The brain is remarkable—not only does it govern all human thought, but it also stores memories and knowledge. Even in death, the brain holds value. In the ninja world rife with forbidden techniques, a corpse can be a solid form of knowledge.
The forbidden Ghost Bud Technique works by fusing different flesh fragments into a more powerful hybrid being. It forcibly stimulates and merges cells from various sources, allowing the strongest to survive and form a new entity.
Though Uchiha Izumi was dead, her body was well preserved, and many of her cells—including brain cells—remained active.
"Karin, stay behind me and don't be afraid. I'll protect you," Hinata said as she prepared around Izumi's body. Karin, trembling, held a medical tray nearby but wasn't terrified since she wasn't the subject of the experiment.
"I'll do my best to help," Karin replied, curiosity shining in her eyes. Being knowledgeable in theory, she was naturally interested in the experiment.
Hinata sighed. "Honestly, I don't know if this will work, but we have to try."
She was wary. Though she had successfully fused with Shiro's body before—because Shiro's soul willingly left behind no lingering attachments—Izumi was different. The Ghost Bud Technique warns that fused creatures can develop unpredictably. The only safeguard is absorbing the fused body into one's own and suppressing it with mental power, minimizing risk.
(Shiro is Haku here she is calling him/her a dog)
Without that control, fused entities—even corpses—can have dangerous outcomes.
Izumi's preserved brain cells meant the hybrid could inherit memories, raising the stakes.
But retreat wasn't Hinata's way. She pushed forward.
The materials were assembled: Izumi's corpse as the base, fragments of the First Hokage's cells, a small amount of pure Uzumaki blood from Karin, and a tiny trace of Hyuga blood from Hinata herself. To avoid bloodline conflicts between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans' eye techniques, Hinata minimized her own blood's proportion.
Danzo had also requested Izumi's eyeballs, returned by Sai, to assist Hinata's research. What changes might emerge when combined with the First Hokage's cells and Karin's blood? That was the mystery Hinata hoped to solve.
"Enough talking, let's begin," Hinata said, pressing the materials into Izumi's pierced chest where her heart once was. She stepped back, formed the Kiyomizu seal, and channeled chakra into the body.
Blood vessels sprouted from Izumi's heart like earthworms, spreading beneath her skin. The materials were merging throughout her body.
Gradually, a strange chakra awakened within the corpse. It no longer felt dead, but like a sleeping thing stirring to life.
Izumi's body looked monstrous—a cocoon of bulging veins, muscles twitching. Suddenly, a heartbeat echoed, faint but unmistakable.
The fusion technique required skill. Two equal parts merged might form a new being combining both or something entirely new.
Here, the heavy corpse of Izumi was the base, so the added immortal cells mainly reshaped her existing form; no drastic changes were expected.
Moreover, Uchiha cells' strong bloodline resisted the First Hokage's cells more than others might.
"She's... reviving?" Karin gasped from behind Hinata. As an Uzumaki with keen perception, she sensed the rapid chakra recovery.
Suddenly, Izumi's throat made a panting sound. Her tightly closed eyes snapped open, revealing the three-magatama Sharingan slowly spinning in the blood-red sclera. Sinister chakra radiated from her.
"Stay calm. It's under control," Hinata said, summoning Mercury Lamp's body beside her. Even she sensed something unexpected brewing.
Then, Izumi's twitching ceased. The veins vanished quickly, and dark red blood seeped from beneath her skin. Her eyes stopped moving, fixed in a lifeless stare.
"Did it fail?" Hinata frowned. The Demon Bud Technique was risky, often failing due to poor materials or improper fusion. Could even this prime specimen fail?
Karin peeked over Hinata's shoulder. "Her chakra's faded... she's gone quiet."
Hinata sighed. "Then it's a failure."
Though disappointed, she wasn't defeated. Success wasn't guaranteed—even the best materials couldn't promise it.
"Karin, burn the body later. I'll get another Uchiha corpse from Danzo tonight. It's unfortunate, but we have no choice."
Hinata shook her head slightly, then walked out of the room first. After all, the experiment itself was a premeditated gamble, and failure was simply commonplace.
"Yes, I'll take care of it."
Feeling the chakra in the corpse was extremely faint, Karin also breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly approached, preparing to douse the body with medical alcohol so it would burn better later.
"So young and already dead, how pitiful… Uchiha… Izumi?"
Holding the alcohol bottle, Karin couldn't help but look at the corpse before her with some pity. And as if the name she spoke triggered something, the red-haired girl, just about to lower her head, suddenly saw a pair of blood-red eyes in front of her. The corpse, which had been deemed a failed fusion, now opened its eyes and firmly grabbed Karin's right wrist!
"Aaaahhh!"
Karin's shriek made Hinata, who had already walked quite a distance, stiffen. She swiftly turned around and rushed back to the lab. But just as she reached the doorway, several sharp glints of cold light suddenly flashed before her eyes. They were the scalpels from the lab, thrown like shuriken!
Hinata quickly ducked to avoid them, bending down just in time to hear a whoosh by her ear.
An agile figure had already leaped over her head, then quickly darted away at the end of the corridor, vanishing into the nearby woods!
Startled, Hinata didn't bother to pursue. Instead, she hurried into the lab to find Karin collapsed on the ground, a wide gash on her right shoulder gushing blood. It seemed the earlier attack aimed to sever her throat directly, but the red-haired girl instinctively tilted her head due to her ninja instincts, narrowly avoiding being cut down.
The examination table was now empty. Clearly, the one who attacked Karin and Hinata, and then escaped through the doorway, was none other than the body that had just undergone fusion!
"Heh… how interesting…"
Hinata didn't get angry; instead, she chuckled. The Byakugan user calmly bent down and helped Karin up. After pressing down on her wound, she raised Karin's left arm to the girl's mouth. Karin, still somewhat conscious, instinctively clamped down, and as she absorbed Hinata's chakra, the gash on her right shoulder rapidly healed, bringing her back from severe injury.
"This is bad! Lady Hinata! That corpse! No… she's alive! And she escaped!"
The trembling red-haired girl anxiously reported to Hinata, but the Byakugan user merely shook her head slightly: "It's alright. This at least proves that our experiment was successful."
"You should lie down for a bit. I'll go see if I can catch her."
"But regardless… this is truly fascinating!"
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(PS1: Hmm~ o(￣▽￣)o~ So this is the new Uchiha Izumi~~ Not the original Uchiha Izumi. You can think of it like Agent A's form, possessing the original body's memories, a kind of possession/reanimation state~~)