After the brief euphoria in the lab came long, meticulous observation and analysis. Kimimaro's "new body" hung quietly in the cultivation tank; every vital sign was steady—more vigorous than an ordinary human's—yet he showed no hint of waking, a flawlessly crafted doll missing its final command.
Orochimaru circled the tank like a connoisseur inspecting his most precious specimen, serpentine pupils glinting with bewilderment and obsession.
"Cellular activity is perfect, Chakra pathways unobstructed, basic brain-region responses present… why won't consciousness return?"
He muttered, fingers flying across the console to summon dense streams of data.
"The Soul was successfully imported and stabilized… Did the Soul sustain damage in the Pure Land, leaving the mind incomplete? Or is there an incompatibility between this new body and the Soul we still can't detect?"
He tried every method—micro-electric stimulation, special neural activators, even Chakra tuned to mimic specific brain-wave frequencies—but to little effect. Kimimaro remained asleep.
"Looks like the problem is more complicated than we thought." Orochimaru rubbed his temples, irritation at a stalled experiment showing on his face for the first time.
He stepped out, and moments later the lab door slid open to admit a silver-haired youth in round glasses, smile polite but devoid of warmth—Yakushi Kabuto.
"Lord Orochimaru, you summoned me?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses, gaze sweeping past Hinata to the tank-held Kimimaro. Surprise flickered, then vanished behind professional calm.
"Kabuto, take a look." Orochimaru gestured toward the data screens.
"Every physiological index is normal, yet consciousness won't awaken. What do you think?"
Kabuto stepped forward, scrutinizing the figures and running deeper calculations.
"Life signs are indeed flawless—one might say excessively healthy."
Kabuto mused aloud.
"But the cerebral-cortex activity pattern is peculiar, as though… in standby mode?"
Kabuto and Orochimaru debated possible causes.
While the two lapsed into thought, Hinata walked aside and sat in apparent meditation, but slipped her consciousness into the System interface.
[Current points: 100,550]
The huge number told her it was time for a pivotal upgrade.
She had long eyed certain special Physiques in the System Shop; one in particular kept her attention.
After a quick search her gaze locked onto it.
[Pure Pupil Spirit Body]: An ancient spirit Physique. Eyes clear as crystal can pierce illusion, purify evil, vastly enhance control and potential over ocular techniques, elevate Chakra purity and Divine Sense acuity, and grant micrometre-level perception and control of energy.
Exchange cost: 100,000 points.
(Special note: Extremely compatible with host's current Byakugan Bloodline and immortal-cultivation path.)
This was it!
Though the price would empty her savings, Hinata didn't hesitate; with this she need fear genjutsu no more.
"Exchange for Pure Pupil Spirit Body."
[Ding! 100,000 points spent. Pure Pupil Spirit Body acquired. Fusion commencing…]
An indescribable coolness surged through every limb, converging like rivers to the sea upon her eyes. No pain—only supreme coolness and ease, as if a dusty gem had been polished to flawless brilliance.
She felt her Byakugan undergoing an essential metamorphosis: vision sharper, deeper, able to trace the subtlest energy flows and the underlying fabric of matter.
The range and finesse of her Divine Sense leapt a full level! More importantly, mastery over body and energy reached a new, effortless Realm of micrometre control.
The Fusion was silent; to the outer world Hinata simply sat there, her aura more reserved and unfathomable.
When she opened her eyes again, the pearlescent irises looked purer, deeper, veiled by a faint, almost imperceptible sheen—more beautiful than ever.
She turned her gaze back to the tank and Kimimaro within.
Her perception had never been higher. No longer relying solely on Divine Sense scans, she could now "see" something more fundamental.
She beheld the immense vital energy inside the body, and there—quietly asleep—Kimimaro's Soul.
At the junction of Soul and flesh she clearly perceived an ultra-fine yet tangible "membrane": the body was subtly rejecting Kimimaro's spirit.
"I may know the problem," Hinata's cool voice broke their discussion.
Orochimaru and Kabuto looked over at once.
"Fusion of Soul and body isn't a simple docking," Hinata said, stepping to the tank and fixing her Soul-piercing spirit pupils on Kimimaro.
"Unlike Edo Tensei—perhaps akin to your Living Corpse Reincarnation—true Possession requires the spirit to overpower the target, or overpower the flesh."
"You mean the body I created, being too perfect—or rather, not the original—has become an obstacle?" Orochimaru frowned.
"Exactly." Hinata nodded.
"We may need to re-inscribe this body with Kimimaro's unique mark, to awaken the Soul's deep-seated sense of belonging."
How to inscribe such a "mark" became their new topic—but at least they now had a direction.
Orochimaru studied Hinata's purer-than-ever eyes, secretly startled; her aura felt deeper, harder to read.
What had she just done? She felt… different.
Curious, but wise enough not to pry, he refocused on Kimimaro.
"A unique mark, hmm… an interesting challenge."
His scientific zeal rekindled; he and Kabuto set to work, discussing possibilities.
Hinata stood quietly, savoring the new sensations of the Pure Pupil Spirit Body. The world appeared in ultimate clarity—like a cheat-enabled, full-view, dead-angle-free panorama; nothing could escape her sight.
Coupled with her Divine Sense, she could pierce every veil, physical or spiritual.
Perhaps as a chain reaction of the Physique, she felt she could advance to Late Stage Golden Core at any moment.
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