.
But fortunately, his strength is sufficient to handle it. These S rank missions are not troublesome for him. The two month mission period, he can complete it in at most half a month. The remaining time can be fully used to advance his own plans.
After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen originally set the mission difficulty according to the abilities of an elite jonin. He also did not intend for Sora to die in vain during the mission.
And after completing the Land of Earth mission, Sarutobi Hiruzen will most likely send him to the Land of Lightning.
At that time, he can set off for the former site of the Land of Whirlpools to search for [Sea Dragon Jade] and study the sealing techniques.
"Once [Sea Dragon Jade] is obtained, the techniques are mastered proficiently, and the final vessel is made, I can go to the Land of Wind to obtain the Dragon Vein."
Sora clenched his fist, feeling the path ahead gradually becoming clearer.
He carefully put away the scroll and quickly dashed toward the direction of the Land of Earth.
...
Land of Earth.
Two days had passed since the transaction with Orochimaru. Sora was moving swiftly through a rocky mountain area.
At the same time, Sora was also mentally reviewing the previous transaction with Orochimaru.
His original plan was to display strength sufficient to make Orochimaru take him seriously, forcing the transaction to proceed smoothly.
But Orochimaru, through just a bit of blood sample that he had already processed, almost glimpsed the core of his special constitution. This truly exceeded his expectations.
However, exposing part of his constitutional characteristics, though unexpected, upon careful thought, may not be entirely a bad thing.
Orochimaru thus developed a stronger interest and greed toward him. But at the same time, because he could not figure out Sora's true depth, he temporarily chose to compromise and complete the transaction.
After all, Sora had originally planned to display part of his strength. It just changed from proactive to passive.
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