External.
While Aizen was meeting with Ido.
Kurama Yakumo's small body, lying on the operating table, suddenly began to tremble violently like an epileptic seizure, her limbs shaking with difficulty, gripping the steel guardrail at the edge of the operating table as if fighting for her life.
Everyone around could clearly see that the thumb-thick steel bars were twisted into distorted shapes in her hands.
She couldn't stop whimpering in struggle.
If Sōusuke's palm hadn't been pressed against her forehead the entire time, Kurama Yakumo would probably have broken free from the seal by now.
"Murakumo, Yakumo, she..."
Seeing her daughter in such pain, Ankumo Rin couldn't help but look at her husband beside her.
Ankumo Murakumo, as the Kurama Clan head, had a solemn expression, and even a glimmer of hope in his eyes, as he whispered to his wife:
"Don't worry."
"Mr. Aizen must have touched the root of the problem."
"Perhaps, this time..."
It wasn't just the Kurama couple.
Even Kurenai Yuhi, standing to the side, looked at Aizen Sōsuke differently.
Although Sōusuke had a good rapport with his peers, that was due to his personal charisma; his actual strength was never particularly outstanding even when he was young.
He just never expected that he had already reached this level in his research on Yin Release Ninjutsu... As expected of Sōusuke.
Just as everyone subconsciously held their breath, watching this scene unfold.
Aizen suddenly opened his eyes.
The palm pressed against the girl's forehead slowly lifted, and the dense, flowing Chakra, as if substantial, pulled at the power deep within the girl's brow.
As he lifted it little by little, a ball of highly concentrated, dense, pitch-black Chakra was pinched between his index finger and thumb.
With his movement, even the girl who had been struggling on the operating table earlier gradually transitioned from pain to calmness, her tense facial expression relaxing as she slowly exhaled.
"Mr. Aizen!"
Seeing this, Ankumo Rin could no longer suppress her anxiety and instinctively cried out, the worry in her expression impossible to hide.
Aizen Sōsuke heard her, and like someone just waking up, he glanced at the couple, then smiled warmly:
"Mission accomplished."
The moment they heard this, whether it was the Kurama couple or Kurenai Yuhi, they all let out a long breath, then looked at him in disbelief.
There was a sense of unreality.
The problem that had plagued the Kurama Clan for so many years was solved so easily by this young man?
As if to clarify for them, Aizen added: "However, this time I only found the root of the problem in Miss Yakumo's soul."
"To completely adjust her body to a state suitable for becoming a Ninja, it will probably take a long time."
"Additionally, her talent will probably..."
Looking at Mr. Aizen's hesitant expression, the Kurama couple, despite being mentally prepared, still felt a little disappointed.
But soon, the couple adjusted and instead offered comfort:
"It's alright, Mr. Aizen."
"As long as our little girl can grow up healthy, we will be at ease."
They were all members of the Kurama Clan and naturally understood their family's history quite well.
In the historical records of the Kurama Clan, clan members with exceptionally outstanding talent like Kurama Yakumo often found it difficult to live past the age of twenty, dying from the Bloodline illness.
Due to the excessive suppression of Yang Release by powerful Yin Release, their vitality was extremely weak. Many times, clan members suffering from this Bloodline illness would consider even a slight cold or fever a brush with death.
"Oh, right."
Mid-sentence, Ankumo Murakumo suddenly reacted, his eyes looking at Aizen Sōsuke practically shining, his tone even slightly eager:
"Mr. Aizen, may I ask the origin of our clan's Bloodline illness?"
This was a major issue concerning the future of their clan.
If these clan members, who were supposed to die young, could pass on their offspring through this method, then their clan's future growth would be almost visible to the naked eye.
Aizen, of course, was well-prepared for this.
The demon Ido still had considerable use for him, and to reasonably experiment with Kurama Yakumo in the future, he would need many opportunities. Aizen naturally wouldn't tell them the truth about the Kurama Clan's 'Bloodline Limit'.
He raised his hand and showed them the pitch-black Chakra, currently confined between his two fingers and still struggling, explaining softly:
"Actually, this isn't a disease at all, but a self-alienation caused by an overly powerful ability."
"The Kurama Clan's Bloodline Limit ability is to distort the enemy's five senses through imagination and, by utilizing the changes in the opponent's five senses, impose a reality that should not exist upon them."
"However, before this ability takes effect on the enemy, the first to be affected is the user of the Bloodline Limit ability themselves."
"Miss Yakumo was eroded by her own power."
"This part of the Chakra I am now controlling is a part of Miss Yakumo's soul, which has been alienated by herself."
Looking at the struggling pitch-black Chakra in Aizen's hand, the Kurama couple both looked somewhat bewildered.
