Bloodline diseases are considered extremely difficult medical problems across the entire Ninja World.
Different people have different bloodlines, so there is naturally no universal solution.
It's like some people are born with heads larger than their bodies, while others have deformed arms or legs—yet, at the same time, they possess advantages such as being smarter, stronger, or more agile.
To eliminate the flaws while retaining the advantages is almost impossible.
Therefore, the Kurama clan head and his wife had long prepared for failure, knowing that even if there were a glimmer of hope, it would likely require long-term treatment.
At this moment, looking at their daughter lying on the operating table, being examined, both parents' eyes held a mix of anticipation and worry.
It wasn't just them.
Kurama Yakumo, lying on the operating table herself, also pursed her lips, looking at the man standing beside the table.
As if noticing her nervous gaze, Aizen Sōsuke lowered his head, offered the young girl a gentle smile, and softly stroked her forehead, reassuring her in a low voice:
"Yakumo is a brave child."
"Don't worry."
"No matter the cost, I will help you achieve your dream of becoming a Ninja."
"Yakumo, do you trust me?"
Meeting the man's gentle gaze and listening to his calm words, somehow, even Kurama Yakumo, who had felt a sense of urgency since earlier, now felt her heart soothed by his voice.
The young girl's fingers intertwined, her gaze hopefully met his gentle eyes, and the corners of her tightly pursed lips also curved into a smile:
"Yes."
"I trust Mr. Aizen."
Watching the young girl's nervous yet feigned composure, Aizen Sōsuke's gaze grew even gentler.
No matter the cost, huh… His voice remained calm: "Then, Miss Yakumo, please think of this as a short nap."
"Alright?"
"Yes!"
Listening to his voice, Kurama Yakumo gradually closed her eyes, her breathing steadying under Aizen Sōsuke's guidance.
Aizen felt the young girl's breathing, brought his right hand into a sword-finger seal, and began to inject Chakra into the sealing array on the operating table's surface.
At the same time, he explained to the Kurama couple beside him:
"Lord Murakumo must be aware."
"Miss Yakumo's problem is actually a typical case of Bloodline Genius Syndrome."
"Due to an excessively vast Yin Release Chakra, it has overwhelmed the Yang Release Chakra originally used to sustain vitality, thus creating a frail physique unsuitable for becoming a Ninja."
"What I need to do today is an initial deep dive into the soul level to find the source of the constantly generating Yin Release Chakra. Even if it can be cured, it will require several subsequent treatments."
"Please do not rush."
Aizen's voice was steady and calm, accompanied by the gentle breathing of the young girl falling asleep, making him appear even more transcendent and solemn.
Even Ankumo Murakumo, upon hearing his explanation, instinctively felt a sense of trust, and nodded, saying:
"Mr. Aizen, there's no need to worry. We are already mentally prepared."
"Very good."
Aizen said gently: "Next, I will delve into Miss Yakumo's soul. Please do not touch the surrounding seals."
Before the Kurama couple could nod, Kurenai Yuhi had already stood beside him, signaling to him.
"We understand."
"Please be extremely careful."
The Kurama couple naturally knew the gravity of the situation.
After receiving the Kurama couple's assent, Aizen then nodded slightly.
A man like him would naturally not place his trust in anyone.
The reason for this extra admonition was to prevent the Kurama family from suddenly acting foolishly, which could lead to him being suddenly accused of killing several Jonin during this period, thus ruining his efforts.
After all these instructions were complete, Aizen finally closed his eyes.
The two souls, relying on the sealing jutsu beneath Kurama Yakumo, gradually connected… "Thump."
The faint sound was like a drop of water falling into a pond.
Opening his eyes again, Aizen's consciousness had already appeared in a boundless, dark, pitch-black well shaft.
Viscous river water covered his ankles, a heavy sense of oppression settled in his heart, and an indescribable, clawing entity hidden in the deep darkness howled, stirring up bursts of chaotic noise.
This was Kurama Yakumo's inner world.
"Indeed."
"Has it already been engulfed by Yin Release?"
Looking at the scene before him, Aizen felt no surprise.
As a former Shinigami, his understanding of the soul was naturally far deeper than his understanding of Chakra.
Even in a different world, the desires deep within human souls seemed to remain unchanged.
However, Kurama Yakumo's soul was vastly different from an ordinary person's.
No matter how deranged a human being, there are ultimately two sides, Yin and Yang, deep within their soul. These represent the indeterminate good and evil, extensions of basic human will.
