What is this...?
Morino Ibiki's eyes widened with uncertainty, his heart hammering in his chest as he stared at the glass container in Hatake Kusuo's hand.
"The Rinnegan!" he suddenly cried out, leaping from his seated position.
The... The Rinnegan. How could something like this be in Kusuo's hands? This was the eye of the Sage of Six Paths, a power capable of both creation and destruction. According to the intelligence Lord Jiraiya had sent back, only Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, possessed it.
At that moment, Morino Ibiki was completely and utterly shaken. The pair of faint purple, mesmerizing eyes that Hatake Kusuo held out were like a sledgehammer striking his heart.
Hatake Kusuo watched Ibiki with a faint smile, taking in his reaction. "That's right. It's the Rinnegan."
As a member of the Hatake clan, the house Kusuo had inherited from his late parents had a basement. It had now been fully equipped for his purposes. From this day forward, Morino Ibiki would become the second Orochimaru for Konoha, dedicated to researching Hashirama Cells and cloning technology exclusively for him. As the captain of the Anbu Torture and Interrogation Force, his scientific skills might not match Orochimaru's, but his access to resources and information was backed by an entire nation—far beyond what a rogue ninja like Orochimaru could ever hope for.
"I assume you already know why I've called you here. To put it simply, I need your help to transplant these eyes and to serve me afterward." Hatake Kusuo stood up, looking down at Morino Ibiki's scarred face. The older man's pupils were slightly dilated and still trembling, clearly not having recovered from the shock.
"I understand. Are you going to transplant these eyes into yourself?" Ibiki tried his best to calm his emotions, to keep his voice from shaking, but it still trembled noticeably. In his view, anyone who possessed such a unique treasure would naturally want to claim it for themselves. Transplanting it was the logical first step.
However, Hatake Kusuo's next words completely overturned Ibiki's assumptions.
He gently shook his head. "I am going to transplant them, but not for myself. They are for Hinata."
As he spoke, Kusuo gently wrapped an arm around Hinata's waist. The girl leaned against him obediently, her face flushed with shyness.
Watching the beautiful, affectionate couple, Morino Ibiki felt a pang of envy. Why... Why wasn't I born a woman? He now looked at Hinata with immense jealousy. If becoming Hatake Kusuo's woman meant receiving such a precious treasure, what was the harm in being reborn as a woman?
If Kusuo knew what Ibiki was thinking, he would probably break out in goosebumps, every hair on his body standing on end.
"I understand," Morino Ibiki said with a bitter smile, finally calming down and agreeing to Kusuo's request.
"Good. Let's go to the basement now." With that, Kusuo led the way, guiding everyone into the already converted secret chamber.
The basement was located three levels beneath the main house, making it extremely secure and well-hidden. With Shion's sealing jutsu layered on top, unless Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were resurrected, no one would be able to detect the activity within.
In the center of the room stood a white medical bed, surrounded by a complete set of surgical tools and monitoring equipment.
"Transplanting eyes isn't a particularly complex surgery; even some highly skilled medical-nin could do it alone. What I need from you more is the post-operative care and research on the Rinnegan, to help her master its power as soon as possible," Kusuo explained to Ibiki after gently placing Hinata on the bed.
"Yes, I understand," Ibiki said with a slight frown. He naturally understood the stakes.
"Alright, you may begin."
...
The eye transplant procedure was swift. In the later years of the ninja world, transplants could be done by simply popping an eye out and putting another one in. Kusuo had specifically requested Ibiki's help to ensure a clean, surgical procedure without any future complications.
"It hurts!" Suddenly, Hinata's body curled up on the bed, her hands clutching her eyes in agony. Her expression was one of extreme pain and struggle as waves of an obscure, powerful aura pulsed from her new eyes.
'This is bad. The Rinnegan's rejection is running rampant. It still hasn't accepted Hinata,' Kusuo thought, his eyes sharp as he quickly assessed the situation. "Shion! Help me seal it!"
Morino Ibiki was in a panic; there was little more he could do to help.
"Sealing Jutsu!" Shion shouted, her right hand already forming a seal as a pure white light enveloped her. A circular formation materialized at her feet, identical in appearance to the one she used to seal the demon Mōryō, but the scale and the sheer vastness of the chakra were far, far greater!
'As expected, sealing the Rinnegan is on a higher level than a Tailed Beast-class demon like Mōryō,' Kusuo noted internally, his own actions swift and precise. Although he didn't often use chakra, his mastery of the body's energy flow was second to none. No one in the entire ninja world, not even Orochimaru, understood the body's meridians and blood flow better than he did.
"Hinata! Deep breaths! Use the Breathing Style to concentrate all the energy in your body towards your eyes!" Kusuo roared in Hinata's ear, trying to pull her back from the brink of losing consciousness. "You need to use your own body's energy to fight these eyes! We can only help you seal the Rinnegan's rampage. Whether you can suppress it or not depends on your own efforts!"
"Kusuo... Kusuo-kun," Hinata murmured, lost in extreme pain as the Rinnegan's power threatened to overwhelm her. The heavy, surging chakra was violently absorbing all the nutrients from her body, growing and parasitizing her. They were just a pair of eyes, yet they were trying to take over the host.
However, Kusuo's words gave the fading Hinata a final ounce of strength, like a drowning person grasping a last straw. She gasped for air, drawing in all the energy in the basement.
'It seems she heard me.' Kusuo breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Hinata could resist on her own and follow his instructions to fight the Rinnegan's invasion, her life was no longer in danger. Yes, merely transplanting a pair of eyes carried the risk of death!
"Seal!"
Just in time, Shion completed the final step of her sealing technique. With a sharp cry, a flood of complex and arcane runes poured from her body into Hinata's eyes.
Instantly, the air grew still. The Rinnegan's violent outburst was, for the moment, sealed.
-------
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