"Dr. Vegapunk, we're here right on time!"
The speaker was the stunning kunoichi Mei Terumī, her eyes fixed on Vegapunk. Beside her stood several members of the Hozuki Clan, a few rescued survivors of the Yuki Clan, and at the very end a man with a single Byakugan.
What they all shared was a connection to Bloodline Limits. The Yuki Clan had been the first bloodline clan to suffer persecution; those who possessed Ice Release were nearly wiped out, and those who remained carried blood so diluted they could no longer awaken the kekkei genkai.
Among the Hozuki Clan, only one had awakened the Hydrification Technique; the rest were likewise unable to activate their bloodline.
That was only to be expected—most bloodline clans had more members who failed to manifest their limits than succeeded. Even the famed Hyuga, said to be the easiest Bloodline Limit to awaken, still produced members who never opened a Byakugan.
Vegapunk swept his gaze over the group: some had received transplanted organs, others were first-generation bearers whose Chakra had been artificially fused to create a Bloodline Limit. Among them were both awakened and unawakened members of bloodline clans—ample samples.
Pity there was no Shikotsumyaku; that was the purest alien bloodline left by the Ōtsutsuki. He would deal with the Kaguya Clan in due course. Vegapunk refused to believe every last one of them was uncooperative—he only needed a few awakened kekkei genkai users as test subjects.
Every Ninja present stared at Vegapunk—some fervent, some doubtful, some timid.
One gaze, however, held a trace of infatuation: Mei Terumī's. While the others saw the head of Sea Ninja Village's Research Department, she saw a handsome young man.
In the short time since his arrival, the seemingly fourteen- or fifteen-year-old Vegapunk had silenced every skeptic in the village with results.
At first many had scoffed at his apparent age. Scientific research, unlike Ninja training, demands vast accumulated knowledge—what could a teenager possibly know?
Yet invention after invention rolled out: Chakra-reinforced armor, a miniature geostationary surveillance satellite, a new Chakra-attribute Training Pod. None were ready for mass production, but all had raised Sea Ninja Village's strength. The armor was merely an upgrade of the old Snow Country gear—cost-ineffective.
The small geostationary satellite could observe most of the Ninja World's seas, including the Land of Water, though its resolution was low.
For Ninja warfare its value was limited; squads moved in small cells, and large forces were hard to hide from information-specialist shinobi anyway.
But that applied to land powers. Even a low-resolution satellite could still pick out ships—making maritime surveillance effective, invaluable to the Land of Sea, since even Ninja must board vessels to cross oceans.
The Chakra-attribute pod, however, was Vegapunk's true masterpiece. By analyzing Chakra natures, he had created a device that, pre-loaded with Chakra of a given element, could accelerate a Ninja's acquisition of a second elemental affinity.
Remember: one benchmark of a Jonin is mastering a second Chakra nature after perfecting the first, eliminating glaring weaknesses.
That alone had made the entire village revere him as a god—never mind that it had been a mere by-product of his research into Chakra-nature fusion.
"Well then, you all know why I asked you here today?"
Vegapunk cut straight to the point.
"Researching Bloodline Limits, right? Don't worry, Doctor—we'll cooperate!"
Mei Terumī answered first, and the others quickly voiced their agreement.
Vegapunk glanced around. Mei had acquired her kekkei genkai through Chakra fusion—no clan ties, no worries.
The man with the Byakugan was little more than a tool with a transplanted eye, no bloodline Ninja at all.
The Yuki Clan lacked even one Ice Release user; they were thrilled anyone would study their bloodline.
Only the Hozuki were reluctant—hence they had sent just one awakened member. Then again, they had few to begin with.
"Exactly. Once a Bloodline Limit awakens, it virtually guarantees Jonin-level strength. Combined with animal-type modifications and the Training Pods, we can mass-produce Elite Jonin."
He spoke plainly, noting the uneasy looks. He knew they feared dilution of their bloodlines.
"Still, that's difficult," he continued. "My first goal is simpler: raise the odds that a bloodline Ninja will awaken."
Transplanting kekkei genkai couldn't be harder than grafting animal genes—certainly easier than implanting Ōtsutsuki DNA.
Not that the latter was impossible; it merely demanded titanic Chakra reserves to activate. Without them, even Ōtsutsuki genes wouldn't outperform the diluted lines of Uchiha or Senju.
Of course, Vegapunk kept that to himself. Telling them would be uprooting the very pride of bloodline clans.
Even if he could grant kekkei genkai at will, he wouldn't. A force needs only be strong enough. Until the Ōtsutsuki above descend, he sees no reason to unleash every technological ace.
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