Yet, from their very first contact, Aizen clearly sensed that the darkness deep within Kurama Yakumo's heart far exceeded what a twelve-year-old girl should possess.
It was hundreds or thousands of times the amount found in an ordinary person.
"It's almost… as if another entity resides deep within her soul," Aizen murmured, his eyes revealing a focused intensity unique to a researcher.
Under normal circumstances, simply balancing the Yin and Yang deep within a person's soul could resolve most bloodline problems at the physical level.
However, in a situation like Kurama Yakumo's, it wouldn't be so easy to 'balance'.
He didn't continue to ponder, instead stepping forward, walking towards the deepest part of this profound darkness.
Tap, tap, tap… The deeper he explored, the heavier the quality of the surrounding Yin Release Chakra became.
Eventually, all the surrounding Yin Release even formed highly viscous, slippery, swamp-like tentacles.
"Don't come any closer."
After an unknown period.
Deep within this soul, Kurama Yakumo's voice suddenly rang out.
At the same time, compared to outside, it carried an even stronger sense of fear and despair.
Under normal circumstances, these voices should be a reflection of a person's subconscious, not a true will.
However… Aizen turned his head to look.
A faint light ignited within this deep, solidified darkness, revealing the young girl kneeling in the infinite pitch-black depths.
She was prostrate on the ground, as if pleading.
Fear, despair, anxiety, urgency, inability to accept… all sorts of negative emotions were present, and then some.
But all were intensely extreme.
Surrounding that sliver of light was a vast, dark swamp, like an endless lake.
Black tentacles, clawing and thrashing, surged from the boundless swamp, like a cage, tightly imprisoning the light deep within her soul at its center, preventing anyone from touching it.
All of this represented the most intense emotions hidden deep within this soul.
"Please."
"Don't come any closer."
Kurama Yakumo's voice was almost a shriek.
Aizen Sōsuke stood at the edge of the swamp, watching this scene with interest.
He reached out, slowly extending his hand to touch the rampaging, swirling dark tendrils.
Almost the instant his fingertip lifted.
All the tentacles extending from the swamp's surface shot out as if in a reactive frenzy, converging towards Aizen Sōsuke, like thousands of arrows released from bows, intending to completely tear his will apart.
However, just before these tentacles could touch his body.
"Bang bang bang——"
All the tentacle-like constructs formed by Yin Release crashed as if against an invisible wall, shattering themselves into pieces due to the momentum of their impact.
The moment she saw this, even the young girl at the center of this soul seemed to freeze, staring at him blankly.
Aizen didn't wait any longer, instead stepping onto the surface of the deep swamp.
"Splash."
His seemingly casual steps, however, firmly trod upon the flowing Yin Release.
He advanced step by step.
Regardless of whether the surrounding area was surging with waves or swirling with tentacles, none could touch his body in the slightest.
Not just his body.
Even the swamp beneath his feet, as he walked, seemed to part, creating a path. He, like the legendary Moses parting the sea, stepped on the surging Yin Release swamp surface and arrived before the young girl on the central island.
The crying young girl had forgotten how to speak, remaining in her upward-gazing posture, staring at him blankly.
Finally, Aizen's figure arrived before her.
"Mr. A-Aizen…?"
The young girl, just like in reality, timidly called out his name.
But no sooner had the sound fallen.
The tall man suddenly bent down, and with a light gesture, extended a finger to lift the young girl's chin.
Their eyes met.
The gaze hidden beneath the man's glasses meticulously scrutinized everything that belonged to her, from the outside in.
Finally, Aizen seemed to ask with interest:
"You…"
"What exactly are you?"
The timid, pleading young girl, hearing this, her delicate face's weak expression seemed to pause, appearing dazed.
Until she was certain he seemed to have no intention of joking.
Gradually, the young girl's expression stiffened.
Her pitiful and sad gaze slowly transformed into a rigid and cold one, imbued with unrestrained, tyrannical killing intent.
Her entire face seemed to tear open from her lips, the corners of her mouth gradually pulling back.
The grotesque fissure extended all the way behind her ears, and her expression twisted into an ugly smile, as if to crush the membrane covering its surface.
Even her voice transformed into a grating, overlapping male and female tone.
Its tone was playful and mocking, like a hunter who had found its prey and seen through a trap, its final syllable dragging with a long inflection, devoid of any respect:
"Mr. Aizen——"
"How did you find out?"