81 Chapter – 81: Kumo and Iwa

[Rei POV]

You must be wondering, why is he talking about only six clones? What happened to the seventh, Hashirama's clone?

Well, there is both a good news and a bad news. The good news is, the cloning didn't fail and it's still in the body development stage. However, the bad news is, for some reason my estimates are completely off when it comes to its completion time, and even after months of waiting, the cloning isn't anywhere near being complete!

Hashirama is special in more than one way; his Kekkei Genkai Wood Release, Sage Mode, or even his massive chakra reserves. But I have already confirmed the core reason for it and it seems to have something to do with his Chakra, or rather Ashura's Chakra! I could never have guessed that even his cloned cells will still carry traces of that chakra and that it would affect the cloning in such a way... Anyway, I am still waiting for the clone to be complete to see what this Sage Mode and Wood Release are all about.

'Hashirama is indeed special…' I ponder, 'In that case, if I get Madara's cells after he gained the Rinnegan and try to clone, will it have Hagoromo's chakra? Also, will it take even longer than this?'

'Interesting...'

There is one more problem I am trying to solve. Because the new clones were created just a few days ago and still not have any active genes, I need to find a way to start activating them.

I could start using the Seal of Ouroboros right away but that could ruin the potential that the clone is born with, and I must say, these clones have some amazing potentials. Therefore, I am trying to find the best way to move forward; this is especially true for the two Uchiha clones. They both have the potentials to awaken Mangekyo by themselves. Hence, if I were to meddle and change the sequence they were supposed to awaken the genes in, I could mess the whole thing up. For the other clans, it is even more risky for me to try that as I have no idea what different sequences would even lead to in them. So, I have assigned the task to the A.I chip to simulate and find the safest and the most effective way to activate these genes.

...

[Kumo Clone POV]

Kumo is different from both Konoha and Kiri, and I am not just talking about its appearance which is obviously unique has its own charm with its towering peaks and misty clouds, even the architecture here is different from the other two. In addition to that, the shinobi here are as ruthless as Kiri and they are as united as the ones from Konoha. They even have the same amount of love and respect for their Kage as Konoha shinobi do for theirs.

'With the last sample I sent back, I have already collected enough samples from Storm Release Kekkei Genkai... however, the Swift Release seems to be rarer... even after all these months, I have yet to even get half of the active genes...'

'Also...'

I had one more hidden reason for sending my clone with Mangekyo here; to use the Eye of Truth on Third Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode! However, given the common Kumo shinobi identity that I am using, this task is also proving itself to be quite difficult. Until the war begins, I am not sure if I will have the chance to witness it; just witnessing it once was enough but...

'Thankfully, I have only used the Eye of Truth two times after coming here to copy those Kekkei Genkai techniques... so my eyesight is still fine for now...'

The only other respite is, this person, whose identity I am currently using, seems to be an orphan without anyone close to him; no friends, no lover, etc. Hence, there were little to no problems for me to fit in.

'For the time being, I can continue using this identity... and also, I believe it's time to start moving up the ladder here...'

Till now, I have been covert and cautious so as to not let even a tiny spec of doubt fall upon me, and now I believe it's time to start showing some worth and earning promotions.

...

[Iwa Clone POV]

Iwagakure is surrounded by rocky mountain ranges providing it a natural stronghold and hence the name, Village Hidden in the Rocks. Even the village's infrastructure is mostly built using the rocks from the surrounding mountains. The buildings here are mostly shaped like towers and they are all interconnected with a network of bridges!

'Finally...' I think, 'finally got my hands on one of Onoki's sons...'

From the beginning, my luck in Iwa seems to be better than in Kumo. Just to get into the village I had to spend so much effort there, but here I was able to get in pretty easily. Even after getting in, within the first month itself, I had gotten my hands on some Blast Release blood samples... and after a few months, I had already collected all of the active and inactive genes.

Only the Dust Release was evading me. However now, after trying for close to a year, I have finally gotten my hands on a blood sample with potential for Dust Release!

'Now let's see... I am facing the same problem as in Kumo, I want to force Onoki to show me Dust Release so that I can copy it without him knowing that I am the one forcing him... but how?'

'Well... I could make the Jinchuriki go on a rampage... he will surely be able to force Onoki, right?' I think with an evil grin, 'Mmm... I can try this for now... better start making a good plan... I don't want to abandon this identity this soon...'