Chapter – 48: The Second Clone
[Rei Clone POV]
It's been a week since I started working at the Kirigakure Hospital. Although Konoha is believed to be the haven for Kekkei Genkai users, Kirigakure was the place that had more of them before the third shinobi war. And I found that it really does live up to its name. Within just the seven days I went to the hospital, I was able to meet people from the Yuki clan with Ice release and the Terumi clan who had Boil release. Even though I didn't see a Lava release user yet, it's just a matter of time. I even met a Hōzuki Clan member who was able to turn his body to water!
Although I have treated a lot of people during this time and gathered a few blood samples that are of interest to me, I noticed one little problem with my plan. Many of the Kekkei Genkai clans have some medical-nin in them too. So they rarely visit the hospital for minor injuries. Thankfully, Because of the upcoming war, there were many who got injured seriously after going out of the village, but the problem is time. Since the active genes couldn't be used directly, I need to first collect all of the inactive ones, and then to activate them I would be needing the active ones to extract the chakra too. So, I have to collect all inactive and active genes for every bloodline I want to research! It will take a long time for me to finish stockpiling enough samples with this rate and ideally I want to be done before the war even starts; just to be on the safe side if this clone gets killed.
And the most frustrating part is, ever since I got here, I haven't seen a single member of the Kaguya clan come to the hospital! When I asked around discretely why that is, the answer I got shocked even me. It seems the members of the battle-crazed clan all have terrifying vitalities! So, it's even rarer for them to come here. I mean it makes sense, those people heal like the Wolverine after retracting their bones!
No worries, I just need to change my strategy a little bit. The main part is not letting anyone notice my intentions. I know once the war preparations start, there will be attempts to assassinate people from both sides; especially medical ninjas who are pretty bad at self-defense but are great assets to the village in a prolonged war. So, if my intentions to research Kekkei Genkai are known, it will be easier to set a trap to lure me! Although I don't mind losing this clone, I don't want to lose it too early either; that would waste all my efforts so far.
Oh, correction! I shouldn't let anyone other than the Mizukage know my interest in Kekkei Genkai. Currently, the Mizukage will be looking for any weakness he can exploit to make me become loyal to Kiri, why not give him one myself? He might even help me gather some more research data and more importantly, that will stop him from snooping around me all the time.
There are two areas I can make changes in, the first one is to develop contacts within the clans so that when anyone is injured they come straight to me. The other is to become famous; my fame in the Land of Noodles won't help here, I need to make my name as the God's Hand become a household name in Kiri so that more people will come to me.
'Where else would I get a better place to become famous than the Hospital…'
Back in Konoha, inside the Origin space.
[Rei POV]
'A.I chip, display my stats!'
[Name: Uchiha Rei (Tokubetsu Jonin). Strength: 46, Agility: 42, Vitality: 48, Sprit: 46, Chakra: 692, Status: Soul injury (slight).]
[Bloodline: Uchiha (Three tomoe), Active genes: 13(limit), Bloodline activation: 48.148%]
[Soul injury: caused by splitting soul when creating Ghost-I Parasite. Estimated days for recovery: 2 months 4 days. Note: growth in chakra is reducing the time required to completely heal the injury.]
[Affinities: Fire 84%, Wind 71%, Lightning 66%, Earth 14%, Water 5%]
Two months have passed since the clone went out of Konoha. A week ago, I received an update that, everything went according to plan and the clone was able to get a position in Kiri hospital; meaning, on the whole, I can now say the infiltration plan was successful.
I didn't sit idly for these two months too. The blood clone as usual is going to the academy during the day and 'learning' medical ninjutsu from Takuma after that. I and my other shadow clones are busy with Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Fuinjutsu training.
I was also able to complete the activation of the thirteenth gene and as expected, I did gain the Lightning affinity. So, with Futon and Raiton added, my Ninjutsu training became hectic again. But thankfully with the Seal of Ouroboros changing my chakra and body, especially after using a couple of extremely talented ones, my chakra capacity has increased at a phenomenal rate, and now I can cast even more shadow clones.
Finally, with all these upgrades, all my stats have broken through to the Tokubetsu Jonin level!
Looking at the fully developed clone inside the nutrition chamber, 'So, it's done too, right on time!'
I started making this clone right after the first one left Konoha. I could have made more, but that stingy Sophos has only installed one nutrition chamber inside the Origin space and I haven't found a reliable supplier for lab equipment yet.
Anyway, this is the clone I will be using to go on missions once I graduate from the academy, but first I need to get used to controlling three clones at once. According to A.I chip's estimates, the first clone uses 10 points in Spirit, and every additional soul clone after that will require 50% more than the amount required by the previous one. I,e. the amount of Spirit needed for each soul clone would be like, 10, 15, 22.5, 33.75, … etc. and a minimum of 15 should be needed if the main body needs to remain active too. So, when I was a chunin, my spirit stat which was less than 40 could only control two bodies including mine. Now, I can control three!
But I am not satisfied with this control technique! because according to my estimates, with this control technique, even when my strength reaches Kage level, I will only be able to control 9 clones! Which is nowhere near what I want. I need to find other similar techniques and optimize this!
I needed to wait till nightfall to try controlling the new clone as I don't know what effect it will have on the other clone. After the clone in Kiri retired to his quarters, I took out the clone from the nutrition tank and started using the Soul Descent Technique again.
This time I was ready for the round of headache, but the pain I received this time was even worse. It is to be expected, I am experiencing headaches in three different bodies at the same time! that too with them overlapping on each other, it's a nightmare!
'I need to optimize this technique quickly, or the next one will be the end of me!' I think as I lay on the cold hard floor perspiring heavily; not just my main body, all three are on the floor.
After getting back on my feet, I spent the entire night practicing controlling three bodies at once. It was still awkward, but by morning, I was able to handle daily work. So, the clone in Kiri can still visit the hospital today; I don't want to miss a single day of that!