The Kurama Clan's Bloodline Limit only appeared once every few generations; ordinary clan members, and even the clan head himself, had never mastered this ability.
Naturally, they could only believe whatever Aizen said.
Not only did they have to believe him, but Ankumo Murakumo even felt that Aizen's words were golden and precious right now, wishing he could immediately go back and record every word he said to prepare for future clan members.
But as he listened, he suddenly realized something and asked, puzzled: "Then... how should this disease, which alienates one's own soul, be treated?"
Aizen sighed, as if regretfully: "Since what is affected is not an external object, but Miss Yakumo herself, then naturally, we can only act on the soul level."
"To eradicate it, a part of Miss Yakumo's soul must be severed."
"This is also why I said that her talent probably cannot be retained."
"This..."
Ankumo Murakumo was stunned by these words, not expecting reality to be so cruel.
Beside him, the clan head's wife, Ankumo Rin, said softly: "Murakumo, if it can be cured, then let's listen to Mr. Aizen."
"If Yakumo continues like this..."
Many previous examples in the Kurama Clan had not lived past twenty.
The mistakes of the past were right before their eyes.
"Alas."
Ankumo Murakumo also sighed heavily.
But he shared his wife's sentiment.
Parents' love for their children makes them plan far ahead.
Both of them were already Jonin, and their status was that of the Kurama Clan head; there were no other paths for them to advance further.
If their child Yakumo could become a powerful Ninja, that would naturally be best, but if not, it didn't matter.
Konoha was currently in a period of peace, and according to past history, this period of peace should last for another decade or so.
By then, if their child Yakumo was strong enough, she would instead be easily dispatched to the battlefield.
Conversely.
If Yakumo was just an ordinary Ninja, then after inheriting the family business, developing the clan's industries, and retiring to a secondary role, her chances of survival would actually be higher.
Just as he was about to agree.
A somewhat weak voice suddenly came from beside him:
"No! I don't want to!"
Kurama Yakumo, holding onto the operating table, barely managed to sit up and looked defiantly at her parents:
"Dad!"
"I want to become a powerful Ninja."
"If I don't have Bloodline talent..."
Kurama Yakumo naturally understood her own body best.
By then, she probably wouldn't even be able to become a Chunin, right?
Becoming a powerful Ninja like Lady Tsunade had been her biggest dream since childhood.
Of course, this also stemmed from the various ideas her parents had instilled in her since they discovered her talent.
"Yakumo..."
Ankumo Murakumo looked at his daughter with both relief and heartache, at a loss for what to do.
Even Aizen subconsciously looked at her.
Kurama Yakumo raised her head, this time without her previous timidity or evasion, instead looking at him with a taut little face, hesitating for a moment before speaking firmly:
"Lord Aizen."
"Please... help me keep this talent!"
The Kurama couple and Kurenai Yuhi all looked at him.
Aizen, meanwhile, looked thoughtful.
'Because I've temporarily suppressed Ido's influence, has this child's original personality been exposed?'
A hint of interest flickered in his eyes, hidden behind his glasses.
In reality, Aizen himself didn't want to harvest this fruit named 'Ido' all at once.
If he wanted to, he could certainly crush it with his spiritual pressure in one go.
But as an aggregate of negative energy, Ido possessed an extraordinary quality.
That was its unlimited accumulation.
Ido was the 'demon' planted in the individual soul of Kurama Yakumo.
Therefore, as long as he could control this special individual, Kurama Yakumo, he would be able to continuously harvest the negative energy aggregated by Ido, just like cultivating crops.
Even if he only harvested a small portion each time, it would still be quite good.
However, to achieve this goal, he needed Kurama Yakumo's cooperation.
Such a talent was needed for forging a Zanpakuto.
Aizen Sōsuke remained silent, as if deep in thought.
Kurama Yakumo looked at him expectantly.
After a long while, Aizen finally spoke:
"Miss Yakumo."
"If you wish to retain this talent and also become a Ninja, there is a certain way."
"However, it will cause great harm to your mind and body, and you may not even live past forty."
"Moreover, this process will be extremely painful, requiring you to constantly sever your soul over a long period, suppressing it to the limit you can control, until the day you die."
"Even so, are you still willing?"
Hearing him speak like this, not only Kurama Yakumo but also the Kurama couple became excited, their eyes bright.
Forty years old was already enough for a Ninja.
"Yes!"
Kurama Yakumo's voice was clear, her tone exceptionally firm.
Aizen looked at her, his smile growing even gentler, his voice as refreshing as a spring breeze: "Then, Miss Yakumo, please prepare yourself mentally."
Kurama Yakumo excitedly climbed off the operating table, then knelt heavily on the ground, expressing her gratitude:
"Thank you, Lord Aizen!"